Most people love getting gift baskets, whatever the occasion, and much of the time they are not an inexpensive gift. If you have a little creativity and imagination, as well as some free time, creating gift baskets for sale can be a lucrative business.
Gift baskets are often more about presentation than the items they actually contain. I recently received a gift basket from a client as a thank you gift. It was delivered from one of those large online floral companies and after looking it up, I realized it apparently cost over $50.
A friend pointed out to me how easy it would have been to create a very similar basket ourselves, just by purchasing items from the dollar store. The coffee included in the basket was not a name I recognized, although it tasted fine, and the mug included in the gift had a very attractive cat design but was nothing spectacular.
One visit to the dollar store later showed me yes, it would be possible to create this kind of basket for very little. They had a whole range of attractive mugs and several different kinds of gourmet European coffees, as well as cookies, chocolates and even the baskets themselves. I managed to work out that I could recreate the gift basket I had just received for about $6.
Gift baskets can be created for any occasion, baby or bridal showers, birthdays, Easter, graduation, the list goes on and on. Most of what is needed can indeed be purchased at your local dollar store and with just a little creativity you can create a spectacular looking gift basket. If you need ideas there are hundreds of free videos on sites such as YouTube that actually provide step by step instructions on how to create all kinds of gift baskets.
Like any home business to make a success of a gift baskets business you will need to market yourself and your products. Setting up a website is a great idea, but you can also go to local craft and holiday fairs to showcase your wares or even begin your business selling your gift baskets on auction sites like EBay. If you can build up a loyal clientele they will come back to you for all kinds of gift giving occasions.
Interesting post… as an owner of a gift basket company I feel this business makes the perfect home business. There are lots of free ways to market your gifts online and lots of areas to focus on for maximum results: i.e. real estate agents.
There are a lot of vendors available to the gift basket professional… so before you spend all your time running from store to store (especially IF you have children in tow) paying retail I would investigating vendors at a market close to you. The one is Atlanta is amazing and huge in January, but they have them all the major centers and you can check the list of vendors online if it's too far to travel.
http://www.americasmart.com/
I love being involved in the industry and would recommend it to anyone with a creative flair.