← Next On Scene: The Human Behind The Brand
Next On Scene: The Human Behind The Brand
Send Love Straight to Their Door With a Curated Gift Box
00:23:58
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- [00:00]
Jackie Zuck
Welcome back to becoming next on scene, everybody. It is your host, Jackie Zuck. It is another awesome day for another awesome episode of how to become next on scene in your field of business or in your passion. Before I bring on my amazing guest, I always like to start with the marketing tip that can also be incorporated into self care to keep your week going. So this week I feel really inspired to talk about the power of gifting and that perfectly ties into my amazing guest that we have next. With the holidays, the summer holidays coming up and all the things, I think there's so much importance in showing client appreciation. And even though we all mean well, I really feel like there is always enough to go around for everyone and you can really make it work within your budget and it just really makes people that you're connected to feel so connected to you on a deeper level. And it's even better when it's a surprise, right? So I think really exploring that avenue in your business on a personal level, even if it's picking up something that's five dollar ten and surprising somebody you love and adore, really shows appreciation for beyond the standard. And I think that's where our world is really going. Like people really, really appreciate the people that go above and beyond the standard procedures of how they do things. And that's a personal way that I like to do business. And I've seen my business flourish so much more because of that, because you create better long term relationships with people. So really take that into consideration going forward. If you're a business owner, if you're, you know, going through a career change and you're just looking to really get yourself out there and be thought about on a deeper level outside of just networking, I think it would be a great opportunity to be remembered in a very unique way. So now I'm really excited to bring on my amazing guest. We have the fabulous Christine Cohen. She is the owner and founder of Buttercup Boxes of love and she is definitely one of my go to resources for all my client gifts. So I couldn't say better things about her. And today we talk all about the importance of client gifting. Different ways to do it, different budgets that work for you and how she got started. And she has such an inspiring story. There's so much to learn from her. So I can't wait for you to learn from the expert. So stay tuned for Christine.
- [02:17]
Christine Cohen
The ups, the downs and all the in between. What it takes to become next on scene. Are you next? Follow us at Next on scene.
- [02:38]
Jackie Zuck
Welcome back to becoming next on scene, everybody. I'm so excited to be here with the amazing Christine Cohen. She is the founder and owner of Buttercup Boxes of Love. Christine, welcome to the podcast.
- [02:49]
Christine Cohen
Thanks, Jackie. Thanks for having me. I'm excited to be here. I love your podcast.
- [02:54]
Jackie Zuck
Thank you. Well, you know, I'm a huge fan. I use Christine's boxes for, like, all my clients. I'm. She is so amazing. So for people who don't know you, please give a little bit of background of how you got started.
- [03:05]
Christine Cohen
Yeah, so I actually, I've been in. So Buttercup was not something that I ever thought I would create. It sort of happens organically. I was in property management in downtown Boston for about 17 years, and what ended up happening was when Covid hit, all my buildings were empty. I wasn't even able to go into my buildings. All my tenants were home. And I wanted a way to be able to reach out to family and friends that I couldn't see in person and basically send them something in the mail to sort of lift their spirits and as I say, send them some love. These were people that had really been there for me. We had a sudden loss of a family member right before COVID so these were people that really had been there for me, and I wanted to thank them and send them something in the mail. I wasn't loving what I was seeing online for options, so I started sort of creating my own little gift boxes and little inspirational cards and sending them out to friends. Friends really loved them. And, you know, these were people that were struggling with homeschooling, and they were struggling with being isolated. All my extroverted friends were having a really hard time with that. I really liked being home. It gave me time to sort of catch up with my family. And I was still grieving, so it was really nice for me to have that time, but they were really struggling. So anyway, I started sending out these little boxes, and people said, this needs to be a business. This is amazing. And I realized how good sending the boxes out made me feel. And then there was sort of this whole awakening of self love and self worth and self care and just a reminder of how important that was. And I realized this is sort of my new baby, my new love. And Buttercup was born and has just really continued to grow since. Since COVID So it's been really fun.
- [05:18]
Jackie Zuck
Love it. And where did the name come from?
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Christine Cohen
So growing up, my mom called me Buttercup. That was my nickname. So that's where it started. She was actually, like, a huge inspiration for me. She has Always sent handwritten cards in the mail. She still does for like every occasion you could think, every holiday, every birthday, condolences. She's just one of those old school mail, snail mail, handwritten note people. And just seeing it my whole life really. And she still does it, you know, to this day. Was, was such an inspiration too for the, for the business.
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Jackie Zuck
It's so cute. And obviously you have two kids. Are they involved in the business at all? Do they help out mom when they, when you need it.
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Christine Cohen
So my son, not so much. He's 14, so he's into basketball and friends and girls and you know, that's, that's his thing. He laughs every time a package like comes through the door. He's like, ah, buttercup again. Great buttercup, more buttercup. So he just laughs. But he is very supportive and you know, he's, he's really excited. He's excited for, for all, all the opportunities that have come my way. And my daughter is much more into it. She's very creative. She's, she's 12. She's very, very artsy. She has like her own Etsy, Etsy store. She's super, super cute. So she loves it and she wants me to create a kids box. So I keep telling her I'm like, someday.
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Jackie Zuck
That's awesome.
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Christine Cohen
Yeah, yeah. She's really into it though.
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Jackie Zuck
So in terms of like the types of people you work with to create these curated boxes, can you walk a little bit through the different businesses you help? Like obviously I'm a PR marketing company. Right. Like, can you walk through other ones that you help and what kind of things you do?
- [07:05]
Christine Cohen
Yeah, so it's funny, I mean, I assumed it would be like one type of business when I started, but I have been working with all different businesses. Of my biggest clients is a dentist. I work with travel agents, I work with realtors, I work with an engineering firm. Who are the other big ones? Estate planners, law firms, a lot of smaller women owned businesses. Life coaches, health coaches, you name it. It's bookkeepers, accountants, it's, it's, it's grown so much and so fast. So it's been great, so exciting.
- [07:47]
Jackie Zuck
And like I also how you add the personal touch, right? Like, because when we met you can really like customize exactly what you said, like your curated box. So what goes through that process when you get to know somebody? Like can you walk us through like what kind of questions do you ask your clients when they know what's in their boxes and things like that?
- [08:04]
Christine Cohen
Yeah. So every business obviously is different Everyone has a different idea of what their perfect box for their client is going to look like. So we really, we really talk through that before I get into the design phase, like, and we figure out, you know, what is their, what is their ideal budget? Do they have different clients that are going to be in different, getting different boxes? Do they want branded products? Do they want self care type products? Or do they want more usable products that are going to maybe have their logo on them? You know, do we want to do tumblers or notebooks or do we want to do candles? And we kind of talk through what that could look like and then we talk about branding and do they want to have their branding on the actual box itself or do we want to keep that on some individual products or do we want to just do a note card in the box that maybe has their logo and a message on the front of the note card. So it really is catered to them and their business and what they're trying to achieve, which is what I love about doing it. Everyone is different and we really lift each other up and help each other grow. We're elevating each other's businesses. It's great for me, it's great for them. And I've met just so many awesome ladies along the way, so it's been great.
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Jackie Zuck
I think one unique niche about you two that I know personally is how you've helped people through like grieving and like loss. Can you talk a little bit about that too? Because I think that to get the curated.
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Christine Cohen
Yeah. So obviously when I started, started the business, I was grieving and people were really struggling with COVID So a lot of what I was creating was, was self care and, and people were asking me for grief boxes. People were losing, losing family members in Covid. And so I really thought about like, what did I receive that meant a lot to me and I was able to sort of take that and it helped me to be able to create boxes that I felt like were going to be more impactful and people would really appreciate. So I do do a lot of those and I've been on a couple other podcasts talking about grief and sort of talking through that and facing the grief and doing the things and talking through it and I think that that's really, really important. And I think people sometimes maybe if they have a friend who's gone through a loss, they don't know what to do, they don't know what to say, they don't know what to send. And having been through that, I think that Helps me to be able to help others in knowing what to say and what to send and what will be most helpful.
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Jackie Zuck
No, I love that. I think that that's such a good point. I think people don't know what to say and what to do in those situations. But receiving something is super impactful. Right? Because that's all they. That's. That's a great way to like show support in some perspective.
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Christine Cohen
Yeah, definitely.
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Jackie Zuck
So I learned something so cool about you. So I had no idea that you went to school for journalism and like original. So tell me more about. So like, what's. What was your original vision like before Buttercup? What was the.
- [11:17]
Christine Cohen
I was going to be a radio DJ actually, which is maybe why I like podcast. Being asked on podcast. So yeah, there's there. It's funny how things, things, the dots connect later in life. But yeah, I went down to University of Tampa. I knew not one single person. I grew up here, here in Massachusetts. I knew no one down in Florida, had no connections down there and went down for radio broadcasting. I had a radio show in college and played lots of club dance type music and it was on in the Cat in the school Cafeteria. And so my friends would be like in the caf listening to me talking and playing music. And I just thought it was like the coolest thing.
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Jackie Zuck
That is cool. Like, what a fun fact.
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Christine Cohen
Are you gonna act?
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Jackie Zuck
Do your kids know about this? About Mom?
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Christine Cohen
I mentioned it, but they've never like seen. I wish I had. Like back then there was no like videos. I think I have one picture of me in the DJ booth, like with headphones on and that's it. Like, I need to find it, like put it on my fridge and be, this is what I did. But they have no idea.
- [12:28]
Jackie Zuck
So cool. I was just like, oh my God, what a fun fact. Like, I've known you for a while. I learned something new today. I thought that was so cool. And I also like, love your love for horses. So you've been riding those since like eight, right? You said around.
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Christine Cohen
Yeah, yeah. I think I always say in my next life, I'm going to have a farm and I'm going to have horses and goats and all the rescue animals. That would be like, my dream would be to have just land and a ton of rescue animals and just take care of them and make some Buttercup boxes. That would be the life. But yeah, life's too hectic. I don't have the land for it. So that's not happening right now. But I try to get as much animal Horse time in as I can. Luckily I have a few friends that have horses and I'm able to ride sometimes and yeah, I just love it. Just, it really calms me down. And I've done things like goat walks, you know, the goat yoga, all that stuff. I love it.
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Jackie Zuck
What's a goat yacht? A goat walk. I can't even speak.
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Christine Cohen
So a goat walk is where you go to a farm, there's one, and she'll take you out with like nine of her goats and you just, they just stay with you. By some miracle, they stop and eat a lot. But you're just. It's a beautiful hike through the woods and you're just surrounded by nine goats. So I started doing it during COVID and I do it like, I try to do it like at least once or twice a year.
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Jackie Zuck
I love it. That's never heard. I've heard of the goat yoga, but I've never heard of walk. That's like a fun. Lot of fun.
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Christine Cohen
So cool.
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Jackie Zuck
So what's like the. In terms of trends and frequently asked questions that people come to you asking like first time consumers, like what are things people don't know about the gift boxing world that like you think they should know?
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Christine Cohen
So I think sometimes people think like, oh, luxury products, like, you know, they're doing everything for me. I can't afford that or it's not in my budget. I'm a small business. I don't think people always realize that the way that I work with people is catered around like their budget. Like I'm creating a design that is based around what they're wanting to spend per client and I give them several different ideas for that and then we kind of go from there. So it's really like you can look at a website and see my boxes and you can see the curated boxes and say maybe that isn't exactly what my client needs. Or that's not what my client needs. And we can talk through and say, well, would she like this? Would she like that? And mix and match and change things up. So I think it's important for people to understand that there's flexibility there and you don't have to necessarily purchase what you see on the website. There's lots of options and I'm very flexible in that way and really want to help people design something that they feel really good about. They're sending this to their. They're trusting me to send something to their clients. It's extremely important that it's an experience. Not only the products are beautiful, but the packaging, the note cards, everything needs to come together. So that is really important to me, that it's more of an experience.
- [15:46]
Jackie Zuck
And what goes into your process? Right. So like you do the consult with somebody, they fill out a form and then in terms of like the products you take for inventory, like what goes into that process? Like when you really decide who you're going to vet and like be a part of your brand.
- [16:00]
Christine Cohen
Yeah. So we have like a lot of inventory that's on hand for the curated boxes that I already have available. But then if somebody wanted to create a custom box, we have, I mean, I have access to so many products. We order product, we. I order products for them and then I actually keep their products on hand. So for example, if, you know your box contains a branded journal and it contains some sort of a, maybe a food item, maybe a pen set, a candle, I have all of those items in my warehouse essentially, which is in my home. But it's a whole separate area and everybody has their area. So, you know, so I just have to keep up with everyone's inventory, every client I work with, everyone's individual items and just make sure that I have everything. And that also can change sometimes. Maybe somebody's like, we're doing boxes for six months and they're like, you know what, I want to add like a spring element so we could change the product or hey, we just ran out of the notebooks, let's change it to a different branded product. So things are constantly changing. But I have a really, I feel like I have a great system that works well and, and organized.
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Jackie Zuck
Yeah. Well, I just like, I want to give you credit about the types of vendors that you have in your boxes.
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Christine Cohen
Oh yeah.
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Jackie Zuck
Like really great quality. Like what goes into your vetting process of like this is the type of brand that I want in my boxes.
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Christine Cohen
Yeah. So I try to stick with local and women owned businesses as much as possible. And the great thing about that is you can find them pretty easily. Like there's so many ways to find them, whether it's through the wholesale website and doing, you know, filtering to find them or through Instagram. A lot of people have reached out to me through Instagram and said, hey, you know, I'm, I'm a local soap company. Can I send you my products to try? And my daughter and I will try them all and you know, really figure out like what is the scents that we like, you know, which candles do we like before we're putting them into boxes? Like, that's really, really important. That you feel comfortable with the brand that you're sending out. You feel like things aren't going to break, things are going to be usable. So. So we. It's basically like a, let's try this before it's included in a box. And I love, like when local makers reach out to me. I just had a meeting last week with someone that makes bags in Hudson right down the street and she is going to like create little totes just for Buttercup. Like they're not even sold anywhere else yet and they're just going to go in our spring boxes. So it's so fun to find those people who like, want to be a part of it and want to create something just for Buttercup too.
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Jackie Zuck
I love that. That's so special too. It shows you're making and also they're supporting you. Women support women. I'm all about it.
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Christine Cohen
Exactly. Yeah. And some of the women are like, you know, they're doing these, they're making soaps, they're making bath bombs from home and they've got, you know, kids running around the house and they're doing it in their, on their kitchen countertop. And I think those are like the women that I really love to work with because they're like, not some huge company. You know, they're like, okay, they're making them on order. So it's pretty cool.
- [19:31]
Jackie Zuck
And like, one thing I have to commend you for is like the fast turnover, like with as many clients as you have, like, it's amazing, like how soon people get their boxes. So I just want to commend you for that too.
- [19:43]
Christine Cohen
Thank you. Yeah, it's very quick. When you order that on the website, it's like a two to three day window to ship and then they usually get them the next day if it's local. So it's. Which I think is really important because if someone is like, I have a box that's for. It's the loss of a pet, which is actually a really big seller because everybody at one point loses a pet and you don't know what to send. So we have a box and I think it's time, like the timeliness is important. If someone lost a pet on Monday, you don't want them to get it two weeks later, you want them to get it that week. So I try to be really quick about getting those out. And for clients, if you have a new client on board, same thing, you know, you want them to get that box that same week.
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Jackie Zuck
I love that. So obviously you're working with Realtors now with seasonal boxes. Can you talk about some unique things you're doing right now?
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Christine Cohen
Yeah, so we actually have a. So the April seasonal boxes will be going out the second week of April, which is fun timing because it's right before school vacation week. So we're doing a popcorn night box experience, kind of a box. So it's really cool. It has like a bunch of different flavors of popcorn and different salts and people can, you know, enjoy. It's something that they can enjoy with their kids or enjoy as a couple or even individual. But it's sort of fun for, for a lot of families. So we have Realtors that, you know, they have VIP clients and they want to send a gift seasonally. So they're doing four gifts per year and we're choosing something that's more of an experienced based gift for their clients. I have, you know, a spreadsheet of their clients and those just auto ship each season for them with like their, their gift message card. Yeah.
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Jackie Zuck
So cool. And then obviously for like different like themes and like coming up towards the summer into the fall, like what are some trending boxes that do go out outside of the catered ones?
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Christine Cohen
Yeah. So there's for spring coming up, we have a lot of like fun color, pops of color because a lot of my stuff is very neutral. But then I think it's fun to add like that pop of like, like I have these little pink bags that are going in paisley patterns. And for the summer there's a lot of more beach themed, more, you know, lake life, that kind of stuff. More, more blues, more ocean vibes. So that's all always fun. And it's kind of fun to like start putting away like the cozy season boxes. I'm like, okay, it's warming up. Time to get rid of the scarves. Cozy season candles, they can go. So it really is, you know, we're going to be rolling it, rolling in a lot of new stuff over the next couple months.
- [22:34]
Jackie Zuck
I love it. So awesome. So thank you for coming on today. This has been so inspiring. How can we follow you? Get in touch on social media. Check out your website.
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Christine Cohen
Yeah, everything is. So the website, Instagram, all of it is Buttercup boxes of love. And best way to follow me is Instagram. I'm on there all the time and on my website is all my contact info as well. I would love to connect with anyone that you know, whether they're a maker or they may be interested in potentially creating a client box here and happy to answer any questions.
- [23:11]
Jackie Zuck
Perfect. Well, thank you, Christine. You're amazing. I cannot say better things about Buttercup. Boxes of love. So everybody needs to check her out. And you ship nationally. It's not just Massachusetts. Right?
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Christine Cohen
So right everywhere. Yep.
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Jackie Zuck
All right, well, thank you so much. And stay tuned for who's next on scene.
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Christine Cohen
The ups, the downs, and all the in between. What it takes to become next on scene. Are you next? Follow us at Next on scene.