Selasa, 10 April 2012

Costume Design, Small Business Idea


Overview
A costume design business can be a one choice of your idea as a small business you can try, this business is the perfect entrepreneurial venture for people who love style and design. Money you can earn while you doing your hobby. You will like to sew and have a creative streak, this could be the home based business for you.  You can make costumes on demand from clients or develop your own designs and market them. This business is good in the metropolitan areas where events and social gatherings regularly occur, but if you have no enough place for that, never backward your dream, you can starting a costume design business by calls for passion and creativity.
This business is pretty lucrative. A costume design business basically involves creating costumes for occasions like Halloween and other festivities. Children are braver during a performance if they have a great costume.  Costumes are great for Halloween, birthday parties, recitals, and plays.  A custom made costume says quality, durability, and uniqueness. This might give you an impression that it’s a seasonal business but it definitely is not. What about birthday parties, parades, plays, musicals and dances.
Costumes for dance recitals and school plays can be created and sold as sets.  The buyer gets a deal on the costumes and you get their business.  For an additional expense, offer your services for alterations on the night of the play or recital in case there are fitting issues. 

Equipment
Material you require for your costume design business can be found at several place, flea markets, discount stores, yard sales, and consignment shops. In custom design, you will need some equipment, both materials and equipments are easy to be found in stores. Basic equipments you need are a sewing machine, hangers, clothing racks, sewing supplies, tables to work, along with equipment for the business end. But for more professional work, you will require Designing Tools, The equipment a clothing designer needs for this can be as simple as a sketch pad, a pencil and a few other drawing supplies like colored markers. Pattern Tools, Some choose to drape material, for which you may only need a sewing dummy, some pins and a pair of scissors. Others choose to cut out patterns, which entails the same tools as drapers along with pattern paper and a cutting table. Sewing Tools, A sewing machine with all the add-ons is needed as well as needles for the hand-sewn embellishments. You'll need to sew at least a few prototypes of the line to show potential buyers and other clients. And then, you have to get the required equipment. A sewing machine, hangers, clothing racks, sewing supplies, and tables to work are necessary and a computer and a printer. Marketing Tools, Your actual clothes will do most of the speaking when trying to gain new clients and buyers in fashion design. Additional Tools, you will need additional tools, such as computer software that you can utilize to do some of the work for you.
Not just for adult, costume designs are great for children. They fuel the imagination. Your business can grow as much or as little as you want. Explore your imagination to explode your business growing.

Starting
In a costume design business you have to know how to start and grow your business. Whether you live in a rural area with little or no events or in a bustling city with large theatre groups, there are ways to make a living from your trade. To be a good in your work, you need skills in. Creativity is the number one skill needed followed by sewing. And you also need to have an eye for the current trends so that you will sell interesting custome for most people. Materials are not cheap for a costume business. If you buy clothing from discount places, a starting inventory, equipment, and advertising can run by low cost as start up. You would fine a small business loan to allow you for the purchase of all items you need.
Costume designer needs to have creative skill and the imagination, for several purpose, people love bright colors so you will be using a lot of those. Knowledge of all events is not a must but it is highly recommended.  For example, Halloween costumes, learning what the current trends are will keep you from creating costumes that won’t sell.
There are some tips you can you use when you really in this business and want to start and grow your business: You'll improve your skills, by the time you will learn new design and your experience are will influence your business growing. Be Look Like a Professional, your potential customer will look you synonymous with a fashion designer, they will expect to you as expert in it. Make sure that you have good equipment to work with, never let your equipment pause your enjoyable activities in costume design when them meet trouble. These can you applied at the start of your costume design business. Find a mentor to help you develop your craft and navigate the pitfalls of working in this field.

Marketing
This is an important part of your business. A costume design business can grow through word-of-mouth marketing and is also easily marketed with simple flyers and business cards.  Offer your own personalized costume designs to your potential customer away with details in. If they’re happy with your finished product, they can be your best marketing tool.
You might consider a website that enables potential customers to browse your inventory and make purchases. Consider giving a few free samples your family, close friend, or other potential customer, such in events and other where parties are held so that potential customers can see your products. You can also throw your own party and give out a costume design with your business name on it, so your product do its own advertising. 
There are several way to promote and selling Your costume design:
1. Make samples you can give away to potential clients such on brochures. Make sure you have your business contact information on them. Local shops and stores are usually happy to allow you to place products in their store for sale. Flyers should be placed in places where plays are possible. This includes churches, daycare centers, and after school centers and any other events. 
2. Ads in local newspapers that cater to stay-at-home mothers or parents in general can generate more business.
3. make some attractive business cards and brochures. Look for potential client opportunities, includes school meetings and events, social get-togethers, reunions, parties and so on.
4. Look for potential business opportunities selling. include birthday parties, high school and family reunions, corporate picnics or meetings, anniversary parties, and so on
5. let party and event planners know about your business and the products you offer. 
6. Place your products for sale in an online store. 
eBay can be a tool for as your marketing to showcase and sell costume designs and groups of costumes, this will more worldwide your customer.

Money you can earn from Costume design business is depend on your quantity and quality of product selling, and depending on how many the client orders. For very small orders, you might consider charging the client an artwork set up fee. If the customer is going to place a large quantity order, you'll want to give them a lower bar price. When your order is ready for shipping, you will want to pack your costume design carefully so that it doesn’t break, or become damaged in route.

Expand
By the time, when experience you hold as professional in costume design, you can try to expand your business related to costume design. There are several kinds of business you can choose, one of them are t-shirt business. It look will not required high cost as start up, and even you can combine your old business with t-shirt business. You can hire a professional in t-shit making. There are many resource you can use to be success in both business, but however, never you let to step on t-shirt or new business else if you not held yet your costume design. So, make sure you are really can operate your costume design before you try the another as your side business.

Senin, 09 April 2012

Gift Basket, Small Business Ideas


Are you a type who love creative ideas including in gift basket? If you so, you have a main basic to start a small business, you have the opportunity to be creative every day you choose to work and start a basket as your small business. Basket for several people become something special beside the fill as a gift, and to make the right basket as a gift, is require a skill and creativity. As long as you have the desire, you can start a gift basket business. You don’t need any special education or any expensive equipment to start a gift basket business and succeed. One of the best things when you start a gift basket business is how quick and easy it is. You can use skills you already have in your gift basket business, and work part-time or full-time. And the key to be success in this business is if people who buy from your gift basket business will be able to express their feelings — such as love, sympathy, or gratitude — with your beautiful gift baskets, the more they smile for the satisfying is the more money for you.
Before you are really deciding to come in to this business, You might also want to ask yourself if you possess the qualities of a successful business owner, this business is not required a occasion education, but special training is influenced your ability and skill. But above all, the more you need to look into your self are :  self disciplined, professional, creative, courageous, resilient, patient, self-confident and determined?  If so, start your steps.
There are many kinds of basket we knowing around us. You might choose one kind as your specialize or you can choose to offer all types of gift baskets to sell, for example, you might offer: baby shower gift baskets, Christmas and other holiday gift baskets, gift baskets with healthy organic food, bath and beauty gift baskets, get-well gift baskets, gift baskets for sports fans, new home owner gift baskets and or create any type of gift basket you most enjoy according to your creativity!
Gift baskets are the ideal gift they are customisable to suit the receiver's needs, they are reasonably priced, there are gift basket ideas for every occasion, they can be modified for each indvidual and each situation.
Gift baskets are incredibly popular with both senders and receivers, and the reasons to send a gift basket are virtually limitless. Here are some of the more common reasons and occasions when people may want to hire you to create a gift basket: Appreciation, Apologsy, Birthday, Christmas, Congratulations, Easter, Holiday Season, Honeymoon, Get Well, I’m Sorry, Mother's Day, New Baby, New Home, Retirement, Sympathy, Thank You, Thinking of You, Valentine's Day, Wedding and so on.

Create a gift basket is Quick and easy. You can create a beautiful gift basket even if you have never done any craft work before and with practice it just gets easier. Once you have decided on your gift basket theme and purchased your supplies the basket can be created in as little as 20 minutes.
The basics needed in creating gift basket require a small amount of equipment. Some suitable containers for your gift baskets, some decorative items such as bows, a glue gun, cellophane wrap and of course, the inventory for the type of gift baskets you are making - wine gift baskets, spa gift baskets, gourmet gift baskets, chocolate gift baskets etc. A good sized table is needed for assembling the gift baskets. And to be successful in this business, basically you will require creativity, a sense of design, good interpersonal, organizational skills, enthusiasm and energy, if without these, your business will run lowly.
If you want to be recognized as a professional in the business world then you must operate a professional business.  Make sure you have a separate phone line for example.  Make sure when you make business calls that there are no other household noises in the background.  Also, if you use e-mail, set up a special business address so that you can control and maintain your messages. Make sure you have professionally made business cards, brochures, letterhead, etc. 

As the first step when you really decide to come in to this business is research and planning, put your research and planning on paper into a business plan for your business, including if there are a competitor near your area, be sure you have something special to offer as a niche. If you have done your research, have good products, offer excellent service, competitive pricing, continually market your products and services, and work hard, your income potential can be limitless.  It is up to you to determine how much money you wish to make.
One easier way to understand about this business is learn from people who have been successful in this business, might be they have key steps to be success, you can learn that. It will save many of your stat up money and you will build your right foundation.
A gift basket business can be fun and profitable for a crafty person. Many people start out by signing on with gift basket companies or purchasing business opportunities that require monthly payments. You don't have to commit to paying monthly fees to get started in this business, however. You can build your own gift basket company from scratch. 
You can set up your steps on the most specific or effective in this business, this necessary for the growing of your business. Becoming successful in the gift basket business may take some planning and time, but you can get started quickly, even if you are on a budget. Plan your steps on to : 
Decide location of your business. Home based business offer a low cost at start, but lower overhead, but a critical location typically get more foot traffic and may find it easier to make initial sales.
Never better then you learn before about how to make gift baskets, this will influence quality of your basket product. There are many resource for that purpose, you can purchase instructional books or video, or even if possible joint a training workshop, usually this won’t take a long time until over.
Obtain business licensing, this based on where you place your business. Come to local authority to get enough information about. For several country, this option is based on the product capacity, and if you including food in your basket, some jurisdictions will require you to obtain special licensing.
Decide the types of gift baskets you want to sell. The type of your gift basket will influence the your selling quantity. You may choose to sell gift basket for all occasions or be specialize in specific only.
Set prices for your gift baskets, this based on the quality of your product trend in your location, but low price at first as promotion is good for your growing.
Create an initial selection of gift baskets to sell. If you choose to sell many kinds of gift basket, create your gift basket depend on your budget. Create just a few at first. Use them as your promotion for your potential customer, and offer them.
Find wholesale suppliers of gift basket supplies. Finding low-cost items to include in your gift baskets may translate into more profit for you.

If you running this business on a full time, you will begin your day with preparing your gift basket store, to place your inventory to the correct place, checking for massages of order come in, answering a phone of a question or order, and make sure you follow up on all massages. Monitoring your employee if you have, and during the day you will create your gift basket, or if you decide your own time to do, usually in evening when you are at home. If you have deliveries that need to be made, line up some friends that could to packing and shipping.

There are some ways to sell your product. You can choose both online and offline way. In offline, you can decide from first where you will place your business base, home based business or you rent a critical place. You can sell your gift baskets on consignment through retail stores. But before those all, Identifying potential clients for your gift basket business and creating a gift basket client database.
To be effectively marketing of your gift basket business, in your marketing plan must include about, Where and how to advertise your gift basket business, How to get free publicity for your gift basket business, How to develop strategic partnerships and get referrals from other businesses when you start a gift basket business.
Have a home party to sell your products, or rent a booth at a craft mall and sell your custom-made gift baskets there.  Sell your candles or gift baskets at craft fairs.  In another hand, you can sell and offer your gift baskets to the corporate, in this you will need a skill to approach corporate clients and how to make the sale.
Your gift basket business never will be known well if you never promote your product. You will need to create marketing tools for your gift basket business, including brochures for your gift basket business, Gift basket samples, A gift basket portfolio and if able you will need to build Your website for your gift basket business.
Maybe never thinked before about the power of word of mouth. In this way, you will start out by selling to family, friends and coworkers or any one as your close friends.  Tell other parents, your doctor, your hairstylist, your dentist, etc, provide your actual and interesting brochure, give the actual picture in, and never let them confusing with your offering.  Make sure you have plenty of business cards too. This will show you how fast word of mouth spreads. Network is one more the effective way, there are so many ways to do this from the school to local charity groups.  Consider donating a basket or product for a special event with a charity or other organizations.  Give them and ask them to pass a couple on to friends as possible of you.

Selasa, 03 April 2012

Florist Store, Small Business Idea

In this world, Flowers are life in the daily of people’s lives. Their beauty and color allows people to convey their messages get-well soon for their friends or family, flower could be a congratulatory messages to a newly promoted colleague, condolences to a grieving family, and to express our love to another person. Every occasion is celebrated with flowers, or with no occasion, even people buy flowers just for their them selves.
If you love flowers and have innate artistic ability in creating wonderful floral arrangements, This could be an opportunity for you to provide many need of people for flower. you may consider starting a florist shop. You may provide the wedding party with all its floral needs, including consultation, design, delivery, setup and breakdown of floral bouquets and arrangements at the event. You can earn high enough money from this business, but the income of a florist business depends on local need, competition, skills, and oftentimes, the location. A website estimated that an established florist operating full time from a good location -without employees- can sell about $100,000 to $150,000 in floral services annually, of course this require a developed business, developed a target market, and has in place all your equipment and supplies.  
Once you decide, you will in part-time while learning floral design and gradually build your operation and portfolio, and your daily you will meting the needs of the client, securing agreements with suppliers, juggling multiple events and so on.

There are many thing required to start this business. You would need a business license, a supplier or access to a flower market, flower-arranging supplies and refrigeration. Business cards, website, calendar, phone, transportation and a list of resources and contacts are also necessary.
In florist business, you will meet it more than just selling flowers, you will what selling is a service of providing skillfully-arranged flowers and so on,  and the one key to gain success in this business, you would need to have all the elements in the process of providing a service: knowledge, materials and labor.
From the first step, you will determine what type of floral business exactly, that will influence what kind of florist you will sell, since this allows them to serve customers and complete floral arrangements.
Educate yourself, that will help full your knowing about different type of flower, ability in arranging and sell skill. Hire staff if it required, for a professional work, in a part is sometimes need a staff to help you run your business, but that depending upon the size your business.
One thing influence your business growing is location. A wholesale business generally does better in locations with lots of growing space, a retail florist business should be located in a high traffic area that allows customers easy access to the store. Your shop must be situated in an area conveniently located for your customers. The location you choose must have sufficient drive-by and walk-by traffic. Check your budget, and try to find the best possible location that you can afford. If you use your home as your place of business, it must be in a well-traveled street in an area nearby retail businesses. At the start, you may decide to run your florist business from home, with you doing the entire process of designing, selling, delivering and ordering new supplies.
Purchase the necessary equipment and supplies. A retail business requires a cooler to keep cut flowers from wilting too fast, you should determine what you need in advance and budget accordingly.
Register your business to local authority. Most states and cities require you to register your business, account for sales tax and more.
Your business will never known well if you don’t advertise it. After you have everything and ready to go, do market and advertise your business, that will influence your business growing, build a good image to make customer interest to your store.

However, when you decide to run this business, you must have basic knowledge and an extensive knowledge of soils, plant nutrition, and light and temperature control will really required. You should also creative and artistic flair to come up with innovative flower arrangements. Both formal or informal education in floriculture is helpful, or you can try to gain experience in the business by working in another floral shop before you deciding to open your own.
In other side, a solid understanding of business and economics is needed, because flower business is more than arranging flowers. you will meet buying, selling, record keeping, planning profits, managing costs, marketing and attracting customers. This business require you to balance both the creative side of the florist business with the business management side.
In the business, selling is art, you must know how to deal with customers. You will be facing the public all the time, that require pleasant personality must. so it is imperative that you know how to cultivate customer relationships.

If you are on a limited budget, you can start small, working from home and then grow your business, moving a larger location in the future, choose a name for your company and Register your business and if you plan to operate your flower shop business out of your home, check with your local government office about zoning ordinances and possible land use restrictions. If necessery, set up a business bank account, sparate your personal finance and and your business finance. Purchase floral inventory needed, including floral design tools, packaging materials, office supplies, computer equipment and a van or other vehicle for deliveries (if necessary). Provide your business phone number and email, place all important information to your business card, your customer will easy to access your store, and build your website, you will get more benefit with it, your customer will be more wide without limited by geographic, and you can offer and sell your product via internet.

There are no more effective way to make people know about your business without an advertisement.  This require your skill and creativity to build a good image about your store. Invite smoothly customer to come to your store. Create a professional-quality marketing materials like brochures, newsletters and business cards, those you can create without a high paying, even you can make it by yourself. Do the best you can do provide people many information about your business. Other way, you can design company presentations for clients that help you make more sales. And the other cheap advertisement is newspaper, local radio, etc.Web site could be a good way to convey everything about your business.
 
If you can operate your business well and your business in good growing, you can start to think expand your business. There are several kinds business you can choose as your second business, but before you decide it, please remember that the bad planning in business (even in the second business) will effect for all of your business, so before you are really do it, ensure that you take the lowest risk.
Beside your florist business, you can start to combine your first business with arranging flower as your second business, you can operate both business well if you have good plan in it. You can combine both business because there are some similar in both business. If you success in both business, you will earn more money in your daily.