We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Gina VK. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Gina below.
Gina , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. So, naming is such a challenge. How did you come up with the name of your brand?
The business is named after my mother. It is a take on her name broken down to Rose Marie, but her name full name is Rosemary. I wanted it to be about her and in honor of her. My mother quit her job to be my full time caretaker while I was on bedrest. She did everything, from bed baths, to feedings, to adjusting my pillow. I would cry often at the overwhelming humility and gratitude I have towards her. She is always serving others and making sure everyone is okay. While I was on bedrest, she was the one bringing me the things I needed and any gifts or flowers I got. She is the deliverer of beautiful things. And so for others, I want Rose Marie to be the deliverer of joyful things to theM. Just like my mother would if she could.
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?
My business is Rose Marie Boxes. Rose Marie was started out of both a need and a desire. When I turned 23 I was on bedrest for nearly 2 years after a brain and spinal complication. I had many procedures to correct it and I rehabbed for another 3.5 years after that, mostly with a local rehabilitation hospital called Mary Free Bed. It was a long journey. Sometimes when people have chronic illness or status’ people begin to forget about you or your season thats still going on. So when I got flowers or a card, it would mean more to me than anything else, people were supporting me from afar. I got a gift basket while on bedrest that made me feel seen and encouraged. To this day, I can still remember and go back to the overwhelming positive emotions I felt. While the products may have faded, the feeling hasn’t. While recovering, I couldn’t do much due to my health but needed something to keep busy. I started to make little cookies or packages for people. In the beginning my dad would carry me to the car, we’d drive to a friends house and he would drop the cookie packages on the front door. Then I made a very simple gift basket. We brought the items to people who were going through hard times like a loss or a miscarriage or cancer… all the people who needed encouragement too. This was the beginning. A friend I had given a box to, asked if I could make one for her to give to someone. And slowly people kept asking for the little baskets I was putting together. It was a hobby for me, something I could do when I was feeling well. Eventually, I got an order for 100 boxes and that is when I decided to make it an official business. The mission is to encourage others and make them feel seen through a luxury gifting experience. What sets us apart from other businesses is that most items are locally sourced, handmade and are made with a bigger purpose. My mom is Italian and she always says, food tastes better when it’s made with love. I think the same is true for my boxes; they are better because of the attention to detail and they’re made with love. I want that feeling to be experienced when a customer opens a Rose Marie Gift Box. We do individual and corporate gifting. We also have customizations for corporate clients to have their name and logo on the boxes and products. We help businesses and individuals save time expressing their thoughtfulness without compromising on quality gifting.
How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?
Most of my business has been self funded from working other jobs and savings that’s been put into the business. When I was starting out however; I was sitting with my aunt and she was asking questions about my business. She was encouraging me to pursue my dream and to go after it. When it comes to starting new adventures, lots of people like predictable and dependable. When you start a new business, its a risk.You don’t have that assurance. And because most people are afraid of the unknown, they try to pass that fear onto you. At the time, most people were encouraging me to pursue a standard career. Except my aunt was one of those people who believed in me. A little bit later, I was questioning if I should keep going with Rose Marie Boxes. If I should make it an official business. There was a pulling between the two voices. I prayed and I asked God to give me a sign, a sign to keep going or if I should hang it up. A minute after that prayer, I got up out of bed, went upstairs and found a card with my name on it. I opened it up and my aunt had written me a card, encouraging me to keep going and with it, a check of a small, but very needed investment. I took that as my sign from God to keep going and haven’t looked back. It’s been an exciting journey.
Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?
Yes! A marketing book I would recommend is by Donald Miller called Storybrand. Anything or all of his resources are helpful. Quickbooks for book keeping/accounting. I would also recommend shopify, if you have an e- commerce platform. I was so blessed to be apart of SpringGR. Spring GR is a small business accelerator program that was local to where I live. It is a 14 week class of around 15 participants. You have a weekly meeting for three hours with resources, mentors and a curriculum called Co-starters. It is pivotal and monumental for me.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.rosemariebox.com
- Instagram: @rosemariegiftbox