Although Any Occasion Baskets is a year-round business, the holiday season is when the bulk of its sales come. And during a pandemic, owner Felicia Parker and her team have to be ready for anything. Consumers who aren’t comfortable shopping for gifts may turn to a service like Any Occasion Baskets to share the love with their friends, family and colleagues.
Describe your business.
Any Occasion Baskets is a gift basket company that offers one-of-a-kind gifts for any occasion. We create baskets that are unique and tailored to our customer’s gifting needs. We offer in-stock and custom gift options that accommodate a range of price points.
Who are your customers?
We serve both consumer and corporate clients. We curate gifts for large orders or a person who needs a special something for a special occasion. We have been the basket vendor for KB Home going on three years, and we have enjoyed every busy minute of it. We have also created gifts for health care companies, real estate agencies and churches. We serve a diverse client base, and we enjoy the challenge of curating the perfect gift for each client.
How do you come up with your gifts and basket creations?
Our baskets are tailored for the coffee lover, the new homeowner, the chocolate lover, new baby and more. We have a team meeting and plan “who” we will gear the baskets toward. We want the basket to be exactly what that client would have chosen for themselves. Our planning is the biggest part of our company success. We taste our products that we source to ensure they will be great in the baskets, we get feedback from some loyal clients to ensure we are offering what is needed and wanted for their gifting needs, and then we get to work pulling it all together.
What is your favorite basket?
The inspire basket is personal to our company and we wanted to share it with our clients. It’s my favorite because we want our clients to live inspired and live to inspire. The basket is part of our Inspire giveback program, in which we give back to local schools in need, local hospitals and community centers. We started the business with the focus to give back and to inspire others to do the same.
What challenges or obstacles do you face as a small-business owner?
One challenge is access to funding that would allow us to run a more robust marketing campaign. We have experienced some obstacles when competing with larger companies that hold a large portion of the market share. We must find a way to gain the attention of our potential clients and grow the business with the limited resources that we have.
What’s the best business advice you’ve received?
Be true to the reason I started the business. The biggest distraction is comparing our business to others and getting away from what makes our company unique. We started with the focus on providing one-of-a-kind gifts. My team and I meet regularly so we can stay focused and true to our purpose.
Anything else you want to share?
I want to encourage anyone who has a business dream or goal to pursue it wholeheartedly. There may be challenges, people may say it will not work, or fear may be shouting in your face, but go after that business idea that excites you. Someone needs what you have to offer, so chase your business dream with boldness and 100% effort. You will be surprised at what can happen.