Saturday, March 01, 2008

Starting a Gift Basket Business



Starting a gift basket business is both fun and rewarding. As with starting any business, you must first do a lot of research before starting a gift basket business. Two years ago, I started a gift basket business called Thinking of You. I have a website that sells Snack Gift Baskets.

I began my business with very little research. I would recommend doing your research before starting your gift basket business. My first bit of advice would be to figure out the type of gift baskets you want to offer. When I first started my business I wanted to offer all types. However, after a year of trying that out, I realized that the hype about "finding your niche" was actually not hype at all, but good business advice.

Some people learn by reading, however, I usually learn by doing. My way was much less profitable. After deciding the type of gifts you want to create, you should decide if you want a local or online business. The limits with a local business are that you have to have a store front to generate enough natural advertisement to create a solid clientele. However, if you decide to have an online store, you can work from home or warehouse, offer services nationwide, and create a broader client base. Then again, you will have to deal with creating a website and keeping up with it.

The choice depends on the person and what you want for your business. You could always service both industries with time. The most important thing to first think about when trying to start your gift basket business is researching important things to know.

One of the biggest names in the industry and someone that can teach a lot of information is Cherie Reagor. http://www.cheriereagor.com/ She has created a set of instructional videos that teach even the most design-challenged person how to create gift baskets. One of the most important things to remember, however, when deciding on your designs for gift baskets is to make them unique. Do not take someone's design or images and use them as your own. This is unethical. We work hard to make our own designs as we expect newcomers to do the same.

Friday, February 29, 2008

The Structure of a Gift Basket



When I decide a design of a gift basket to see whether or not it is, in my opinion, a good design, I consider a few things to make up my mind.

First of all, I consider balance. When you look at the gift basket, does it feel unbalanced and chaotic, or does it feel very much balanced and calming? Within my gift baskets I like symmetry. I like to make my gift baskets, such as this deluxe movie gift basket, symmetrical and balanced to the eye.

Next, when I look a gift basket to see if it is a great gift, I look at the contents. Is this basket full of items that your recipient will love, or is it full of a bunch of filler items like huge boxes of crackers filled mostly with air? I, personally, do not get many people request gourmet gift baskets, however that doesn't mean they are not delicious. My business focuses on snack gift baskets filled with junk food items that seem to please everyone. For the health conscious we are about to launch our baked gift basket line filled with items such as baked chips, nuts, and sugar free candy.

Now, the next thing I look for in a great gift basket is overall design. Does it look great? If it looks great, contains enough contents and good products for the price, and feels right, then it will probably be a hit to your recipient.

We hope you decide to order a unique gift basket today. Order from Thinking of You. Your recipient will not be disappointed!

Sunday, February 24, 2008

Birthday Gift Baskets


Birthday Gift Baskets are great gifts for your loved ones. This happy birthday gift basket that we have created is absolutely filled with a ton of candy and treats that everyone loves. There is such a variety in this unique gift basket that it will please a person with any palette. We can customize gift baskets for you also. If your loved one loves crunch bars, we can make sure that we add a bunch of their favorite candy bars to this treat. You don't have to call and make special requests to personalize this gift. We know calling can be a hassle and sometimes impossible. If you order this special gift, just make a few requests in the comments box during your order. You can say:
"Yes, I ordered one of your birthday gift baskets and I would like to add a bottle of coca cola and see if there is anyway you can add more Butterfingers bars, Kit Kat's, and skittles, but DO NOT add m&ms, Starburst or Cheetos. "
All we will do is use your specifications and take out items you don't want and add items you do. As long as the items you request are available to us, we will do it! The basket will be the same size, just customized for your recipient's taste buds!

Thursday, February 21, 2008

New Gift Basket Designs and Images




As I began reworking my website: Unique Gift Baskets, I realized that I need to take better quality images of my gift baskets. I love making gift baskets. It is a great way for me to use my artistic abilities to make something great. One of my favorite baskets I have made recently is a candy bar gift basket - pink chocolate that was ordered for valentine's day. This beautiful gift basket I designed using a pink chocolate gift box and metallic pink poofs. I placed 50 candy bars/variety chocolate candy, in this beautiful gift basket. The result was a great gift.

Gift Baskets can be time consuming to make. I hand cut and made each of the pink metallic poofs in this basket. I also designed the gift basket to be somewhat symetrical. I like a nice clean look of symetry better than a jumbled mess of food. As our business grows we are learning more and more what we feel makes a great gift basket. I have decided to primarily stick to junk food gift baskets, candy gift baskets, and snack gift baskets. I feel that is what most of my customers enjoy. I also do baby gift baskets and baby time capsules, and wedding towel cakes and wedding time capsules. Currently, I am working and brainstorming some new and exciting gift basket designs that I think my customers will love. I am planning to not only add designs, but also add different items such as cokes, that used to be custom orders only. I hope everyone will keep an eye out for our new gift basket designs. I can't wait to show you my new gift baskets!

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Snack Gift Baskets


Hello everyone!


I have been working hard to decide a good direction for my business. In order to discover my niche I have crunched numbers and looked at previous orders over and over. I have recently come to the conclusion that snack gift baskets are my best sellers! Since I adore making snack gift baskets and chocolate candy gift baskets, I am thrilled. My customers have been pleased with their snack gift basket orders, so I am very happy to announce that we are primarily focusing Thinking of You Gift Baskets to offer as a majority of our selection, snack gift baskets.
Currently, we are updating our site and hoping to get some new, cleaner, better images as the one above so that our customers can much more easily see the type of gift they are purchasing. We are hoping to have some new designs as well as new images to show them off. We love creating new snack gift baskets that everyone seems to enjoy.

Sunday, March 25, 2007

Custom Gift Baskets

Everyone knows that Easter is coming soon! It is almost time for the easter bunny to whip out a bunch of adorable gift baskets especially for the little youngsters. Its obvious that the main ingredient in a great Easter gift basket is candy.. candy... and MORE candy! That is what most kids usually get in their easter baskets. Why not change it up? Think about presentation. Want to cut back on the amount of candy? Why not add a nice spring outfit? Add some toys, socks, books, paint sets, coloring books, crayons, balls, cars, dolls, etc.. There is no restriction. To make it look like there is more candy, just make sure all the candy is up front! It will be the perfect gift.

Tuesday, February 06, 2007

Be her Valentine!

Its getting closer fellas.... closer and closer as we speak. Are you going to get the love of your life roses... AGAIN? How about a teddy bear... AGAIN? Or perhaps you want to just give her a card.. AGAIN? Guys, trust me when I say that all these things will be appreciated, but it is a little over done dont you think? Why don't you try a truely romantic date. First of all, take your special lady to dinner at her favorite place. Open doors for her, treat her special, but don't over do it. Next, take her either dancing or to a movie depending on how fancy her favorite restaurant is and what her likes and dislikes are. If its a movie, just make sure you pick the right one. Then, take her back home, rub her feet, and run her bath while she is relaxing in the other room. Decorate the bath with rose petals, candles, and maybe even some nice music. Have the most gorgeous Spa Gift Basket waiting on your lovely lady. Show her you think she deserves to relax and de-stress. It will be worth it, and she will love it! http://www.thinkingofyou-giftbaskets.com