By the Bootstraps

Once the door sign changes from “closed” to “open,” customers more or less have an idea of what goes on in the store. Sales associates or the owner themselves meet their needs, show them around the store and ring up their purchases. But what happens behind the scenes before a customer walks through the door? By the Bootstraps visited Peter Rios, executive chef and owner of Alliance Bakery in Chicago’s Wicker Park neighborhood to find out. (What can we say? We have a sweet tooth.)

Foiled Cupcakes delicious treats (via Foiled Cupcakes)

In an earlier post, By the Bootstraps spoke with Mari Luangrath, owner of Foiled Cupcakes, a cupcake delivery service based out of Naperville. Mari did a great job speaking to us about how her business has used social media to grow, but there’s more to Foiled Cupcakes than just Facebook and Twitter.

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Now more than ever businesses are experimenting with social media to build a loyal customer base during the recession. By the Bootstraps spoke with Mari Luangrath, owner of Foiled Cupcakes, a cupcake delivery service based in Naperville that has a solid social media presence. The business delivers cupcakes to Chicago and the west suburbs. Within a few months of its opening, the store has more than 2,900 followers on their Twitter page and more than 600 fans on their Facebook page.

Mari Luangrath is the owner of Foiled Cupcakes

Just how does Luangrath use social media for her business? Listen to our conversation, or read the transcript below.

By the Bootstraps (BB): What drew you to Twitter?

Mari Luangrath: I have a college friend who was on Facebook and he kept tweeting and I said what is this? [laughter] We did a quick Facebook chat and he said you need to get in touch with my friend. So he put me in contact with his friend whose name is Adrian Dayton and we had a 30 minute conference call and he said, “You need to get on this.” And I got on and I said, “I don’t know what I’m doing. I have no idea what I’m doing.” And then about a week later I still had no idea what I was doing, but I had people following me and excited about cupcakes.

BB: How do you use it?

ML: My personal reason for using social media is just to reach out to people and develop relationships with them. I certainly don’t use social media strictly as a selling tool and I certainly try to balance out the whole personality of our brand along with some information about what we do and making it fun and keeping it exciting. I would say what we do is just a mix of relationship building and interaction with our consumer.
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Halloween and dressing up go hand in hand. Through the magic of makeup and costumes, any Chicagoan can become the character of their choosing. But what’s a costume store to do during the remaining 364 days of the year? And how does one stay afloat during a recession that makes costume needs more do-it-yourself than pick-and-buy?

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Landscaping service and flower shop Marguerite Gardens (5059 N. Clark) began in owner Marguerite Gluck’s backyard 20 years ago.

Gluck would buy plants at Fertile Gardens in Lincoln Park, one of Chicago’s most well-known gardening centers. A self-professed plant “nerd,” Gluck won several first place gardening contests and drew in the gardening center’s attention. They took a look at her garden and gave her name to people who would be interested in her expertise.

With that, Marguerite Gardens was born and grew as more clients became familiar with Gluck’s work.
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All that remains in the space that once housed Lincoln Square dance studio Design Dance Chicago is a lamp and a speaker. According to owner Debra Guinta, 25, the studio had to move from its original home at 4710 N. Damen at the end of June this year because of building issues.

“When we first decided we were closing, there were many tears,” Guinta said. “It was very sad.”
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Verse Chicago (1821 W. North) opened in the winter of 2009, once owner Kortnee Doss returned to Chicago after living with her fiance in Spain. Doss was saddened to find that in her absence, a huge, thriving fashion industry hadn’t developed.

“I feel like a lot of our young and raw talent, they leave as a result of that,” she said. “They don’t incubate (in Chicago). They don’t raise (people) to plant their roots here. They go to New York, they go to L.A. or they leave the country.”
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