Shirley Frazier - How to Start a Home-Based Gift Basket Business

how to start a home-based

Copyright 1998, 2000, 2004, 2007, 2010 Morris Book Publishing, LLC

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, except as may be expressly permitted by the 1976 Copyright Act or by the publisher. Requests for permission should be made in writing to The Globe Pequot Press, P.O. Box 480, Guilford, Connecticut 06437.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file.

ISBN: 978-0-7627-5954-5

Printed in the United States of America

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

To my family: husband John, daughter Genesis, mom Joan, sister Cassandra, and aunt Shirleythe fabulous five who mean everything to me.

This books purpose is to provide accurate and authoritative information on the topics covered. It is sold with the understanding that neither the author nor the publisher is engaged in rendering legal, financial, accounting, and other professional services. Neither The Globe Pequot Press nor the author assumes any liability resulting from action taken based on the information included herein. Mention of a company name does not constitute endorsement.

Flora Brown, my good friend and colleague, who is always ready for a midnight industry chat.

Andrea Higbie, Suzanne Chazin, and Sari Salaverry, the teachers who brought out the best in my writing.

And to all the gift basket designers and related professionals who keep this industry vibrant, engaging, and extraordinary.

Picture this: Its Monday morning, and youre awakened by a sharp pain pulsing through your chest. You can barely breathe. Panicked, you alert your spouse, who helps you dress and gets you into the car for a trip to the emergency room.

Your head spins during the ride, wondering whats causing this--stress? For the last ten years, youve worked at ten different companies with the same results: no satisfaction and no chance for promotion. I cant keep this up, you tell yourself. I bet thats the real problem.

The emergency room nurse leads you to a bed and begins ordering tests. Soon, another person arrives with the same symptoms, and you whisper, Its not just me. The chatter outside of the closed curtain lulls you to sleep.

You awake suddenly hearing squeals of laughter and bubbly voices. Your spouse shrugs his shoulders and keeps reading the newspaper. You get up, walk over to pull back the curtain, and see nurses surrounding something wrapped in cellophane with a huge bow on top. One nurse moves to reveal the gorgeous gift basket that has just arrived. Watching their reactions, you finally realize your lifes mission.

Why didnt I think of it before? you ask your spouse. Im creative and have lots of skills. Ill start a gift basket business!

Three years later youre back in the emergency room, but this time its to deliver one of your gift baskets to the nurses. Youve traded stress for success and satisfaction, a prescription you promised yourself that fateful morning. Life is sweet.

This twisted tale is very close to the way I began my career in the gift basket business. The part about being a success is absolutely true and gets better every day. The notion to enter this $5.3 billion industry doesnt usually seem to hit you like an oncoming train. Instead, it surfaces little by little from the recesses of your mind, finally commanding your full attention. Thats what happened to me in December 1988. After I had contemplated and dropped the idea of starting a word-processing service and been on the verge of opening an intimate apparel shop, the thought of gift baskets took hold of me and never let go. John, my husband and best friend, works at a company where a female coworker was feeling sad. Being the sweetheart he is, the next day he brought her something to lift her spirits (figuratively, of course)a mini-bottle of liqueur and shot glass with rocks glued to the bottom, all wrapped in clear plastic wrap. The friend loved the gift, and everyone in the area praised John for his thoughtfulness.

Meanwhile, I was busily planning how many sizes, colors, and styles of slips and such would adorn my boutique. One look at Johns gift made me drop my plans. I immediately decided to start a gift basket business. The baskets were relatively easy to make (or so I thought), they could be created at home (no rent!), and the business would take less money to open but as much creative energy to build (which I had plenty of). My niche would be an offering that included basket substitutes. In an industry where a basket is the mainstay, I planned to set myself apart from the competition so that the business would be different and attract more clients than others served by similar companies. Unique and unusual containers would be my claim to fame. An upturned umbrella, a childs wagon, a rocking chairI couldnt wait to begin.

A month later, which was three weeks into the new year, I stood in the 1200 aisle of the New York International Gift Fair, in awe of all the products gathered under the gift industry banner. There were two floors of exhibits in this five-block-long building, plus shuttle buses that transported you to products on two piers and a permanent showroom. With so many resources and no formal training, I had lots of work to do, but I was ready for what was necessary to become successful. That was twenty-one years, eighty television and radio show appearances, three books, seven print and online newsletters, and countless trade seminars and magazine articles ago. Ive never regretted one step or decision, good or bad, but there were times in the first years of business when I wished a resource were available to help me make better decisions and fewer mistakes. And thats the reason you hold this book in your hands today.

What happens when you decide to start a gift basket business? The first thing is that your mind goes in a thousand different directions, all in question format, which I demonstrate here with the correct answers. Where is the resource that will get and keep me on track? Its in your hands. I need baskets and foods and that other stuff that makes them look nice; what is it and where does it all come from? Ill tell you. How do I set up shop at home and store products? The answer is here. Can I sell my baskets on the Internet? Youll learn how. Will I make money? Yes, you really will make money, and Ill show you the formula that ensures a profitable enterprise year after year.

First well find out if you have the drive and determination to enter into and thrive in this business. Youll set your goals according to what you want to accomplish, keeping in mind that youre probably better at business than you think and will want to elevate your planning as you progress. Next Ill take you on a tour of the gift basket industry, and youll start to better understand who your market is and mold your plans to meet that markets unique needs. Well share a hands-on session of how to create a gift basket from the bottom up. Youll find resource materials in the back of this book, including industry definitions, gift basket theme ideas, and a list of major trade shows, magazines, and product sources. This book is packed with charts and forms, items that didnt exist when I started. They give you a big advantage over anyone who started years ago essentially from scratch. Youll learn how to ship, deliver, advertise, employ, compete, recover from mistakes, set up and sell on the Internet, promote your business with social media, and most important, create a rewarding lifestyle. Youll learn everything thats done in a retail storefront, but youll do it from home, exuding the same professionalism once reserved only for big-budget retailers who can afford the rents of the region. Each day that you wake and arrive in your home workspace to make the days baskets, you too will say, Life is sweet.