It is time to look at some business ideas that you can explore. This time around I shall be discussing corporate gift business ideas. You need to understand why corporate gifts are a big deal to some in the first place. Broadly, corporate gifts can be meant for staff, business partners, and even customers amongst others. There was an agribusiness enterprise I worked with last year. Towards the end of the year, they send expensive wines as gifts to their top 3 corporate clients. Anyways, you can tap all this by starting a business offering corporate gift products or services. Let us look at some of the business ideas you can settle for.

Leather-Based Gifts

I love leather products – they are premium and durable. Many people are fond of owning leather products. I have several leather items from a wallet, cardholder, belts, bags, shoes, and so on. Specializing in these can be an excellent fit for subsequent use as corporate gifts. Especially if you have the means to brand or customize by e.g. name tagging, that would be a bull’s eye. You can provide those looking to give out corporate gifts with a wide range of leather products. You can source already-made products or for some, they have the skills to source the leather and make the products themselves.

Outdoor Gifts

When we talk about outdoor experiences this presents us with a long list of items that can be perfect for corporate gifts. You think of it in terms of events types of themes. For example, boating and fishing are one and camping is another. You can consider outdoor activities like mountain climbing. There are also activities like braais, swimming, hiking, and so on – the list goes on. For every one of these activities, there is a wide range of useful things to have. So you can think along the lines of tents, chairs, backpacks, shoe wear, handy equipment and many more. The icing on the cake would be to have them branded.

Awards

One way enterprises can recognize their employees is by giving out awards. An example of awards can belong service awards or annual awards. You can start a business that offers clients products they can use as corporate gifts. This can be medals, certificates, trophies, shields, and the like. A Zimbabwean enterprise in this context that quickly comes to mind is Glass Creations. They produce 2D and 3D portraits, trophies, awards, corporate gifts, and mementoes. You can check them out to get an idea of the picture I am painting for you.

Appliances

This is a broad and diverse category comprised of many possibilities. We are looking at things like kitchen appliances or basic electrical and electronic appliances for example. I have some corporate gifts of this nature from NetOne and Infinix Mobile Zimbabwe. These are things like cob work lights, Bluetooth speakers, and power banks. Appliances can be great picks for corporate gift sets or items. I will say again, branding or customizing will be the best approach to stand out.

Executive Stationery

We cannot talk about corporate gifts without executive stationery. Most companies I know usually give out branded stationery items e.g. pens, highlighters, notepads, diaries, folders, journals, and so on. I would say executive stationery tends to be the most common type of corporate gift.

Brand Name Gifts

This one is an infinite field of possible items. It is all about widely acclaimed brands that would wow a recipient if given as a gift. It can be expensive wine, perfume, jewellery, cosmetic products, and the like. The idea is to source and provides original items with notable brand names.

Giving out corporate gifts serves many purposes. For starters, they are meant to express gratitude or for recognizing clients, customers, or stakeholders and shareholders. The other great purpose it serves is brand visibility. It helps a brand stand out and draw the attention of potential clients, partners, investors, and so on. I am sure you will find these corporate gift business ideas useful. I have a lady friend of mine, Elizabeth Zimbiri, who has a company here in Zimbabwe which specializes in corporate gifts. The company is called Estyle Corporate Gifts & Branding. You can check it out to get a real-life appreciation of what a business in this field can be like. Notice how she strategically included the branding aspect – makes it easier to do everything in-house.