Apr 2009
Budget Gift Basket Book
28/04/09 04:40 Filed in: In the News
To make gift baskets on a budget, read:
The Frankly Frugal Gourmet Gift Guide
Get tips and trade secrets for cutting costs and making more money!
The book is yours FREE when you become a member of Gift Basket Review Online. In addition, you’ll get 19,950 ADDITIONAL pages of great information -- all specifically geared to the gift basket business, and available to you for less than $6.00 a month!
In The Frankly Frugal Gourmet Guide, we invited four talented designers to put their brainpower to work to bring you a fountain of fresh ideas for working with tight budgets. You’ll like the ideas. Each designer brings a certain style forward and works it to her advantage in creating likable designs that conform to budgetary constraints. What’s more, we’ve interviewed many more gift basket designers in order to shower you with a fountain of knowledge, tips, and trade secrets.
In Chapter One, you’ll get ideas for designing warm call gifts -- one of the most important tools you can use in forging new relationships with clients and keeping old ones snug and comfy. Along with visual helps, you’ll get tips on how to use the gifts from business owners who use them to strengthen their business. Through a photo essay in Chapter Two you’ll enjoy a colorful walk-through talk of budget enhancements, and in Chapter Three you’ll get a thorough discussion of ways and means to build better perceived value while keeping costs low. To round out the budget issue, Chapter Four brings you three lessons in different types of mechanics. Even if you discover you know everything in this book, you’ll realize it is a “must-save” issue you can use for training future employees.
It has been a pleasure to bring this first-of-its-kind focus on the budget issue to you. We trust you’ll find it useful, stimulating, full of great resources and fresh ideas. For GBR Online membership info, go to: www.gbreview.com.
Debra Paulk, Publisher Gift Baskt Review (GBR) Online Magazine
The Frankly Frugal Gourmet Gift Guide
Get tips and trade secrets for cutting costs and making more money!
The book is yours FREE when you become a member of Gift Basket Review Online. In addition, you’ll get 19,950 ADDITIONAL pages of great information -- all specifically geared to the gift basket business, and available to you for less than $6.00 a month!
In The Frankly Frugal Gourmet Guide, we invited four talented designers to put their brainpower to work to bring you a fountain of fresh ideas for working with tight budgets. You’ll like the ideas. Each designer brings a certain style forward and works it to her advantage in creating likable designs that conform to budgetary constraints. What’s more, we’ve interviewed many more gift basket designers in order to shower you with a fountain of knowledge, tips, and trade secrets.
In Chapter One, you’ll get ideas for designing warm call gifts -- one of the most important tools you can use in forging new relationships with clients and keeping old ones snug and comfy. Along with visual helps, you’ll get tips on how to use the gifts from business owners who use them to strengthen their business. Through a photo essay in Chapter Two you’ll enjoy a colorful walk-through talk of budget enhancements, and in Chapter Three you’ll get a thorough discussion of ways and means to build better perceived value while keeping costs low. To round out the budget issue, Chapter Four brings you three lessons in different types of mechanics. Even if you discover you know everything in this book, you’ll realize it is a “must-save” issue you can use for training future employees.
It has been a pleasure to bring this first-of-its-kind focus on the budget issue to you. We trust you’ll find it useful, stimulating, full of great resources and fresh ideas. For GBR Online membership info, go to: www.gbreview.com.
Debra Paulk, Publisher Gift Baskt Review (GBR) Online Magazine
Gift Basket Recession Lesson
25/04/09 19:24 Filed in: In the News
Must-Read Articles This Month
Gift Basket Review Online
Get your Gift Basket Review Online membership current and catch up on all the wonderful articles you have missed -- or can’t remember. The gift basket articles were SO FAR AHEAD of the times that they are just now becoming current. Key in your GBR Online membership password and take a look at all the NEW archive issues that have been added. Click on January 2002 and enjoy the full color, high quality PDF files. You’ll LOVE the photos -- and you’re definitly going to pick up great ideas to push your business forward in these tough times.
Sparking Post-Holiday Excitement
4 Ways to “Fun-Up” Your Business
Fun-up your business! Laughing a little is EXACTLY what this economy needs to take the focus off “crisis, crisis, crisis” in the news. In this timeless article, you’ll find upbeat themes, laughable gift basket ideas, and delivery stunts that can get your business in the news.
Recession Lesson: Plan Your Merchandise
Merchandise management can mean the difference between strong, positive cash flow and a constant battle to pay your bills. It can keep your operation profitable even in times of less-than-robust sales. Read this classic business concept to remind yourself how you’ve tightened the belt in the past.
Drive Consumers With 5 On-Trend Distractions
Whenever times are tough, consumers will buy. The key is to distract them from the fears and uncertainties of the present. Gift basket business owners used five distractions in 2002 to get consumers buying. Those same five principles are back on trend today:
1. Distract with Value-Centered Gifts
2. Distract with Action (Hobbies, Careers, Motivation)
3. Distract with Escapism
4. Distract with Comfort (Foods, Retro-Chic Themes, Pets, and Humor)
5. Distract with “The Thrill of the Experience” (Bargains and Fun)
Gift Basket Review Online
Get your Gift Basket Review Online membership current and catch up on all the wonderful articles you have missed -- or can’t remember. The gift basket articles were SO FAR AHEAD of the times that they are just now becoming current. Key in your GBR Online membership password and take a look at all the NEW archive issues that have been added. Click on January 2002 and enjoy the full color, high quality PDF files. You’ll LOVE the photos -- and you’re definitly going to pick up great ideas to push your business forward in these tough times.
Sparking Post-Holiday Excitement
4 Ways to “Fun-Up” Your Business
Fun-up your business! Laughing a little is EXACTLY what this economy needs to take the focus off “crisis, crisis, crisis” in the news. In this timeless article, you’ll find upbeat themes, laughable gift basket ideas, and delivery stunts that can get your business in the news.
Recession Lesson: Plan Your Merchandise
Merchandise management can mean the difference between strong, positive cash flow and a constant battle to pay your bills. It can keep your operation profitable even in times of less-than-robust sales. Read this classic business concept to remind yourself how you’ve tightened the belt in the past.
Drive Consumers With 5 On-Trend Distractions
Whenever times are tough, consumers will buy. The key is to distract them from the fears and uncertainties of the present. Gift basket business owners used five distractions in 2002 to get consumers buying. Those same five principles are back on trend today:
1. Distract with Value-Centered Gifts
2. Distract with Action (Hobbies, Careers, Motivation)
3. Distract with Escapism
4. Distract with Comfort (Foods, Retro-Chic Themes, Pets, and Humor)
5. Distract with “The Thrill of the Experience” (Bargains and Fun)
Gift Basket Help
25/04/09 19:21 Filed in: In the News
What’s New Except History Repeating Itself?
Flash back to 2002 . . .
America was in crisis. The nation had been attacked and the economy was in shambles. We were fighting out fears and frustrations in a war that no one really wanted but felt compelled to enter. Small businesses were having a tough time staying alive. But even in our nation’s very worst season -- at least, the worst of what most of us can remember in our lifetime -- gifts were still being exchanged by consumers and corporations. Gift basket businesses were still making sales and holding somewhat steady.
Everywhere, people were tightening belts. The average national retail price of gift baskets dropped a bit, but even so, the volume of sales inched up just a tad. Gift basket business owners were working harder but pocketing a little less. But, through it all, the majority of business owners who kept the faith, by and large, hung on and survived.
Return to the present, now, and look at the similarities. Turn on the television and the word repeated into oblivion is “crisis”. Maybe the nation has been attacked again -- this time, perhaps by its own internal greed and selfishness. And here we go -- battling something we don’t understand that seems to be within our own ranks. Everyone, except the government, is pulling back on spending -- or so we are told.
Same song, second chorus. But here is the verse you may not remember from the past: businesses and individuals are still spending money on gifts. Think about yourself and your own habits. Will you buy trinkets and chocolate to fill your family’s basket this Easter? Of course you will! Would families dare not show their affection to Mom this Mother’s Day? Not unless they want to eat cornbread and turnips for the next month. Will you buy your best friend a birthday present, or bring a baby gift to a shower? Sure, you will. All these occasions will be greeted with gifts -- just as they have in the past.
As in 2002, there is a good probability that purchased gifts may be a bit more austere, but history proves that in the worst of times, gifts will continue to be exchanged.
Not sure? Read through a bit of history for reassurance. In the 2002 January issue of Gift Basket Review, the editorial headline was: “Get Geared Up . . . The Trail Is Tough.” You will be inspired by the ideas in this back issue. Gift Basket Review was so ahead of its time that the ideas in the past issues make good contemporary advice: “Times are rough for many businesses and cash is squeezed tight. But there are always ways to get through.”
To locate this phenomenal issue, click on GBR Print Archives (PDF). Look for the January 2002 issue. You can enjoy Gift Basket Review exactly as it was published. Remember that this is an archive issue and not all products shown are still available from the vendors. When you contact some of the past supporters of Gift Basket Review, remind them that you are a member of GBR Online and you would love to see their NEW products advertised on the site. Thanks for your support. As history as shown, “Together we can!” And together, thanks for helping us retool the fun GBR community. I’d love to hear your comments, so e-mail me: dpaulk@mac.com!
Debra Paulk
Editor, GBR Online
Flash back to 2002 . . .
America was in crisis. The nation had been attacked and the economy was in shambles. We were fighting out fears and frustrations in a war that no one really wanted but felt compelled to enter. Small businesses were having a tough time staying alive. But even in our nation’s very worst season -- at least, the worst of what most of us can remember in our lifetime -- gifts were still being exchanged by consumers and corporations. Gift basket businesses were still making sales and holding somewhat steady.
Everywhere, people were tightening belts. The average national retail price of gift baskets dropped a bit, but even so, the volume of sales inched up just a tad. Gift basket business owners were working harder but pocketing a little less. But, through it all, the majority of business owners who kept the faith, by and large, hung on and survived.
Return to the present, now, and look at the similarities. Turn on the television and the word repeated into oblivion is “crisis”. Maybe the nation has been attacked again -- this time, perhaps by its own internal greed and selfishness. And here we go -- battling something we don’t understand that seems to be within our own ranks. Everyone, except the government, is pulling back on spending -- or so we are told.
Same song, second chorus. But here is the verse you may not remember from the past: businesses and individuals are still spending money on gifts. Think about yourself and your own habits. Will you buy trinkets and chocolate to fill your family’s basket this Easter? Of course you will! Would families dare not show their affection to Mom this Mother’s Day? Not unless they want to eat cornbread and turnips for the next month. Will you buy your best friend a birthday present, or bring a baby gift to a shower? Sure, you will. All these occasions will be greeted with gifts -- just as they have in the past.
As in 2002, there is a good probability that purchased gifts may be a bit more austere, but history proves that in the worst of times, gifts will continue to be exchanged.
Not sure? Read through a bit of history for reassurance. In the 2002 January issue of Gift Basket Review, the editorial headline was: “Get Geared Up . . . The Trail Is Tough.” You will be inspired by the ideas in this back issue. Gift Basket Review was so ahead of its time that the ideas in the past issues make good contemporary advice: “Times are rough for many businesses and cash is squeezed tight. But there are always ways to get through.”
To locate this phenomenal issue, click on GBR Print Archives (PDF). Look for the January 2002 issue. You can enjoy Gift Basket Review exactly as it was published. Remember that this is an archive issue and not all products shown are still available from the vendors. When you contact some of the past supporters of Gift Basket Review, remind them that you are a member of GBR Online and you would love to see their NEW products advertised on the site. Thanks for your support. As history as shown, “Together we can!” And together, thanks for helping us retool the fun GBR community. I’d love to hear your comments, so e-mail me: dpaulk@mac.com!
Debra Paulk
Editor, GBR Online
Pricing Strategies
13/04/09 17:12 Filed in: Book Reviews
Q: When do you know a business book is a GOOD business book?
A: When you’ve been in business for 26 years and you’re reading it for the second time.
That has been my experience with Pricing Strategies for Small Business by Andrew Gregson. The author takes what could be a boring subject and livens it up with bits of trivia, stories, examples, charts, and more. As an example, do you know why businesses price items one penny under the dollar ($9.99 instead of $10.00)? If you believe it is a psychological trick, you will definitely want to read the book.
If you have never been in business you will find this book to be a valuable tool as you establish initial profitable, competitive pricing strategies. For business veterans, the book offers insightful clues as to how to earn even more money by adjusting pricing margins -- sometimes up but also down. Pricing can make or break a small business. As Gregson explains, there is no “one-size-fits-all” pricing strategy, so business owners need to consider all the options for their particular type of business. Available through: www.self-counsel.com
Attitudes of Gratitude
13/04/09 16:58 Filed in: Book Reviews
Just in time for its 10th anniversary, Attitudes of Gratitude by M.J. Ryan has been released as a special edition. Packed with short essays and quotes, Attitudes of Gratitude has brought a positive message to readers for the past generation. “Gratitude helps us to return to our natural state of joyfulness,” Ryan writes, “where we notice what’s right instead of what’s wrong. It makes us feel complete, that we have everything we need, at least in this moment.” Available through: www.redwheelweiser.com
Father's Day Book Idea
13/04/09 16:47 Filed in: Book Reviews
From the author of The Paper Bag Christmas, Kevin Alan Milne, comes another heart-melting read: The Nine Lessons. In the novel, the main character, August Witte, is firmly against having children, but after seven years of marriage, his wife is delighted to realize she is unexpectedly pregnant. August is terrified, having never learned the first thing about being a good parent from his father, London. A widower since August was a toddler, London has always valued the game of golf more than his son. In spirte of how he hates the game, when August confronts his father he finds himself agreeing to meet each month of the pregnancy for a round of golf. In exchange, London will give him the only thing that could make August agree to pick up a club again -- memories of his mother that London has written on golf scorecards since the day he met her. August quickly realizes that his father’s motive is not to teach him about golf, but to teach him about life -- and, as August learns -- the old man just might know something about it that’s worth sharing.
This is a beautiful book to tuck into Father’s Day baskets, especially for Dads who love golf. It is also a great gift for a new Dad, a grad, or anyone who loves a novel touched with philosophy and overflowing with values. Published by Center Street, a division of Hatchett Book Group. Available through Center Street and anywhere books are sold. www.centerstreet.com
Great Little Puzzle Book
13/04/09 16:38 Filed in: Book Reviews
Puzzle enthusiasts will enjoy testing brain skills with KenDoku -- a new puzzle introduced by the same people who launched KenKen. It combines the features of KenKen with those of sudoku. KenDoku comes in two different grid sizes, 6x6 and 9x9, so everyone can choose the size that best matches the time they want to spend on a puzzle and their own solving skills. Within each grid size the puzzles come in a wide range of levels of difficulty. One of the key features of KenDoku is the fun that can be had from using logic combined with the simple basic arithmetic skills: addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. Developed by David Levy & Robert Fuhrer, KenDoku is available through www.sevenfooterpress.com
New GBR Online
05/04/09 15:17 Filed in: New from Gift Basket Review
It is LIVE.
It is NEW.
It is so improved you’ll do a double take if you’ve been a member for more than a couple of weeks. YES . . . the GBR Online site has been completely overhauled, reorganized, and totally jazzed up for your enjoyment and convenience. Paula Irvin, the web designer, deserves applause, doesn’t she? Most definitely! And give David Paulk -- my hubby -- a round of applause, too. He was the anchor man for the transition.
For years it was a dream of mine to have ALL the back issues of Gift Basket Review scanned in a high resolution and available to everyone. Now you can do what most people have NEVER been able to do, and that is, to search back through every issue for ideas that were so far ahead of their time when originally published, they are still on-trend today.
While we were putting things together, I had the fun of going through each archive issue, page by page. Although I was editor of the magazine through the years and intimately involved in the production, writing, photography, and design, there were so many things I had completely forgotten that had been published. And they are terrific!!
But putting the archives in pdf format is just one of the more enjoyable tools in the new GBR site. More are on the way -- so keep coming back often.
Enjoy all the new reading and browsing. There are so many photographs, instructionals, videos, articles, and seminars, you could read for hours every day and still not be finished for weeks!!!
Have a great time on the new site. And send me an e-mail when you have the time. Love to hear from you!
Debra
It is NEW.
It is so improved you’ll do a double take if you’ve been a member for more than a couple of weeks. YES . . . the GBR Online site has been completely overhauled, reorganized, and totally jazzed up for your enjoyment and convenience. Paula Irvin, the web designer, deserves applause, doesn’t she? Most definitely! And give David Paulk -- my hubby -- a round of applause, too. He was the anchor man for the transition.
For years it was a dream of mine to have ALL the back issues of Gift Basket Review scanned in a high resolution and available to everyone. Now you can do what most people have NEVER been able to do, and that is, to search back through every issue for ideas that were so far ahead of their time when originally published, they are still on-trend today.
While we were putting things together, I had the fun of going through each archive issue, page by page. Although I was editor of the magazine through the years and intimately involved in the production, writing, photography, and design, there were so many things I had completely forgotten that had been published. And they are terrific!!
But putting the archives in pdf format is just one of the more enjoyable tools in the new GBR site. More are on the way -- so keep coming back often.
Enjoy all the new reading and browsing. There are so many photographs, instructionals, videos, articles, and seminars, you could read for hours every day and still not be finished for weeks!!!
Have a great time on the new site. And send me an e-mail when you have the time. Love to hear from you!
Debra