by Rena Klingenberg http://www.home-jewelry-business-success-tips.com

Offering gift certificates is an excellent way of increasing sales by solving your customers’ gift-giving problems. Often people would like to give your products as gifts, but are hesitant to choose a specific item for someone.

I’m a jewelry artist, and when I realized I was losing sales to these potential customers, I started offering gift certificates – and discovered a wonderful sales tool.

Wherever you sell your products – at retail locations, shows, home parties – be sure to have an eye-catching sign advertising "Gift Certificates Available in Any Amount". And tell undecided customers about it verbally, too, emphasizing benefits of a gift certificate, and how much their recipient will enjoy choosing exact item they want.

How to Make Your Own Gift Certificates

Use your computer and printer to make special, fancy certificates using perforated paper or postcard stock you can find in office supply stores, and have matching fancy envelopes to go with them. They don’t need to cost you very much, but they should really look like a special, festive gift to give them extra appeal!

Consider adding enticing photos of some of your most popular products. My gift certificates have a neat vertical border of jewelry photos on each side.

Here’s information your gift certificates should have on them: -your business name and location, plus other contact info -a "To:" line -a "From:" line -an "Amount:" line (for dollar amount) -"custom orders welcome", if applicable -the expiration date, if you want to limit time period certificate can be used -the certificate’s unique number – on your computer or by hand, print a unique number (101, 102, 103, etc., or whatever numbering works for you) on each certificate’s bottom corner, so each can be individually accounted for.

Word Count: 485 words, 65 characters per line

Thanks, Claudette Rowley ============= Harness Your Entrepreneurial Spirit

by Claudette Rowley Copyright 2003

"Don't play what's there, play what's not there."

- Miles Davis -

Recently, a friend asked me, "What do you love about entrepreneurs?" I think what I enjoy most is *spirit* of entrepreneurship.

I define this spirit as one of risk taking, innovation, and pushing limits of what's known and understood. Entrepreneurs dream up visions. And when they make these visions real, they create value - financial, social or cultural. Entrepreneurs view change as a force of possibility rather than as a creator of problems. To paraphrase Miles Davis, entrepreneurs play what's not there.

The Entrepreneurship Center at Miami University of Ohio speaks to this spirit: "Entrepreneurship is process of identifying, developing, and bringing a vision to life. The vision may be an innovative idea, an opportunity, or simply a better way of doing something. The end result of this process is creation of a new venture, formed under conditions of risk and considerable uncertainty."

Throughout my coaching experience, I've noticed a particular mindset that helps to form foundation from which this entrepreneurial spirit emerges. One way of describing this mindset is internal focus. Internal focus means that what goes on inside of your head and your heart greatly effects what happens for you in outside world.