In the process of launching her new business last year, Ashley Zimmerman wrote a 40-page business plan, did a soft opening, undertook market research and recruited partner businesses. And she did deliveries deliveries as well.
Zimmerman’s brand is Heyou, a gifting business headed straight into what she figures will be its first peak season.
“We had some good sales through the holidays,” she says, “But Valentine’s Day is going to be big. That, and Mother’s Day — those will be more of our holidays than Christmas.”
A Texas native, Zimmerman moved to Chattanooga with her husband, Caldwell, in 2018. She says gift-giving has always been her “love language,” but the distance between Chattanooga and her family and friends back in Texas made it difficult — until she concocted what she calls her “secret sauce” for gift-giving.
“I’d call stores near the people I wanted to send gifts to,” she said. “I’d give them a budget, ask them to put something together for me and pay them $20 to deliver.