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October 25, 2002
Eclectic marketing plans
Dorothy Grad sells cakes, beads, lox and converters.
KYLE BERGER REPORTER
If you look up the expression "Jack of all trades" in
a dictionary of phrases, you might just find a picture of Dorothy
Grad, along with her biography.
Grad has been involved in a variety of different Jewish community
organizations over the years. Among other things, she is a life
member of the Vancouver chapter of Hadassah-WIZO, was the president
of the Jewish Historical Society of B.C. for five years and is currently
a member of the Beth Israel Synagogue sisterhood.
From 1980 to 1990, she even produced and hosted a TV show on Rogers
Community Television called L'Chaim, which she described
as a Jewish public relations show.
However, these days she has her hands on almost as many small business
ventures. From gourmet cake delivery to after-market catalytic converters
for your car, Grad's interests in marketing and sales have enabled
her to sell just about anything.
Her journey into the small business world started almost 11 years
ago with D & M Cakes To Go. A joint venture with her daughter,
Mimi, Cakes To Go supplies a service that Grad said almost all large
downtown offices could use on a regular occasion – the delivery
of high-quality cakes for any type of office party.
Grad said that, although they do deliver to people's homes for private
parties, the bulk of their deliveries go downtown.
"Our niche market has been offices because a lot of offices
will celebrate birthdays, retirements or a special milestone and
it's much cheaper and easier to pick up a phone and order a cake
than to have to send someone to pick one up."
Grad promotes Cakes To Go through regular fax advertising so that
her customers don't forget she's there. She also strongly believes
that the quality of the service and products helps her business
succeed.
"They're all top-of-the-line quality cakes and there's a wide
variety," she explained.
She pre-orders most of her cakes from local bakeries, including
the Bon Tom European bakery and Kam's Chinese bakery. She also gets
some of her chocolate cakes from Carol's Cheesecake Co. in Toronto,
who delivers them frozen and they stay in Grad's freezer until delivery.
That way she can provide any cake, almost anytime, from her menu
of more than 20 different gourmet selections.
On average, Grad said her business delivers four or five cakes a
day. However, there has been the occasional Thursday or Friday in
which they've had to deliver 10 or 11.
While looking for a way to help customers remember her and to promote
her services, Grad began selling what she calls Stress Beads –
a short string of beads on a decorative strand that's designed for
fidgeting. Each string comes with a tag on the end that serves as
Grad's business card.
"That way they'll always remember me," she said.
Grad also recently established a business relationship with a Musqeum
fisherman who packages kosher lox.
Grad, who was friends with the human resources representative for
the Musqeum band, uses her Jewish community connections to sell
the lox that she described as, "not too salty, not too dry
and not too oily."
The most unique business venture that Grad is developing is one
in which she most recently became involved.
Her daughter was in contact with a gentleman who had the patent
for an after-market catalytic converter and was planning on selling
them locally.
"I always like an interesting challenge," she said.
After-market catalytic converters, she explained, significantly
enhance the fuel's ability to mix with oxygen.
"You will notice that the car performs better, it increases
the horsepower, it gives you better fuel economy and the emissions
are way lower," she said, before noting that her product would
help a lot of cars pass Air Care tests.
The product ranges from $150 to $200, depending on the type of vehicle
in which it will be used.
For more information about any of Grad's ventures, call Grad at
604-266-7727.
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