Mary Ann Murtha – A Never Ending Basket
I thought to myself, “I can do this business because of the power of NAWBO.”
Mary Ann Murtha is the founder of A Never Ending Basket, a unique and creative gift basket company that creates Gratitude Programs to thank clients, prospects, & employees.
Mary Ann Murtha says, “Truthfully, I started this gift basket company twenty years ago with my mom and sister. Everyone else was making baskets using plastic wrap and my mom HATED that. It was our idea to come up with a different material to wrap the contents of our baskets – my sister and I found a piece of tulle in a department store and tried it. Everyone loved that basket! And we knew – The secret was in the tulle!”
During a long (30+ years) career in banking – playing a variety of roles at large regional and community banks in and around the Philadelphia area – Mary Ann realized her talent and passion was around interpreting and improving corporate culture. “One bank that employed me was old fashioned and service oriented but not very solutions based. I was brought in to transform that culture by encouraging more client meetings and coaching bankers to ask thought-provocative questions that would elicit the needs and dreams of our clients. Then we worked hard to match them to the ideal banking solution.”
Mary Ann became weary of navigating the tumultuous waters of the banking industry and decided to harness her previous success in creating gift baskets with her current passion of positively impacting the corporate cultures of professional services firms. Mary Ann is currently pursuing a bachelor of science degree in organizational leadership at Philadelphia University.
“My passion in life is to help transform corporate cultures. Our Never Ending Baskets are a lean into what’s really going on with the organization. My dream is to have my daughters take on the basket business, enabling me to elevate my role as an organizational leadership consultant.” She describes her ideal clients as women business owners who truly believe that showing gratitude to their customers and clients offers mutual benefits.
Mary Ann has been a very active member of NAWBO since January 2015. “I supported NAWBO as a corporate sponsor while still in banking. In October, 2016, as I launched my business, I realized how beneficial this organization could be for me personally. I thought to myself, “I can do this business because of the power of NAWBO.”
Within the first month, she sold a large corporate order to a fellow NAWBO member. More orders followed and she continues to grow her business through the members of NAWBO and their referral sources outside the organization. “It seems the sky is no limit,” she says.
Mary Ann gives back to NAWBO by hosting Bucks County’s Power Fridays, a group of women business owners that meets monthly to support each other, and she has been responsible for expanding that group over the last year. She is also the Co-Chair of NAWBO’s Education Committee which is building programs based on members’ feedback. Mary Ann also serves as a mentor of the NAWBO Philadelphia Center for Advancing Entrepreneurs’, Young Entrepreneurs Academy where she helps to guide young entrepreneurs to complete their business plans and present their ideas to an investor panel.
Mary Ann lives in Havertown with her husband. An avid Harley Davidson enthusiast, she is expecting her first grandchild in August.
If you are a women business owner who provides services to clients you LOVE and you truly believe that showing gratitude to your customer, referral sources and employees is important – then please call Mary Ann at (610) 605-7389 or e-mail her at mam@aneverendingbasket.com. To see some examples of the beautiful gift baskets she designs, visit her website at www.ANeverEndingBasket.com