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One Key to Gift Basket Business Success is Doing Your Homework
By Flora Morris Brown, Ph.D. | June 19, 2008
A critical step in starting any business is to learn as much as possible about the business before you begin. This is especially true of the gift basket business since it has many working parts and is labor intensive.
When asked what you would do differently if you started your business over, a number of gift basket designers said they would spend more time researching. Here are some of the responses:
Melissa Clonch, Owner-President of Gift Baskets by Melissa shared the following:
Although I have only been in business since January of 2007, I have made many of the mistakes that often occur when starting a gift basket business.
The following is one key area I would change if I had to start my gift basket business over:
Research, Research, Research!!! Just when you think you have done enough research - do more!
Read all the articles, books, magazines, message boards, etc. that you can find that pertain to the gift basket industry. Research your community and other gift shops in your area. You want to offer something different from your competition.
It is also a great idea to watch gift basket videos and DVDs by some of the leading business women in the gift basket industry as well as attend their seminars, classes and trade shows. The small investment you make for this research will far out way the expense you incur from the costly mistakes.
Janet Pakrul, owner of Simple Sweets said
If I had to start my business over, I would find a mentor or ask an existing “Gift Basket” owner many questions and advice on what makes their business work. Sometimes we learn the hard way, I could have learned from a seasoned business person and applied much of that to my particular business.
Although I did so much research on starting a business - there wasn’t a lot of information on starting a “Gift Basket Business” . Also, I wish in my particular location, that there were courses for creating gift baskets. I’ve taken accounting and business start up courses, but the “meat and potatoes” of the business would be the “Gift Basket Business”, creation, design, finding clients, and marketing this business. We are not in a large metro area, but we receive orders from all over the US via our website.
Fortunately there is a wealth of gift basket business information on the Internet now for Melissa, Janet and YOU. Be sure to visit these sites for starters:
Websites created by Flora Morris Brown, Ph.D.
Gift Basket Business World
The Gift Basket Library
Make Gift Baskets Now
Easy Gift Basket Ideas
Add Gift Baskets
Gift Basket Business
Gift Basket Business Blog
Gift Basket Class
Gift Basket Tutorials
Gift Basket Dictionary
Topics: educational materials, gift basket DVDs, gift basket business, starting a gift basket business |