Christmas time saving & money making

[Mumof1littleman]

Christmas is coming 🎄& I love it, this year I’m home with my baby &
hoping to start a wrapping business, to ease the pressure on busy mums.

I’d love to hear your thoughts what would youd theoretically pay for this service, & how to cost.

I’m planning to offer 2 types of wrapping paper plus a children’s one. I’d collect wrap & return to your door.
Hugely apreciate any suggestion & feel free to tell me what I’d find most helpful at this crazy fun time. Thanks Hannah

You could charge by the hour and give customers an idea of how many big or small pressies you can wrap in an hour. People may prefer to bring their own paper. Then I would charge a flat fee for pick up/delivery within a certain mile radius. Again some people may prefer to drop it yours and pick them all up

I think that's quite a niche service and I wouldn't expect many people to want it or value it particularly highly TBH. I think your prices would need to be high due to fuel costs.

Thanks avocadoincident good thinking I need to have multiple options & I better time my wrapping skills, tend to be super neat but take to long 😀
Fair enough user1981287 thanks for replying,I’d only do local & love love wrapping but know so many busy working mums that don’t have the time.

I'm just saying that you might find it isn't worth your while or that once you work out the true cost of your service including fuel, wear and tear on your vehicle, time organising pick ups etc including missed deliveries where you turn up and people are not around, insurance which would be essential so that people don't say you've broken the iphone they asked you to wrap etc that your price is much higher than people are prepared to pay. Remember you'll also be taxed on your income.

If you live in a particularly wealthy area you might be ok though.

I don't know if it would work TBH. You would need to wrap A LOT to make any money I would imagine, especially if collecting and delivering.

The wrapping paper would bother me too - I have different papers for each child, different papers for each child from FC, different papers for family and friends so two choices and children's one wouldn't work for me.

Would you have insurance? I'f need to know if I was handing over high value items that they were going to come back in one piece!

I think it’s one of those things where as long as you don’t spend much money setting up for it - for example, avoid any expensive advertising - then you don’t have much to lose.
I quite enjoy wrapping so although I’m busy it’s not something I would pay for but I can imagine some might; though those same people can use gift bags so you need it price keenly enough that it’s cheaper (or perhaps the same, but for a nicer standard of presentation from you) to use you than pay for those.

How could you market it cheaply? Perhaps design and self-print flyers and then letterbox round houses in wealthy areas?

I suspect you’ll make more if you bulk buy wrapping materials, so I’d have several themes/colours people could choose from, and no discount for them requesting you use their own wrapping paper instead.

I do know a few people who pay for their homes to be decorated - including their Christmas tree to be put up. But the decorations are supplied by the person doing it, kind of on loan, so the set-up costs for the business would be higher than wrapping.

Also think about leafleting businesses in your area. I remember a student job as a receptionist where I had to wrap dozens of boxes of chocolates and bottles of wine for their clients.

I’d pay for a wrapping service definitely! It’s such a pain of a job.
But I probably wouldn’t pay more than £20-£25 including paper for 3 bin bags of presents

Thanks user1981287 I see your point re insurance cost and yours ileclerc hadn’t considered that as a issue. Thanks I’m just helping friends this year so working on 100% trust and there happy with paper selection thanks though. Off out to buy supplies.

Don't forget you need to do a self assessment tax return and pay tax as well, probably at 20% so factor that into your costs

I wouldn't go for that at all, but if I did you'd have to do it in my house! How would a prospective client know you weren't going to make off with their presents?

I would definitely pay for this service. I like gift wrapping but absolutely hate wrapping Christmas presents. What area are you in?
Another service I’d pay for, someone to do my holiday packing

I have to say I wouldn’t go for this at all, sorry. How would I know you would return with the gifts I’d bought? And you’d have to label everything after you wrap it so that I’d know what it was/who it was for, or else I’d need to attach the gift tags to each gift before giving it to you, but in some way that meant you could detach without ripping/damaging anything and then reattach securely...nah, too much faff for me, easier do it myself.

I was paid for Xmas wrapping from one very wealthy client when I was self employed...I ran a helping hand service ranging from shopping to cleaning to cooking. I guess they knew to ask me as I was offering a flexible service. If you live near busy affluent people it could be a goer.

No way would I hand over gifts to a stranger for wrapping. I would be worried that I'd never see them again. Sorry, but I don't think it would be a viable business OP.

@avocadoincident has it. This is a service for either moderately wealthy or wealthy people and that’s totally fine. Another way to advertise would be at the school gates, if you know any of the people there.

For several years I’d help a friend of mine wrap all the presents for his family. He was single and lived alone so his family started storing all the Christmas presents at his house. We’d have to wrap something like 60 – 90 presents every Christmas Eve. I would’ve definitely just paid someone at that point, and handsomely!!