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?

Shirley George Frazier

Shirley George Frazier is recognized as the world’s authority on the gift basket industry. She is head basketologist at Sweet Survival LLC (known on the web as GiftBasketBusiness.com), which assists creative people to turn their passion into rewarding businesses. Shirley is also author of How to Start a Home-Based Gift Basket Business, The Gift Basket Design Book, and Marketing Strategies for the Home-Based Business. If you're looking for a speaker who's easy to work with, one that attendees will thank you for bringing to the event, contact Shirley at 973-279-2799 or Shirley@ShirleySpeaks.com.

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1. This Gift Basket Class is Available to Everyone

There’s a very lively group of new designers enrolled in the current Start Your Own Gift Basket Business class.

This 12-lesson, 6-week online course covers all the basics elements on gift basket designing and much more, including:

• Marketing
• Competition
• Product Sources
• Workspace Setup
• Growth and Expansion

Questions from students in the current class are on selling gift baskets worldwide, finding unusual products, and regulations on buying and selling specialty lotions and creams found in popular mall stores (that’s a question practically everyone asks).

The next class starts on April 18, and you’ll find the entire lesson plan at the course site through this link.

Shirley George Frazier

Shirley George Frazier is recognized as the world’s authority on the gift basket industry. She is head basketologist at Sweet Survival LLC (known on the web as GiftBasketBusiness.com), which assists creative people to turn their passion into rewarding businesses. Shirley is also author of How to Start a Home-Based Gift Basket Business, The Gift Basket Design Book, and Marketing Strategies for the Home-Based Business. If you're looking for a speaker who's easy to work with, one that attendees will thank you for bringing to the event, contact Shirley at 973-279-2799 or Shirley@ShirleySpeaks.com.

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The gift basket business class I teach online is filled with aspiring designers who are ready to learn about gift basket designing and selling the moment the course begins.

Their questions about design, marketing, and competition arrive in my inbox every day, and I’m thrilled to mentor them so when the course ends in six weeks, they’re prepared for any situation, both good and challenging.

One question consistently asked focuses on accepting payments.

Do I really need a merchant account?
How do I handle a cash payment?
Do I have to accept checks?

The first question is the most popular. We all know how important it is in business to accept credit cards, yet we want to keep the transaction cost as low as possible.

Thankfully, the costs have come down considerably from when I started my business in 1990, and I quickly tell students how easy it is today.

There are now four main ways to accept credit cards, with two of those methods being so low in cost that there’s no excuse to not accept plastic online or in person.

What’s your customers’ favorite method of paying you when they order gift baskets?

Shirley George Frazier

Shirley George Frazier is recognized as the world’s authority on the gift basket industry. She is head basketologist at Sweet Survival LLC (known on the web as GiftBasketBusiness.com), which assists creative people to turn their passion into rewarding businesses. Shirley is also author of How to Start a Home-Based Gift Basket Business, The Gift Basket Design Book, and Marketing Strategies for the Home-Based Business. If you're looking for a speaker who's easy to work with, one that attendees will thank you for bringing to the event, contact Shirley at 973-279-2799 or Shirley@ShirleySpeaks.com.

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1. Boost Your Image (and Sales) with a Business Card Photograph

When setting a goal to start a gift basket business, there are excuses and there are legitimate reasons why it’s difficult to get going.

I recognize this each time I read comments from individuals who complete the Start Your Own Gift Basket Business course I teach online.

What’s so gratifying about these comments is that each student shares their experience without coaching.

Their words are genuine and either help me to develop the course more extensively or recognize that each of the 12 lessons are truly beneficial for their success.

Here’s one comment from a graduating student that will make you think twice about all the excuses you tell friends, family, and yourself:

I found this course to be very interesting, informative and enjoyable. It was easy to follow along and I was surprised as to how well I did creating gift baskets!

I am blind and I understood all the instructions to make a gift basket and I am excited to continue. Thanks so much for offering this course.

Now, what’s stopping you from starting your business?

Shirley George Frazier

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Tonight, I’ll lead a group of students who will create bountiful Mother’s Day gift baskets, and for most of them, it will be the first time they receive expert instruction that they’ll remember for a lifetime.

My husband once believed that anyone could make a gift basket, and for the most part, that’s true. However, after he accompanied me in March to a gift basket class I conducted in Washington, DC, his opinion has changed.

Although anyone can put a group of items into a basket, there’s a big difference in professional styling and presentation when you follow an expert’s blueprint.

If you’re unable to attend a class led by an expert, training is available on DVDs, and you can also get tips from online videos.

Where did you learn how to make a professionally-styled gift basket, and how did that training boost your confidence?

Shirley George Frazier

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As much as I was pleased to conduct a seminar late last month in Washington, DC, I was also dismayed to be contacted by aspiring and current designers who would have attended had they known about the event.

My support team sent out as much information as possible in numerous forms to designers and other interested people on our mailing list as well as posted details on the GiftBasketClass.com site and through social media.

What else could we have done to notify the masses?

This question is not only one for me to consider for the next time I conduct a class, which will be New York City in July, but also one for you to think about as your gift baskets are featured in:

• Banks as part of a raffle
• Auctions as part of a donation
• Mail box centers as part of their gift services

Who do you need to tell about where your gift baskets can be seen, whether you’re homebased or in a retail store, and how will you proceed to spread the message?

Shirley George Frazier

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Which enhancements are your favorite?

There are many to choose from. Here are the five that I tend to use often.

1. Palmetto fans

2. Greenery on long vines

3. Berry cluster picks

4. Star spray (shown in the picture above from The Gift Basket Design Book)

5. Golden dragonflies

Some of these enhancements will accompany me to Washington, D.C., when I conduct a seminar there on March 31. If you’re in the area, click this link to register and join me.

Which enhancements show up most often in your gift baskets?

Shirley George Frazier

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Looking for instruction? A Massachusetts-based teacher plans to conduct a gift basket class on October 25. You’ll see information about it in SouthCoastToday.com.

I’m not familiar with this instructor, so I have no idea if she will show the intricate design techniques to make a professional basket or simply have students line products into a basket without stabilization. I have a feeling that students will be part of the latter.

I’ve been asked numerous times why classes aren’t taught in more locations. There are at least two reasons for this.

1. Designers are too busy in business and not willing to share their secrets. If this is you, I understand. It takes a lot of time and determination to master design techniques and build a roster of clients. It’s something you cannot just give away.

2. Not everyone is a teacher. What’s done in a studio isn’t always translated well in a classroom setting.

Here’s my roster of upcoming classes, listed by demonstration, participatory events, and trade shows. You’ll see that most classes are in my area, but I often travel to other locations to show techniques and distribute supplies.

I hope to add your local area to this roster in the future.

Here’s an article to help you uncover a gift basket class if it’s in your area.

How do you believe you’d benefit from attending a local class?

Shirley George Frazier

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