Meet Sam Ruth | Business Owner

We had the good fortune of connecting with Sam Ruth and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Sam, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
My mom, Katie, has always wanted to own her own business, and we’ve been brainstorming ideas regarding what would eventually become Daisy Ruth Gifts for many years now. I remember her saying “when Mike (my dad) retires from the navy, I’m going to start our children’s store, and you can help out with it if you’d like.” The “children’s store” idea eventually morphed into a gift boutique, and when my dad finally did retire in 2018, we started putting all the pieces together to create our store we’d so often daydreamed of. We ended up settling in Imperial Beach, and figured this was a great market to start in, as there were no stores around like ours around at the time, and many people we knew who live down here would travel up the Silver Strand to Coronado to do their gift shopping. We figured, why not bring a little of that closer to home?

What should our readers know about your business?
So our store is called Daisy Ruth Gifts– named after our dog, Daisy– and we are a family run gift boutique in Imperial Beach California. We specialize in unique gifts, jewelry, candles, home goods, seasonal decorations, and wares made by local artists. We strive to offer a large variety of things that are cute, fun, and make people happy. There are near-limitless options today when it comes to gift shopping, so to set us apart, we focus on making the shopping experience as inviting and personal as possible. There is capital in being a reliable local store; a place where “everyone knows your name.” Forming relationships with our customers and meeting them where they are is one of the most important aspects of our business. My mom Katie and I are constantly redecorating and trying new items as to keep it fresh for our loyal customers, and we participate in many local outreach and fundraising events, like ones for the local cheerleading team, women’s wellness events, the school district, etc. I believe having a fun local store where you can always stop by and see what’s new improves the quality of life for everyone in the neighborhood, and inspires people to really love where they live, instead of just hanging their hats here, going elsewhere in San Diego for their fun outings.
Getting where we are today has been a whirlwind journey. One of the challenges we’ve faced along the way has been finding the right kind of merchandise to buy. Even now that we are more established, it still feels like throwing spaghetti at the wall to see what sticks– but we’ve gotten much smarter about what we put in our store, and have gotten lots of feedback from our customers about what does and doesn’t work for them. It feels like a bit of a puzzle– finding the right kind of candle that fits the tastes of our customers, or, for instance, ordering lots more Halloween merchandise, as our customers love the spooky season, and less for Thanksgiving, which tends to get lost in the shuffle during the holidays. Regarding the growth of our customer base, my ethos is to let people spread the word themselves, as no promotion means more than that of your friend or neighbor. The only place we advertise is in the local paper, and so far my strategy has worked. Word-of-mouth marketing has cemented us as a trustworthy local stalwart, and as a result, my mom and I have formed amazing relationships with our customers, who have welcomed us and our vision into their lives, treating us like family. It’s honestly humbling how receptive Imperial Beach has been to our little store, and we feel honored to repay the love through good service.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
So besides Daisy Ruth Gifts, obviously, I would take my best friend to Arandas Cafe and El Tapatio, which are two wonderful local restaurants owned by the same family in town. Arandas Cafe is just delightful, with a great outdoor seating area that’s decorated so nice, and they have an awesome eggs benedict. El Tapatio is great for beer and fish tacos, and they also have an outdoor seating area with views of the ocean. I would also take them to IB Records and Radio, which just opened this year on Seacoast drive. I love music, and Dina, the owner, does as well, and they have a robust selection of old and new records of all genres. Walking in there is like traveling back to a simpler time, and they’re always playing great music on vinyl in there as well.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Well of course I would like to shout out my mom, Katie Ruth, who I share ownership of Daisy Ruth Gifts with. The reality is that I try to be half as good as she is– She has taught me so much over the past four years about the industry, things I knew next to nothing about when we started, and acts as the creative force behind what we do. If not for her persistence in chasing her goals, and her bravery to start this business, we wouldn’t be where we are today. I also want to thank Rachel Sandman of Earth Wind and Sea, a great gift boutique in Coronado, and my mom’s old boss. She has helped us out tremendously, and in many ways gave us the encouragement we needed to take the leap of faith into business ownership. She always saw the potential in Katie to run her own shop, and for that we are very grateful.

Website: https://daisyruthgifts.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/daisyruthgifts/?hl=en

Yelp: https://www.instagram.com/daisyruthgifts/?hl=en

Image Credits
Images taken by Sam Ruth