Entrepreneur Archive:
Furniture Gourmet

Furniture Gourmet—Springfield, MO
Assisted by:
Linda Gerardo, Small Business Development Center at Southwest Missouri State University

"Details to Delight You" is the tag line used by the Furniture Gourmet, an Internet-based retailer of decorative home accessories. Karen Parry and her daughter and co-owner, Jennifer Yarbrough, have begun delighting people from across the country with their web business. Karen came to the Southwest Missouri State Small Business Development Center to attend the "How to Write a Business Plan" session and then began working one-to-one with a consultant.

Karen's original plan was to partner with a "brick & mortar" design business in Springfield by providing the online portion of the business in exchange for decorating expertise. She also planned to have many custom and exclusive products from which customers could choose. As the center directed Karen in the planning process, she found that the partnership was not going to work, and as so often happens, she made adjustments in her plans. Karen has found that her natural gift for design has provided the expertise necessary.

Karen then attended the Financial Management Seminar Series, and began to gather information for her financial projections. She learned how cash flow would impact her business and adjusted her planning again. Karen says that although she has been in the business world for a long time, she found that planning and owning a business of her own was more complex than she had imagined. She indicates that the resources offered by the SBDC were fundamental to her success in starting her business.

The center also assisted Karen by doing a trademark search and developing the processes she needed in place to efficiently process orders. The center helped with web site research, how to work with web site developers, pricing of products, logistics and more. The center also reviewed her business plan and financial projections.

Karen has just completed her first year in business and is pleased with progress her business is making. She has found the beginning stages of startup in the current economy have been slower than projected; however, she continues to get more customers all the time. Karen says that the mistakes she has made this year have happened when she didn't follow advice and just did what seemed like a good idea. She says that the one thing she would do differently is to actually work, even part-time, in a retail business. She believes that would have given her more confidence that she really knew what to do.

As Furniture Gourmet begins its second year in business, Karen plans to focus on marketing the site, offering more custom products and marketing to interior designers. With sales continuing to grow each month, she feels assured that she will "catch up" with her projections this year.

Visit furnituregourmet.com to see a world of "Details to Delight You"!

Furniture Gourmet
1926 South Glenstone, #370
Springfield, MO 65804
Phone: 417-655-1206
Fax: 417-889-4771
Email kparry@furnituregourmet.com
www.furnituregourmet.com

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