The gifting market is a $253 billion market, meaning that almost 1% of the money spent on retail is to buy a gift. This is great news for the gift professionals everywhere. With several major gifting holidays, and many other gifting occasions throughout the year, opportunity is knocking at your door.

But how do you get started?

Here are some basics needed to start a gift basket business:

First, you need to do your research:

-who is your competition?
-who is your target market?
-who are your potential customers?

Write a business plan: this will help you put your goals and ideas into a clear format, and serve as a place to go back and check how you are doing.

Write a marketing plan:

-how are you going to attract your potential customers?
-will you profit from corporate clients, foot traffic, or a combination of ways?

Once you’ve done the above, choose a business name, get your business license and Tax ID.

Take time when you choose your business name: when you first start, you may want to have your name included in your business name, or even a "cute" name, but later on, as you get corporate customers, you"ll realize that your name has a great impact on how your customers perceive you. If your market is "new moms", by all means use some name they can relate to, but if you plan on getting corporate clients, give it a professional name.

Next step would be to get insurance for your business: yes, it"s costly. But not having one could be devastating to your company"s financial future, or, if you are set up as a Sole Proprietor, your family"s financial future. Business insurance is very important, and one of the costs of doing business.

You are now ready to order your inventory, and start your first prototypes.

Next, get a business phone line. And it"s important that only you or one of your trained staff answer the phone. Many of us start in our homes, to be home with our kids, and that is wonderful. But if your kids are screaming in the background, don"t pick up the phone: while another mom could understand your predicament, the busy assistant of a large company will probably not want to put up with that.

Once you are all set for business, you"ll want to get a website, so that your clients can order on line if they choose to do so. In the last few years web design costs came down a lot, so it"s not as expensive as in the past.

These are just the first few steps to get you started. Have fun and never stop learning.

Adriana Copaceanu is an experienced gift professional who loves helping others. For tips on taking your gift basket business to the next level, visit Gift Professional Resource Center and http://www.giftbiz101.com. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Adriana_Copaceanu

A business opportunity is a transaction that may involve the sale or lease of services and goods resulting to profitability. There are several business opportunities available for each individual or company.

For a company, a business opportunity is a chance to increase earnings by widening areas of production and services. For example, if a company would like to put up another branch in a certain location, the company would look for possible locations that would be conducive to the business. If it were a fast food chain, the company would likely assess the accessibility of the location to major establishments like malls, offices or schools and the demography in that area. If all these factors coincide with what the company is looking for, then it becomes a business opportunity — a means of earning more money — for the company.

A business opportunity for an individual is similar to a company’s opportunity, though it is usually on a smaller scale. For example, a person who can bake cakes or cookies can turn this skill into a business opportunity — selling the goods to friends and letting others know of the product he or she is selling.

There are also other levels of business opportunities like multi-level or network marketing. This involves marketing a product to a minimum of two people and allowing them to market the product to other people until several others are involved. This type of marketing strategy gives compensations based on the sale of goods and on the additional sales of the people they bring into the business. This is one of the most sought after business opportunities right now. It is sad to note that there are a lot of people who try to take advantage of this scheme to deceive other people. They claim that their business is legitimate and end up taking the cash of the people who join them. It is important to check the validity of any business opportunities you embark upon.

Anybody can sense and create a business opportunity. Even children know when and how to make money. The traditional kid’s business is a lemonade stand, but many have found out that, for example, a collection of comic books can easily turn into a business opportunity.