About You and Me
This website is is all about helping YOU start and grow your business to success. That’s why it’s called the Success Express!
You are here to learn and I am here to help. I spent the last 30 years creating and building my own gift business. You can see it at ShopCreativeGifts That wasn't my first business, however. I've published a statewide newspaper and was a multi-million dollar Realtor. So I know a bit about marketing and growing a business.
All too often, new business owners come on strong when they start. They spend lots of time and money telling people all about their new venture. But then they run out of ideas and slow down. They sit by the phone waiting for it to ring, all the while wondering why people have forgotten about them.
Getting people to pay attention to your business takes more than money. Yes, it takes even more than time.
It takes a willingness to think past the obvious and explore the unique and different.
We pride ourselves on being creative with our products.
We must be equally creative with our marketing.
Standing out in a sea of businesses boasting similar offerings can be difficult, which is why entrepreneurs need to strive to differentiate themselves and their products or services from the competition.
If you are in the planning or beginning stages, then begin reading about how to start a gift basket business and then return here for more information, ideas, and tips.
All About Starting and Growing Your Gift Business
But for those of you who already have one, you’ll find lots of creative ideas about the gift basket industry and marketing by reading the following articles.
Two Functions for Business Success
A business has two functions: To serve its customers better than anyone else To make a profit If your business fails in either function for any length of time, the …
New Gift and Gift Basket Magazine
I’d like to thank Mike Neese of Imperial Foods for the following: I am pleased to announce that I have signed on as a staff writer for this new, exciting …
Learning from those who have been in the trenches and survived
It seems like yesterday, but in actuality it was many, many years ago. The afternoon heat in the deep South drove us to the front porch where there was occasionally …
What makes a Successful Business?
Nine Traits of a Great Small Business What fabulous operations all have in common. By Steven D. Strauss What constitutes a great small business? We all know what a good …
How unique are you and your business?
For those of you who aren’t following me on Facebook, I posted this today: There is one thing we can do better than anyone else: we can be ourselves.” – …
Why are you REALLY in business?
Why are you REALLY in business? Most of you, who know me, know that I’m not in business just to make money. I do a lot of things for my …
What is Opportunity
“Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.” Thomas A Edison What opportunities have you lost out on this week?
Happy to be an introvert!
A very thoughtful blog post by Christina Hyun of the Seattle PI. I, too, am happy to be an introvert! Introverted? Happy about it? I am! The first time I …
How Nimble is Your Business?
One of the biggest benefits that we, as micro business owners, have over large businesses is the ability to be flexible and to change quickly. We can respond to market …
Creating Loyal Customers
Years ago, it was possible to beat your competition simply by delivering a better product. But in today’s competitive marketplace, almost everyone has a product that is “satisfactory”. If they …
That Myth Called Talent!
If you want to be successful at whatever you want to do, whether it be designing gift baskets, marketing, or writing descriptions for your website, you’ve got to put one …
Do You Feel Isolated in Your Business
Do you feel isolated in your business? Feel all alone? Trying to run the business all by yourself , doing every single task yourself? Have no one to share ideas …
How to Get a Job Done with the 70% Principal
Today’s post is reprinted with permission from Psychotactics by Sean D’Souza. He’s a master at getting things done. The 70% Principle Have you got eleven seconds to learn a simple principle? …
An Entrepreneurial Lesson Learned
I live in Flagstaff Arizona. This past week is one that will be remembered and talked about for years by those of us living here. This week’s monster set of …
Made in China or Made in USA?
I just stopped into a delightful little shop in my community that was overflowing with retro, cowboy, antique reproductions all being sold at what the shop proclaims as ‘warehouse prices.” …
Money Doesn’t Buy Happiness But It Sure is Nice To Have!
Remember that money doesn’t bring happiness. People with ten million dollars are no happier than those with nine million. Irving R. Levine Irving R. Levine was a financial reporter …
Learning Business 101 from Google
Ken Auletta, in his new book Googled: The End of the World as We Know it, gives us ten basic business lessons that we should learn from Google. CNN Money.com …
Marketing and Promotion — Do you have an idea file?
A question to ask yourself each night is: What have you done to promote your business today? Other valuable questions are: What did you learn today? What new promotion did …
Dare To Be Different
When we first start our business, we are told to research, to find out what works for others and to determine how we are different. But many of us are …
Creating Customer Loyalty
Here is an article written by Sean D’Sousa of Psychotactics. It talks about customer loyalty in a way that we seldom think of. Are you concerned about customer loyalty? Are …
It’s amazing what you can read on the web!
It’s amazing what you can read on the web. I just read the following on someone else’s blog about “Ten Ways To Turn Your Freebies into Cash”: “4. Start a gift …
Edit What You Write
I am a busy person. I check the computer many times each day in order to pull orders as they come in. Once or twice a day, when I log …
Using Facebook to Grow Your Business
Should you use Facebook to grow your business or is it a waste of time? Facebook uses technology, that wasn’t available when I first started my business, to help you …
Footprints In The Snow
Award winning comedy writer Larry Gelbart — famous for such favorites as MASH and Tootsie–died this week. He helped create memorable TV comedy in the early days of television. When …
Surviving the Economic Jungle
It’s a jungle out there. You’re surrounded. Everywhere you look, there are enemies. You are all stalking the same prey. Some of the enemies are giants that tower over you. …
Retail Lessons Learned from Ted Kennedy
Retail Lessons from an Unexpected Source By Guest Blogger: Rick Segal of The Retailer’s Advantage at ricksegal.com We all know the rule — NEVER mix politics and business. That is …
Ten Time Management Tips That Work for Me
Having trouble getting everything done each day without getting sidetracked? Going off into a million directions and never finishing anything? You’re not alone. I am one of the worst people …
Extended Warranties on Your Computer — Pros and Cons
A few years ago, I bought what turned out to be the “Computer From Hell”. It was an HP 9000 Laptop. When I bought it, the store convinced me that …
Be Honest With Green Claims – FTC Cracks Down
Being “Green” is all the rage. Companies all over the web are claiming to be green, to sell green products, etc. But make sure your claims are true or you …
Marketing — What works?
What is your marketing strategy? You may think that marketing is getting your message in front of potential customers. Or you may feel that it’s all about building relationships. Or …
Website Pirates Strike Again!!
They’re out there…waiting…and, then they strike! It’s those website pirates striking again. I first wrote about them on this blog at Website Pirates. They had copied my whole website, including …
SEO Myths
I think you may be surprised by some of the SEO myths reported by our Guest Blogger, Laura Wheeler of Firelight Business Enterprises. REID ON for more from Laura. . …
Keep Your Business Thriving During Tough Times
Although the credit crunch is still weighing on millions of people, it doesn’t mean the end for every small or medium-sized business. In fact, this is a great time for …
Why don’t my gift baskets look like those in the magazines?
Have you ever looked at one of our trade magazines, delighting in the exquisite designs and huge variety of products used in each basket, and then asked yourself: “Why don’t …
One Minute Wisdoms
When I first started this blog, I decided that creating a sucessful business is about more than just making money. Since I use this blog to say what I want …
What I Learned About Business from Walter Cronkite
Walter Cronkite died yesterday. His death won’t receive the media frenzy that Michael Jackson did — even though Walter Cronkite was much more of a man and a much more …