Columnists :: In Business
RUNmyERRAND pairing with Polka Dog Bakery
by Aviva Gat
MySouthEnd.com Contributor
Wednesday Feb 11, 2009
Last March Leah Busque was out to dinner with her husband when she remembered that she needed dog food for her 100-pound yellow lab, Colby. She didn’t know if the store would be open when they finished their dinner and thought, "Wouldn’t it be nice if someone would bring us dog food while we ate dinner?"
By October Busque’s thought became a business open to the public called RUNmyERRAND. Businesses, or "senders" as Busque calls them, can post an errand they need done and within 10 to 15 minutes a runner will respond to run their errand.
Polka Dog Bakery, a South End treat boutique for dogs, has taken advantage of Busque’s business to pick up items at Home Depot and deliver dog food or birthday cakes to customers.
"Dog food is really heavy," said Polka Dog co-owner Deborah Gregg. "People don’t want to carry around a 30-pound bag, and cakes are fragile and perishable, people prefer to have them delivered. This is a good way to make our customers happy."
RUNmyERRAND, centered in Charleston, has a network of 80 runners around the Boston area, ranging from stay-at-home moms to a retired college professor and college students looking for a few extra bucks. The runners receive an email or text message whenever an errand is posted in their area. Cold Stone Creamery in Charleston and many offices around Boston also use RUNmyERRAND’s services.
Not only does RUNmyERRAND allow Polka Dog to add delivery to its list of services, but it also frees up Gregg’s time.
"Going to the post office or Home Depot can take a significant portion of you day," said Gregg, who as a small business owner says she doesn’t have that kind of time.
In January, Gregg had to transfer one thousand pounds of dog food to Rhode Island and needed plastic containers. She posted her errand on RUNmyERRAND.com and a runner picked up the containers from Home Depot and dropped them off at the store’s warehouse for $8.
"If we paid our employees to do that, it’s an hour out of their day," said Gregg.
Businesses like Polka Dog Café buy credits online and get to decide how much they want to pay for each errand. When a runner picks up their errand, he or she is reimbursed and paid from the business’s account.
Gregg highly recommends using RUNmyERRAND because of its convenience and her personal experience with the company.
"We’re a small business and they’re also a small business," she said. "When you’re a small business you want a supportive community and they have been."
Busque, the founder of RUNmyERRAND said her business helps connect people in local communities.
"It’s coming full circle," she said. "It all started with me needing dog food."
Armoire changing with the times
Designer clothing doesn’t have to be expensive. In fact, South Enders can buy Gucci or Prada for a third of its original price at Armoire, a consignment store that recently moved to a new location at 465 Columbus Ave., only 200 feet away from the old store.
"We literally busted at the seams," said store manager Daneen Miller.
The new store, which opened last month, is four times the size of the previous one, built to match Armoire’s growing clientele.
A consignment store is a business that takes people’s used clothes for resale purposes. The store prices the items, and then splits the profits with the consigner. Consigners do not need an appointment and can sell almost anything.
Due to the poor economy, it has become much more fashionable to buy high end clothing from stores like Armoire, which has seen a rise in shoppers in the last few months. The new location allows for more foot traffic and customers.
"I’ve seen a broad range [of customers]," said Miller. "Vintage shoppers, from teenagers to elderly."
Miller started working at Armoire in September; the store is approaching its first full year in business.
Armoire also carries one-of-a-kind vintage clothing.
"[Vintage shoppers] will come in and find something so rare, pay a great price and no one else will have it," Miller said.
Lately, many people have come in looking for coats, but with the winter about halfway over Armoire is looking to the coming seasons by having a sale of the fall merchandise.
"We should have a big influx of spring and summer stuff soon," said Miller.
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