How can you keep your gift basket business running smoothly. Follow these three ways to operate like a well-oiled machine.
Everything at arm’s length
Do you find yourself in your studio walking 10 steps to get a basket, another 12 steps to get shred, and then walk more to get products? If so, you’re taking too many steps. That’s not part of a good start-up plan.
It’s time to organize your gift basket studio so you can stay in a small space and make designs in the shortest amount of time.
A gym or health club is the place for a workout. The space you occupy for gift basket making is for commerce.
Look at your space and put all the items that you need most often atop, next to, under, or behind the worktable.
That’s how new and long-time gift basket designers I mentor every week learn to manage their spaces.
Move a little, not a lot
When I began the gift-basket making process, my first worktable was my ironing board. I share that start-up information and other details in the industry’s best-selling book, How to Start a Home-Based Gift Basket Business.
It was not an ideal space. However, I placed items under and around the ironing board to create a friendly environment before I relocated to a better facility.
That better space included an office with shelves, containers, a cooler, and everything I needed for efficiency.
I once heard copywriter, Bob Bly, tell an audience that he works from the seat of his pants.
That means Bob sits at his desk and has everything he needs for his workday at arm’s length. He rarely gets up to retrieve anything because he merely extends either arm to get what he needs to complete projects.
You may not be a wordsmith, but Bob’s practice is one you can duplicate in your gift basket studio.
A 30-day test for efficiency
Try this experiment. For the next month, assess your space and everything in its current position.
Can the shred be repositioned to a more-friendly place?
Where can baskets and containers be put so it’s close but not in the way?
How will enhancements fit in an area closer to the worktable?
Practice the following three ways to operate your business like a well-oiled machine.
- Organize for efficiency
- Reduce your reach
- Take fewer steps
Re-think your office space so it’s friendly for you and systematized to make more gift baskets, more money, and more smiles on customers’ faces.
What’s the first area of your design studio that you will change?
