How to start a Care package Business

June 18, 2018

Care package business

Care packages are carefully curated comfort items which are sent to people who are away from home.

Such people may include soldiers, students, grandparents, or even sick people who are hospitalized.

So how do you turn this seemingly comfort related idea into a care package business?

Follow me as I unveil to you how to start a gift basket business

Why Care package business

Care packages are often personal, meaning that they are specially handpicked for the comfort of the receiver, this means that whoever chooses to do this type of business must be someone who is detailed and has a good eye for beautiful and inexpensive stuff that will make the receiver feel special.

For example, designitbyyourselfgiftbaskets.com is a company that prides itself in offering you the option of curating your own gift basket such that it’s personal to you.

The idea of this business is to create a feeling of having people who are thinking of you sending something to you to let you know that you are being held in high esteem.

I was a little girl who had just gone to the boarding school when I got what I would call my first care package.

You see it was my first time of moving out very far away from my home.

Having moved to another state to attend a high school which was a boarding school,  I remember how I was just in my class when I was sent for by my Principal.

Wondering what I had done, I went to the Principal’s office, I did not know my Dad had sent me a care package, so my attention was needed to access it.

I can still recall my Dads friends’ name who brought that care package and how it made me feel.

This is to tell you that the feeling that is created by such a business is incomparable, especially if the person has been away from home for a while.

An example of a care package can be the carefully crafted bundled offers we have in our online coffee store for the coffee enthusiasts who loves to travel with his own coffee.

Steps to start a care package business

1-Niche:

You have to decide what type of niche you will like to serve.

Will it be College students, or Military personnel or even elderly people who live in care facilities away from their kids.

Nailing down a niche will help you plan better on how to market your business to the right people.

Ways you can segment your care package business

  • -Occasion gift baskets
  • -Holiday Gift Basket
  • -Specialty gift basket care package
  • -Pet lovers care package
  • -Military care
  • College gift basket
  • custom built care package

2-Inventory:

How do you intend to source for your inventory?

Will you carry inventory or will you have an arrangement with all the sellers of your gifts options so that you can easily place your order once your order has been taken.

You also have to decide if you will like to make room for people to make choices from your inventory or perhaps they could give you their own list which they had like you to fulfill and package and send to their loved ones.

Because I will probably prefer that you run this care package business out of your home, I will advise that you give room for customization so that people can get the best of what they want.

Remember that when they are satisfied with your services, they will tell others about their experience.

Because there is no price that we can place on making someone feel good, especially for a loved one, people are often willing to pay a good amount to send such care packages to their loved ones that they have not seen in a while.

3-Pricing:

How do you structure your pricing, remember that in cases where you have to shop for a list, you are spending much more than you will when they pick your already available inventory.

You know, running a care package business is actually a service you are offering because you are taking off the stress of them running around to put together such priceless comfort items for their loved ones, so remember to price your goods appropriately to reflect your costs.

4-Sales channels:

When you decide you want to start a  gift basket business, you will like to know where you want to sell your services.

Will it be in a brick and mortar store? I don’t advise that, it’s too costly to pay a hefty rent before you discover whether you are making sales or not

What do I advise?  start an online shop

An online shop will give you the flexibility of opening your business in as little as one day. Once you have all your pictures and products ready to go, then you are good to go.

I started an online store with a shop provider named Wix,   it did not take me long before I set it up.

Sign up with Wix.

Another great online shop provider is Shopify, they have great features for anyone who wants to build an online store.

Sign up with Shopify

If you will like to see the store I built with Wix, then go to my coffee store and see how it’s built.

Maybe after seeing that store, you are like I can’t do something like this, I will help you set up your online shop with fully loaded products of your choice and keyword rich descriptions in a week.

To let me help you build your online store with Wix- pay here

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5-Picking and Packing: 

For the most part, you will have to pick and pack the gift items yourself, you have to be careful in ensuring that the personality of the receiver shines through in your packaging.

Adding little notes that reflects that person’s needs and even what the family intends to communicate to the receiver is a very important part of this business so be sure you are meticulous about it.

it’s also important to get the appropriate packaging materials that will ensure that your goods are not damaged along the way.

6-Shipping:

Because all your items put together must get to the person at an appropriate time.

You must be willing to take your time to choose a good shipping agency, you do not want delays or lost packages.

It’s also important that you find out what your shipping costs so that you don’t end up doing business at a loss.

Coffee grinder and mug
Coffee grinder + Mug and Coffee maker.

7-Marketing your Business

There is no business which does not require marketing if you want to get sales.

For the care package business, be willing to hit the ground running by approaching your potential clients in person.

If you are going with the college niche which is a really lucrative niche,

Attending sessions where parents are there especially if they are freshmen students will go a long way to make your business visible.

Being creative in putting together bundled offers and packages on the go for people who do not want to spend time picking up their own stuff will also go a long way to ease your sales.

An example of a care package business is basketsbykaron.com, read her interview here

In doing your market research to determine which niche you want to serve, be willing to listen to the people in that niche to find out what kinds of packages will make a difference in their lives.

On a final note, I know care packages are originally designed to be physical goods

But you can also look at digital goods too, these can be curated and sent as care packages too.

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My name is Elizabeth I am a passionate home business owner who wishes to help others achieve their life goals of running a successful home business. I am particular about stay at home moms who wish to transition into a mompreneur.

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