gift baskets

All business is about relationships and gift giving is about nurturing just that. By giving gifts one not only say's 'thank you' but also tells a story about one's values and their relationship. Thoughtful meaningful gifts go a long way, letting your clients and employees know they mean more than dollar signs and cogs in the wheel. Good gifts say that you're listening, attentive, respectful and honouring, all things of value in relationships, business and otherwise.

1. A good gift is a great investment. Last Christmas one of my clients sent a gift to a consultant that had sub contracted her some work over the last year. At the time the gift recipient just happened to be looking for some extra help to fulfill a contract. The gift she had sent had put her top of mind and got her the work. The $100 gift turned into a $10,000 contract, a 100X return on investment!
2. Appreciation is one of the strongest ways to build your business. People make your business what it is and appreciation can make people feel good about their contribution if its done the right way. We've got some great tips on how to appreciate people, just ask and you shall receive. A thoughtful gift basket is a lot cheaper than a raise.
3. A difference between good and great companies is healthy corporate culture. Gifts are an easy way to let people know what's important to you and your business. This works both internally and externally. Corporate gifts can tell a story about who you are as a company and why people work for you, do business with you and refer business your way.
4. When friends and family ask your employees "how's work?" during the holidays you don't want them to answer "whatevs?!?". Even a small gesture of some delicious holiday cookies can raise moral.
5. Taking care of the details shows that you're good business. If quality is part of what makes your business successful, tasteful holiday gifts that are enjoyed, are creative and respect our community and environment can tell a lot about your business. Not a fly by night opperation but here for the long haul. Who do you want to deal with?

I'm always on the look out for amazing new products to add to our gift baskets. Checking out specialty shops, farmers markets, doing internet research to name a few, looking for the best delicious, locally sourced, organic and fair trade products. Gourmet foods, snacks, spa and body care products, coffee, tea, and of coursemany people's favorite, chocolate. There are days when something unexpected shows up, a package that wasn't ordered, someone sending me something to check out. This past spring I received one such package, from Sara Redpath of Sarandipity, a local chocolatier in Ladysmith, BC on Vancouver Island, filled with samples of her organic and fair trade chocolate creations. Another day at the office!

A few Sarandipity products really stood out for us so we decided to add them to our corporate gifts and gift boxes:

Chocolate Smores - graham cracker, marshmellow and chocolate goodness, without the mess of making them over the fire or the nasty preservatives in those store bought chocolate marshmellow cookies

Artisan Hot Chocolate - we tried Sara's 'A weekend in Paris'. Definitely a nice sweet treat on a rainy day. She's also got a whole bunch of other flavoured hot chocolates we've yet to try.

Northwest Chocolate Hazelnut Bark - thin, crispy, dark chocolate bark sprinkled with ground local hazelnuts. Nuff said. The bag didn't last long in our office.

Top 3 things we like about Sarandipity

1. Making it happen - we like how Sara just sent us her awesome chocolate knowing that we'd want it for our cool gift boxes
2. No compromises - Sarandipity chocolates taste great. Sourcing only organic and/or fair trade chocolate and cocoa ensure social and environmental responsibility. Not only does the chocolate make me feel good, so do the values.
3. Peace - That's how Sara signs her emails! Root natty root.

The Green Zebra guide - local savings for sustainable living, is a great corporate gift to give employees to encourage a culture for sustainability and green business within your organization. Culture is king and how people behave dictates if business strategy is executed or just talked about. The Green Zebra guide is the Entertainment book for green living, filled with coupons and offers for local, health and environmental products and services. Yoga classes, health food stores, restaurants, attractions, hotels and yes, even gift basket businesses have coupons inside, many of value worth more than the $20 purchase price of the book. If you're wondering how to get your employees to bring sustainability into the work place, why don't you try to get them to bring it into their lives. If they like it, they'll bring it to work and feel good about it too.

Sustainable business doesn't work if its another thing for your employees to do. More tasks and more things to be responsible for in their job description. Green business flourishes when it's just how people do their job. It's part of the culture of how decisions are made, how opportunities turn are executed, the questions people ask and the answers they have. It's been well proven that sustainability can save companies money in HR, retaining employees for longer periods of time, increasing productivity and decreasing costs associated with training and lost knowledge and experience when people leave. When your employees bring their values to work they love their jobs, at least aspects of their jobs, and feel good knowing that their energy day in day out is going to improve the world in some way. If you're looking for more info on this subject I recommend reading 'The Sustainability Advantage' by Bob Willard. I've had the pleasure to meet Bob numberous times over the last few years at the Bainbridge Graduate Institute (BGI) and also at the CBSR Summit, an annual day long conference on corporate social responsibility in Canada.

Top 3 Things We Value in Green Zebra

1. Save money - try new products, restraunts and services with less risk. Some will be good, some not so much but you will find things that you enjoy that you might have not tried without a little incentive.
2. TB Vets - a portion of revenue gets donated to TB Vets, helping to improve health for residents in BC
3. Build a corporate culture that embraces sustainability - a significant value driver for bottom line benefits in your business. Giving people a coupon book isn't going to change your culture overnight. People build culture. But managment can help to steer the ship and as people try greening their personal lives in ways they enjoy they'll start to bring their behaviours to work. This is something that your can't train in a workshop or buy.

Artisan Edibles, from Vancouver Island, BC, is one of our newest suppliers and it's been great to add their amazing products to our line of gourmet corporate gift baskets. Their antipasto was their first product that caught our attention, using local seasonal vegetables to create a fresh and tasty spread. I really like it with crackers or artisan crisps for a snack or for hosting at an event or party. We've also added their artisan preserves to our mix to compliment Vista D'oro.

Top 3 things we enjoy about Artisan Edibles

1) veggie friendly - they've recently added a vegetarian antipasto which we're happy about and helped us to add them as a vendor. Their original recipe used tuna, which we also carry and is quite nice, but to have veggie options is key for us and our offering.

2) supa stylie - really tasteful and well designed packaging adds depth and class to our line of corporate gift baskets

3) tantilizing tastes that put a smile on your face