Q. I am writing a business plan before opening a gift basket business and would like to know if sale goals are set and how to go about that when starting out.

A. Smart lady! Setting goals and projecting sales is a vital step in moving toward success. Set out your goals; develop plans for how you plan to meet them, and have a timeline for when you want to achieve each goal.

In the beginning your projection may not be very accurate. You may need to align your goals to the results of each marketing project. This will keep you focused on your plan...and will make it easier to grow your busines. There are organizations that can help you, either free or for a very low cost. One is SCORE, and another is the Small Bus Development Center. SCORE is an organization of retired executives who assist small business people in planning and operating your business.

Q. Does anyone know to find UPS rates? I’m trying to get everything ready to start my business and I do not know how to price the shipping.
A. Many gift basket business owners use a standard chart for shipping, based on the selling price of the basket. For example, if the basket sells for $0 - $35, the rate for continental U.S. (non-residence, etc.) would be $8.95 (this is just an example, not a pricing suggestion). This price might be based on the highest zone price for a standard size box and weight. The UPS website has rate & zone charts which you can download if you have Adobe Acrobat Reader.
(www.ups.com). Take the price for this rate, then add on the cost of your shipping supplies, plus a percentage for handling. Now you will have a final price that you can put on your “standard” shipping chart.

During special seasons, gift basket business owners sometimes advertise “free shipping” specials as an incentive for early ordering. When this is in the marketing plan, the catalog price for the basket may be raised to cover a portion, or all of the cost of shipping.

Q. What do you say when you make a cold call? I know you have to find the right person, but how do you do that?

A. Good for you for just thinking about doing some cold calls! My advice is to find your target market first. Is it going to be lawyers or doctors or information tech companies, etc? Try to get leads from networking groups or someone you know in that field of business. Warm up your calls by doing a little research before picking up that phone. Look on the internet for companies in your target market and educate yourself about their logos, company colors, type of service or products they provide. Then you will know a little something when talking to that VIP.

Always approach the cold call like how YOU would like to be approached. If you don't know what you're selling or talking about neither will they. Keep it clean, short and to the point. Be professional. Use open ended questions and directly ask for the appropriate contact person to answer your questions. Sometimes the first "NO" you get really doesn't mean "NO" forever. Learn from each call, how to make it better, what to change, what they want to hear. Most of all practice,practice, practice. You have nothing to lose- everything to gain by taking this vital step in expanding your business!

Everyone will be wild about this gift! Moms will love the sentiment and gifts, and YOU will love the option of crossing over Valentine merchandise into Mother’s Day. For those of you just starting a gift basket business, you may find yourself buying merchandise retail, in order to keep inventory low and avoid wholesale minimums. If that is the case, be sure to grab those 80% and 90% discounts on leftover Valentine jungle-theme merchandise. You’ll be able to use it for Wild About You themes for Mother’s Day -- and buy retail at prices that will give you big markup margins.