A Man's Dream Job - All Wrapped Up and Ready To Go
Man bites dog! Well, not really... but Frank Gratton has definitely turned the tables on the thousands of women who've opted to make their way in a man's business world. In search of a "happy business" to build a retirement nest egg for he and his wife, he researched and studied his way into the woman-oriented gift basket industry... and he loves it.
Thorndale, PA (PRWEB) December 2, 2005
A woman in a man's world... old news, right? Well, Frank Gratton, as a man working in an industry dominated by women, puts a new twist on that old tale of a person excelling outside the expected norms. Frank is a man who creates gift baskets... and he does it with panache!
Gratton stared his career in the furniture industry and admits that creating gift baskets is quite a shift. But life has a way of choosing a path for us, at times. When bitten by the entrepreneurial bug, Frank began researching retail business ideas, and found the gift basket business intriguing. He started buying merchandise and worked with a web design company to create a web site (http://www. heartfilledbaskets. com (http://www. heartfilledbaskets. com)). As his plan unfolded to build a business that would one day sustain him and his wife Alecia after retirement, he found himself alone in a sea of women who knew a great deal more about the gift industry than he did. "It was a daunting realization," he says.
Not one to quit without a fight, Frank put his sales management experience to good use and dug his heels in, making the decision to learn all there was to learn about the gift industry and gift baskets in particular. "I'm now as capable as my female counterparts to serve the gift-buying public," he says, "and I love the gift business. No one's unhappy when they're buying gifts. It's a joyful business, and I enjoy being able to work with customers -- both individuals and corporate clients -- to find the exact gift they're looking for, even to creating a special theme gift basket for them."
Gratton says he knows from past experience that providing personal service and going the extra mile can be very important. "It's especially true when you're working with corporate customers who will likely be buying many gifts throughout the years," he notes. "I encourage our corporate clients to taste the foods we offer in our gourmet baskets for instance, so they'll know they can be proud of what they're sending. Right now, I'm confident that I'm well-stocked with the best gourmet food products available, enabling me to offer my customers the very best for the coming holiday season. I know they'll be pleased."
In his quest to continue his education within the gift industry, Frank recently attended Jubliee 2005, also known as "Creative College," which is a creative gifting convention. He explains, "It's a place where gift basket business owners from around the globe gather to learn the latest techniques in basket making and attend educational classes about design, marketing to corporations, holiday gift ideas, sales training, and developing marketing plans. It's a valuable resource for gift basket education and new ideas that I can now pass on to both my corporate and personal gift buyers."
What is he most proud of in his new profession? "The unique customization for all of our corporate clients. This is something that a manufactured basket sitting on a shelf cannot do for a corporation. . . or for a personal gift, for that matter." He explains, "We offer customization not only in the gourmet food selection, but also in the way we can include the company's own promotional products, such as mugs and pens with their logos, in our basket designs. We can also imprint their company name on the color ribbon of their choice. This is the kind of customer service that my sales management experience was invaluable in teaching me... it becomes very personal when you're helping people choose gifts, and that's what makes it fun."
Expansion? "Yes -- absolutely!" he says. "I've already expanded our online catalog to include many new gift basket ideas on HeartFilledBaskets. com, and added two more web sites for very specific types of gifts: http://www. hatboxgifts. com (http://www. hatboxgifts. com) for unusual gifts packaged in beautiful hat boxes for women, and http://baersbaerygooddogbytes. com (http://baersbaerygooddogbytes. com) for gifts for pets."
Watch out ladies - Frank Gratton is a man on a mission. He's determined to be the best man in the gift basket business, and somehow, we think he's going to make it!
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