Entrepreneur Press - Start Your Own Gift Basket Business and More: Special Events, Holiday, Real Estate, Corporate

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Table of Contents

Preface

They could well be the closest thing to the perfect gift, because they can be totally customized to suit the giver, the recipient, the occasion, and the desired price. For some people, creating them is the perfect business: an opportunity to be artistic, creative, and entrepreneurial.

The product is gift baskets. And as an artistic, creative, and entrepreneurial individual, youre reading this book because youve decided that this is the business for you.

Certainly its an industry with tremendous fun potential. You get to buy lots of cute, clever gift items; you get to pull those items together in an attractive container and create a charming presentation; and you get to provide a product that delivers infinite pleasure to the recipient. Both givers and receivers of gift baskets appreciate the creativity and uniqueness of the concept.

Theres also a respectable profit potential. As popular as they are, the market for gift baskets is still wide open and the sales opportunities are virtually limitless.

But this isnt a game; its a serious business. It doesnt require a great deal of start-up capitalmany successful gift basket businesses started with just a few hundred dollars. What it does require is thoughtful planning, preparation, and commitment fueled by a strong dose of excitement and enthusiasm.

This book is going to tell you everything you need to know to start and run a successful gift basket business. You will learn to

identify a target market.

develop an effective marketing plan.

find and build relationships with suppliers.

manage the administrative side of the business, including record-keeping, billing, taxes, and insurance.

design a plan to build the business you want to have, whether its part time or full time, homebased or in a commercial location, with employees or without.

Because the best information about business comes from the people who are already in the trenches, we interviewed successful gift basket business owners who were happy to share their stories. These basketeers come from all over the country; some are homebased, some have retail operations; some are small and want to stay that way, some are large and growing; some do standard baskets, some do custom designsbut they all have valuable advice and information you will be able to learn and profit from. Throughout the book, you will read about what worksand doesntfor these folks, and how you can use their techniques in your own business.

Youll also learn what the gift basket business is really like. The hours can be flexible, but sometimes theyre incredibly longlike when you get a call in the evening from someone who needs a basket first thing in the morning. The profit margins are excellent, but only if youre paying attention to detail and remembering to charge for everything, including your time and other less visible expenses. The market is tremendous, but youll have a substantial amount of competition, which means you need a plan to set yourself apart. The opportunity to express yourself creatively is virtually limitless, although sometimes youll have to just do what the customer askseven if its not your preference.

Like anything else, theres no magic formula, no quick path to success. Your gift basket business will definitely not be a get-rich-quick operation. But it can be a substantial revenue generator for you.

Because we believe business should be fun as well as profitable, we designed this book to be logical, informative, and entertaining. In fact, the only thing thats dry about gift baskets is the dried flowers youll occasionally use to decorate your creations. Just one word of warning: Take the time to sit back and relax as you read this bookbecause once your gift basket business is up and running, youre going to be a very busy person.

More than One BasketA Look at the Gift Basket Business

Although gift baskets are one of todays hottest businesses, with steady growth expected to continue well into the foreseeable future, theyre not at all new. In fact, gift baskets have been a traditional form of gift giving ever since humans figured out how to weave baskets. Throughout history, baskets filled with fruit, nuts, wild game, and other foodstuff, flowers, and other material tokens have been presented as a sign of affection or a gesture of goodwill. The contents could be consumed, and the container then used for cooking, storing, and transporting food, or for some other practical or decorative purpose. It was a gift that had great value and essentially no waste.

Today, gift baskets are equally practical and infinitely more creative. They run the gamut from traditional Easter-style goodie baskets to baskets made especially for golfers, chocolate lovers, new homeowners, and brides-to-be. Some people focus almost exclusively on the contents, others see the basket (or other container) as a very important part of the gift. In fact, a growing number of gift baskets arent baskets at alltheyre boxes, fruit crates, tote bags, hats, ceramic pots, mixing bowls, and more, all filled with food, gifts, and other collectible items designed to delight the recipient.

So who buys gift baskets and why? Just about everyone for every imaginable occasion. They buy premade baskets by occasion or theme, or baskets specially designed for a specific individual. They buy baskets from large chain stores, small specialty shops, and homebased basket makersand theyll buy them from you.

The market for gift baskets is great, and as long as people buy each other presents, youll have a steady stream of customers. You have a product that is in high demand and that people are familiar with. You dont need to convince anyone that they should buy gift basketsyou just need to let them know you are their best source, and that you can deliver the product they need when they need it. One 13-year veteran in the business told us she believes the industry is in its infancy, with the real growth yet to be experienced.

Your revenue will be limited only by how hard you want to work and how much you want your business to grow. You can easily gross $10,000 or more annually working part time from home, or $1 million and up operating a retail store or mail order business full time.

About half of your business will be holiday-based, and the majority of that will be Christmas-related. One of the fastest-growing segments of the gift basket industry is corporate holiday orders. When the Christmas rush is over, Valentines Day, Easter, Mothers Day, Thanksgiving, and Secretaries Day are the most profitable holidays.

Most gift basket business owners see holidays as both a blessing and a curse. They can earn a lot of money making holiday baskets, but they have to work very hard during times of the year when they might prefer to do other things.

The bottom line on making gift baskets is that its a highly creative and gratifying occupation. It features all the best aspects of hands-on work, design, coordinating, planning, and customer service. Your product is something you take pleasure in making, your customers enjoy buying, and the recipients are delighted to receive.

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