What I've Learned About Starting A Gift Basket Business During My 8 Year Journey

by Traci
(New Hampshire)

My Starting A Gift Basket Story Began 8 Years Ago

Eight years ago I went into the Gift Basket business out of a need and a want I guess.

• I had just had my first child and desperately wanted to stay home a little longer.


• I had always been crafty and always got such joy out of making gift baskets for family and friends and got huge compliments on my creations.
  
  

During My Maternity Leave, A Friend Offered To Pay Me To Put Together A Basket For Her Husband’s 40th Birthday

I actually got paid to do something I really enjoyed! That really motivated me and I purchased some supplies from my local craft store.

Then I created demo or sample baskets for different occasions: Valentine's day, Mother's day, Father's day, two kids' baskets one for a boy and one for a girl etc.

• I took great photos of them and made a flyer.


• I also thought up other possible ideas and wrote up a description of how I could customize a basket that caters to anyone’s interests.

Starting A Gift Basket Business - How I Got The Word Out

First, I started getting the word out to friends and family that I went into the gift basket business and offered them a discount to order from me.

Then I printed and distributed flyers all over local businesses in my area, back then social media wasn’t as popular as it is now.

I also set up a website featuring photos of my product line, testimonials from satisfied customers and lots of ideas for every basket I could think of.

After The Word Got Out, My Gift Basket Start Up Business Took On A Life Of It's Own

Orders started to come in, I was working out of my basement to keep my overhead low and to lower it even more, I found wholesale distributors for my supplies

Since Starting A Gift Basket Business And Introducing Seasonal Themed-Baskets, I've Seen A Great Response To By Holiday Gift Baskets

Business took off and my best sellers were my holiday baskets: Mother’s day, Father’s day, Graduation and Valentine’s.

I also came up with a great Wedding and Baby shower line and kept business coming year round and they became top sellers!!

Starting A Gift Basket Business - The Impact Of The Economy On My Business

The economy hit us pretty hard and our profits were very low, but we kept ourselves on our customer’s minds with continued email campaigns, and then social media, and honestly, great customer service went a long way.

We did our best to make sure anyone who purchased from us had a great experience and got a fantastic product, and we’re known for that!

Starting My Gift Basket Business - 8 Years Later

Now looking back I would still go into business for myself, it’s been very rewarding, however, I would have grown a little slower and kept my overheard lower.

I also wish I knew wholesale suppliers sooner, that would have saved me a lot of money that I could have profited or passed on the savings to my customers.

I Had To Learn Almost Everything By Trial And Error, I Didn’t Know Much About This Business Before Starting

The biggest surprise was that word of mouth was one of our most successful marketing methods, coupled with a clean and simple website, it brought us most of our business.


Best part, I got the best of both worlds, family and business!