One of the most common problems I see in business, is under use of gift cards. Most women in business aren't often creative and fun, so they end up giving predictable, boring gifts every year for birthdays and Christmas. And they hate it. Nobody WANTS to be that boring gift giver. We just go with it because we can't think of anything better. What if you could find a way to make giving your product or service fun and interesting? People would be more willing to buy stuff from you as gifts since you would not only allow them to check "getting the gift" off their to-do list, but you would also allow them to check off "having some fun."

Let me use a friend of mine as an example: Two years ago, for Christmas she wanted to buy her husband Lasik eye surgery. Not exactly easy to wrap up and put under the tree. The Lasik center did have gift certificates, and she got one. But that's boring.

So, she went to the dollar store and bought several pairs of those magnification reading glasses, crushed them up and put the pieces into an eight-inch tall decorative jar with a screw-on lid. Total cost was about $7. It made a great present because no one knows what a bunch of crushed up eyeglasses in a jar sound like.

When her husband finally opened the present, he saw a bunch of mangled frames and broken glass. He got the trademark "what the !?!" look on his face... until he saw the note, "You won't be needing your glasses anymore."

So, let's extend these ideas into something you could do for your business. Think for a minute… how could you package your "gift card" with something tangible to make it a fun gift for your customers to give for a birthday or during the holiday season? This is an especially great idea if your product is not tangible (like Lasik) and the gift receivers, therefore, wouldn't necessarily expect to receive a hard-good or tangible "gift" under the tree.

There are several ways to do this. The easiest being to either package the gift card with a related toy (hey, it's Christmas... even an adult could use a new toy!) or with something old and worn out. Here are a ton of examples to get your brain going, in near alphabetic order:

• Accountant: Granted, it's not on most people's wish list. But why not give the gift of an accountant's time for tax preparation -- or whatever? To make this fun, you'll have to package your certificate with something unique and accounting related. How about a huge stack of fake money (accompanying note: look how much you'll save!) or nerdy looking doll (just Google "nerd doll" images and you'll find plenty).
• Beauty Supply: If you run a beauty supply store, don't let your customers walk out with just a lousy gift certificate for a gift. Help them make the gift fun by giving them one of those "Bratz" dolls and a note that says, "Make yourself look glamorous."
• Clothing Store: Grab a Ken or Barbie doll and dress it up nice. Put a note in there along with the gift card that says, "Look fabulous like Ken," or a similar alternative. Get a bunch of Barbie/Ken/random doll clothes and wrap them up in the gift. Tiny clothes and a gift card are way more fun than just a gift card.
• Credit Repair: Hey, it's a practical gift, right? And it could be packaged with a hammer or some other tool. Repair stuff? Get it?!?
• Financial Planners: Not a good time right now for financial planners. But if you are one, have your clients give the gift. Why not an old-fashioned-looking money sack -- the kind that old time bank robbers used to come out of the bank holding. The sacks are empty except for a note that says, "Time to fill your money bag back up," or something similar.
• Hotels: Get your hands on about a million of those little Monopoly hotels and put a couple hundred of them in a glass jar with your logo on it. The note might say something like "there are a million hotels out here, but someone special thinks we're the best, and they thought enough of you to send you this clever gift... come see us soon!"
• Jewelry: If you have a picky spouse, and you're therefore afraid to buy the real jewelry, then go with the fake stuff as the present and include the gift card. It can be real fake jewelry or kid's fake jewelry. A fun touch is to put the fake stuff in the real box. 
• Vacations/Travel: Whatever the obvious souvenir is for the destination, that's what goes in the box.

Get the point? As a woman in business, find ways to package what you sell as a gift that's fun, interesting, and unique. Your spouse or kids will have more fun this year as they open an assortment of bizarre gifts from you. And maybe best of all, we now have eBay at our disposal, so there's no limit to your creativity.