Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Everything is coming up roses for family florists

Post Thumbnail

A 22-year-old serial entrepreneur from Aberdeen has launched his third business in less than 12 months – this time with his mum. Andrew and Dona Gibbon opened XOXO Floral Boutique in Peterculter, North Deeside Road at the end of September after gaining advice from Business Gateway Aberdeen City & Shire. In just three weeks sales had outstripped projections for the first quarter and three additional staff have had to be taken on to meet demand.

The retail outlet is the latest venture to be added to Andrew’s business portfolio which already includes Young Bull, a designer clothing and promotions business, and MajorVibe.com, a music production and marketing business, both of which launched earlier this year.

Andrew said: “My mum has always wanted to open her own florist, having worked for others in the industry for 10 years. We’ve always talked about the idea of opening our own so when the perfect premises came up we decided to go for it. We’ve big plans for the brand that include opening two new shops next year – another in Aberdeen and one in the central belt. It’s my biggest venture to date and although it’s tough keeping on top of three businesses, I love the challenge, and risk, that comes from growing and developing each of them.”

“I’ve a strong relationship with Business Gateway, having initially contacted them when I was 18 and about to launch Project Carbon, a high-end online fashion retailer and network which I then went on to sell. Over the years they’ve been there for support and guidance whenever I’ve needed it and signposted me to financial assistance and Princes Trust Youth Business Scotland. Because XOXO is my largest and most complex business with retail premises and full time staff, I went to my adviser to seek help with things like VAT, staffing and a lot of legal information. I can truly say that I would not be in the position I am now without my adviser’s support.”

Liz Pirrie, Business Adviser, Business Gateway said: “Andrew may be young but he has a great aptitude for business. He understands that to be successful you need to be determined, work long hours and access support where and when you can. Using our services has allowed him to rapidly build his business knowledge which, in turn, has helped him set up three successful ventures so far.”

Determined to differentiate their business from others, Andrew and Dona, launched XOXO Floristry School and XOXO@HOME on December 1.

The school will provide groups of friends and family with an opportunity to create their own floral displays in store whilst enjoying some bubbly and chocolates; while XOXO@HOME will offer “dressing” services for the home, including the creation of centre pieces for dinner parties, and consumer contracts where, for a monthly fee, arrangements will be delivered either weekly, bi weekly or monthly to consumers in their own homes.

Dona said: “We already offer corporate contracts but saw a gap in the market to provide the same service to consumers. The school will allow me to pass on some basic skills and provide people with the opportunity to make something beautiful that they can take home – like their own Christmas wreath.

“Working with Andrew just seemed the right thing to do as our skills complement each other – I have the knowledge, contacts and creativity while Andrew has the business acumen, ambition and loves to take a risk. We’ve been far busier than anticipated and want to build upon our initial success. We’ve barely scratched the surface of what we want to achieve and are working hard to establish a brand that we can be proud of.”

Contact Business Gateway on 0845 609 6611 or visit www.bgateway.com