Start Your Own Gift Basket Business

Shirley George Frazier, a successful home-based gift basket entrepreneur, shows readers how to cultivate their creativity and employ savvy marketing techniques to run a thriving gift basket business.

Do you have an eye for complementary colors and patterns? Are you known for your creative ideas or your unique way of taking something ordinary and turning it into something extraordinary? Your artistic eye and resourcefulness may be the perfect foundation for a very lucrative career in gift baskets! A booming market, gift baskets are the most convenient yet thoughtful way for busy corporations to thank clients, for on-the-go families to send holiday wishes, or for real estate agents welcoming new homeowners —the occasions are endless. This hands-on guide takes you step by step into the trendy world of specialty gifts and shows you how to establish and launch your own full- and part-time gift basket business right from your home. Plus, Entrepreneur has scoured the field to interview experts who provide from-the-trenches examples, advice and tips to help you avoid common mistakes and get on your way to success! Learn how to: • Set up your business with minimal startup investment • Buy low-cost materials and supplies • Develop your product list • Build valuable relationships with suppliers • Effectively market yourself and capture new clients • Price your product • Manage operations A world of possibilities and big profits awaits! Get started today!

Everything you need to know to run a profitable gift basket business from your home.

Would you like to start a truly enjoyable home-based business? Would you like more control of your income or your time? Are you a people person that would like to talk to people throughout the USA? Are you proud of your state or regional area and want to do something really unique and profitable? Then a Regional Gift Basket business may be perfect for you! Regional gift baskets share the wonderful food and flavor of a particular state or region with customers throughout the USA and beyond. Start Your Own Regional Gift Basket Business is a how to guide to help you create and operate such a unique business. Written for the USA market, the book includes information and references for all 50 states. The E-Book version includes clickable links to websites referenced to get you started quickly. The book will guide you in developing your own unique regional gift basket business. This is not a design book or a list of products to include in a basket for a specific holiday. Don't start just another gift basket businesses that looks like all the rest - start a regional gift basket business unique to you and your area! Each of our 50 states are wonderful with their own distinct food and flavors. Now you can create a professional, home-based business with customers throughout the USA and beyond. Don't limit your new business opportunity to the local area! Your new regional gift basket business will have customers throughout the nation! Your market will include: - Family members sending homesick individuals, away in school or in the military, a taste of food from home. - People that have moved out of state needing a taste of food from home. - Realtors or corporations welcoming people moving into the area. - Corporate customers sending a taste of their area to out of state clients. - Individuals saying 'thank you' to someone they spent the holidays with out of state. - Individuals sending a holiday gift from their new home state back home to the family in another state. - Corporate customers sending a regional basket to an out of state executive they are trying to entice to come onboard. - Professionals sending 'thank you' baskets to other professionals for sending them business referrals. - Corporations trying to mend a business relationship with another company out of state. - Holiday orders from large corporations sending gifts throughout the USA. And many more! While the book concentrates on regional gift baskets, it can be used to start or improve any type of gift basket business. The author takes you through the steps of finding products specific to your state, developing your own unique baskets, organizing your workspace, developing your website, choosing a shipping company, handling money coming in and going out, marketing and promotion, day to day operations, handling large custom orders and the busy holiday season, selling the business and more. The author shares her personal knowledge, opinions and business stories - things that worked and things that didn't - from her own Texas regional gift basket business. From starting the business without any experience to selling the successful business that it became. Doris Miller started her Texas gift basket company in 2002. While shopping for a Texas made cup for a gift, she noticed companies selling Texas gift baskets with things not actually made in Texas, even items made in China! Determined to correct this situation, she created her own regional gift basket company specializing in selling only Texas made items. The business was very successful and in December 2004 the company was recognized by the Wall Street Journal as one of five best regional gift basket companies in the USA. She has since sold the company but her experiences in developing, operating and even selling the company will guide you as you create your own unique regional gift basket business.

Each title in the Start Your Own Business series provides a blueprint for succeeding in a different business and offers advice on how to identify your best market, secure adequate financing, and how to be your own boss. This title focuses on starting a gift basket business.

People are sending gifts for any purpose. Gifting has become a new trend, even in corporate world, businesses are gifting their employees for many occasions. But sometimes finding the best gift become difficult. This has made gift basket an attractive option, gift baskets can be easily curated according to the occasion. Selling gift baskets is a highly rewarding and fun business. There is a respectable profit margin potential. As popular as the gift basket business is, it is still wide open and sales opportunities are limitless. It doesn't require a huge capital investment. But it does require thoughtful planning and a wide marketing arena. Steps to follow to start a gift basket business This book is broken into two parts. The first part is all about crafting quirky and unique gift baskets as a hobby. Even if you choose to make this a business, I show you how to create your inventory to sell. In part 1, you'll learn: - About different containers to use for the baskets - Various basket fillers - advice on selecting basket themes - how to tie a bow properly - how to make baskets on a budget - what essentials not to scrimp on when creating your basket - endless ideas on what to include in the gift baskets I also provide you dozens of theme ideas for your baskets. There is a glossary of at least 50 different types of gift baskets for you to create. In part 2, we talk about the business aspects of the gift basket making craft. - How to start your business while complying with legalities - What your workspace should be like - How to find vendors for supplies - How to market and advertise your business - The importance of networking - How to utilize social media to your advantage - Creating a website - Creating a portfolio catalog - Advice on how to throw a successful in-home sales party

With little more than some working space and a few basket-making items, an ambitious and creative person can cash in on the gift basket boom. The potential for unearthing new markets and finding motivated clients is unlimited in this easy-to-run small business.

Turn your creative talents into a great business! Finding the perfect gift for that special someone or occasion can be a daunting task. Factor in drive time, budgets and multiply recipients and its nearly impossible. That's why many corporate customers and individuals have turned to gift baskets as the ideal solution. If you're creative, have a good eye for color and love to shop, this hot business could be your path to financial independence. Startup is easy: You only need a minimum amount of equipment, and you can work from your home, full or part time. Plus, you get the opportunity to be artistic, creative and entrepreneurial! This guide tells you everything you need to know to start a successful gift basket business. Identify a target market Develop an effective marketing plan Find and build relationships with suppliers Manage the administrative side of the business, include record-keeping, billing, taxes and insurance Find customers, and market your business With Entrepreneur magazine's Start Your Own Gift Basket Service, you'll learn how to design the business the way you want it, whether it's part time or full time, homebased or in a commercial location, with employees or without. Pick up this book, and get started making your dream a reality.