Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Fay Livingston, owner of Canada Personalized Gifts, located in Toronto, ON, Canada.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

Canada Personalized Gifts markets hard-cover, laser-printed, full-colour, personalized storybooks for children from our family-run, home-based small business located in Toronto. Our personalized books make ideal gifts for birthdays, Christmas, and 'Just Because …'.

We ship orders to only Canadian addresses. Our customers, most of whom are repeat customers for many years, never cease to compliment us on the quality of our personalized books as well as our impeccable customer service. Our topmost priority has always been their satisfaction with our products. In addition, we take great pride in offering them quick turnaround times on their orders.

Tell us about yourself

Our company was established in September of 1996. I was introduced to the concept by my sister, who had been operating her own successful personalized books store in Northern Alberta since 1995. She related the following story to me: Her son, who was only three years old when her idea to promote personalized books was born, would demand to read on his own whenever she read to him. He would literally pull the book away and start calling out words (none of which were in the book). He would get very upset, shouting, "I read! I read!" She watched in frustration as her young son changed his demands from "I read!" to "Make me to read!" It was at this time that she realized her son's desperate pleas. She began to spend more time patiently trying to help him learn to read. Then she made a huge discovery; she observed that whenever she read to him from a personalized storybook that his aunt had given to him, he became more excited, followed the story, and, indeed, began to recall some of the words which were being pointed out to him as she read along. That was the blossoming of what she strongly believes gave her son a head start with learning to read. She made a decision then to promote personalized books and, a year later, sold the idea to me … and here am I, still selling them 26 years later.

Our 26 years in business are a testament to the popularity of our personalized books, as well as our excellent customer service. That's what motivates me every day to keep our business going.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

Actually, I was born into a family of entrepreneurs. Both of my parents operated their own separate successful businesses. So, from my early childhood, I learned numerous important lessons about operating a business. When I started my business, however, I learned very quickly that my years of exposure to business management were not half as useful to me as I had anticipated they would. You see, both of my parents owned stores. Customers could walk in and touch and feel their products. I was attempting to run a business without a storefront (online), and, therefore, different marketing strategies were required.

I credit my biggest accomplishment as a business owner to my own fear of failure. That fear was my biggest motivation for success. Thanks to the numerous resources that were available to me on the Internet, I developed invaluable attributes, such as self-confidence, perseverance, problem-solving, strong work ethic, and adaptability … all of which made me a better human being all around, not just as a business owner. I couldn't ask for a bigger accomplishment.

What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?

For me, the hardest thing was the difficulty I had finding a balance between my business life and my home life. From the onset, I realized that getting carried away working in my business was very easy to do because I operated a home-based business. The fact that I had a 4-year-old child at that time only compounded my challenges. So, in those early days, I was forced to develop strong self-disciplines … from which, even today, I am still reaping the benefits.

It wasn't easy, but over time, I learned to manage my time better by scheduling processing orders between 5:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m., when the rest of my family is asleep. Being a 'morning person by nature helped me accomplish this effortlessly. In addition, I organized and planned my household and family responsibilities. I did mass cooking for the entire week on weekends, and I ran the laundry loads while I was doing the house cleaning on Saturday. During my busiest times, which is typically October to mid-December), I relaxed my cleaning standards. I came to realize that unmade beds or dirty dishes didn't impact the quality of our lives.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

Firstly, you should build your customers' trust and confidence in your product. Good quality products will always keep customers coming back. I have had many experiences over the years where a customer places an order for a single book. Very soon after, that same customer places a second order, this time for five or more books, or contacts me later to gather information about running a fundraiser. You see, that first order was just a test to determine the quality of my product.
You should also build your customers' trust and confidence in you. Excellent customer service will always keep customers coming back. Be reliable, responsive, and competent. Every year, I get repeat businesses from satisfied customers. I can always count on orders from them or their family, friends, and colleagues… just because I spoke to them courteously on the phone or took the time to help them make the right book choice for their loved one, or bent over backward to literally rewrite a book for them at no extra cost or handled and resolved a problem with their order in a timely and professional manner. Remember, happy customers are your best advertising.

Secondly, you are very lucky in this nowadays to have the Internet. Use available online resources to learn about starting a business, everything you can about your chosen marketplace, feasibility studies, and marketing strategies. So much happens on the Internet that it is very easy to lose focus on what you want to do. Avoid this. Devote your time to building your business and not to the things that do not matter to your business.

Thirdly, your business cannot be deemed a success, no matter how much in profits you make or how much fame you earn, if, in the process, your family and friends are neglected! The success of your business should never be at the expense of others. I would encourage anyone who aspires to be a successful entrepreneur to strive to attain a good business/life balance.

Is there anything else you'd like to share?

Based on the success and survival of my business over two decades, I would like to share some of the keys to my success.
• Believe in and be very passionate about the products you sell.
• Offer excellent (prompt, friendly, and courteous) customer service.
• Invest in advertising.
• Make use of every opportunity to tell people about my business. I always travel with a box of my business cards, as I never know when I will meet a potential customer.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://canadapersonalizedgifts.ca/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/canadapersonalizedgifts
Twitter: https://twitter.com/PersGiftON

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solopreneur that you'd like to share, then email community@subkit.com; we'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

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