We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Hilary Foster. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Hilary below.

Hilary, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Parents play a huge role in our development as youngsters and sometimes that impact follows us into adulthood and into our lives and careers. Looking back, what’s something you think you parents did right?

My Mom was a special education teacher & tutor, and my Dad was an entrepreneur. Both have impacted not only my professional life but my personal outlook. Mom is a can-do type and does not get ruffled easily, while Dad has always had an uncompromising work ethic. He taught me the importance of returning every call (now email & text!) within 24 hours and that your word is your bond. I like to think I have the best of both of them in my personality and work life approach.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I have always gravitated to the creative side of business. After graduating from business school I moved to NYC and worked at Saks Fifth Avenue as a trainee in their Buyer program. My impatience with the corporate machine led me back to Boston to work first for a executive placement firm and then for a start up, and that launched my life in the Retail/Wholesale sector.

I have been in Sourcing, Product Development and Merchandising for most of my career. I have built companies, divisions and sales teams, all focused on high quality, unique product. My gift is the ability to find items before they become mainstream, giving my clients an edge. After 30+ years I still get excited when I find something that I know is going to be a hit!

My current role is Chief Creative Officer at Innovative Product Partners, a company I started in the Fall of 2017. In looking at the retail landscape I saw a shift; Millennials were hitting their stride financially and seemed more interested in travel experiences than in collecting material objects. I saw an opportunity to create merchandise that would be a tangible reminder of their experiences. I created a business plan targeting clients in areas that catered to this demographic and focused specifically on the higher end of the market.

Any fun sales or marketing stories?

Although I love the creative process, Sales has been the backbone of my success. Today I still do the majority of the sales to our clients. Early in my career I was part of a small team opening a new downtown Boston location for a prominent executive placement firm. There was no client base – we had to go out and find clients, find candidates and make matches.

At the time Gillette was one of the biggest employers in town. I called the head of HR every week hoping to get an appointment to share our philosophy and what we could do for their business. I never got through and she did not call me back. (This was before email) My sister worked for Reebok so I had a LOT of sneakers. I took a pink high top to the florist, had a bouquet put inside the shoe and attached my business card and personal note that said “I am just trying to get my foot in the door”. The florist delivered it and I received a call the very next day; Gillette became my biggest client.

Years later I used the same technique to get an interview with a company I wanted to work with and had similar success. Being different, stepping outside of the norm for me has been very effective.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

When I started this business 6 years ago, I started in a place I was familiar with, and asked for introductions to people that would be the right customer. I offered merchandise that was different from what was readily available and our pricing was equal or lower. Once this area was saturated I moved out methodically and now we are selling up and down the East Coast, from Portland Maine to the Florida Keys. We also have growing customer bases in the Midwest, Southwest and West Coast. I built my reputation on unique quality product, good pricing and excellent customer service. I now get calls/emails every week that are referrals from current clients.

There are a lot of people out there that do what I do so I had to find a way to set myself apart. I constantly have current clients reach out and ask if I have X product because they know working with me will assure on time delivery of a quality product so they can move on and deal with other things.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.innovativeproductpartners.com
• Instagram: @innovativeswag
• Facebook: Innovative Product Partners