Small Business Spotlight: Yard Greetings on the Grand Strand

Our new blog series, Small Business Spotlight, will feature local businesses who will talk about their brand, strategies and future plans.  Learn from other small companies about how they got started and what they are doing to keep business booming. 

Our first small business we will be featuring is Yard Greetings on the Grand Strand, a company in the Myrtle Beach area that offers yard cards, balloon creations, gift baskets, and more. We spoke with owner and founder, Laura Inkpen, who was kind enough to answer the following questions:

What inspired you to start Yard Greetings on the Grand Strand, and what do you hope to achieve through it?

When the pandemic hit, my pet sitting business, M.I. Critter Sitters had come to a halt.  My cousin in New York told me she saw a great business opportunity for me on her local news.  She sent me a video of the broadcast and, from the moment, I saw it I knew it was my calling.  The pandemic was very depressing for a lot of people and it really helped me help others. I did not create Yard Greetings on The Grand Strand to get rich. My true goal is to add and be a part of someone’s great memories. I want my company to be known across the Grand Strand as that yard card company that welcomes someone back home who was deployed overseas, congratulates someone that graduated college, and a 108th birthday surprise. 

What are the biggest challenges you’ve faced as a small business owner, and how have you overcome them?

The biggest challenge I’ve faced is to continue to get the word out about the services my business provides. In fact, there are still people out there that don’t even know what a Yard Card is and I want everyone to experience the surprise in one capacity or another.  In order to do that I constantly check social media for upcoming events and post current and past events we have added to our party decor. 

Can you describe your company culture and how you foster it among your clients and community?

My company culture is what I call “The Joy Business.”  We are in the business to bring excitement, smiles and a “Wow” factor to anyone’s special day or event. In essence, we make this happen by giving the customer what they want and by going above and beyond their expectations. In addition, focus on the community and give back so that we can add to the success of charities, fundraisers like nursing home events.

How do you differentiate your business from competitors in the market?

Yard Greetings is definitely a unique company as we combine services that individual companies offer separately. We can combine our drapery backdrops, our balloon garlands and even our yard cards all into one event. By hiring us, the customer can save money rather than working with several companies. We are also not a franchise, so we are not held to any limitations. Also, we can make adjustments and customize to our individual clients’ needs. Our inventory includes products as balloon garlands, yard cards, backdrops, balloon candy grams and so much more. Our candy grams are a recent addition and can be for table centerpieces, delivered to someone’s workplace or from a grandparent to a grandchild reminding them they are missed.

What strategies do you have in place for business growth and sustainability in the long term?

The strategies that are in place for business growth is our adaptation to change. We are always designing new products and making additions to our website and keeping current with the latest trends. Plus, we stay fairly priced and can accommodate any budget. For example, our Go Big or Go Home Yard Card, being our largest all the way to our lowest priced yard card for a $50 rental which is our Mystery Yard Card. Our yard cards are built to last. With many future celebrations, we will be around as long as there are birthdays, anniversaries and babies being born.  

Thank you Laura for taking the time to answer our questions. We are excited to see all the new products you have for this summer.

Are you in the Myrtle Beach area and looking for yard cards for your next celebration? Visit Yard Greetings on the Grand Strand and shop their gallery for the right decoration for your next event.

Thank you for stopping by!

Until next time!

-Belkis