Things You'll Need:
- car or truck (transportation)
- baskets
- things to Put in Your Baskets
- customers
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Step 1
Think about who your customers are and how you are going to find them. Go door-to-door to businesses and show a few examples of your baskets in various styles and colors. The optimal idea is to show a basket with items (food, gifts, etc.) relevant to the business you are visiting.
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Step 2
Present your gift baskets to existing customers if you have some kind of other small business, like a cleaning business, a catering business, fixing computers, or another service.
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Step 3
Make an attractive, useful and quality basket by having an eye for what your customer will like. Make baskets seasonal by taking advantage of the natural ebb and flow of the year and the holidays.
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Step 4
Buy baskets when you are out and you see them on sale. Look for baskets that match the season as that will increase interest in them. For example, use cornucopia baskets for Thanksgiving; red, green or gold baskets for Christmas; red baskets for Valentine's Day. If you can buy them the year before after they go on sell and store them until the next year, you'll save money.
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Step 5
Fill gift baskets with muffins, fruit, decorated cookies, little stuffed animals, and other ornaments depending on the season. Use your cheaper, less-attractive items like grapefruits or big oranges as fillers for the bottom of the basket. You can always use the dried straw filler you find at craft stores for filler too.
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Step 6
Enhance your homemade baskets with final touches of dried flowers, pine boughs, pine cones or ribbon. And sprinkle mixed nuts in the shell over the top of the entire basket when you're done.
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Step 7
Create a new customer base or use an existing one. Going door-to-door to businesses can be difficult at first, but it pays off as you create lasting relationships and repeat business.
Comments
wstewart79 said
on 11/25/2008 I love this article. It is on my favorites list now.