Vermont Shortbread Company

A Gourmet Mother's Day on a Shoestring Budget

Does the economy have you down?  Rising food and gas prices are affecting us all. 

Due to the incredible increase in the price of wheat flour, Vermont Shortbread Company is raising prices, but not until mid-June. 

In fact, for Mother's Day ONLY, we're dropping $2 off the price of our gift box shortbread, but that's only for orders we receive before Tuesday, May 6.  Regularly priced $17 gift boxes are $15 until May 6, only. Add shipping anywhere in the US via priority mail for $6.50, we pop in a handwritten note and you've got a tasty Mother's Day gift for just a little over $20.  Not too bad for a gourmet gift mothers love. 

Interested? 

Shoot us an email at jsaz@gmavt.net with "Mother's Day Special" in the subject line and we'll call you back within 24 hours to arrange shipment and payment.  Be sure to include your contact information so our operators can reach you.  You cannot place this order through our web site.  You must email us or call us at 802-264-4835. 

Drop us an email or phone call before Friday at 5 p.m. Eastern Standard time and we'll throw in a 1.6 oz. bag of our chocolate drizzled shorthearts ($2 value) FREE.  Mom will receive two tasty shortbread products - one to share and one to keep for herself. 

C'mon...you know you haven't even thought about Mother's Day, yet.  Do it now and relax this weekend.  Mother's Day is May 11, 2008.  Our prices will go up in June!   (Offer applies to US customers only.)

Mother's Day Just Around the Corner

Send mom a shortbread gift box with a handwritten Mother's Day note.  Mother's Day is next week (May 11)! 

Because there's not much time left, call or email me directly to place your order and make payment arrangements.  We'll get your gift to Mom by May 11, but you have to let us know by May 4! 

Call 802-264-4835 us today. 

Spring, Mother's Day, and Inspiration

Spring has finally sprung in Vermont and with it I've sprung a nasty spring cold and was hunkered down all weekend with a fever and a box of tissues.  On the bright side, my daffodils "sprang" literally overnight.   Last fall I planted 100 new bulbs of my favorite flower.  On Friday, the buds were still tightly closed, but by Sunday had exploded into a long awaited bountiful blast of brightness. 

I've been silent for a couple weeks, but we've been cooking up some big marketing ideas for Vermont Shortbread Company.

On April 19, I spoke at the WBON (www.wbon.org) spring conference.   I did three breakout sessions on blogging for publicity.  Many people are intimidated by writing and the most common statements I hear in my local networking with other women are:

• I'm not a good writer.
• I don't have time.
• I'm not technical.
• I don't know what to write about.
• I'm not inspired. 

So, I took a leap of faith and instead of focusing on the technical aspects of blogging, I decided to talk about the human relationship side of blogging: how blogs are an ongoing conversation with your perfect customers.  I created an exercise (I hate to call it a writing exercise because that intimidates people) in which participants identified:

• perfect customers
• keywords perfect customers might use when searching online
• what participants are passionate about
• one piece of inspirational "fuel" from the conference that had a profound impact on their day

Then, with a little visualization and inspiration, they wrote their first blog entries.  Grammar and neatness did not count (yet...).  All that mattered at the start was spilling our passion onto the page and weaving in important keywords for our businesses. 

I enjoyed sharing my passion for doing what I love most and the feedback was amazing.   There was lots of laughter and everyone was eager to share her post with the group.  The "high" from the experience lasted well into the evening for me.  Or was that the glass of wine I had at the cocktail hour?

Bottom line - business blogs are here to stay.  However, blogging is just one of many effective forms of internet marketing.   You don't have to do it if it feels like a huge chore.  I do believe if small business owners see blogging as a conversation, or an honoring or nuturing of a relationship rather than an odious writing chore, it can always be as fun and inspirational as my breakout session at the WBON conference was. 

Back to spring daffodils and inspiration...did you know Mother's Day is May 13th?  Were you aware that National Shortbread Day is also coming up on May 16th?  Have you shopped for either yet? 

Stay tuned for specials honoring both of these important shortbread holidays. 

May your day be filled with spring warmth and inspiration,

Ann, the shortbread chick

It's a Happy Mother's Day for VSC!

First, happy Mother's Day to all women, mother or not.  Even if you're a woman who doesn't have a child, if you're reading my blog, chances are you've "mothered" a small business idea or other project.  I certainly think of Vermont Shortbread Company as my second baby.  It's growing beautifully with my constant nurturing and guidance.  Sometimes I make mistakes, but hey, that's what parenting is about - trial and error - there's no such thing as perfect.  Ever notice how it's the folks who don't have kids or who have never taken a risk in their lives who are the first to give "mothering" (or business) advice?  Forget 'em.  They don't have a clue. 

VSC enjoyed a successful Mother's Day with sales pouring in through our new web site and through my BNI (Business Network International) marketing efforts.  I haven't had much sleep in the past 2 weeks, but it's a good kind of tired when the dollars are rolling in so quickly.  My baby is going through a growth spurt.  I remember this when my daughter was a baby too.  A few weeks of intense growth followed by a few quiet weeks.  I know I will never be "short" of "bread" again! :-) I trust this process as I did in when nuturing my real child. 

I'm enjoying a quiet weekend at home:  puttering, knitting, walking the dog, and cleaning my closet...just what I need.  I purged my closet of a couple of garbage bags of old clothes and shoes (to make more room for NEW stuff), reorganized the living room, and munched on a Mother's Day brunch of strawberries, brie, and rolls - a perfect Mother's Day. 

To all mothers and anyone out there who has ever mothered a small business, Happy Mother's Day.  Kick your shoes off, sit back, enjoy your day, and give yourself a huge unconditional hug for all your mothering accomplishments...and your mistakes!

Breaking Shortbread News

Vermont Shortbread Company Launches Online Bake Shop in Time for Mother's Day Gift-Giving

Huntington, VT May 3, 2006--

Food connoisseurs in search of an edible Mother's Day gift can look no further than the Vermont Shortbread Company to deliver the baked goods by mail. Ann Zuccardy, owner of this Huntington, Vermont-based shortbread provider to hundreds of local and online customers, announced the official launch of her online shortbread headquarters at http://VermontShortbread.com earlier this week. Shortbread fans and natural food champions alike will find it easier than ever to have homemade, additive- and preservative-free shortbread shipped to their home or office via express mail within days of making their online purchase.

(click to read more)

Get a Taste

Those who read the Vermont Shortblog religiously know that last week we launched Vermont Shortbread Company's newly designed website and ezine.

If you aren't a Short Bites ezine subscriber, then you missed our Mother's Day shortbread special... but since we like you so much, we're going to share it with you now.

Short Bites Mother's Day Issue

Want a heads-up from Ann at Vermont Shortbread Company mailed to your inbox each time we run a price break or holiday offer?

Go to the bottom of our homepage at http://VermontShortbread.com and drop your email into the sign-up box.

Mother's Day Shortbread Special

Mother's Day is less than two weeks away.... why not send some love in a gift-box to honor the beauteous woman who brought you into this world and raised you up fine and right. ;)

Order your authentic Vermont Shortbread NOW, to be sure it arrives by mail in time for Sunday, May 14. We're offering a special Mother's Day gift box that includes a handwritten Vermont Greeting card and a free VSC calendar magnet.

Make it a Vermont Shortbread Mother's Day - place your order now.