Ask The Gift Basket Expert » Business Basics

How to Start a Gift Basket Business on a Tight Budget

Shirley George Frazier — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 15:11:04 +0000

Amanda asks:

“How do I start a gift basket business when I’m on a budget and don’t have a lot of money to buy what’s needed?“

It’s true that the business of gift baskets requires that you invest in a considerable amount of inventory.

However, many industry participants began their businesses with a tight and lean product assortment, allowing them to make a specific number of every day gift baskets to market their businesses. This allowed them to promote, sell their designs, and gradually buy more products and offer more variety.

This is how you start on a budget. Here are the main tips.

1. Determine who will buy your gift baskets so you know where to market.
2. Decide which types of gift baskets you’ll make so you purchase the right inventory.
3. Research where to buy products so you select high-quality items at the lowest prices.
4. Set up your workspace in a room that’s already paid for with rent or mortgage monies.
5. Invest in business cards and postcards for marketing purposes as well as a blog or social media page.

Focus on these five steps, and you will accomplish what many of us experience now — gift basket businesses that provide us with satisfaction as it satisfies the personal and professional needs of our customers.

© 2008-2010 Shirley George Frazier. All rights reserved. Shirley George Frazier is recognized as the leading authority on the gift basket industry. She is author of How to Start a Home-Based Gift Basket Business, The Gift Basket Design Book, and Marketing Strategies for the Home-Based Business. Visit GiftBasketBusiness.com for videos, CDs, reports, tips, online newsletter, and much more to learn, grow, and profit with gift baskets.

How Do I Pick My Name?

Shirley George Frazier — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 08:17:04 +0000

Amanda asks: “I can’t think of a name for my gift basket business, and it’s driving me crazy! How to you figure out what to call yourself?”

Choosing a name for your gift basket business or any business is critically important to your overall success, so your dilemma is a good one because you’re not taking this step lightly.

Selecting a name is very personal. At the same time you want it to sound right, feel right, and easily roll off the customer’s tongue when they say it.

Here are three things to consider as you decide what to name your business.

1. Will the name include your name?

Amanda’s Amazing Baskets and Amazing Baskets by Amanda are examples of adding your name so that customers know instantly who is creating their designs. If you prefer to not have your name in the title…

2. Will the name highlight what you create?

Glamorous Gifts and Glamorous Gift Baskets are examples of highlighting what your business is all about. Some designers prefer to include the word “gifts” or “baskets” to let customers know, in an instant, what they make. Perhaps you want to be more neutral…

3. Will the name be both interesting and obscure?

Creative Occasions and Distinct Impressions are example names that are keeping in line with a gift-giving theme without actually saying that you make gift baskets. Sometimes such a name is valid because you plan to go beyond gift basket making and provide customers with all types of all-occasion gifts.

These questions probably don’t make your name selection easier, but they do point you in the right direction to decide which type of name is best.

The article, How to Name Your Gift Basket Business, will provide more insight. Best of all, once you choose your perfect name, you’ll celebrate by telling everyone and marketing your business worldwide.

How to Decide to Keep or Lose a Customer

Shirley George Frazier — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 15:19:25 +0000

Suzanne asks:

“How do I tell a customer that the gift baskets she wants for a low price cost a lot more for me to make? I don’t want to lose her, but I don’t know what to say.“

This person may have already visited retailers in your local area and found that their prices are not to her liking, so she’s now asking you to make what retailers already know is not profitable.

I’m guessing, of course, but some potential customers approach us with requests that are simply impossible to complete.

A woman once asked me to make a large gift basket and charge her a small basket price, plus she wanted 30 days to pay, and this was her first order!

How did I handle it? I explained that while I wasn’t able to fulfill her requests due to my pricing structure, I was happy to recommend her to other designers who might be more accommodating.

Those other designers turned her down as well. She wanted too much for too little, and all of us found the words to turn down her request since staying in business is a top priority when you decide to become an entrepreneur.

You have a choice to either:

Inform the customer that you are unable to produce her preferred gift baskets at the cost she wants to pay,
Provide her with alternative styles from your design inventory, or
Make the gift baskets for her and take a loss.

If the first option is best, the words are easy to say. Do not allow emotion to get in the way; you’re making a business decision based on your desire to stay in business.

If the second option is best, inform the customer about the value and satisfaction other buyers have experienced with those particular styles.

If the third option is best, make the gift baskets, but be ready for additional orders from the customer that will keep you profitless.

Which is your choice?

Which Gift Basket Products Do I Buy?

Shirley George Frazier — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 02:31:29 +0000

Ashley asks:

“I’m trying to decide what products to buy for my business, and I can’t make up my mind. There are so many choices. How can I choose the best products to offer my customers?”

Before you buy one product, you must thoroughly understand the people who will be buying your gift baskets. What are their likes and dislikes? Popcorn, nuts and chocolates are products that regularly appear in baskets, but plush animals are a specialty item.

If customers aren’t the plush-loving type, the decision to buy such a product will be a waste of your inventory money.

Many designers start their businesses by buying enough inventory to make 12 designs. Your decision will depend on the amount of investment money available and the initial size of your business.

Try not to buy products that you think are cute. Chances are that if it’s too unique, customers won’t want it in their baskets, and that case of product will become yours alone. Good luck!

How to Answer the Phone When You’re Not There

Shirley George Frazier — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 15:09:58 +0000

Sheila asks:

“I have a gift basket business and work elsewhere until I make enough money to work on gift baskets full time. Since I can’t answer the phone during the day, what are my options to get orders from people who call me when I’m not there?”

This is a long-standing dilemma, not just for designers but for anyone who’s building a business while employed full time. Thankfully, there is one solution that working designers consider as ideal.

That solution is to transfer the line during the time you are not available to a trusted person who will answer the phone in a professional manner.

The word “trusted” means that you have interviewed this assistant, provided him or her with scripts based on various scenarios, and have completed “telephone role play” to test their skills.

This person may be a neighbor, relative, stay-at-home mom, senior citizen, or someone who’s currently unemployed.

Sending calls to your voice mail is still an option, but it’s one that bothers many designers due to frequent hang-ups. In my experience, if a person did not leave a message, it was either a telemarketer, a competitor, or someone who didn’t qualify to be my client.

The article, Hiring a Virtual Assistant, provides great tips for finding a qualified helper.

You will find an assistant to monitor your telephone, and when you do, it will slowly and steadily increase your sales so that you can operate your gift basket business full time.

Ask The Gift Basket Expert » Business Basics

How to Start a Gift Basket Business on a Tight Budget

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How Do I Pick My Name?

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How to Decide to Keep or Lose a Customer

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Which Gift Basket Products Do I Buy?

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