As the year rolls to an end, business owners like to give gifts to corporate and prospective clients.
Corporate gifts are ordered in bulk by companies who want to reward their employees or give gifts to their staff at Christmas or during birthdays. They can also be used as major promotional tools or as a thank-you symbol to every staff member after a successful year end.

How to Start
Begin with the decision to specialize or not. In the beginning, look at small to medium sized companies as potential clients. They may be a good starting point.
You need to write a letter of introduction or a proposal, then you can prepare for a presentation; this is based on the requirement of the organization you are dealing with.
Then if you are fortunate you could win the contract and get the approval of the type and quantity of gift items required. You must make sure each item is branded with the company’s logo, depending with the requisition either screen-printing, engraving, etching or transfer printing. You can actually start this business with N20,000.
You need to do a serious examination of your target companies. Find out if they deal with international clients, how much revenue they generate and discover what type of product or service they offer. Tailor your gifts around the companies.
You need to network with manufacturers. Find a manufacturer that will charge you a price that allows you to make a profit.
Contact other corporate gift companies and get references for various manufacturers. You can check out the national dailies for the contact details of gift manufacturers. You can also get some at Idumota in Lagos Island. You can also visit: www.21ststrategiesdesigns.com; they have a wide range of corporate gifts that you can select from.

Here are a collection of the 10 unique gift items:
1. Mug
2. 2011 Calendar
3. Promotional key rings
4. T-Shirts
5. Promotional paper block pads
6. Corporate and promotional ball pens
7. Promotional umbrellas
8. 2011 diaries
9. Corporate hampers
10. Award plaques

For further details, kindly post your comments, opinion and email address.
I will provide more details if you wish.