A FIRST PERSON ACCOUNT OF RUNNING A SMALL BUSINESS Carol Horowitz and Marlene Greene were in the wholesale bakery business, but wanted to do something more creative. So about a year ago, the two partners opened Chewy Gooey Gift Baskets, a Northridge-based company that combines their expertise in baking with their creative flair. Although the centerpiece product of the company is its chocolate brownies a recipe the two partners developed over five years Chewy Gooey baskets are not limited to sweets. The customized offerings, sold for corporate as well as personal gift giving, can be ordered with everything from candies to cheeses. Horowitz and Greene spoke to Shelly Garcia about the business of gift giving. “We developed our brownies for texture and consistency. There just isn’t anything else out there like them. There are other basket people who have come to us to buy this brownie, but we’ve refused. “We have them made at a local bakery, but they use our recipe and they only make them for us. We buy other products from different sources for the other basket items. We might include sparkling cider, cheese, crackers, dipping sauces, different coffees and teas, potpourri and candles. A sweet basket might have brownies, cookies, candy and coffee. It just depends on the price point. “The baskets are custom. Each one is designed for that client. We make our own, hand-tied bows. We have other packaging such as theme boxes with graphics that are distinctive to the message, such as bon appetit or happy birthday. “Our most unusual thing is a dog basket. We do have a few products that we put together, but we don’t have a lot of sugar-free items because the call is not there. “We’re on the Internet, which is a very good tool to help clients see what we can put together. If they come to the showroom in person, we have a lot of baskets there that can be changed around to accommodate a price point. Let’s say they see a basket that’s $45. I can do the same theme and make it $25 or $100. “We have corporate clients who order over 100 baskets. That’s more prevalent this time of year. When we get busy, our husbands and family members help us. We have large families.”