How to Start a Corporate Giveaways or Souvenir Items Business

Are you looking for an easy business to start, with great profit potential? Then starting a corporate giveaways or souvenir items business may be for you. Corporate giveaways are items given away by companies to current or potential clients to promote their products and company. Souvenir items, on the other hand, are items given during special occasions like weddings or in vacation sites. The main difference between corporate giveaways and souvenirs is that in the case of souvenirs, most of the buyers are not companies. To get started in this business, here are the basic pointers:

Decide what type of corporate giveaways you want to offer. There are a wide variety of corporate giveaways, from small items like key chains and ball pens to t-shirts and expensive gadgets. Do not try to carry all items if you are just starting out. It would be better to focus on a particular category of items that you could source at a competitive price so that you will be able to both conserve capital and be first-in-mind whenever clients want that particular kind of item.

Hire needed personnel. You will need a graphic artist. Besides doing the artwork, the graphic artist is frequently the one tasked to operate printing equipment. They are the key personnel in this business since much of the quality will depend on their skills and creativity. Other employees you may need depending on the scale of your operations are office staff, account executives, and production and delivery personnel.

Acquire equipment needed. You will need a computer and colored printer for image manipulation and proofing of the image to be printed. Besides this, the equipment you will need depends on the surface and quantity of the main products you will carry. An example is if you will focus mainly on t-shirts, you will need to buy a silk screen machine or heat press suitable for t-shirts. Note that high volume equipment costs millions and it may be better to outsource rather than doing it yourself.

Use the right marketing strategy. If you are targeting companies, it would be more effective if there is a sales person who could visit the offices of potential buyers. You may also participate in trade fairs especially if your item is not commonly available in the domestic market. For souvenir items purchased by individuals, your best bet is to try Internet marketing and tap your personal network to reach buyers economically.

Have professionally-shot pictures of your offerings. Most of the time, you or your account executive would not be able to physically show clients many of your items due to bulkiness. Reliance must then be made on pictures or brochures. In this case, it is strongly advised that you use the services of professional photographers with expertise on product shots. Trying to save money by doing it yourself will result in false savings.

The corporate giveaways and souvenir items business promises good opportunities for the hard working small entrepreneur.

For those interested to know more about this business, BusinessCoach, Inc., a leading business seminar provider, conducts an excellent seminar on this entitled “Starting a Corporate Giveaways and Souvenir Items Business.” Contact (02) 727-5628, (02) 727-8860, (0915) 205-0133 or visit www.businesscoachphil.com for details.

Click here to view details of the seminar: Starting a Corporate Giveaways and Souvenir Items Business »

*Originally published by the Manila Bulletin. C-4, Sunday, July 8, 2012. Written by Ruben Anlacan, Jr. (President, BusinessCoach, Inc.) All rights reserved. May not be reproduced or copied without express written permission of the copyright holders.