Gift Basket Business

Maybe your city or state has restrictions against setting up a gift basket business at home, or perhaps finances are tight right now and you're unable to buy all the supplies required to start making gift baskets.

These examples are the most-popular reasons that aspiring designers cite for not starting their businesses, followed by not having enough room at home and hearing resistance against your business from a spouse.

Are you facing one of these problems?

If so, you're not alone. Best of all, there are ways to be part of the gift basket industry and make a healthy living without getting your hands in the shred or upsetting the home environment. Here's how to get involved.

1. Sell gift baskets through a drop shipper. When you're a member of a drop ship company's affiliate program, they will fulfill and mail orders that arrive through your Web site. You receive monthly commissions that are sent to you through PayPal or a check by mail.

This type of selling requires that you have a Web site. You add the drop shipper's photographs onto the site. Visitors choose gift baskets, flowers, cakes, and other gift items available through the drop shipper, which are sent directly to the customer, usually with your business name on the outside package.

Setting up this type of business is a popular alternative to buying lots of products. It save you money and space problem at home while you easily earn commissions.

Click here for details on the Drop Ship Vendors Report.

2. Become a gift basket industry affiliate by selling gift basket books, DVDs, CDs, and other resource materials to friends, online buddies and acquaintances who visit your personal Web site.

Banners and articles are available to promote this program and belong on a Web site that focuses on your children, hobbies, opinions, advice and other non-gift basket selling topics.

In other words, it's a site that does not focus on selling gift baskets because you want visitors to consider making gift baskets and purchasing products that will help them start and succeed.

Affiliate programs, such as Gift Basket Affiliate, pays a 30 percent commission on every purchase associated with your membership, and payments are sent to you PayPal account every month as long as $10 or more is in your affiliate account.

Click here to join the Gift Basket Affiliate Program.

Those who can sell gift baskets from home invest in products and resources to be successful. Those who cannot sell gift baskets can also create a rewarding lifestyle by promoting products and services belonging to other companies. You make money without spending money.

Which method is right for you?

About the Author:
Shirley George Frazier is the world's authority on the gift basket industry. She's the author of How to Start a Home-Based Gift Basket Business and The Gift Basket Design Book, the industry's best-selling books. Shirley speaks about gift baskets at trade, business, and consumer shows worldwide and is quoted in many gift industry and business publications. Join the Basket Biz membership at GiftBasketBusiness.com.

Making gift baskets is fun and fast, especially when you know where to find great foods, snacks, gifts, and more to create your winning design.

One question I'm often asked at seminars, conferences, and adult school classes is, "Where can I find products?"

I now direct them to the GiftBasketWholesaleSupplies.com Web site where everything is available online.

The site is organized in U.S. state order, and there's also a section for Canadian-based products.

You no longer have to use search engines to find supplies that, in some cases, are right in your backyard.

About the Author:
Shirley George Frazier is the world's authority on the gift basket industry. She's the author of How to Start a Home-Based Gift Basket Business and The Gift Basket Design Book, the industry's best-selling books. Shirley speaks about gift baskets at trade, business, and consumer shows worldwide and is quoted in many gift industry and business publications. Sign up for her free, weekly newsletter at GiftBasketBusiness.com.

When you think about making a gift basket, what's the first item you need to get started? A terrific, empty basket that's sturdy, looks good, and puts a smile on the receiver's face the moment he or she sees it.

Baskets are available in many sizes, shapes, styles, and colors. They're made from wicker or wire and created with or without handles. Some styles are lined with fabric while others are trimmed in a color that coordinates with the main part of the vessel.

You can see samples of great baskets on this new baskets site. Be sure to see the page with pictures showing empty baskets next to finished gift basket designs.

Look for a basket that's waiting for a reason to become a gift in your basement, attic, or garage. If nothing's there, try a local retail stores to find your perfect basket.

About the Author:
Shirley George Frazier is the world's authority on the gift basket industry. She's the author of How to Start a Home-Based Gift Basket Business and The Gift Basket Design Book, the industry's best-selling books. Shirley speaks about gift baskets at trade, business, and consumer shows worldwide and is quoted in many gift industry and business publications. Sign up for her free, weekly newsletter at GiftBasketBusiness.com.

What goodies are inside of your holiday baskets? You'll get raves if you start with the type that can be opened and eaten immediately.

If the receiver loves making breads, dips, and soup mixes, that collection makes a wonderful basket. But what will she eat while preparing the foods? Add a delicious mix to her gift basket, such as:

*Popcorn
*Nuts
*Chocolates
*Wafers
*Biscotti
*Pretzels
*Salsa chips
*Potato chips

Great gift baskets include a balance of open-and-eat treats and hearty, quick-to-make foods. Add both for a wonderful assortment no one can resist.

You'll find more ideas at GiftBasketBusiness.com and by watching videos at GiftBasketTutorials.com.

My travels to speak about gift basket topics take me to gift shows throughout the U.S., and when I travel, I look for familiar and unique products that customers want in their baskets.

Where can you learn about terrific products?

First, keep the tried-and-true products in mind: sausage, cheese, crackers, nuts, cookies, and beverages.

Next, keep your eyes open for these items when you shop at local stores.

Finally, visit my show reports online. I share sources from events in Atlanta, Boston, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and other locations.

Best of all, you'll find gifts and foods to fill your baskets while sitting at the computer.

Every designer considers the bow atop each gift basket as the crowning masterpiece. It's the enhancement that convinces customers to buy fast before someone else gets their hands on it.

Gift basket makers keep dozens of ribbon spools available, using each one at a time or combining two ribbons together to create a dazzling bow.

They've also become creative in organizing their ribbon, using everything from clear containers to rain gutters as holders.

Read more about ribbon options for your all-occasion baskets. From organza to satin to solids, you'll find many possibilities to keep your gift baskets selling swiftly every day.

About the Author:
Shirley George Frazier is the world's authority on the gift basket industry. She's the author of How to Start a Home-Based Gift Basket Business and The Gift Basket Design Book, the industry's best-selling books. Shirley speaks about gift baskets at trade, business, and consumer shows worldwide and is quoted in many gift industry and business publications. Sign up for her free, weekly newsletter at GiftBasketBusiness.com.

There are many options available to learn how to make gift baskets like the pros. You can:

1. Buy a book. The Gift Basket Design Book shows step-by-step design instructions.

2. Get a video. Gift Basket Basics, in DVD or VHS format, provides great instructions you can follow.

3. Take a class. Demonstration and hands-on classes are taught around the world.

You'll find a list of my upcoming classes on the GiftBasketBusiness.com Web site, and the article Finding Classes in Your State is another source for locating a design class.

About the Author:
Shirley George Frazier is the world's authority on the gift basket industry. She's the author of How to Start a Home-Based Gift Basket Business and The Gift Basket Design Book, the industry's best-selling books. Shirley speaks about gift baskets at trade, business, and consumer shows worldwide and is quoted in many gift industry and business publications. Sign up for her free, weekly newsletter at GiftBasketBusiness.com.

Every idea needs a money to make it work, and gift baskets are no different.

Products and supplies such as baskets, shred, foods, and gifts are required before you start making your gorgeous designs. Other items are listed on the GiftBasketBusiness.com frequently-asked questions pages.

I talk to people who find money in the most unlikely places. One woman's father entered her gift basket business idea in a contest sponsored by American Express. His essay won her a $10,000 cash prize and laptop computer.

I read about an Internet company that gave grant money to people who submitted their business plan, and I shared the info in my weekly gift basket newsletter. A woman contacted me by Email to say that her plan was accepted, and the Web company sent her $3,000 to start making gift baskets.

I'd be skeptical about these stories if I hadn't seen and heard about it on my own, but it's all true.

Money sources still exist on the off the Web to fund your gift basket business. The how-to-find money pages at GiftBasketBusiness.com tell you where to start searching for start-up capital. Be patient as you research, and soon you'll start your gift basket-making plans.

About the Author:
Shirley George Frazier is the world's authority on the gift basket industry. She's the author of How to Start a Home-Based Gift Basket Business and The Gift Basket Design Book, the industry's best-selling books. Shirley speaks about gift baskets at trade, business, and consumer shows worldwide and is quoted in many gift industry and business publications. Sign up for her free, weekly newsletter at GiftBasketBusiness.com.

Gift baskets reign as one of the most-popular gifts to create and receive. That's why I entered the industry in 1990. I wanted to make something beautiful with my hands while bringing joy or comfort to the recipient.

Gift baskets are made for all occasions, from birthdays to bereavement. You'll find many ideas for creating them on GiftBasketBusiness.com and GiftBasketTutorials.com, two sites where I share tips to help you start a gift basket hobby or business as a part-time or full-time enterprise.

If you prefer to learn about creating these masterpieces at home through books, DVDs, and other resources, there are plenty of materials available today, which you'll find through the above two Web sites.

Many designers who started making gift baskets as a hobby are now earning revenue in excess of $100,000, and so can you if you are determined to learn not just how to make gift baskets but also understand the steps to manage a business. That includes buying inventory, accepting credit card payments, and marketing your gift baskets to corporations who buy them for employees and clients.

Visit GiftBasketBusiness.com and GiftBasketTutorials.com when you're ready to learn all about making and selling gift baskets. I'll be your mentor and show you how to create a rewarding and prosperous life.

About the Author:
Shirley George Frazier is the world's authority on the gift basket industry. She's the author of How to Start a Home-Based Gift Basket Business and The Gift Basket Design Book, the industry's best-selling books. Shirley speaks about gift baskets at trade, business, and consumer shows worldwide and is quoted in many gift industry and business publications. Sign up for her free, weekly newsletter at GiftBasketBusiness.com.