THIS GIFT KEEPS GIVING

Start your own gift basket business with help from Le Gourmet.

The Business of Gift Baskets:
A Guide For Survival
Cynthia McKay, J.D., President and CEO of Le Gourmet Gift Basket, Inc., has more than 410 distributorships nationwide. These are people who have benefited from her expertise and support. Featured in numerous national publications and on Knowledge Television, CNN, and Lifetime, McKay is a recognized expert in gift giving. In her book she shares her inventive and imaginative ideas in gift basket design, sales, and business management.

Log onto: www.legift.com to order a copy.

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If you’re looking for a business to start that (a) won’t break the bank (b) won’t leave you struggling on your own and (c) that will help you learn to invest in yourself—you might not want to look any further. This could be the one for you.

Le Gourmet Gift Basket is a unique company. It was launched as a home-based business in 1992 and now generates annual sales in the millions. The president and CEO is the founder, Cynthia McKay, who is out to empower any hard-working individual with the skills and products to run their own successful gift basket enterprise.

McKay is a human dynamo who runs the firm with a dedication to detail and a rock-solid interest in helping others succeed. In fact, Cynthia McKay is an advocate for those who want to start their own business and work hard at succeeding, but who need a little structure and guidance.

The package she’s put together for would-be gift basket business owners contains all of the tools, marketing support and know-how for one to launch the business in their community. Plus, the investment of $3500 is a one-time fee; there are no royalty fees charged at any time. The company is committed to being there for you for full-time, continuous follow-up support.

Many businesses suffered quite a hit in the economic slump following the tragedy of September 11, but Le Gourmet Gift Basket has been able to report a sales percentage increase in the double digits. And it’s not just a trend; the growth for Le Gourmet Gift Basket improves with every year. Many business and corporate clients use gift baskets as a way to entice lost business; individuals find gift baskets are the perfect “feel good” present at any time of the year, for any occasion.

According to Cynthia McKay, “We are watching many individuals experience the devastation of being laid off and downsized in a economy that isn’t providing many opportunities to duplicate what they have been doing. For many, starting a small business might be the only alternative.

“What we tried to do with the opportunity from Le Gourmet is to take the guesswork out of entrepreneurship by providing all of the tools necessary in a proven industry. Plus, we do have a great referral business whereby customers call us and we pass the business onto our distributors,” said McKay.

Smart, savvy and contagiously likeable, McKay was working as an attorney back in 1992 when her husband received a sports-themed gift basket.

“Simply put, it was terrible and I realized someone had spent $65 for a product that just wasn’t worth it,” she said.

The next day she quit her job at the law firm and launched her own home-based gift basket business. “At first, I was refused service by many vendors, delivery services and credit card companies who felt I lacked credibility because I was a home-based business. It was frustrating but I persevered,” said McKay.

With training as an attorney, McKay was an ace at cutting costs without sacrificing quality and she used her laser-like attention-to-detail to manage every aspect of her burgeoning enterprise. In the first year, she had a successful business on her hands.

McKay began to attract attention in Denver, Colorado, and eventually people were contacting her looking for information on how to start their own business. McKay began to investigate how she could offer Le Gourmet as a franchise, or as a distributorship or licensing program. “The investment and ongoing royalty fees would be too steep with a franchise. I fine-tuned the business opportunity package to include all of the necessary business, marketing, tax, legal and management advice in one package for a one-time fee of $3500.”

In the first year, the average new distributorship entrepreneurs were making $180,000 with their own gift basket businesses. Not bad for the first year of a home-based business!

McKay has been widely recognized for her efforts in empowering individuals to run their own small businesses. She has won honors that include Women in Business Advocate of the Year from the U.S. Small Business Administration and the Ameri-can Associations of University Women Trailblazer’s Award.

Her educational background is stunning and has given her a great deal of vision and insight with studies in art at the University of London, England and a Doctorate Degree from the University of Denver College of Law.

Today, McKay has helped more than 410 entrepreneurs launch their own business while building their self-esteem, and at the end of the day, it must feel pretty darn good in comparison to her old days at the law firm handling torts and legal briefs!

For more information on Le Gourmet Gift Basket, visit the website at: www.legift.com or write or call the company headquarters: 723 Anderson Street, Castle Rock, CO 80104. The phone numbers are: 800-93-GIFT-6, 303-623-0500 and the fax is 303-623-0559.