Page 41 - AVN Intimate Summer 2019

Kusens and her company not only set
themselves apart from the start, but also saw
success early on. Bonnie said among her
mother’s early milestones was opening the first
Honey’s Place warehouse and hiring her first
employee within the first year. But that’s not
to say it’s always been easy for the women of
the company,” Bonnie said. “To start, I had no
experience managing a company and had never
been involved this industry; there was a lot to
learn and I had to learn it fast. The company
was in disarray when I came on board, as well.
My mother had been sick for quite a long time,
so I had to stabilize the company upon taking
it over. I also had to move us to a new facility
within six months in preparation of major
growth, so the challenges all came at once.
“I have had many successes over the years;
my first big success was making it through the
stabilization process and moving the company
to [the] new warehouse facility … It was three
times the size of the warehouse before it; that
first warehouse was 5,700 square feet and our
current warehouse is 35,000 square feet, so
there’s been major growth,” she continued.
“There were many milestones that got us
A Woman’s Place Helene Kusens founded the business in 1994.
where we are today: implementing our first
WMS system, creating a website, moving the
company several times, restructuring and
modernizing, and successfully staying relevant
and competitive.”
Today, she said, the challenge is staying
competitive, relevant and on top of trends with
product selection, knowledge and technology.
Bonnie noted the company is much bigger than
people realize, and carries more products than
most expect. Yet, in an effort to stay true to its
roots, Honey’s Place works to treat customers
the way a small company would.
“Honey’s Place is a woman-owned-and-
run business and has been in business for 25
years. We are a leading and award-winning
distributor; our technology is superior, we
are well organized, and the company boasts a
strong infrastructure with a dependable team of
people,” Bonnie said. “Helene’s original goals
were to service her customers, many of whom
were her personal friends. She wanted to build
and nurture something she loved with a team
of people she could trust.
“My goal has been to honor what she started,
grow and modernize it over time, and set
the company up for growth and the future,”
Bonnie added. “Honey’s Place is built on a
strong foundation rooted in core values. I work
hard to have the best people in every part of the
company, each with the skill-set necessary to
take the company to the next level and remain
competitive. The focus has and will remain on
our customers and supporting their needs so
that they can succeed.”
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