What do you say when receiving a call from a person who wants to receive your gift basket catalog but you don’t have catalogs to mail?

For many of us the Internet has ended (or suspended if you once had catalogs) the requirement to create catalogs and fliers. The cost can be more than you want to pay, and gift basket designs change so quickly that a catalog may be incorrect on so many levels by the time it’s printed.

All prospects and customers aren’t online. Some of them want to see a printed sample of what you create. In my case, individuals who wish to become gift basket designers want to see the books, CDs, DVDs and starter kits listed on this page at GiftBasketBusiness.com included in a mailed catalog.

I know what my staff says to potential customers when they call to request catalogs, and thankfully, their response encourages immediate orders 89.2% of the time according to my internal statistics. What do you say to people who call you?

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Every morning when I turn on my computer, I can count on one thing waiting in my email: questions and responses from students of my Start Your Own Gift Basket Business online course.

It is gratifying to review daily comments and queries from each group of students (a class starts every month, and you can check out the course information through this link).

Everything I read in my inbox tells me that this intelligent group of new entrepreneurs is very serious and highly motivated to begin making and selling gift baskets, which the class learns step by step in each of the 12 lessons.

If you register for the class and allow me to be your mentor, what’s the first question you’ll ask?

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An article I recently read shared news about a new home-based gift basket business that celebrated its opening with a ribbon cutting ceremony.

What did your grand opening celebration consist of?

If you’re still planning to open, how will the launch look?

How will you celebrate your fifth, tenth, and future years in business?

Our industry is one that celebrates life at all stages, and that means our own in-business ceremonies must lead the charge to get people knowing who we are and interested in what we offer.

A ribbon cutting ceremony is just the beginning. In fact, there are grander ways to launch a business and celebrate its continued operation, ways that get media and customer attention so business continually grows and profits.

A list of what to do for your launch and subsequent events is brand new in the Golden Basket Club, and this initial list will expand in the coming months.

How did you tell local customers that your business is open, and if you’re planning your opening now, what does your marketing and publicity campaign look like?

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When I started my business, my thought was that wholesalers that provided me with baskets, chocolates, and baby products never closed their doors for good.

There seemed to be so many wholesalers and so many of us who needed them. How could they ever cease operation?

Wholesalers close their doors the same way we go out of business. That’s why wholesale directories can’t be printed. As soon as it’s published, one or more entries are old, or wholesalers that open soon after the printing aren’t included.

So how can you possibly know where, in your area, to find wholesale products? This dilemma is the reason why Flora Brown and I recorded How to Find Products In and Around Your State.

During our travels speaking at gift trade shows throughout the U.S., we visited many areas where wholesale products are found and noticed similarities on how to find these little-known places.

This valuable information is available on a 50-minute CD so you can easily locate whatever you need to buy at wholesale cost and stop spending more money than necessary at retail shops.

How much money can you save by finding wholesalers in your area to buy from versus retailers?

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2. What to Do with Gift Basket Items that Don’t Sell
3. Secure the Products in Your Gift Baskets, or Face the Consequences

There’s no way you can possibly meet every individual or corporate executive with the strongest potential for gift basket buying. The world doesn’t work that way.

That’s why you meet new people in settings outside of your office. These people are instrumental in connecting you with others who require your services and, in turn, will act as cheerleaders when recommending you to even more people.

If you’re shy, rent a DVD from the library or take an adult school course on how to be more outgoing.

If you don’t have transportation, find the closest mass transit system or a friend who will help you get around in trade for something you’ll do for her.

If something else is the problem, recognize whatever is happening is an excuse that will close your business if you don’t find a way to attend networking events.

We’re talking about networking all this week on the Gift Basket Business Facebook page. Join us, ask questions or give feedback, and find out how designers are connecting with people who connect them to sales leads.

The key to doing better business is in your hands. Get out, meet people, get business. It’s that simple.

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There are plenty of ideas and situations that enter your mind as possibilities to launch or grow your gift basket business.

Lots of those thoughts receive a “no” response right away, but which ones get an immediate “yes?”

I find my mind telling me not to move forward on an endeavor or project for very strange reasons, strange because the reason simply isn’t true.

You’ll fail.

You’ll waste time.

If your mind tells you the same, why not silence those thoughts and try the idea on a small scale which can create a huge, positive impact on your business? For example, when these non truths come to mind, I tell myself:

This is a great idea.

Your money will be spent wisely.

Had I not taken action to connect with local media, my photograph would not have been featured on the front page of a newspaper, which you see in the above picture.

Some designers I mentor in the Golden Basket Club are experiencing growing pains, and they’re taking positive steps that are increasing profits each month.

What projects have you stopped before starting just because you refuse to take a chance? Starting your business was a big chance, and you succeeded. Take another step. Quiet the voices, take action, and next month you’ll reap big rewards.

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2. Why Local Warehouse Suppliers are Worth Visiting Now
3. How Did You Turn Valentine’s Day Baskets into Future Business?

Things start getting chaotic as your business matures.

You may not recognize it because business is in the early stages, or perhaps you’ve made gift baskets on a part-time basis and it’s beginning to change into a full-time venture.

What makes you think you can do everything while maintaining excellent service?

Here’s a short list of your current duties:

• Designer
• Deliverer
• Webmaster
• Bookkeeper
• Receptionist
• Marketer
• Janitor
• Buyer

It’s exhausting just looking at this list, and it’s not even complete!

My weekly audio recordings in the Golden Basket Club this month are all about lessening your load and increasing your success through finding help that you not only deserve but can also afford.

I’ve already heard from members who called me by phone and said, “You’ve made this so easy!” Best of all, the recordings continue throughout the month, and I have more to share that will get help for each of their businesses before month’s end. You’ll also capitalize from this information when you join us as a Silver or Elite member.

Do not allow this business or any business to drain your life. Getting help is possible, and when you hire your first employee, your business and your life will change almost overnight, starting with a great night’s sleep for the very first time.

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One of my Club’s members sent me the above picture of a box I sent her containing samples of a bottled beverage and snack items for gift basket designing and tasting.

Everything was crushed. Broken glass is all that remains of the bottle, and the snack items were reduced to dust.

This picture reminds me of a box containing a baby gift basket returned to me that was originally shipped to South Africa. It was so badly mangled that it startled me when I saw it at my office door. I thought it was a mistake or that someone placed garbage at the door until I read the shipping label.

How do you handle shipping mishaps?

The first step is to ensure that the product is properly insured. From there, the steps depend on the shipper chosen by you and the solution you feel is most amicable.

I’ve taken three steps to solve this problem so it hopefully never happens again. What’s your plan?

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