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Candy bouquet franchisee enjoys the sweet taste of success
Franchising is a popular method of doing business. Throughout the United States, according to the trade publication Franchise Times, 76% of franchisees are satisfied and 73% would recommend franchising to others.
As a small business venture, franchising offers entrepreneurs an opportunity to follow a formula that has demonstrated itself to be tried and true.
While no business is without risk, franchising provides entrepreneurs with a business option that offers a trademark, guidelines and a business format.
However, the owner does relinquish some autonomy by agreeing to follow guidelines set out in the franchise agreement, which is a legally binding document. The franchise investment may range from tens of thousands of dollars up to hundreds of thousands.
Before you decide to enter into a franchise as an entrepreneur, discuss your plans with a Service Corps of Retired Executives counselor. Abundant information is available on Web sites and many other sources.
Donna Klim called on SCORE in 1998, where she met counselor Don Boyd. She announced that she had decided to buy a franchise known as Candy Bouquet Int’l. She asked for help in refining the business plan she had written and needed assistance in negotiating a startup business loan.
She attended one of our SCORE business seminars. Subsequently, her SCORE counselors assisted in negotiating a Small Business Administration participation loan with BB&T Bank.
As the years rolled by, she successfully grew her business and recently relocated her Candy Bouquet store to 10040 Dorchester Road near Summerville.
Business volume continues to increase each year as Donna expands when opportunities present themselves. While she enjoys a good percentage of walk-in traffic, her mainstay is in corporate sales, which are to some extent seasonal. Her many satisfied customers include Middleton Place Gift Shop.
Recently, she expanded her product lines to include homemade fudge, which includes chocolate, maple, vanilla and nine other varieties.
Always on the alert to advertise and promote her business, she rented a booth at the Coastal Carolina Fair, which ended on Nov. 5. Sales of her Candy Bouquets and fudge products at the fair exceeded her expectations.
Recently, a new Candy Bouquet franchise opened in Mount Pleasant under the ownership of Cathy Calamas. Klim welcomes this new franchisee and mentors Cathy as she enters the Candy Bouquet market.
SCORE offers free confidential business counseling to aspiring entrepreneurs and to existing small business owners. If you are thinking about starting up your own small business or if you are already in business and need help in solving your day to day operating problems, call on SCORE for help.
SCORE offers small business resource seminars bi-monthly. The next seminar will be Nov. 15-16. Call 727-4778 for details.
Ted Albenesius is a retired Charleston businessman and a past chairman of the local SCORE 285 chapter.
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