Gift Basket Business:
Gift Baskets are so wonderful to give and
receive and with so many holidays, birthdays, and other special days, we all
need a nice gift basket to share. We talked with Adriana
of ABC
Gifts and Baskets about starting a Gift Basket Business and what it is all
about!
How did you first learn about making Gift Baskets? I was looking
for something I could do from home, and found a list of the 50 best businesses
to start from home. Gift baskets was one of them, ad it sounded really
interesting.
How long have you been making Gift Baskets? I started my business in
October 2000, so 3 years.
How would someone find material to start making Gift Baskets? The best
places to get information about gift baskets are the gift basket forums: there
you can research, ask questions, and really see if this business is form you.
Here are a couple of forums good places to start:
The
Gift Basket Exchange Network is a networking group of gift basket designers,
distributors, wholesalers and related businesses from around the world.
Gift Basket Tips is a place where you'll always find creative ways to
improve your business! Cherie Reagor, Leading Industry Spokesperson and Two-Time
Winner of the Industry's Designer of the Year Award, provides this message board
as a free service to help you develop and build your business skills.
National
Specialty Gift Association - Established in March of 1998, NSGA was formed
out of the cooperative partnership of several gift basket retailers. Their
mission is to achieve greater industry recognition, better purchasing terms,
reliable resources, and expanded networking. NSGA has over 350 members ranging
from home-based corporate specialists to mail-order companies, and gift stores
to wholesale vendors.
What are some types of Gift Baskets you make? What is your personal favorite?
The sky is the limit on types of baskets to make. From baby baskets , to
romantic baskets, housewarming gifts, thank you, get well, and so much more… I
don’t really have a favorite, but if I had to pick one it would be the Gourmet
Delight Deluxe, found here:
http://www.abcgiftsandbaskets.com/gourmet_delight.htm.
Are you able to work out of your house or do you have an office? If you work
out of an office, did you begin your business from your house? I work out of
my home: I have a huge home, with almost 1300 square feet of basement (yes, we
looked for a big basement when we purchased our home, just for that reason: to
be able to work from home, and be there for my kids when they need me.)
Did you begin by marketing to your local area or have you always had a
website? I published my website at the very beginning, when I started the
business, but it was only 3 pages, and a far cry from what it is now. But, my
first customer was a local company who ordered 150 gift baskets just 2 weeks
after I opened my “doors”.
What type of marketing do you use? I use several types of marketing:
-
I actively spread the word about my website through my email signature, and
participating in forums
-
I am constantly working on optimizing my website (I am actually taking a class
on SEO right now)
-
I belong to the local Chamber of commerce, and a BNI group, and participate at
most of their functions and several committees.
-
I belong to a gift basket marketing group
-
I have a monthly email newsletter (here is the link to the archives:
http://www.abcgiftsandbaskets.com/gift_news.htm
)
What is the hardest, and the best, part of your job? The hardest part of my job
is marketing: I am a creative person, and marketing is not my strongest point,
but I am constantly working on getting better.
The best part of my job is seeing the impact my gifts are making on people’s
lives. Both, the sender and the recipient are benefiting from my services: the
sender doesn’t have to spend hors upon hours to find the perfect gift, and then
spend more time to wrap and mail the gifts, and the receiver is pleasantly
surprised to receive a perfect gift on their special day.
What was the best advice given to you? Don’t buy something just because it’s
cute and you “think” it will sell. Buy what you “know” will sell (and you would
know it if you did your research).
What single piece of advice would you give to someone looking to start in the
Gift Basket business? Do your research: don’t let the glamour of owning your
gift basket company keep you from doing it right from the start: it’s a lot
harder to change something than to do it right in the first place. And follow
your dream.
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