Good gifts gone bad... the story of one small business owner (spoiler alert: happy ending!)

Have you ever given a bad gift? 

Elizabeth has too. 

She shared: "Last year was my first year in business. I was just getting off the ground and I had no money (or good ideas, really) for Christmas gifts for my clients. So I made these cupcakes with little marshmallow snowmen on top....

"Let's just say they didn't turn out like the Pinterest picture. But I delivered them anyway. And I instead of finishing my rounds feeling full of Christmas cheer, I felt embarrassed! 

"All my clients had been gracious, but I some of them didn't know what to do with the DIY gift. I knew that more than one cupcake probably went straight into the trash after I was gone.

"I wanted to do better this year. So I came to God's Garden Treasures.

"I can't even tell you how different my experience was this year! This is my 2nd year in business and I was ecstatic to send my clients breath-taking flower arrangements. 

"Their faces lit up! They were touched. They were grateful. And I knew they would enjoy the gift throughout the entire holiday!

"Thank you so much for helping me express to my clients how truly grateful I am for them. And I'm really thrilled to be in your Monthly Floral Membership because you help me make sure I'm thanking my clients regularly. The reminders are great!" 

Elizabeth's take-aways and tips for business gift giving from this experience?

• When you want to express appreciation to a client, your attention to detail makes all the difference.
• How you execute effects how your clients feel, and also how you feel. Set a goal to be happy and excited!
• Keep the overall goal of the gift in mind, making wise choices about the quality of your gift, since it reflects the quality of your brand and your work.
• Decide whether you have time and talent to achieve the intended effect, or whether you want to reach out to a professional.
• Sometimes selecting professional support makes the world of difference.
• Corollary: DIY isn't always the best way to go. OR money isn't the only resource to pay attention to...

Want to dive more into gifts of appreciation? Here are a couple more articles you might enjoy:

Appreciation builds long-lasting relationships and grows your bottom line

Random Acts of Flowers - One client's story