I joined Basket Chat!

I just recently heard about an online discussion forum called Basket Chat. One of my close partners hinted to me that I should check it out. It is great! It's well organized, fun, direct and will be a great way to learn, vent and participate with other members in the industry. You might just want to check it out. The website is www.basketchat.com.

On another subject, I know its hard to balance all of these social networking activities. GBA has an online Google Group, there is GB Exchange, Basket Chat, Facebook, Twitter, etc. and on top of all of that, a lot of us enjoy blogging too. If I could just make a recommendation to you. It's important to maintain quality and participation to all of these areas.

Develop a "spin"
You might want to consider spending just 30 minutes a day doing what I call a "spin". My spin includes hitting a list of 15 different locations and at a minimum reviewing whats going on and posting where it makes sense. That means I have under 2 minutes in each location and I have to admit, I don't always hit all of them and sometimes spend more than 2 minutes but it keeps me focused and it makes sure that at least daily, I'm staying involved.

Only post if you have something substantial to say.
Think about how you could add value to a particular thread. Validating, resonating and showing involvement are important but I recommend keeping a healthy balance between good content and socializing.

Stay involved.
Don't forget about it. As you do these activities, your gaining credibility. Post with quality and share.

Keep a high level of integrity.
If you're not sure if you should say it, don't say it. Don't risk hurting someone's feelings by making statements that they might read, especially if they don't deserve it. We're in a fun industry, there shouldn't be something so outlandishly confidential that you can't say it. I mean, really, we aren't the FBI!

The release of the GBA Newsroom

Well, we did it. After weeks of hard work and some seriously creative energy, the GBA team released our online newsroom today. The idea came from the concept of our members who have all stepped up and offered to get involved. They've asked how they can contribute and well, quite honestly, that's what building a community is all about. We've asked several members to contribute to our newsroom and will be able to communicate real time information in this "newspaper" environment. We hope to make this a daily stop for all of our gift basket professionals out there.

I'm amazed by the feedback already. It's only been an hour or so since it was released and so far, we've received 6 new members, 3 compliments and 1 referral form filled out. I can't wait to see what happens next week.

I've gotta run but I hope you're enjoying the building of the GBA community. I'm certainly thrilled!

Introducing the GBA Advisory Board

SAN JOSE, CA - May 25, 2009 - The Gift Basket Association is pleased to announce the members of their first advisory board. This board, hand picked by founding member, Debbie Quintana, has been selected for their dedication and expertise in the gift basket industry. "I've been making gift baskets for the last 19 years but I will never call myself an expert. I feel strongly that we need to have a diverse range of professionals to provide feedback to some of the programs and services of GBA. I am proud to work with these individuals to help grow our community. I am so very grateful and humbled by their willingness to step up and help us all." The GBA Advisory Board is already in action and ready for our community. "I am honored to work with a group whose goals include education and giving back. I look forward to an inspirational learning experience!" says Lorie Obernauer, Vice President and Owner of the well respected Apex Gift Foods and Keystone Ribbon & Floral Supply. Obernauer was chosen to be on the board to represent the distributor sector and viewpoint of the industry. "I have been excited to get to know Debbie and see a today's look at our industry with lots of new technology. I believe this industry needs lots of different avenues of education and style to give the designers a different prospective for their businesses. As we know, no two businesses are alike and we don't want them to be. I believe GBA gives the industry that extra option of added resources to the industry." said Pamela Newell, co-owner of Gift Basket School, Inc. and host of 2009 Gift Basket Professional Convention. In addition to Obernauer and Newell, Quintana also chose Derek Thieke, owner of Northwoods Cheese to represent the manufacturing sector of the industry as well as two gift basket company owners, Cara Cohen of The Perfect Gift New York and Sandy Keller of Ace of Hearts Gift Baskets in North Carolina. Last and certainly not least is Mary Ann Jacobs, a highly respected consultant, mentor and trainer for gift basket professionals. The first project for review to the advisory board will be the survey for the 2010 Trend Report. This survey will be released to thousands of professionals in the industry to garner their forward-looking opinion of the industry. "The 2010 Trend Report will give our members the ability to forecast and prepare for the up and coming activities of the industry. As a gift basket company owner myself, I study quite often so I am ahead of the design curve, this report will yield very important details allowing us to be even more prepared." says Quintana. "It's time for us to build a strong community to help each other. The advisory board and trend report will help our entire community and allow us to truly support one another. This is just the beginning, we're just getting warmed up!" For more information, please visit The Gift Basket Association Advisory Board Member website. We invite you to join The Gift Basket Association and FindYourGiftBasket.com for just $99 a year. Suppliers can sign up here. Gift Basket Company owners can sign up here.

GBA is an association designed to bring the gift basket industry together with the ultimate goal of increasing sales in the gift basket industry. We are a centralized portal of information with a sincere, genuine and honest passion to help professionals and suppliers grow their business. We are building a community.

What's your inspiration?

As artists, its important that we're continuously inspired. Inspiration and motivation come from a variety of sources. What's yours?

Inspiration and motivation come easy for me and sometimes can be my downfall. I get easily excited about a lot of opportunities and as most of you know, I'm busy enough as it is...taking on more work should not be a part of my daily routine. After started GBA, I decided that was it - I needed to foster and grow my existing adventures and take a break from starting anything new. So, here it is today - I put my foot down on new projects. Moving forward, my total attention is geared towards my two gift basket companies, The Gift Basket Association and The Women's Networking Alliance. There, I said it.

But where does the motivation and inspiration come from? Have you thought about what inspires you to design a new basket or study a new opportunity? What about a new idea that would compliment your company? If you're having trouble getting motivated or finding inspiration, here are some ways to perk it up:

1) Watch for negativity. I know it sounds great but there is some negativity in our industry and everytime I see it, I get motivated. I look at it and say, "hmmm. I don't ever want to talk like that or be like that. How can I ensure I'm NOT like that?" It inspires me to be a better person. Use negatively to drive your positivity.

2) Take a walk. Clear your head and start thinking about the things that make you happy, content and elated. For me, it took a trip to Sonoma for me to realize that I wanted to create gifts that meant something to me. Our Tuscany gift basket came from that trip and we sell about 1 a week.

3) Partner with good people. Pick good people to be around regularly. One of the reasons I started the Women's Networking Alliance was to surround myself with good, hardworking, caring people. I am so inspired by all of them. It's a two way street so make sure you inspire and motivate them too.

As always, I'm here if you ever want to talk and perhaps I can help you find your motivation and inspiration.

Debbie

Three hot tips, that are already working for our members!

I was so excited to have a GBA member call me today to thank me for the tips in the last GBA newsletter. She already put the assisted living tip to work and she got an order on the spot. Usually it takes more work than just one meeting but she happened to catch them at a really good time. You go! I'm so happy. Just in case you missed tip three ideas, here they are again. I hope they work for you, too.

KNOCK, KNOCK!

Who's there?

Opportunities. Open the door!

If you haven't already checked out a few of these ideas, you might want to give them a shot. Low financial investment, low risk and a nice return, if they pay off.

Have a baby!

Last year, we said that Gourmet Gifts, our gift basket company, had a baby - it's GG Jr. It was perfect timing as people still wanted to give but couldn't afford to give a lot. Our Gourmet Jr mini versions of our gift baskets went over very well. Whether you use a cello bag or a mini container, you probably already have product in stock. We recommend keeping them all under $15, if you can and you might just be surprised. Get some ideas, here.

Get Personal.

If you aren't offering personalized products, you might want to. For Mothers Day, we're printing kids pictures on mugs, mousepads, aprons and more and including them in our gift baskets. It's making Dad look really good! We use TML Gifts and Terri, well she's just wonderful. You can buy 1 or 100, doesn't matter. She just loves what she does. Tell her Debbie Q. sent you and you just might get a special gift with your order.

Seniors Want to Shop, Too!

Don't forget about assisted living facilities as potential customers. In addition to do their gifts, their clients can't get out easily and shop, don't necessary have the ability to shop online and still want to send a little something to their grandson on his birthday. We created a short catalog using PowerPoint, in big print with all gifts under $25. They can pick out what they want and with the help of the assisting living facility, we handle the rest. If you'd like to see our catalog, just email Nicole at our office and she'll shoot you a copy. You have our permission to not re-invent the wheel!