KIDS KREATIVE KORNER

MAKING MONEY WITH GIFT BASKETS

Thanks to a Creative Program for Youngsters, Porshay Smith Began a Successful Business Selling Gift Baskets.

By Bonnie Drew

Porshay Smith knew exactly what she wanted. "When I was 14, I saw my friends working hourly jobs and saw my mother in business for herself," says the Los Angeles teen. "That's when I decided I wanted to be my own boss."

To get business training, Porshay enrolled in a one-year program called Tomorrow's Entrepreneurs Today (TET), directed by Fannie Butler, a former LA school teacher. After attending classes every Saturday for six months, Porshay (nicknamed Shay) opened a business called Shay's Baskets.

"My mother is in real estate and always needs gifts for her clients," explains Porshay, now 17. "That's how I got the idea for selling gift baskets."

Before she opened her business, the TET instructors helped her write a business plan that spelled out exactly how she would organize the business, handle the finances and sell her products. One of the first lessons she learned was that she could make more profit if she paid less for things to fill her baskets.

"I buy standard basket fillers like candy, balloons, ribbon, mugs, wedding favors and baby gifts in quantity from wholesalers or discount warehouses," she says. "That way I can price my baskets from $5 to $50 and still make a good profit."

Porshay's two best ways to sell baskets are trade fairs and word-of-mouth advertising. She has now been in business three years.

As an alumni of TET, Porshay also assists other youth who are entering the program.

"The most important advice I have is not to give up," she says. "There will be times when business is down. But if you keep on working, you'll get more customers and your business will grow."

 

Bonnie Drew is the author of FAST CASH FOR KIDS (2nd edition), published by Career Press (1-800-227-3371). She is also the creator of the KIDS BUSINESS software for young entrepreneurs, available from Homeland Publications (713-332-9764).