A Struggle for Religious Freedom Creates the American Dream for Young Mom

Entrepreneur and Corporate Gift Strategist Adriana Copaceanu, 38, knows the value of freedom and the sacrifice that it takes to achieve the American Dream.

NEW MARKET, VA (PRWEB) May 3, 2002 -- Entrepreneur and Corporate Gift Strategist Adriana Copaceanu, 38, knows the value of freedom and the sacrifice that it takes to achieve the American Dream.

As a young woman living in Romania, she was nearly expelled from high school because of her religious beliefs and had to work double time to make up for not going to work on Saturdays.

As Seventh Day Adventists, she and her husband Florin of 15-years sought the religious and personal freedoms they were unable to reach living in Communist Romania. In 1990, they tearfully left their then-19 month old son in the care of Adrianas parents and began the journey to America with one piece of luggage and $95 dollars in their pocket.

Six years later, after much sacrifice and heartache, the Copaceanus were reunited with their son, Val. Together with her son and husband, Adriana set up roots in Massachusetts and then on the West Coast in California. When her next child arrived, Adriana realized that while she loved her job, her current responsibilities of managing 35 people, handling customer service, meeting deadlines and working under pressure in a growing company did not provide her with enough flex time to spend with her young children.

The Copaceanus decided to make another sacrifice and relocate back to the East Coast where they thought the family could survive on just the income from Florins job. In July 2000, they settled in New Market, VA, a small town of 1,400 known for the Civil War Battle of New Market, just 95 miles from Washington, DC. With her children in school and her husband busy with his flourishing real estate business, Adriana realized that she needed an outlet for her high-energy business skills and creativity.

After nine months of research, Copaceanu selected corporate gifts and gift baskets as her niche -- with the goal in mind to help companies achieve their Customer Relationship Marketing (CRM) goals. This appealed to her creative spirit as well as business acumen. In October 2000, she launched ABC Gifts and Baskets. This way, I could be home with my children when they needed me, while serving my clientele and providing a creative outlet for me," she says.

In the early weeks, Copaceanu made a sales call to a company that had been preparing their own holiday fruit gift baskets to give clients. While the company had finished all of its baskets for the season and did not need her help, Copaceanu sent the owner a "Thank You" themed box to thank her for the potential sales opportunity. The day she received my package, she called to let me know she needed 100 baskets. I ended up doing 150 baskets for this company and signed my first corporate client 60 days after I opened my doors," she said.

People love gifts, but not too many businesses know how to use gifts to build those important relationships," she says. It is important to keep your company name in front of your clients. Gift giving and relationship building is something people tend to neglect, but once they test the powerful effects of a program well designed, they are convinced for life. And the beauty of using a gift program is that it can be done on a small scale in slower economic times, as well as more expensive when the times are better." Copaceanu says her job is to meet the challenge of fulfilling the clients expectations and have the gift produce the desired marketing results.

For example, Copaceanu suggests linking different holidays and occasions with gifts that will be remembered. To prepare for the coming of Spring, Copaceanu says companies can send a packet of forget-me-not seeds with a note saying: "Don't forget! We can help you plant the seeds of success for your business!" Copaceanu has also developed a line of personal gift baskets for the discerning shopper.

ABC Gifts and Baskets can be found online at www.abcgiftsandbaskets.com or by telephone at (540) 740-8678.

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