Name of your website?Exciting Blooms & Balloons
Your name?
Shirley (Like to be called by my first name)
Your Location (city, etc)
St. Michael
Please give us a short summary of your website?
We are Event/wedding decorators and florists, serving Barbados. We do our utmost to provide the Bride and her entourage with her dream wedding, whether the couple is from Barbados or the rest of the world. Our team of decorators go the extra mile in making the event/wedding a reality.
What inspired you to launch your own website?
I was encouraged by friends and what I had seen out there, when the internet was first talked about here in our little island. I thought it was an excellent way to reach out to the many Brides out in the world, and really a way to let even our Bajan Brides who live out in the Big Wide Wonderful World, hey, we're here to help.
When did you launch your first website, and what was it?
Back I think in 2002, catering to weddings.
How did you decide on a name for your website?
We originally had the name Exotic, but found out that we could'nt use that name. We wanted something more exciting as we meant to focus all of our attention on something that is exciting. So voila... the word Exciting (out of simplicity, why not!)
What makes your website different from other, similar offerings?
Well, to be honest, I'm not sure whether in essence that it is different (I might be beaten for saying that). But the contents are what we offer. We try to be as factual as we can be without over exaggerating (as we get Brides coming to us, telling us about the disappointing service from other websites...you know...they hype up, but the service is not good, etc) so we try to be as simple, yet elegant in our site and cut all the extra flairs.
What is your eventual goal? (To sell it, keep it for income, secure a book or other mainstream media deal?)
Think we will keep it to inform. Judging from our experience with the stories from numerous satisfied Brides and the Kudos, we would eventually write a book!
How does your investment of time and money balance against your success?
I believe success is what you make for you and not necessarily big fat profits. We take delight in seeing decor planned from scratch on paper into something that is beautiful and ultimately beyond expectation. This has paid off in many ways.
If you had an unlimited development budget for development, how would you change your site?
You know, I think I would listen more to the experts, but one has to be careful, because it doesn't come cheap. I would also include some of my favourite charitable organisations in the hope to develop them as well. If I may mention these are the Alzheimers Assn,(my mom had this) RSPCA,(I love animals, don't like to see them suffer), the Red Cross (once a member/instructor) and newly The Cancer Society.
If your site got really big, really quickly, would you be able to keep up with the demand?
Without saying too much, I believe so...
What unexpected costs and headaches have you had to deal with?
Nothing major as yet (keep my fingers crossed).
What has been your biggest challenge?
Some Brides who are not honest and upfront with you. They want elaborate weddings, knowingly they cannot afford it. You cut your prices to accommodate them. They choose the biggest venue, have a lot of people, want the best of food...the wedding comes, you give them the best and more. After the honeymoon, reality sets in... they try to get a refund on some of the items, claiming some frivoulous story..when you do your research, they did the same with all the other vendors. (I have not had a lot of this, but I sure had a few).
What method has been most successful for promoting your website?
Linking to others, and advertising.
How has running your website differed from your expectations?
Not sure.
How long have you run the site already, and how long will you continue to keep it up if you don't enjoy big gains in traffic, income or popularity?
Been running for some 6 years and will continue for as long as it takes.
Replace this with a question of your own
What can we do to make your event not only memorable, but exciting?
What is your website address?
Exciting Blooms & Balloons
