New Information to Learn More About Gift Baskets
One thing I try not to do on this site is assume that you understand everything mentioned or added here.
The Gift Basket Dictionary is frequently updated, so when I refer to a new term, I link to the particular word for clarity.
Here’s some general information to help you get the most from this space.
The page you’re now reading is called a blog (I called it a site in the first sentence, but it’s really a blog).
It’s the most-frequently updated part of the GiftBasketBusiness.com Web site and family of sites. The premise of this blog is to act as a journal that updates you on the latest information important to a gift basket designer’s life.
Ask The Gift Basket Expert and Gift Baskets Newsletter are also blogs. You can tell the difference between a blog and a Web site by looking for a date at the beginning or end of every entry (article). If you see a date, you’re probably viewing a blog.
This blog is updated every weekday. Ask The Gift Basket Expert is updated weekly. Gift Baskets Newsletter, which archives the Email newsletter published on Wednesdays and Sundays, is updated twice weekly.
If you wish to be notified when each blog is updated, you’re welcomed to subscribe to updates by Email.
Just look for the box shown on the left on each blog space.
Type your Email address in the box, and click the word “subscribe.”
I promise you no spam or information you have not requested.
I recently started a podcast, which is a radio broadcast heard through your computer or by downloading the broadcast onto an iPod or another MP3 player (that way you can listen to the podcast while on the road).
The podcast is accessible on this blog. It’s found in the middle column and looks similar to the picture on the left.
Click the drop down button (you may have to click the button two or three times for the menu to appear), and select a recording you wish to hear. Then press the play button. Each podcast is less than 15 minutes.
Do you see the green bars between the drop down button and play button? The bars control the volume. Click on the bars to increase or decrease the sound (shorter bars = lower, longer bars = higher).
Be sure not to listen to the podcast at a traditional job. I don’t want this tool to jeopardize your ability to earn a living while preparing for a full-time life with gift baskets.
This podcast setup is temporary until I create a separate radio Web site. It’s another space soon to be added to the family of sites. Some of you prefer reading text while others want to hear a live voice, and some of you enjoy having both. I want to make sure that all of you are accommodated.
Suggestions for new topics, videos, sites, blogs, and content are always welcome (click the word “comment” directly below this article’s title to respond), but if you have no ideas to share, I guarantee that I’ll always be working on something new to help you learn, grow, and profit.
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Do You Recall this Gift Basket History?
We’ve made great strides in the gift basket industry.
Some of you will remember this blast from the past I’m about to share, and those of you who are new to gift baskets will say, “You did what?”
Just make sure you shout those words in your design studio and not where you work for someone else.
Remember when filling the inside of your basket’s cavity included a floral foam brick?
I used to wrap my floral foam in tissue paper before adding it to the basket. Covering the foam assured that the recipient didn’t get the foam’s gritty surface all over their hands when emptying the basket.
It’s a technique I added to the early editions of How to Start a Home-Based Gift Basket Business.
Now that we rarely, if ever, use foam, manufacturers are making these bricks in pretty pastel colors.
It’s too late to select a color other than gray, but isn’t it great that there’s a better way to fill the inner basket?
Remember trying Mylar shred for the first time?
Like me, you probably saw this unique-and-different shred at a trade show.
I bought this thin, shiny shred in three colors. It was beautiful, but it was also annoying. It stuck to your hands like a magnet and wouldn’t let go.
I smiled broadly when I used the last handful of this shred. It seemed to have a mind of its own.
Remember when NASFT Showcase (now Specialty Food Magazine) and Gifts & Decorative Accessories included a gift basket article in every issue?
The gift baskets were as bountiful as they were beautiful. Each featured designer shared tips for starting from scratch and increasing sales; however, their words never strayed from what you already know:
Is there something you remember about this industry that’s endearing or would be nice to see return?
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How to Learn More About Local Competition
Are you located in the Buffalo, New York area? Then news about a Canadian-based gift basket company that’s coming to Lockport is news to know. A short article about the lease signing appeared in The Buffalo News.
“Community Development Director William J. Evert said the tenant will be assembling gift baskets there. It will begin with 3,564 square feet, with the option to increase that area to about 10,000 square feet.”
Information about competitors doesn’t always appear in the newspaper, but when it does, it’s vital for you to read it.
You can find this news the same way I do - by subscribing to Yahoo! alerts. Here’s how.
1. Learn how to set up your alerts through this Yahoo! link, which will take you to their frequently-asked questions area, a section I encourage you to create for your site in this post.
2. Look for the question, “How do I create an alert?” and click on the link.
3. Create your own alerts on gift baskets and other topics that relate to business in your region. For example, if I want alerts about gift baskets in Butte, Montana, I’d set up alerts for:
Use the symbols suggested by Yahoo!, whether it’s quote marks around words or the plus sign between words, to receive Email alerts to your exact specifications.
A similar alert system is available through Google. Subscribe to that one as well, as each search engine uncovers different stories.
How would you proceed if you received an alert similar to the one about the gift basket company that just signed a lease agreement? I’d:
1. Visit the facility to learn if it’s a retail or commercial space (will they sell gift baskets there in a retail environment, or is it a space where they’ll make gift baskets and ship them worldwide?).
2. Research the company online to learn more about them (you can do that because you have the company’s name and Canadian headquarters’ information).
3. Set up a meeting with the community development director or designated assistant to learn more about the company.
Does the last step make you nervous? Consider what might happen if you don’t learn more about this company. In other words, are you ready to go back to working for someone else, because that’s what may happen without this research.
Create a reason for the meeting.
Do what’s necessary (within the law) to learn about the competition.
The bottom line is that you deserve to know what’s happening in your community, especially if it will impact on your profitability.
When you set up Email alerts, you’ll have access to competitive information when it makes the news. Arm yourself today with this free resource.
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Making Dollars and Sense of Specialty Food Statistics
According to Specialty Food Magazine’s State of the Specialty Food Industry 2008, the following foods are foremost on customers’ must-have list.
Percentage increase in sales between 2005-2007
But look what decreased in sales during that same period.
These last two categories don’t necessarily represent the entire world. If they’re selling well in your area, keep offering, buying, and selling them in gift baskets.
In 1992, this same report separated gift baskets into its own category, which is included in this statistical timeline.
Collecting those statistics were easier back then probably because there weren’t as many specialty food categories as there are today. Now, the only way to determine what’s popular and what’s not is reviewing:
Try your best not to turn your back on statistics that don’t include a gift basket category. Specialty foods’ statistics reveal what’s selling overall so that whether you’re in the first year or fifteenth year of business, you can better determine which type of inventory to buy.
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Outstanding Gift Ideas for Out-of-Towners
Did you see the All-American Gift Guide in Successful Meetings’s May issue? This magazine, subtitled The Authority on Meetings and Incentives, chose products from all 50 states that they consider worthy of presenting to individuals who attend meetings and conventions.
I wrote an article about working with meeting planners and am glad that the Successful Meeting’s article provides more inspiration.
No gift baskets were selected for giving, but as you review the article, you’ll see that many gift basket components are featured. That includes everything from a handmade Arizona basket to Kansas trail mixes to New Jersey salt water taffy.
Keep in mind that this list offers “unique gifts and edible treats under $20, along with a higher-end suggestion for good measure.” So if you’re looking to satisfy meeting planners who plan to bring hundreds of visitors to your state, no-basket gifts might make the most impact to get the sale.
Look at one gift from Pennsylvania as a model.
“The Welcome Box from A Little Bit of Philly includes two bags of Herr’s Potato Chips, two packages of Tasty Cakes, and two waters or sodas. $12″
The actual box isn’t shown in the magazine’s print version, but use your imagine and connections to select a petite box to represent your state. How about a tote bag or a handled, carryall boxes sold by many suppliers? Those boxes will hold a variety of items made in your state.
Best of all, this type of mega-ordered gift won’t require lots of styling. Items and literature are placed into the container, the ends are closed, and the welcome gift is ready for presentation.
Have you offered this type of welcome gift to meeting planners? Does this idea provide you with inspiration to approach these buyers?
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