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Browse through your personalized website and get familiar with our products so when customers call you, you know exactly which basket they are talking about. You also want to get familiar with the baskets that we offer so when someone's birthday is coming around, you can call their loved ones and recommend baskets for them to purchase. Remember, you are saving them lots of time and the perfect gift!

Know your website name

Learn how to add your website to everything associated with your business. That includes flyers, print ads, magnets, postcard, car magnets and pens.

Your Own Domain Name

If you wish to own your own domain name you can simply forward Your Own Domain to your www.labellabaskets.com/xxxxx website

You have an option to buy your own domain name for $7.49 for the year at

you can have it redirected to your www.labellabaskets/xxxxx website.

When visitors go to the domain you forwarded, their Web browser automatically forwards them to the URL you specified. For example, you own domain name is: www.elegantgiftbaskets.com and want people who visit it to be redirected to.

IMPORTANT NOTICE: If you are buying a domain name for your LLB store please have the company FORWARD to your LLB store link ( the link with the ID # ) Please DO NOT HAVE IT MASKED! If you have it masked please go back to the provider and tell them to just FOWARD to your store link.

For more information you can contact godaddy 24/7 Technical Support (480) 505-8877 or visit them at:

Get Organized

Working at home can sometimes get challenging because we can get easily sidetracked. We recommend to write a work schedule and stick to the schedule. If you do not have a calendar, you can open a free www.gmail.com account. Gmail has a great calendar that you can Create Event and Tasks.

Don’t put off for tomorrow what you can be doing today. Put at least 10 hours per week into this business. Treat it like a business and it will pay you like a business.

If you do not wish to use an online calendar, you can purchase a Monthly Planner. A monthly planner is usually separated on two facing pages, with boxes for entering appointments and other vital information. You can also use a Daily schedule to plan the day’s chores and a “completed” box to check each item when accomplished. A telephone directory, listing everything from your best client to the local pizza parlor;

A note section, to jot down thoughts or important telephone numbers to call later; and other sections, as needed, for expenses and schedules, as well as zippered pockets for stamps and receipts, working twenty—four hours a day to ensure that neither family nor business suffers in the hectic months ahead.

Spamming

Electronic mail, or email was one of the very first applications on the internet. It offers marketers some very real opportunities, but it also carries some risks.

Sending unsolicited e-mail sales messages to someone is asking for trouble. Not many people like the paper junk mail they receive at home and in the office; they tend to hate unsolicited email. Regular users of the internet, and increasingly the popular press, describe unsolicited e-mail as spam and sending such email as spamming. Always send an email to customer that specifically asked for information.

Add your Clients to Your Contact List

It is important to add all of your customers and potential customers to your contaact book. This way when we have sales, you want to keep them informed. For example, if you use gmail make a folder and call it "my customers". Everytime you get a call from a prospective client or everytime you have a customer purchase anything from your site, add their email address to your contact list. This will come in very handy especially during the holidays! People will be looking for gifts and you want to keep your business on their mind.

Birthday Alarm

One great software to use that is free is: BirthdayAlarm.com. Birthday Alarm sends you an email at the beginning of the month which clients,friend or family is having a birthday or special events. You know they are going to be buying gifts, might as well buy them from you!

Long Distance Telephone Service

If you plan to run your business nationwide and if don't already have unlimited long distance set up on your home phone, this would be a wise thing to do for your business, as well as, for the personal calls you make from home. You will save money with unlimited long distance. What that means is that you can call anywhere in the U.S. at anytime and talk as long as you want without having to worry about how much it is going to cost. Unlimited long distance plans are a flat-rate monthly fee.

One of our favorite unlimited long distance is magicjack.com. You can call anywhere the U.S. for only $20.00 a year! They offer a 30 day free trail.

Toll-Free Telephone Number (optional)

If your going to be advertising in the internet, we recommend to get an 800# so your customer can contact you. Here is company that you can enroll for a trial basis

Freedom is a Web-based telephone and fax service for professionals and small businesses. It provides a toll free or local phone number and advanced features not found in traditional phone systems.

Second Telephone Line

We do not recommend to get a second line. Second lines are expensive. What we do recommend is for you to call your local phone company and ask about distinctive ring or custom ring. Those features are a few dollars a month.

Distintive ring or custom ring allows them to put a new number on top of the number you have. Once a customer calls on your new phone#, you will be able to hear a different kind of ring and you will know it’s your business line.

Also, some people adverise their cell number and use them for their business lines.

FREE telephone number.

No matter what email carrier you want to use for your business, it is worthwhile to open a Google account to get GOOGLE VOICE. They select a free number with oodles of features and that number is always there's even if you move (especially for military wives). We have included the link to answer the Google Voice questions and setup plus the link with videos showing how it works so that you can view before opening an account.

ONE NUMBER - FREE CALLS IN THE U.S.A (just like having an 800# without the cost)

http://www.google.com/support/voice/bin/answer.py?answer=150640

VIDEO ON HOW IT WORKS:

http://www.google.com/googlevoice/about.html#

KEEP COST LOW

Fortunately, you have chosen a business that you can run from your home. You don’t have to worry about renting a space nor buying and shipping baskets. If you are going to invest in anything, always ask yourself this question;

do we really need this and how will this help make my business more profitable?

There are many ways to promote your business at no cost. Once you start generating income, then we recommend to look into ways to reinvest into your business. Step 2 will go over how to get your first customer.

Answering Machine

It is important to have a professional sounding message on your answering machine – nothing goofy. You want your customers to know that you are serious about your business.

Car Mileage

If you use your car for the business (and you probably will),

Keep a mileage log for tax deduction purposes, where did you go, who did you see, what was it for, and how many miles you drove.

Home Office Deductions

Learn how simply owning a homebased business is the best tax shelter ever!

You are not going to LOSE money, you are actually going to put alot of money back in your pocket!

Hire Your Kids!

It's hard in today's turbo-charged world to find time to spend with family. Why not do as a growing number of creative small business owners are doing and hire your kids?

Not only does this give you a great opportunity to spend some quality time interacting with those closest to you, it also provides a rare opportunity for them to learn meaningful skills and acquire valuable training that will serve them well into the future.

Hiring your kids can also be a financial winner for all concerned. You get a tax deduction and your kids get some extra income. The IRS allows reasonable wages paid to minor children to be deducted the same as any other business expense. The key word is reasonable. As long as the wages you pay to your children are in line with wages you would pay to another person doing the same job, you should not have a problem claiming the deduction.

The beauty of this type of arrangement is that you will be able to effectively shift income away from your business to a child who will probably be in a position to shelter the entire income from taxation (depending on the amount). Currently, children under the age of 18 can earn approximately $4,700 (for year 2002) in income without owing any federal income tax. It may also be possible to avoid FICA tax withholding - depending on the legal structure of your company. Check with your accountant to see if your business qualifies.

Before putting your kids on the payroll however, you should consider the following:

Get some professional tax advice.

While the tax law provides for the employment of minor children, there are some specific requirements and guidelines which must be adhered to in order to stay in the good graces of the IRS. It is always advisable to seek professional guidance as you structure an employment arrangement of this type.

Establish formal job agreements with your employed children.

Formalizing a child's job responsibilities will provide important documentation in the event of a tax audit. It should go without saying that the work that is being performed should be relevant to the ongoing operation of your business. Mowing the lawn, for example, will probably not qualify as a legitimate business deduction. Formalizing a job description will also provide a valuable tool to help your child understand exactly what is expected of him or her.

Keep careful records of work performed and payments made.

It will be important that you be able to demonstrate exactly what work was performed and what payments were made to your children in the event of an IRS audit. Detailed records will go a long way toward satisfying the curiosity of an inquiring IRS agent.

Be sure to complete and file all required tax forms.

Again, this is an area where professional guidance will be important. For starters, you will need to fill out W-4 forms for each of your children that will be on your payroll. If FICA tax witholding is required you will need to treat wages paid to your children as you would any other wages. Don't forget that even though your child may not owe any taxes, it may still be necessary for them to file a tax return.

Holiday List

* January 1 New Year's Day

* January 19 Martin Luther King, Jr. Day (3rd Monday of January, traditionally Jan. 15)

* January 20 Inauguration Day

* February 1 Super Bowl Sunday (currently the first Sunday of February)

* February 2 Groundhog Day

* February 14 Valentine's Day

* February 16 Presidents Day (officially George Washington's Birthday; 3rd Monday of February, traditionally Feb. 22)

* February 25 Ash Wednesday (Christian; moveable based on Easter)

* March 17 St. Patrick's Day

* March 20 Vernal Equinox (based on sun)

* April 1 April Fools' Day

* April 5 Palm Sunday (Christian; Sunday before Easter)

* April 9 First day of Passover (Jewish; moveable based on Jewish calendar)

* April 10 Good Friday (Christian; Friday before Easter)

* April 12 Easter Sunday (Christian; moveable; Sunday after first full moon during spring)

* April 13 Easter Monday (Christian; Monday after Easter)

* April 16 Last Day of Passover (Jewish; moveable, based on Jewish Calendar)

* April 20 Patriot's Day/Marathon Monday (New England and Wisconsin only)(3rd Monday of April)

* April 22 Earth Day, Administrative Professionals Day/Secretaries Day (Wednesday of the last full week of April)

* April 24 Arbor Day (last Friday of April)

* May 5 Cinco De Mayo (Mexican holiday often observed in US)

* May 10 Mother's Day (2nd Sunday of May),

* May 25 Memorial Day (last Monday of May, traditionally May 30)

* May 31 Pentecost Sunday (Christian; 49 days after Easter)

* June 14 Flag Day

* June 21 Father's Day (3rd Sunday of June), Summer Solstice (based on sun)

* July 4 Independence Day

* August 22 First day of Ramadan (Islamic, moveable based on Lunar calendar)

* September 7 Labor Day (first Monday of September)

* September 13 Grandparents Day (second Sunday of September)

* September 19 Rosh Hashanah (Jewish; moveable, based on Jewish calendar)

* September 20 Last day of Ramadan (Islamic, moveable based on Lunar calendar)

* September 21 Eid-al-Fitr/Day after the end of Ramadan (Islamic, moveable, based on lunar calendar)

* September 22 Autumnal equinox (based on sun)

* September 28 Yom Kippur (Jewish, moveable, 9 days after first day of Rosh Hashanah)

* October 3 First day of Sukkot (Jewish; moveable, 14 days after Rosh Hashanaah)

* October 9 Leif Erikson Day, Last Day of Sukkot (Jewish)

* October 10 Simchat Torah (Jewish; moveable, 22 days after Rosh Hashanah)

* October 12 Columbus Day (2nd Monday of October, traditionally Oct. 12)

* October 30 Mischief Night

* October 31 Halloween

* November 1 All Saints Day

* November 11 Veterans Day

* November 26 Thanksgiving (4th Thursday of November)

* November 27 Black Friday (Friday after Thanksgiving Day)

* December 7 Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day

* December 12 First day of Hanukkah (Jewish; moveable, based on Jewish calendar)

* December 19 Last day of Hanukkah (Jewish; moveable, based on Jewish Calendar)

* December 21 Winter Solstice (based on sun)

* December 24 Christmas Eve (Christian)

* December 25 Christmas Day (Christian)

* December 26 First day of Kwanzaa (Kwanzaa is celebrated until January 1, 2010)

* December 31 New Year's Eve

Love and Support from Family and Friends

You’re about to add a new family member to your family. Like all new babies, this one needs changing, it needs love, and yes, it will keep you up at night. Over the years, you’ll worry about the direction its taking and be proud when it makes the “good news” headlines.

If you’re single with no children, you’re free and clear to start the business at home as you wish. Having a family and starting a business require a mix of consideration and compassion from the pending change at home.

Family support has a dual role. Family members will want and need to be included in your decision to start a gift basket business and be kept p to date on its progress. As this business is a new addition to the family, it will compete for your attention. Get your family involved and let them know why you are doing this business and what this business will be able to do for them! Once they start seeing the income coming in, many of our family members get excited and then they start asking "how can I start my business".