We recently connected with Cori Green and have shared our conversation below.
Cori, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear from you about what you think Corporate America gets wrong in your industry and why it matters.
Not using my services (Haha). In all seriousness I think a lot of times gift and PR campaigns are often left as an afterthought or filled with a bunch of branded swag. Let’s be honest, no one really wants another corporate coozie from an event they attended or from a company they are a client of. People want to feel appreciated in their professional relationships and a gift package filled with items that really have nothing to do with THEM at all isn’t going to do that.
A gift, no matter the occasion, is a way in which we show that we value our relationships. It doesn’t need to be a big thing and I think a lot of people overthink this. Something as simple as a handwritten note will leave a far more sentimental impression than just a pre printed card. The thought is in the details and it is always the thought that counts.
During my time in business I have sent gifts for just about every occasion and have written out hundreds of personal notes from givers to receivers. A majority of the feedback that I have received in this time revolves around two things. The presentation and the handwritten note. It’s all about the experience on the receiving end and if it doesn’t feel special then in corporate terms: There is really no return on the investment in the campaign.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
Well, my name is Cori Green and I am the Founder of Package + Press. I have worked in multiple industries over the last fifteen years from merchandising, business management, medical/dental, restaurants, and even roofing. To name a few!
I got my start and early success in visual merchandising and was with my company for about five years. In fact, I actually met my husband there! In 2012 my husband enlisted in the Air Force. Over the six years of his enlistment I found myself working in different industries as not only a way to pay for life and where ever the military had led me at that point but as a way to figure out what exactly I even wanted to do when I grew up anyways. Let’s not be fooled though I was already an adult but are you really when you’re in your early twenties?
Seven years and a baby later in 2019 I started Package + Press from my dining room table. We had moved back to our home state of California and my husband had taken a job with the fire department. I needed work with flexibility, allowed me to be home during the day and understood what it means when I say idk how many shifts in a row my husband will be gone for. As many know and may relate to this doesn’t really exist so naturally the solution was to start my own business and just work 24/7 right?!
Here’s my elevator pitch: Package + Press is a boutique gifting studio focused on elevated design with a creative and personal touch. We work with marketing professionals to curate gifts for their clients, events and PR campaigns.
In all reality that is exactly what I do but, there is also so much more.
When I worked in merchandising I used to describe my job as whatever you see in the store – thats my responsibility. That mentality never really left me regardless of where I went. When curating for P+P I really try to put myself in the recipients shoes and think about what I would want or even need for the occasion. I’m a sucker for good product packaging and even more so for quality products. I am all about the details both big and little because what you see when you open up your gift – that experience for the recipient is why you chose my business in the first place and hopefully why you’ll come back.
Package + Press started out with a couple gift designs featuring handmade products such as soaps and candles. Quickly after my first year in business I realized making our products myself in addition to styling them into gifts was not a one person job and I shifted my focus to curating products from other small businesses across the US. Supporting other small businesses while scaling my own is something I am incredibly proud of. That little meme of the business owner doing a happy dance is in fact true!
What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?
Getting our boxes in front of our community in person such as local pop-ups or events! It’s one thing to have a beautiful social media feed but another to bring that to life in a tangible form. I would pack my car to the brim and style our booth just as I would any seasonal shoot. People were loving the quality of the products we had curated and being able to showcase how we styled our gifts really completed the entire vision of our brand which can be so hard to do virtually.
Additionally, just meeting members of my community in person has been a huge part of our success. A huge part of your brand is yourself regardless of your niche. Being able to put names to faces and form friendships has been the best part of business for me. Those friendships i’ve made over the years are ones I will forever cherish. I think as small business owners it can be so hard to communicate daily struggles to those that aren’t fully in it. Surrounding myself with others that are constantly rooting for one another is by far my greatest asset.
How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?
I don’t remember the exact numbers but it was under $1,000 that I initially started with. I’m sure there is a wrong and a right way to go about starting a business but to be completely honest I really wung it here. I put together our very first batch of boxes and products and signed up for a local pop-up event. It was a total bust! We made enough for dinner and cocktails that night and were left with everything we had started with.
Fast forward to the holiday season and I had set my sights on another pop-up this time much larger and more of our audience. Side note: the first event we participated in was a school mother’s day market. I was negotiating with 3rd graders for candles (LOL). Shocked I made it out with the $90ish we made.
Anyways, it went great this time around! I took everything we had made at that event and funneled it right back into the business for my product. I kept this routine up for the next year never really taking a payday but slowly scaling what we had started with to larger and larger collections.
Eventually we landed our first corporate client and the next. The profits from these sales completely took us to the next level and to where we are today.
Contact Info:
- Website: packageandpress.com
- Instagram: @packageandpress