This business is about enabling long distance affection. Your service offering would be different from what thousands are providing today. It is simple, unique, and very compelling.

It is not something that happens only in the science fiction movies. Today, anyone can get a 1,000-mile long hand to reach out to and show their affection for a near-dear one. This business is about enabling long distance affection. Your service offering would be different from what thousands are providing today. It is simple, unique, and very compelling.

We are talking about making and selling care packages for college students. Parents will order for the care packages and you will deliver them to their college attending children. Include many items that a college student would need and appreciate.

You need to ensure that the care packages you offer have an element of uniqueness about them. And you need to offer variety. Don't design all your care packages with only food items. Include other things that a college student can need e.g. stamps, mini photo album, books, blank CDRs, music CDs, pre-paid phone cards, gift certificates to restaurants etc. You can also include things of daily use e.g. towels, toiletries, a pair of new socks, a scarf, or a new set of gloves. Besides providing a financial relief, such things also offer a lot of convenience to the student in terms of saved time (and energy) which would otherwise be spent in getting such items from the market. You will need to emphasize the same in your advertisements and brochures too.

You could categorize your care packages in many different ways. Here are a few suggestions:
1) Season based care packages e.g. scarves, gloves, thermals etc as a winter package
2) Health based e.g. nutritional food, dieting guides, simple exercise equipment etc.
3) Semester based or based on educational milestone. Include simple gifts like chocolates, best of luck card, or other things that the student might require at that time.
4) Hobby based - to include music CDs and sports equipment etc
5) Food assortments e.g. chocolate bars, dried fruits, instant meals etc.
6) Evergreen i.e. assortment of various items.

Do not include perishable items, even if your customers ask for it. If these items get spoilt/rotten, your reputation too will go for a toss.

To procure the items for assembling your care packages, you might start with the big shops that offer discounts on bulk purchases. As your business progresses you might consider procuring these items from wholesale suppliers. Always have more than one supplier on your list. Ordering over the internet is another good option which is both cost effective and time saving. However, you will need to factor in the delivery time and delivery charges for items purchased over the internet.

Tip: Try to get most of the items from just one or two shops. This will save a lot of time and hassle, and will compensate for the little extra that you might have to pay.

A website is a must for this business. Your website should be able to receive orders and accept payments. Since building credit card capability is expensive, you might start with accepting just paypal and echeques. As your business progresses, you can also add credit card capability.

Besides setting up a website, you can also advertise in local newspapers. Post brochures/business-cards to all your acquaintances. Keep track of any special events being organized for parents of college students, and forward or distribute your brochures at all such events. Also, look-out for clubs or counseling centers for parents of college-going students.

So, get going and spread affection.

Resources:

Care package ideas:

http://www.studentcarepackage.net

http://www.parent.umn.edu/carepackages.html

http://www.ehow.com/how_8705_assemble-care-package.html

http://www.beyondgifts.com/giftboxit.html

Packing and decoration tips:

http://www.ciwmb.ca.gov/PublicEd/Holidays/NoWaste.htm

http://eartheasy.com/gift_wrapping.htm