ISB: Tell us how you made your start as an entrepreneur

NM: My entrepreneurial journey started while working at a corporate gifting company, where I helped scale the business to a $28M acquisition. During the pandemic, I launched Snacks With Bite, which I built and sold within a year for $1M. That experience proved I could spot, and act on, opportunities fast. It also opened my eyes to the massive potential (and waste) in the promo products space, which eventually led to buying into and rebranding our business into For Keeps Merch.

ISB: What led you to start a branded merchandise business and how did you verify that this was a viable business?

NM: After working in gifting and launching my own business, I saw how branded merch could create powerful emotional connections, if done right. The demand was clearly there, but I knew it needed a modern, more intentional approach. Rebranding from Promotions Warehouse to For Keeps Merch was our way of leading that shift. My co-founder and I validated the idea through industry experience, customer feedback, and a shared belief that branded products could be both strategic and meaningful.

ISB: How has your business successfully tackled the problem of disposability in branded merch?

NM: It’s literally in our name, For Keeps. Everything we create is designed to be wanted, used, and kept. We work closely with clients to ensure their merch reflects their brand values and lands with purpose, not in landfill. From curation to quality control, we focus on what recipients will actually keep and use, helping our clients build stronger brand affinity while cutting back on wasteful, throwaway items. We also have a tree planting initiative that with every merch box order you place we plant 10 trees.

ISB: What was the most unique business operations challenge you faced with For Keeps Merch and how did you overcome it?

NM: Rebranding from Promotions Warehouse to For Keeps Merch was a huge shift, more than just a name and logo. We overhauled our entire customer experience, CRM, website, messaging, and even the type of clients we targeted. The hardest part? Bringing our existing customers along for the ride. We had to re-educate them without losing momentum. It took time, trust, and a lot of clear communication – but now, our brand finally reflects who we are and the value we offer.

ISB: What business lessons from your previous ventures were you able to successfully apply in this business?

NM: From leading a gifting business to a $28M exit and building a pandemic business to $1M in a year, I’ve learned that speed, culture, and clarity win. The right leadership and team culture can make or break a business. At For Keeps, we focus on building a team that’s aligned, agile, and obsessed with making things better. When your team’s energy is right, your customers feel it too.

ISB: How do you see For Keeps Merch evolving in the next couple of years?

NM: We’re doubling down on creating thoughtful merch with purpose and backing it with smart systems. Our focus right now is evolving our digital experience, scaling our custom merch store offering, offering merch inventory options and merch gift boxes. Also, attempting to stay ahead of shifts like AI and sustainability. But no matter how the industry changes, our mission stays the same, to create branded products that make people feel something, and that companies are proud to send.

The post Q&A: How For Keeps stays true to its brand name through corporate merchandise appeared first on Inside Small Business.

The remarks were made on the occasion of the release of new research by the company, which provided some insights into the preferences of Australian customers.

In particular, 57 per cent of customers shared that they want to give gifts that are meaningful and unique. Aussies are also drawn to nature-inspired (31 per cent), minimalism (31 per cent), and soft palette colours (29 per cent) design styles.

And when it comes to colours, blue ranks as the favourite gift colour (47 per cent), followed by green (28 per cent)

As far as personalisation is concerned, 50 per cent prefer to personalise gifts with personal photos of family, friends, or pets and 38 per cent would appreciate having custom messages or quotes added to their gifts. 37 per cent would consider adding unique designs or artwork and 35 per cent would add special imagery.

The research noted that among the most popular home gifts, 39 per cent are mugs and cushions, followed by 38 per cent for stationery items, 37 per cent for food products, and 35 per cent for photo books.

Vistaprint noted that such trends provide opportunities for SMEs to offer thoughtful, tailored products that cater to this demand.

As customers increasingly look for gifts that carry a personal touch, Vistaprint added that aligning with current design trends and preferences can help SMEs stand out.

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Big Red Group, with its network of over 3000 experience operators nationwide, is calling on Aussie consumers to gift ‘stories over stuff’ this holiday season, encouraging them to spend on creating new memories through shared experiences rather than physical gifts.

The company has pointed out research showing that 58 per cent of Aussies would rather create new memories from a shared experience than receive a physical gift at Christmas, which means a lot for the thousands of tourism and experience industry businesses that are struggling to stay afloat amidst current economic challenges.

David Anderson, CEO of Big Red Group, said that Aussies can make their gift count for their local community as well as their loved ones this Christmas.

“Christmas has, and always will be, an incredibly important hallmark for Australia’s tourism and experiences industry – and after a testing few years, it’s imperative that we get behind the SMEs operating in this space this year,” Anderson said. “80 per cent of tourism businesses employ five people or less, so purchasing ‘stories over stuff’ helps support the backbone of Australia – and can unlock additional spending for local communities too. We know that the majority of Aussies value experiences and memories over material things, so we’re encouraging their loved ones to fulfil this desire over the holiday period.”

Queensland-based Lumber Punks Axe Throwing is one experience operator that looks forward to the Christmas period. Sam Hay, co-owner of LumberPunks Axe Throwing, shared that while the business is growing, it’s been harder to secure bookings during the off-season due to increased competition:

“Christmas is the most important time of year for us. From small family groups to Christmas parties of 80+ people, we can see how much our customers value doing experiences with their family and friends over the holidays, and we love providing them with an accessible and inclusive environment to do it in,” Hay said. “But we have found with the growing cost of living, it has become ever more challenging to secure bookings as consumers cut back on spending on entertainment and experience-based businesses.

“That’s why it’s so important to give the gift of experiences at Christmas,” Hay added. “It keeps festive dollars local and helps to support not only the operator, but the wider community, too. We partner with a range of local hospitality businesses throughout the year, so the experience doesn’t end with us, it goes on to the next place, too.”

The post Aussies encouraged to gift ‘stories over stuff’ to boost small businesses appeared first on Inside Small Business.

ISB: What is the inspiration behind PrezentBox?

DF: The inspiration for PrezentBox came about from a personal frustration many parents face. We often found ourselves overwhelmed by the amount of “stuff” we received from well-intentioned family and friends for our kids’ birthdays and Christmas year after year – an abundance of unwanted items that clutter the home, get thrown out into landfill, or regifted to another family.

ISB: How were you able to get businesses on board with PrezentBox?

CA: We have been successful in onboarding businesses by demonstrating how our platform addresses parents’ pain points. The decline in kids’ physical and mental health caused by increasing screen time (2.5 hours a day) and sedentary behaviour is a major concern for parents. At the same time, kids’ activities are now a luxury with two in five parents having to remove their kids from activities due to the rise in cost of living. Our mission is to get more kids, more active, more often, and businesses are eager to partner with us once they understand the importance of our mission. PrezentBox is a payment solution that subsidises kids’ activity fees. From a business lens, this will help activity providers boost sales and supercharge their business by attracting, converting and retaining customers.

ISB: How do you choose the activities to be included in the service?

DF: We offer activity-based gifting options for kids in areas including sports, creative arts, and education. Any activity provider that focuses on kid’s health and wellbeing can be registered. We vet all providers to ensure they’re trustworthy and promote our platform’s purpose. We strive to provide parents with peace of mind that their kids are receiving high-quality experiences.

ISB: How do you ensure that the activities being offered are affordable for families?

CA: One of PrezentBox’s core missions is to make extracurricular activities more affordable for families. We know that the cost of activities has become a barrier for many families, with 40 per cent of parents stating its the reason that they had dropped out. PrezentBox believes that every kid deserves the opportunity to participate in the activities that they love, and we provide a means for parents to subsidise that cost. Our platform is designed to help families fund kids’ experiences by funneling money spent year after year on unwanted gifts in categories like toys and video games.

ISB: What is your vision for PrezentBox in the next couple of years?

CA: Our vision for PrezentBox is to become the leader in kids’ gifting and make “activity-based gifting” a household staple for Australian families. We aim to have a comprehensive offer for parents, providing all activity options regardless of their kid’s preferences or their geographical location. Our goal is to make it easy for parents to give the gift of experiences, promoting physical activity, mental wellbeing, and personal growth for their kids.

ISB: What is the most important lesson you’ve learned in this business journey

CA: The most important lesson we’ve learned on this business journey is to start with the end vision in mind. With a start-up, particularly with a new service, there is no roadmap, and you will constantly encounter obstacles that require you to pivot. Having a crystalised vision of what you wanted to achieve and deliver for our target audience has been crucial in keeping us focused and motivated. Equally important is surrounding yourselves with the right people with expertise in their fields. Learning from their prior business journeys has been invaluable.

The post Q&A: Activities that make for memorable gifts for kids appeared first on Inside Small Business.

ISB: What was the inspiration to come up with the idea that would become We Wander?

TD: We were both working for large corporations, and, sitting out on our surfboards we started talking. We agreed that consumers and businesses were tired of ho-hum gift cards, limited experience offers and incentive ideas. Not long after this, we began by developing a national experience portfolio and perfecting our idea. We felt people were left with narrow options, so we offered curated experiences around set price-points, and packaged them in stylish gift boxes. We are now riding a wave of success with We Wander Gift Boxes. 

ISB: What makes gift boxes a great way for businesses to engage with their clients and customers?

EA: The We Wander Gift Box is the ultimate reward and ‘keep warm solution’ to celebrate key achievements and to reconnect and re-establish a positive relationship, whether it’s with your clients or employees. We also offer complete personalisation that increases engagement and business touch points.

ISB: How do you ensure that the experiences included in your gift boxes are unique and memorable for the businesses and their respective clients/customers?

TD: We spend a lot of time researching and trialling new experiences to ensure they are both amazing and memorable, which is a tough job! All are Australian based including unique foodie sensations, out-of-the-box travel escapes, whirlwind adventures and stylish wellness ideas.

ISB: What has been the most challenging aspect of this venture and how do you overcome it?

EA: COVID was probably the biggest challenge for us with our corporate pipeline instantly drying up, so we pivoted our model to enter retail stores earlier than expected. We got lucky as both Coles and Woolworths accepted to range our products. Then we faced a second problem, how were we going to purchase half a million worth of stock. We were two-four people in the team at the time and growing our business through our online revenues. We went through a flash capital raising and in less than one month, we raised the finds to support the successful retail launch. The rest is history!

ISB: How do you envision We Wander developing in the next couple of years?

TD: We’re always developing new gift box experiences, refining our offer, and looking at fresh marketing angles. By far, the biggest growth area is the corporate gift boxing segment, and we are rapidly developing this within the motor and real estate industries for example. We Wander is also refreshing its retail distribution network, aiming to offer its full range of boxes in several hand-picked stores all around the country. And we are busy building new experiences to offer, with new boutique hotels and restaurants a current focus. We aim to be Australia’s number one gift experience provider.

ISB: What has been the most important lesson you’ve learned in this business journey you’d share with other would-be entrepreneurs?

TD: Try to test before you commit with new people and companies. A lot will pretend to have a strong network. great skillset, and the ability to help your business in many ways. Be alert and try to control what they are doing, assess them regularly, especially in the early stages, otherwise, it can cost a lot of time, money, and energy. It’s essential to remain confident, yet open to constructive criticism, and reinvent yourself continuously by testing and learning until you find the way it will work for you and your business along with the people you can really trust.

The post Q&A: Wrapping unique experiences in a gift box appeared first on Inside Small Business.