More Than WE Know

Many businesses are jumping on the “green” bandwagon these days.  It has become fashionable and profitable to advertise a company’s “ecologically-friendly” practices. But very few companies are bold enough to make ”being green” the foundation of their company’s business model.

FeelGood Organic Hampers is different - in short, they were “green” before “green” was even cool.

When Amanda Webb realized that there were no organic hamper distributors in Ireland, she recognized it as an opportunity. 

She seized the position of “first and only” organic hamper company and then set about educating her customers as to why that made her hampers superior to the rest.

Amanda let her customers know that the advantages of buying organic and locally made products were:

• better flavour
• better health
• better animal welfare
• better environment
• better economy

She also tied several of her products to a local charity - so the recipient gets to enjoy a basket of wine and chocolate along with the knowledge that they’ve just made a donation to the local children’s hospital.

Amanda really gives her customers a lot to “feel good” about. 

Here’s her story:

Amanda, tell me about your business.

At Feelgood Organic Hampers we create gifts that will be remembered. Not only do our hampers contain the very best in certified organic gourmet foods, pampering skin care and baby clothes but they are also environmentally friendly. We pack our hampers in recyclable gift boxes, tied with string and hand stamped with our company logo so that they stand out.

What is your best holiday item?

At the moment three of our hampers are outselling the rest: The Snowman, The Midnight Feast and the Tin soldier but we sell well from our entire collection at this time of year.

What inspired or motivated you to start your business?

After spending almost 10 years in the film business, I began to realise that I wanted to be my own boss.

I have always loved being on the receiving end of hampers. As a child my Father’s company used to send one to all it’s employees and I have very warm memories of 
opening them with my family, rifling through the straw and pulling out all the items. 

I’ve always been a bit of a hippy and when I discovered that no one else in Ireland was offering exclusively organic hampers I decided to pursue that niche.

What keeps you motivated?

It’s hard to be motivated all the time and I know that I, like everyone else, have my ups and downs. I try to keep myself motivated by networking as much as possible, it really helps to share your experiences with others who have been in the same position.

At this time of year I am so busy that it is hard not to be motivated, It’s probably why I enjoy the Christmas period the most.

How did you fund your business?

I started with my savings and then worked my way up to my credit card and my family’s savings.

Who is your target market?

Within the corporate market I tend to target the marketing manager. We seem to appeal to a good cross section of businesses. The ones most enthusiastic about environmental issues and the outdoors are usually our best customers.

We also target individuals who are looking for something really special for their friends and family. We have a good strong client base who buy from us again and again.

What percentage of your business is online? What is your ideal percentage?

At the moment people in Ireland are still relatively cautious of buying on line. Although I get a lot of hits on my website people are more likely to call me to order after looking online first.

About 10% currently buy online. I would like to increase this to 50% but I would really miss chatting with my customers on the phone.

Where do you get most of your customers? (word of mouth, advertising, networking, press releases, etc.)

I do all of the above and word of mouth has always been the most effective form of advertising for us. A lot of this comes from networking so I network as much as possible.

I have recently upped my PR.  I’ve been getting a lot of press and this always shows in my webstats so it is something I will be doing more of. I generally find that advertising reaps very few rewards and at best just pays for itself.

I do think it is worth doing when your business is quite new as it helps establish your brand but as time goes on I do less and less of it.

What is the biggest challenge you faced and how did you overcome it?

I think the biggest challenge for anyone starting a business is dealing with yourself and your own fears. If you can learn to put them aside and motivate yourself you are going to be better at business.

I’m not a great saleswoman but I still push myself to do more of it and learn more about it and the better I get at it the better my business does. 

What was the best unexpected thing that happened to you?

That’s a hard question. Probably getting mentioned on a national radio station two years ago. I emailed in in answer to an item about hampers that they had run and they read out my reply. I still get sales today from people who heard about me on the show.

What do you wish you had known when you started?

Nothing. I think if I knew what I know now it might have put me off starting out in the first place. Every lesson I have learned has been even more valuable from living through it.

Do you have kids? 

I don’t have children but one of the reasons I wanted to start a home based business was that If I did have children I could be around more for them.

What is the biggest challenge of being a Woman Entrepreneur?

I don’t thing there is any disadvantage of being a female entrepreneur. There are so many resources out there for us now that we seem to be making the men jealous.

I don’t have children so the biggest challenge for me is getting out of bed every morning. If I only have to stroll through to my home office I tend to leave it  later and later. I have been known to work in my PJ’s but it’s not something I would recommend.

What advice do you have for other Women Entrepreneurs, or Entrepreneur-wannabe’s?

Don’t be scared. As long as you plan well and face one task at a time - there is nothing stopping you from becoming successful.

If you want to feel good about indulging yourself,  visit FeelGood Organic Hampers.

If you would like to learn more about the charity FeelGood Organic Hampers helps support, visit Temple Street Children’s Hospital.

To get my special report on 7 Steps to Sustainable Success for Women Entrepreneurs -> Click Here.

If you have a business that sells gifts online and would like to be profiled on More Than WE Know this holiday season, please contact me at Liz (at) Morethanweknow (dot) com.

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