What Would You Change Today?
There wasn’t much support – no, let me update that – there wasn’t any support for me in 1989 when I began developing a plan to open my gift basket business.
One book that was written in 1983 existed, penned by a woman living in England, but there was no Internet to help me uncover that source.
More than a decade after my start, I found gift basket articles in magazines dating back to the early 1900s, but finding such resources weren’t on my mind when I began. I wanted like-minded people to learn from and a blueprint to help me decide what to buy and where to buy it.
Most of all, the one thing I would have changed when starting my gift basket business was opening the business in a storefront rather than at home. That one change may have forced me to be more business minded than I was in the beginning.
Still, I rose in the ranks to speak at conferences, appear on popular television shows, and write How to Start a Home-Based Gift Basket Business and The Gift Basket Design Book, all which allowed me to support designers worldwide through my experience, but owning a store in the first years was a goal I did not achieve.
Looking back at your roots, what’s the one thing about starting your business that you’d change today?
- Did you make mistakes that cost you too many dollars?
- Which corporate client did you run from rather than towards?
- Was not having access to certain people caused unnecessary hardships?
What’s that one tweak that would have made a positive difference in the way your business is structured today or, by chance, did you get it right the first time?
What’s the Worst Advice Given to You About Gift Baskets?
“It costs under $100 to start.”
“You don’t need design talent.”
“Go into business with your friend.”
Someone, somewhere said something about gift baskets that made sense at the time, but as you became more familiar with the industry, that advice went straight out the door.
You realized that the person, who’s never owned a business let alone a gift basket business, didn’t know what they were talking about.
The advice may have cost you time or money, or perhaps you didn’t act on it and are glad nothing was wasted.
My worst memory comes from a woman who attended a recordkeeping course with me as I planned to open for business. She said, “You should make gift baskets for 10-year-old boys. I’d buy it.”
Wanting to please this potential first customer, I searched high and low to find products for this age group. Unfortunately, I purchased everything from a wholesaler, which meant buying cases of products.
I called the woman when the gift basket was made, but she never returned my call. There I was, with a big investment and no buyers. That was a lesson in understanding my target market before buying inventory.
What was the worst advice you’ve received about gift baskets?
How to Stay Positive While Starting a Gift Basket Business
Launching a gift basket business is not for anyone who’s timid.
You’re both excited and nervous, asking yourself all types of questions:
Why not create affirmative statements from these same questions?
Designers who launched their businesses before you were also anxious and apprehensive, and today many of them earn six-figure incomes. That future is yours, too, if you focus on the good that can and will happen.
There’s no doubt that problems are part of your future. However, all of the trials that you mastered with designing and administrative work, along with in-person and/or online mentorship, are part of your success package.
Think positively, and you’ll reap the rewards that were waiting patiently for you to take this monumental step.
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