Today we’d like to introduce you to Joy Skelton.
Hi Joy, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for sharing your story with us – to start, maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers.
My husband and I met in college at Clemson in the early 80s. We married shortly after college and stayed in Clemson to raise our family. Our oldest daughter went to Clemson in 2003. We were able to do extraordinary things for her and her friends because we live here in town. There was a need to share this love with all Clemson students. When our youngest daughter left to attend Clemson in 2011, we felt this was the opportunity for us to begin our business, Tiger Baskets. Our business has grown over the years. We love delivering our Tiger Baskets to Clemson students who live on and off campus. It’s so fun to see their smiles. Our slogan is “Delivering a little love from home,” I feel like we do that. We are on campus almost daily delivering our baskets that we individually assemble and personally deliver.
Let’s dig deeper into the story – has it been an easy path, and if not, what challenges have you overcome?
For the most part, it has been a smooth road. My biggest struggles have been working with an e-commerce store and advertising online. We have found that providing a service like ours for Clemson parents and their students makes it all worthwhile. We love our little local business.
Let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
We are a local small business that makes and delivers gift baskets to Clemson students. We are Clemson alumni, and our daughters and son-in-law are Clemson graduates. Because we are local, we can provide to students almost daily. Most other companies that offer similar services only deliver once a month, or they mail packages, and students pick them up at the post office. We can also customize baskets upon request. We offer peanut-free and gluten-free products and products for other allergies. We also can add specific snacks that parents request. We have been in business since 2012, and our business has grown yearly. All our baskets except for our holiday (Halloween, Valentine’s, Easter) are Clemson-themed and have a plush Tiger Tail attached, which has become our signature.
What’s next?
We enjoy meeting parents and students at Clemson orientation sessions every summer. We constantly improve and change our baskets and love getting feedback from students and parents.
Pricing:
- Our baskets are around $80, including tax and delivery. We also offer Semester Bundles, which include 3 baskets each semester for a savings of $30.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.tigerbaskets.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/tigerbaskets/
- Facebook: facebook.com/tigerbaskets
