INTERVIEW - BLISS GARDEN AND GIFTWARE

I had the wonderful opportunity to spend some time with Iain Eaton of Bliss Garden and Giftware out at his site in Pialligo in Canberra.   Iain is a horticulturalist and runs the business with his wife Kylie, who obviously has the expertise for the giftware side.

I started with the survey as Iain had not had the time to complete it on-line.  A couple of very interesting things came out of it.  Iain had no business management training or preparation prior to starting Bliss with Kylie.  In fact his answer to my question “10. If you could give one piece of advice to a prospective business owner – what would that be?” was “Do a management course.”  It was a theme throughout our discussion actually ... management is a big challenge when starting out in small business.  In fact in answer to “6. What do you believe are your biggest business challenges?”, Iain said “Management.  Working on the business versus working in the business, including the know how for managing.”  That issue of spending time working ON the business as opposed to working IN the business is always a huge challenge for micro and small business.

I do recall when I started my first business that I did look around for management courses or business owner courses and I couldn’t really find any.  There were some management courses conducted at say an institute of technology but they were held at nights over many months ...and I was looking for something more compact such as a few days or a week long.

Bliss has a business plan but Iain says they don’t really use it as they only put it together “because it was a requirement for the bank loan.”  That doesn’t mean they don’t have a plan in their heads that he and Kylie follow.  It is that “learning on the job” that has enabled Iain and Kylie to get the upward curve in their cash flow and to better understand what makes their business tick.  If you look at their Success and Cash Flow meters, they both start to trend upward in 2008 coming into 2009.  This is no accident “Understanding what sells during what season allowed us to invest more in inventory and stock in anticipation of the season so we have a better cash flow and better profits.”  This is an enormous insight into a retail business and one that many would struggle to understand immediately I am sure.  But you also need to take that risk in buying “I am not really a risk taker and was quite conservative in my stock buying but that has changed as I became more confident in what sells.”  The dilemma of the retailer whose sales are often linked to the seasons! 

All Bliss’ meters are interesting actually.  You can see how Motivation started very high, took a hit as things didn’t quite take off as perhaps planned and is now upward trending in correlation with Cash Flow and Success.

Contrasting that, Iain’s and Kylie’s Systemisation of their business has been an evolutionary process with a gradual upward trending line.  “It has been slow but it is mainly around knowledge transfer” Iain explained.  It is as simple as “Using signs in the office and elsewhere to reinforce habits and routines – a sort of reminder for us and the staff. We also have point-of-sale software to manage the financials and sales.”

I wanted to get an insight into Bliss’ marketing ideas.  They are located in an area known as Pialligo in Canberra.  The road (Beltana Road) has a number of nurseries, cafes and outdoor/garden places....even a winery down at the end.  So the competition to get customers into your premises is I presume, fairly tight.  “We have worked out the most cost effective marketing techniques by trial and error” Iain advised.  “I do ask customers how they heard about us and we do get overflows from the more prominent places along Beltana Road.  The signage out the front is a great help though.  We have a couple of other ways as well ..... we advertise in Canberra’s Child magazine, hold potting workshops which get the Mums out here and we have a VIP system for repeat customers.  The cafe next door, Tulips Cafe, also helps in attracting customers.”  Iain went on to say that “the staff need to be friendly and even flirt a little perhaps, because even if someone doesn’t buy anything, we like to make sure they have an enjoyable experience.”

“Would you do it all again?” I asked.  “Probably, but not the retail side, more the wholesale side which is more about growing and cultivating.  A wholesale nursery.”

Note:  To see more details about my interviews, please see my blog on “Business Interviews”.

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