Apr 8, 2012

State award given to Sioux City gift shop ownerBy Dave DreeszenSiouxCityJournal.com

Sioux City — Wendy Wright opened a small Sioux City retail store with a catchy name and unique merchandise in August 2010.

Get Funky Gifts & Stuff turned a profit just five months later. Last June, the shop moved a block to its current location at 4273 Sergeant Road to gain greater traffic and visibility. In the first four months there, sales increased nearly 100 percent.

A guerilla marketing campaign, focusing on social media sites such as Facebook, Twiter and Pinterest, also contributed to the rising sales. Customer feedback from the sites developed into a unique method of inventory control and turnover.

The Iowa Small Business Development Center recently recognized Wright’s success, presenting her with the annual Deb Dalziel Women Entrepreneur Achievement Award.

The award, given in memory of Dalziel, who served as SBCD regional director in Burlington, Iowa, from 1987 until her death from cancer in 1999 at age 44, is given to a women entrepreneur that has “significantly improved her life and the lives of others through small business ownership.”

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