Start A Gift Baskets Business
About
Starting a gift baskets business requires a great deal of effort, dedication, and most importantly passion.
If you're interested in how to sell gift baskets, or selling gift baskets online, you can use this page as a guide for everything you'll need to know.
Want to learn more? You can check out our full guide on how to start a gift baskets business ➜
Key stats
Startup Costs
| Min Startup Costs | Max Startup Costs | |
|---|---|---|
| Office Space Expenses | $35 | $3,250 |
| Employee & Freelancer Expenses | $0 | $5,500 |
| Equipment & Supply Expenses | $550 | $6,000 |
| Website Costs | $232 | $6,500 |
| Business Formation Fees | $5,600 | $20,400 |
| Retail Business Expenses | $0 | $16,150 |
| Inventory Expenses | $350 | $14,750 |
| Software Expenses | $150 | $3,044 |
| Advertising & Marketing Costs | $75 | $5,286 |
| Other Expenses | $0 | $800 |
| Total Startup Costs | $6,992 | $81,680 |
Successful Businesses
| Business | URL | Rank | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
The Gift Basket Association | gift-basket-association.thinkific.com | #2,198 |
|
bigbasket | business.bigbasket.com | #5,665 |
|
MrsFields | mrsfields.com | #64,117 |
|
See's Candies | business-gifts.sees.com | #76,997 |
|
Igourmet | igourmet.com | #123,165 |
|
Business Gifts | Corporate Gift Baskets | CorporateGift.com | corporategift.com | #162,646 |
|
Hickory Farms: Gift Baskets & Specialty Gourmet Food Gifts | hickoryfarms.com | #169,794 |
|
1800Baskets.com | 1800baskets.com | #176,287 |
|
The Fruit Company | thefruitcompany.com | #204,094 |
|
The Popcorn Factory | thepopcornfactory.com | #216,659 |
|
Gift Baskets by Design It Yourself Gift Baskets | designityourselfgiftbaskets.com | #371,817 |
Pros & Cons
| Pros | Description |
|---|---|
| Flexibility | You can put as much time into the business as you'd like. If you like the work and have some initial experience, you can start small and manage all aspects of the business on your own. |
| Ability to start your business from home | It's not necessary to have a physical storefront or office space to get your business started. You can do everything from the comfort of your own home, at least in the beginning! |
| Meaningful business connections | You never know who you will meet as a gift baskets business. This could be the start of an incredible business opportunity! |
| High customer retention rates | Once a customer invests in your product, they've invested their time and energy to utilize your product/service which is highly valuable to them. Typically, your product or service becomes indispensable to your customer. |
| Gain exposure and experience | This career allows you to gain experience working for multiple different businesses - which will benefit your resume and also keep things interesting for you! |
| Unlimited income potential | With starting a gift baskets business there is no cap as to how much income you can make. The stronger your business skills and the more energy/time you put into your career, the more you'll make. |
| Cons | Description |
|---|---|
| Motivation of employees | If you plan to have a sales/content team on board, finding creative ways to motivate them can be a challenge. It's important that you're able to offer great incentives and a good work environment for your employees. |
| Longer Sales Process | A gift baskets business can be a big time and money investment for your customer, so it's important you plan and predict a longer conversion funnel and stay in communication with potential customers. |
| Low margins | The gross margins for your gift baskets business are typically around 25%, which can make it more challenging to incur new expenses and maintain profitability. |
| High employee turnover | In the gift baskets business, employee turnover is often high, which can be quite costly and time consuming for your business. It's important to try and avoid this as much as possible by offering competitive pay, benefits, and a positive work environment. |
| Taxes | As a gift baskets business, you typically pay self-employment taxes which can be quite high. It's important to understand what you will be paying in taxes each year so you can determine if the work you're taking on is worth it. |
| Niche Market | A niche business is not necessarily a bad thing, in fact, it can be the key to your success. However, it can be more challenging and time consuming to find the perfect niche market and target audience. |
Marketing Ideas
-
1
Word of mouth
The most tried and true way to grow a gift baskets business is through word of mouth - some entrepreneurs would say it's more important than all social media.
-
2
Partnerships
Starting a gift baskets business is all about building relationships and becoming an integral part of your community.
Many entrepreneurs make the mistake of thinking they can do everything on their own. In reality, other businesses (even your competition) and members of your community can be a huge piece of your growth strategy.
When forming any type of partnership, a lot of energy and time can go into this.
-
3
Advertising on social media
Social media advertising is one of the leading ways to get the word out when it comes to gift baskets business.
There are various different Social Media platforms available to you. Some may be more critical for your marketing efforts than others, however, it's important to have an understanding of what's out there and available to you.
"An amazing network of founders that truly want to help each other grow their business."
