"17 Gift Basket Business Tips and Trade Secrets You Must Know to Start Up or 'Pump Life' Into A Gift Basket Business"

by Helen Hecker

Before you jump into starting up a gift basket business there are several important trade secrets and tips you must know.  Trade secrets  are necessary in every type of business and gift basket businesses have their own special trade secrets too.  I am outlining just some of the gift basket business tips and trade secrets here because it'll save you a lot of time and money to know this in advance. It also may prevent you from making the wrong decisions. 

Starting a Gift Basket Business Tips and Trade Secrets 

1.  Research the gift show or related trade shows in your area.  They're usually held 2-3 times a year and are not open to the public.   On the West Coast you'll find Western Exhibitors.  They run shows in Seattle, Portland and San Francisco.  The Internet can provide directories of other regional gift shows.  You'll want to register for your regional gift show.  They may require some proof-of-business credentials.  Each gift show may have different requirements.  Sometimes, it'll be 2 pieces of business I.D.  For example a voided business check, business card or other evidence that you are in business.  You may have to do a little juggling. At the least if you can't come up with the required pieces, find a friend who is in business and have he or she register and then you can go as a guest until you have the needed credentials. Going as a guest may cost $30 or so. In some cases you may be able to go along for free. 

2.  Once you're able to get into the  show, you'll want to look specifically for gift basket merchandise.  There'll be lots of vendors set up with smaller items that you can use for supplies for your gift baskets.  You'll be able to order supplies wholesale in small or large lots.  On your first  visit try not to go overboard on ordering until you learn all the ropes.  Compare prices.  Vendors are competitive.  Be very careful about buying any packaged food items.  These go stale FAST.  Nothing could be worse then having a customer open up a stale package of cookies or crackers. 

3.  Find out which vendors have showrooms outside of the gift show.  The show rooms will allow you admittance throughout the year.  One good one, for example, is Pacific Rim in Seattle.  It houses hundreds of items and you can go in and browse and buy wholesale for your gift baskets throughout the year.

4.  Find specialty packaging outlets in your area. For example in the Portland area there is a store called Packaging Specialties.  This is especially set up for the gift basket trade and you can buy wholesale there.  Call the store to find out what is required. Show proper ID and set up an account. You can find dozens of different colored  shredded basket fillers and cellophane wrap, for example, at wholesale prices.  Again be careful and don't overdo.  Buy only small amounts of what you think you'll need.  Stick to 2-3 colors of basket filler.  Filler comes in huge boxes so you'll need room to store.

5.  Subscribe to the trade magazine for the gift basket industry-- Gift Basket Review.  You can call them to see if you can get a free sample issue.  The magazine is full of ideas and vendors who advertise.  They feature gift basket designers and shop owners and you can learn lots of little tips from them.

6.  When ordering products compare prices carefully.  Some have minimum orders.  Try to buy from places you can physically go to like Pacific Rim that I mentioned above.  When ordering from one of the companies, try to pick those that have a lot of different items.  They may have a minimum order and it makes more sense to order from them rather than the individual food vendors where you have to order a large amount to get a good discount on packaged cookies that could go stale.

7.  For wired ribbon I found the cheapest and best selection at Costco.  They have many varieties and different widths and colors and patterns.  Starting out choose golds and reds rather than multi-colored ribbon.  Stock up  when they have it because Costco may not carry the ribbon you want throughout the year.

8.  Look in the yellow pages for gift basket stores in your area.  Visit the store to get ideas.  Talk to the owners if possible to see what you can learn about wholesale suppliers and what they are doing and what is selling. In other words interview the owner.  You will glean many ideas and  valuable inside information.  If you like you can tell them if you're specializing in one or two types of baskets, so it won't be competitive to them.

9. To learn how to make professional gift baskets from professional designers, watching DVDs or videos on how to do it will get you off to a very good start.  You can pick up lots of ideas and really know what you are doing.  My 2 DVDs or videos can help you with that.   "How To Make Gift Baskets"  features an internationally known gift basket designer who teaches how to make professional quality custom gift baskets.  She includes lots of her tips, tools, trade secrets and techniques from start to finish. It's a full 60 minutes.  The second DVD features the same designer, is 90 minutes and is a must for the professional designer.  "How to Make Simple Award-Winning Bows".   These will get you educated fast and off to a good start. You'll have a lot more knowledge than the average gift basket business owner.  For more information on the DVDs and videos: Products For Gift Basket Businesses

10. For the DVDs or a great ebook, about starting a gift basket business  that will give you more meaty ideas and the basics for starting out,  see other links on this site or go to the home page:  http://www.howtomakebeautifulgiftbasket.com

11. Think ahead.  From what you learn about the gift basket business you can  write an ebook, produce a video or DVD, run classes from home, teach a class at your community college, become a gift basket business consultant, etc.  Think in broad terms. With your knowledge you will not be limited to just making gift baskets. People will pay you to learn what you know!

12.  If you have children or siblings, teach them how to make baskets too.  The kids can earn extra money by making gift baskets and selling them to friends  neighbors, teachers, at church, etc.  It's a great learning experience for them-- from selecting the items, to learning about business , to creating the baskets. They could specialize in a teacher's gift basket or a kid's birthday gift basket.

13.  Think about specializing in a particular type of unique, custom basket -- along with your usual baskets.  For example:  Red Hat Society gift baskets, golf lover's gift baskets, nurse's gift baskets, troop gifts or troop gift baskets, ethnic baskets like Mexican food gift baskets or Italian food gift baskets, environmentally friendly gift baskets, quilting gift baskets, technology gift baskets, etc.  Put on your thinking cap. You can get lots of press coverage or media attention if you come up with something truly unusual or unique. What are your specific interests or hobbies? Lots of great ideas here: Gift Basket Themes

14.  Most importantly, before you even think about going into the gift basket business decide on what market you want sell to and how you're going to market your gift baskets.  In other words, who are you going to be selling to and how.  Can you specialize in a particular type of basket which would narrow your market and give you a good niche that would be less competitive? Send your specialized gift basket to a food or lifestyle editor at your local newspaper, along with a simple press release for possible great media exposure. 

15.  Think about putting up a website and taking your gift basket business online!  It's not that hard to do if you have the right website builder.   

General Tips and Trade Secrets for Starting Your Gift Basket Business

16-17. General trade secrets and tips from my 30-plus years in a dozen successful businesses:

Start your business at home where you'll have low overhead.  Wait until you're generating enough sales to warrant taking on a building lease.  In most cases it'll be best to work from home or a home setting. Try not to borrow money. Pay as you go. Go slow.  Don't rush into decisions or feel pressured to make decisions.  If you're not sure about a purchase, wait-- think about it for a few days or at least overnight.  Many items  and food items cannot be returned when buying wholesale.  Reinvest some or all of your profits if possible.  Don't load up on inventory.  Buy as you go. Buy wholesale.  Look for BRAND NEW items at garage sales like flower picks or artificial flowers that you can use for filler between your items.  

With the gift basket business tips I've given you here, you should get off to a good running start.

For lots more tips and trade secrets like these, the DVDs or subscribing to my free newsletter "Helen Hecker's Biz Hotline", click  the links on this page.

"Take the first step in faith.  You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step." --Dr. Martin Luther King

copyright©2005-2006  Helen Hecker  All rights reserved.