Gift Basket Business Blog

A Checklist for Mother’s Day

April 16th, 2006 at 10:15am Lorie Obernauer

According to the US Census Bureau, there are about 82.5 million mothers in the United States and retailers report that Mother’s Day is the second biggest gift giving holiday. Although Mother’s Day is still four weeks away, it’s not too early to make sure that your gift basket business is ready to deliver the goods to Mom!

• Check your gourmet foods! Make sure that you have stock of all gourmet food items that you’ll be using in your Mother’s Day baskets. It’s hard to know how much you’ll sell. You can look at prior years sales or take your best guess based on orders you took for previous holidays. In any case, have a back up plan in case you run out of an item you are planning to use in a particular design. Make sure you know where you can buy the product if your usual supplier is out of stock. Or choose a reasonable substitute that you know can get quickly.
• Check your “non-food basket” items! This includes everything you are using in your designs other than food items: ribbons, fillers, and enhancements. As with the foods, have a plan in mind for substitutions if you run out of stock of any of these items.
• Check your supplies! Make sure you have plenty of supplies for packing and shipping your designs: boxes, packing paper, tape, shipping labels.
• Do advance work! Complete projects that can be done ahead of time (making bows, assembling packing boxes). Organize your inventory so that all of the items used in each design are stacked together in your work room and easily accessible.
• Post a work schedule! Give your employees plenty of advanced notice about their schedules during the weeks before a holiday. They have plans and preparations of their own. By letting them know what your needs and expectations are, everyone concerned can balance their personal and work responsibilities.
• Be prepared for last minute orders! Whether you work by yourself or have several employees, it’s worthwhile to know how you will handle last minute orders that are sure to come in. How late will you work? How late do you expect your designers to work? If you have delivery drivers, how late do you expect them to be on the road? By thinking ahead, you can sure to satisfy your customers, your staff and yourself!

Entry Filed under: Business Tips