Gift Basket Business Blog

Holidays Greetings

During the holiday season, our thoughts turn gratefully to those who have made our progress possible.
It is in this spirit that I say….Thank you and Best Wishes for the Holiday Season and a Happy New Year.

Apexgiftbasketpros will be back in 2010 with lots of new ideas, tips and industry trends to help make your business grow!

Add comment December 22nd, 2009

Meaningful Conversations with Gift Basket Employees

During the busy holiday season, it is especially important that you are talking frequently with employees and communicating, communicating, communicating! Everyone is busy, and it’s critical that you share information effectively. There’s no time for lengthy meetings when you are trying to get out holiday orders! This applies to conversations with an individual employee who may need to be redirected regarding some aspect of his/her work or to a whole group of employees who need to clear about tasks and goals for the upcoming week.

I read something in ManageSmarter.com on-line magazine that provides some good ideas about how to be thorough when having these conversations with employees. Read the full article entitled “Seven Tips for Effective 20 Minute Leadership Conversations”. The suggestions are straight forward and easy to implement.

1. Have a plan.
2. Keep it simple.
3. Take care of relationships.
4. Listen completely.
5. State expectations clearly.
6. Write it down.
7. Follow up.

Take the time to read the article and you’ll be able to communicate with your employees in a way where everyone wins.

1 comment December 15th, 2009

Last Minute Details for Holiday Gift Basket Businesses

Well, the holidays are here. Black Friday and Cyber Monday signaled the official start of the hectic holiday shopping season. By this time, you’ve already developed your holiday designs, created advertising materials, and started to implement your marketing plans.

But there are still some last minute details that you can take care of to make these last few weeks run more smoothly.

• Chart out your employees work schedules for the remainder of the month. Make sure that all employees double check the schedule to insure that you have adequate coverage every day. During December, employees may request some extra time off to attend  their children’s school pagents,  help an aging parent with some shopping, or just need a little extra time for their own holiday preparations. Instead of being caught off guard at the last minute, plan for these situations ahead of time. Your employees who need some time off will appreciate your understanding and be more willing to put out some extra effort on the day that one of their colleagues takes some time off.

• Double check your shipping and packing supplies. You’ve been so busy thinking about your designs, now make sure that you have everything you need to pack those gorgeous baskets so that they’ll arrive safely and intact. Check your boxes, bubble wrap, peanuts, tape, shipping labels, or whatever else you use for shipping. Contact your delivery service (UPS, Fed EX, etc) and get a copy of their holiday pick up and delivery schedules.

• Take care of yourself! In an article in the September issue of Trends and Tips Magazine, author Mary Ann Jacobs lists some “life saving tips”: take your vitamins, cut down on your sugar, select your social engagements carefully, delegate to others. I would also add that it is especially important to not miss the important things you regularly do for yourself: keep up with your exercise, yoga, meditation or whatever it is that you usually do for relaxation. Remember that you will be able to take care of your responsibilities and the important people in your life only if you’ve first taken care of yourself!

1 comment December 5th, 2009