Tips For Entrepreneurs This Holiday Season

The holidays are a profitable time of year for many businesses. However, business owners whose products or services do not necessarily jump out as gift ideas may be at a loss for how to participate during this peak shopping season. For example, large retail stores like Best Buy, Wal-Mart, and Bed Bath and Beyond have no problem marketing their products as gifts; however, what about a local furniture store or salon? Oftentimes, gift cards can be a lucrative solution. Below are tips for entrepreneurs whose businesses are not in the traditional holiday industry to leverage the shopping season, thus increasing sales and spreading awareness about products and services.

Gift cards are one of the simplest ways to promote your business during holiday shopping. The benefit of gift cards is twofold: first, it allows the gift receiver to select their own purchase rather than forcing the shopper to guess at what he or she would like, and, second, it spreads the word about your business. If one of your loyal customers gives a gift card to your store to one or more of their friends who may not have heard of your business, you could gain new followers who bring in revenue throughout the year.

Another benefit about selling gift cards, particularly around the holidays, is called breakage. Breakage is the term used when gift cards are not redeemed. Because not everyone who receives a gift card will use it (or use all of it), you may wish to slightly discount your gift cards to incentivize customers to buy them. Thus, you could sell $30 gift cards for $25 to provide further value to holiday shoppers, knowing that the branding is worth more than the $5 hit and that, due to breakage, you are unlikely to lose money.

When selling gift cards, you must also consider their expiration. You should set the expiration for a long enough duration from the time of purchase so that your customers do not worry about their friends or family not having time to use it. In addition, check your state’s policy on expiration, as there are some states that do not allow gift cards to ever expire.

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By utilizing gift cards, almost all businesses, large or small, can be a source for a great holiday gift and can spread their brand.
While we all want to have profitable holiday sales, entrepreneurs should also not forget to give back this holiday season, particularly if they have had a successful year. This could include traditional means such as donating or volunteering, or entrepreneurs could seek more creative ways of giving back. I would like to give props to Charitybuzz, an organization that auctions off various donations, from celebrity luncheons to luxurious getaways, with proceeds benefiting charities.

Charitybuzz is an innovative way for entrepreneurs to raise funds for causes that matter to them. For example, I have donated a year of entrepreneurial training for auction that will benefit the Stratus Foundation, a not-for-profit that awards scholarships for free test preparation and admissions counseling to underrepresented applicants. I highly recommend that entrepreneurs not only focus on increasing revenue this holiday season, but also check out Charitybuzz as a great way to give back this year.