We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Chan Hsu a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Chan, thanks for joining us today. If you’re open to it, can you talk to us about the best (or worst) investment you’ve made. What’s the backstory and the relevant context behind why you made the investment

I’ve always wanted to be an entrepreneur… Own my own business. Be my own boss. Two years ago, I was a recent college graduate working as a waitress while browsing prospective career options, then COVID hit and life as I knew it stopped. I lost my waitressing job and was living at home with my family. Rather than allowing this to be a disaster, I decided to take the opportunity to pursue my dream of entrepreneurship. I was no longer working, so I had all the time in the world, as well as a small bit of savings. I decided to invested my time, money, and self belief into this dream of mine… Two years later, I’ve built two small businesses, one of which I still own and operate. The first business was an e-commerce business with my boyfriend who was a wood worker and we created a small business selling his creations (furniture, cutting boards, etc.) along with other home good items I thoughtfully sourced. I built our website from the ground up and taught myself the ins and outs of being a small business owner. We did EVERYTHING ourselves (book keeping, website design, product pricing, product photography, content creation, selling, shipping, packing etc.). After about a year, my partner changed career paths so we discontinued our business. A few months later, I was presented the opportunity to start another small business and I took it. The experience I learned from my first attempt at entrepreneurship was what allowed me to start my second and current successful business: Basket Boutique Kauai. Taking the risk to pursue my dream as an entrepreneur has been the best investment I’ve ever made. For anyone who shares a similar dream or goal, take the leap! Believe and invest in yourself! You might not succeed the first time, but it will be an amazing learning experience that will get you one step closer.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

When you think gift baskets, an outdated, plastic wrapped fruit basket probably comes to mind, right? At Basket Boutique Kauai, we take the traditional concept of a gift basket and give it a modern, eco-friendly twist. Think gift baskets, but cool, modern, and beach-chic. Basket Boutique Kauai specializes in curating and delivering Hawaiian gift baskets on the island of Kauai, Hawaii. Unlike most gift baskets that are wrapped in plastic wrap that goes straight into the trash, our baskets are beautiful and reusable that can be repurposed as the perfect beach bag, everyday tote, or farmers market basket. The basket itself is a beautiful part of the gift. We are also proud to support local by sourcing all of our wonderful products from Hawaii based businesses, both big and small. By supporting us, you directly help us support our local economy – so mahalo (thank you)!

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

Excellent customer service. Not only do we at Basket Boutique Kauai offer a quality product and service, but what makes us stand out from our competitors is our commitment to providing an overall excellent customer service experience. This means being reliable, consistent, and friendly. Something as small as having a friendly, helpful, can-do attitude when speaking with your customers can make all the difference.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

That a “failure” is in fact a failure. Being a small business owner, you come face to face with unexpected failures and mistakes ALL! THE! TIME! It can be daunting and very discouraging. I’ve personally been here many times before. For example, a new product line I created hasn’t been selling as well as I’d expected Rather than viewing it as a “failure,” view it as a learning lesson and a signal to pivot. A product line you poured your heart, soul, and loads of money into not selling? A marketing strategy you spent hours developing not giving you the results you hoped for? Great! Now you know what is NOT working. Something you never would have learned without trying. Pick yourself back up, brush yourself off, and change things up. A common statistic in the business world is that 3 out of every 5 business will fail within the first 5 years. I believe the main difference between the 3 that “fail” and the 2 that don’t is persistence and the ability to adapt.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://basketboutiquekauai.com/
• Instagram: @basketboutiquekauai
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/basket-boutique-kauai-princeville

Image Credits
Chan Hsu