For my senior project, I wanted to do something that I am passionate about that could be turned into a potentially profitable side hustle in the future. What I came up with was starting a business called Love at First Box. This business would focus on gourmet-style treats and seasonal gift boxes targeted towards the residents of Rexburg.
Once I had an idea of what my business would be, I did research to determine who my target demographic was, what specific products that audience would be interested in buying, and what content would drive them to my website.
To establish the groundwork for Love at First Box, I built a website that showcases my products and houses a blog, created Facebook and Instagram pages, designed a logo, created content, and put together a marketing campaign book and style guide.
The logo itself took roughly 6 hours because my original idea was to make an icon. I would start designing it in illustrator, realize I hate it, and then restart from scratch. After a few repetitions of this and some research, I discovered that a text-based logo would be better since my audience wouldn’t have to guess what brand the logo is for.
As far as time and money spent on this project, I put roughly $150 into supplies and around 55 hours into this project.
Due to my supplies taking a month to ship to me, I was unable to launch my business until recently, which interferes with the digital and social media marketing aspect of my project. Because of this setback, I used the senior project to jumpstart my business and gain traction. By running a giveaway and being able to talk to potential customers, I’ve gained followers on Instagram, views on my website, and a few people have also put in orders.