"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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