Feb

22

Start-Up Money, Get Organized, How to Donate

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IN THE MARKET FOR MONEY

Years ago, American Express and the Women’s Basketball League sponsored a small business contest. A gift basket designer, located about 30 minutes from my office, won the top prize of cash and a computer. I think about her good fortune every time I ride past her thriving location.

Wednesday’s newsletter reminds you that well-funded corporations continue to sponsor contests and other events that benefit your business. Intuit, the makers of QuickBooks, is running one now. Have you entered?

WELL OILED BUNCH OF BASKETS

A client called me to place an order. I grabbed an order form from a drawer directly under the phone. When the order was written on paper, I placed it on the front of a shelf above my worktable, similar to the way restaurant orders are positioned. That’s when I knew I had a good sales system in place.

This article shares more ways to ensure that your business is in working order, saving you lots of time and lowering your stress. If you’re disorganized, let these tips get you under control.

DONATION OR DUMPSTER?

Your inventory houses many products. Now that it’s 2009, is it time to clear out old goods that are too dated and dingy to sell? Some items may qualify as donations.

Click to read this story, which helps you decide how to discard items that clog your shelves and creative success. It’s time to dump it for good.

Aug

6

Mega Tips for the Mega Sale

Filed Under Organize Your Workspace, Sales-Increasing Strategies | 4 Comments

This morning you enter your office and find a mega order waiting for you. A new client wants 500 gift baskets made and delivered to a local conference center. How can you complete this order on time, satisfy and client, and ensure that you’re ready for the next big sale?

Many designers turn to high school juniors and seniors or college students for help. They are full of energy and eager to get the job done.

Contact a high school or college counselor. Tell him how many students are needed, time length for the project, and per hour salary for the task. Salaries, on average, range from $7 to $10 per hour, depending on duties.

Set up your workspace in a well ventilated area with lots of room for busy hands. Determine which duties can be completed by the students and which tasks are suited for you.

You’re delivering the gift baskets, so it may be best to rent a small truck since most cars and personal vans are incapable of handling the load. You’ll only need the truck for several hours, which will keep the cost to a minimum.

Be sure to collect a minimum 50 percent deposit to cover the cost for products, salaries, trash disposal, and truck rental.

Keep meticulous notes about the project, including what worked and what didn’t.

Also list the names of the best students, keeping the information in a file to contact them again through the school’s counselor, and get their home telephone numbers in case the next mega order arrives during the Christmas break or the following summer.

This plan is crucial to grow your business. Get ready – Christmas is coming, and so are the mega orders.

How to Find Holiday Help provides more insight to prepare you for the big event.

May

18

Local Baskets, Business Solutions and Organization Tips

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LOOKING FOR LOCAL BASKETS
Designers cannot resist buying beautiful baskets that will dazzle and delight customers. However, finding them locally can sometimes be a challenge. I share three tips in Wednesday’s newsletter on where to look for baskets in your region in order to save freight charges that are better spent on gorgeous vessels that are the basis for your designs.

MISTAKES MADE EASY
How do you recover when you make a mistake? The answer is to fix it as quickly as possible, and realize that mistakes are part of business. Here’s a lesson I learned early in my gift basket career and what I did to correct it. Would you do the same, or is there a better solution?

IS ORGANIZING PART OF YOUR PLAN?
Planning for future sales is the one main method to guarantee that your business thrives from now until December and beyond. I share my planning strategy in this article and also explain which office supplies make recordkeeping a snap. My hope is that these tips turn the burden of business administration into a quick and easy task.

Apr

6

Workspace Organization, Creating Brochures, Social Networking

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CLUTTER BE GONE
What’s worse than looking for a tiny piece of paper under piles of more paper? Is that the state of your office, or have you been there, done that, and don’t want to go back? Wednesday’s newsletter reminds you why it’s important to organize your office like a well-oiled machine because, frankly, you’re worth it.

BROCHURES FOR BEGINNERS
Many gift basket designers sent me Emails in appreciation for last week’s five-day brochure tutorial. Some are still having problems deciding if the investment is worth the cost. What do you think? See the tutorial here, and submit questions at Ask The Gift Basket Expert.

TWEETING WITH TWITTER
Is Twitter part of your business life? I’m on the system and am learning a lot from my connections. If you want to know what all the chirping is about, this quick look at Twitter may provide you with insight on why the application can be helpful for business and personal inspiration.

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Apr

2

Say Goodbye to Mess

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Piles of paper and lots of clutter littered my office at the end of 2007. It was the result of two problems:

  • Picking up catalogs and publications from industry events but not making time to read and discard them.
  • Multiple projects underway at any given time with a paper trail that wasn’t organized.

None of us can afford the consequences of chaos. Just look at the before and after photos for the design makeover CD to understand the importance of organization.

Staying organized is important to your success. Everything won’t be in place at every moment, but you must strive to end each day by organizing for tomorrow. That includes:

  • Filing papers before they’re misplaced
  • Updating sales and expenses
  • Checking and documenting important voice mail messages

Do you notice that business seems to increase each time you organize the office? It’s as though the clutter not only blocked the doorway but also blocked your success.

If disorganization is your downfall, spend a maximum of 15 minutes every day to create a better office system. Your stress levels will go down, and sales will increase.

Have you heard the CD, Organize for Maximum Success? I interview professional organizer, Fern Silvernagel, who shares 25 secrets for turning your chaos into a controlled and productive space. Invest 30 minutes of time for this valuable resource. Learn more here.

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