Who’s Telling You Not to Start a Gift Basket Business?
When you’re excited about selling gift baskets, you feel like telling the world. But some people in the world won’t be happy with your decision.
I told an uncle about my choice to make gift baskets. He bombarded me with questions. I happily answered him with responses that proved I’d done my homework, but it didn’t matter. He thought my decision was, for lack of another way of saying it, a crock.
How would you feel if a friend or family member tried to stop you from making gift baskets? Would their harsh words deflate you, or would you take their words with a grain of salt and move forward with your plans?
I address this issue in the first chapter of How to Start a Home-Based Gift Basket Business because most of us have felt the sting of strong opinions coming from people who are closest to us. They don’t believe you will be successful. They say you won’t make it, that this will be another failed attempt at running a business.
How can you proceed if your spirit is deflated?
1. Stop sharing your plans with naysayers.
2. Research the rewards and challenges of participating in the gift basket business so that you’re ready for just about anything.
3. Keep working at your day job until revenues match your employment income for at least nine months.
4. Consistently market your business to clients through online and offline methods to grow your following.
5. Surround yourself with entrepreneurs who support and understand your beliefs.
6. Share your concerns here and at Ask The Gift Basket Expert.
Had I listened to my uncle, I would not have grown my revenue year after year, stopped working for someone else, marketed my gift baskets on television and cable shows, or developed the Gift Basket Business site and blog (what you’re reading here) where I share ideas and information with you.
Most of all, the books How to Start a Home-Based Gift Basket Business and The Gift Basket Design Book would not be available to guide you and thousands of other designers in the right direction.
Listen to your inner spirit. If gift baskets are your passion, let no one’s words take you off course. Keep people who understand business ownership and management in your corner. They are the ones who will bombard you with good guidance.
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Where are Gift Basket Support Groups?
Many gift basket groups have started and ended during my 18 years in the industry. The reason for the disbanding varies.
Few groups thrive today. The ones I’m familiar with are listed on the groups’ page, and there’s a good chance that others exist but aren’t added here.
There are alternatives if you’re looking for local support but no specialized gift basket group meets in your area. Look for:
I meet with a friend each month at a tea shop to talk about goals, triumphs, and dilemmas. We accomplish more in our one-on-one meetings than we’ve ever attained at the noisy lunches coordinated by established organizations.
I’m not saying that there’s something wrong with other groups, but sometimes, two people who listen to and support each other have more power to create dynamic businesses than what’s possible through big, non-specific groups.
What’s been your experience attending gift basket groups or support groups in general?
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How to Plan a Party for Clients
A few weeks ago, one gift basket shop hosted their long-time clients to at an invitation-only event in their facility.
They wanted to accomplish three things: 1) thank clients for their patronage, 2) introduce new products through taste testing, and 3) boost revenues now and in the future.
I don’t know if the event was considered successful or dismal (probably the former because of the shop’s reputation), but it’s evident that owning a store made this event easier to plan than if they did not have a facility.
What’s available if you want to host the same type of event but don’t have a store to create this same great experience for your customers?
1. Ask a service provider to sponsor the event. Most corporate clients have board rooms that can double as your event space. I’ve attended these types of events at accounting firms, so consider asking your accountant if he’s willing to partner with you.
There may be some insurance issues for the host to research (number of people allowed in the building at one time, etc.), so be sure to discuss this with him before a date is determined.
2. Learn where other groups meet. Each week, local newspapers list group meetings and locations. This information may provide you with solid ideas on where to hold your event.
Consider giving away some type of parting gift at the end.
The final answer is not here, but these two options are the starting point to bring your customers together for a memorable event where the cost is low compared to the return.
Have you hosted a party for your clients? What did you learn, and are you planning another one?
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One Way to Develop Business Relationships
A person who owns or is somehow involved with a gift basket business was just named as treasurer of his local chamber of commerce. The story about his position and others named to posts is featured on this news site.
Do you understand what that means in terms of business promotion and future sales?
Becoming part of an entity outside of your business brings you notoriety, exposure, and the ability to put your gift baskets into the hands of corporations and visiting dignitaries that isn’t otherwise available.
Of course, there’s a tradeoff. The main function, in this example, is to maintain the chamber of commerce’s books for a specified period of time. That’s no small deed. However, at term’s end, this gift basket business will be the first company corporations turn to for all-occasion gifts as long as the representative has planted seeds during his tenure.
This stature is also open to you if you choose to pursue it. Such an opportunity takes time and patience to establish. I remember my accountant telling me that it took 10 years of building her membership status to become president of a powerful state-based women’s group. Her business is well known because of her diligence, and her name is synonymous with trust.
On the other hand, it took me less than an hour into my first meeting to become in charge of a golf group’s newsletter. What a waste of time. After months of networking, no one was buying or even interested in my gift baskets. I never truly bonded with the group and should not have accepted the newsletter responsibility during my first meeting with them.
This is a story I share in How to Start a Home-Based Gift Basket Business, one that doesn’t end on a high note. But that doesn’t mean your experience with a chamber group will mirror mine.
If you’re already part of a chamber of commerce, women’s group, or another organization, consider being more than a member, especially if your gut tells you that it’s a good relationship. One day your name may be featured in an article, similar to the one cited in this story. From there, your sales have only one way to go: up.
Here’s another tip to get your name in the news.
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