The handmade Greeting Card Business

Handmade Card by Marie Jensen of February Stars

See Directory of Handmade Greeting Card Businesses on this blog.

Handmade and Upscale Cards may be Profitable Niche in the Card Business

 Interesting article I ran across.  Read the entire piece here.  When I had a handmade greeting card business for 15 years, I also sold Kate's Paperie in New York.

Even As American Greetings Struggles, Small Card Companies Find A New Way To Thrive

Think no one but your grandmother sends cards anymore? Turns out greeting cards are still popular -- but maybe not in the way you think.

Angelica Berrie, the owner of Kate's Paperie, an upscale card and paper store in New York City, says her greeting card sales -- which make up 30 percent of her revenue -- have increased every year for the past five years as shoppers are buying more luxurious cards.

The cards at her store cost between $6 and $8 per card. In contrast, a mass-produced card you can pick up at a local drugstore costs anywhere from $1 to $5 per card.

"With my handmade cards, [they] are becoming the gift itself," Berrie said. "The old-fashioned way of mailing can only be done as a luxury."

American Greetings -- the largest publicly traded maker of greeting cards in the country -- announced this week that it was pulling out of the stock market to return to life as a private company. The Cleveland-based card company closed many of its retail store locations over the last few years and is worth almost 65 percent less today than it was at its peak in 1998, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The latest news prompted some to declare that the old-fashioned mass-market greeting card industry was dead. But that's only part of the story. Over the past decade, small, high-end boutique card-makers, custom-design printers and online card companies have grown in the shadow of the giant paper card industry, including the massive -- but struggling -- Hallmark Card company.

Even as American Greetings recedes from public view, different companies are having a coming-out party as the new face of an old industry.

Digital card producers and social media companies like Facebook have been angling to get bigger slices of the greeting card pie in recent years. Facebook recently revamped its birthday alert tool and gifts program -- even analyzing words in status updates to prompt gift-giving -- to help the social media company make money.

Duncan Mitchell, founder of digital card website someecards.com, said his website has seen more than 3.2 million registered visitors since 2008 and has been profitable for the last three years as a private company. To make money, his cards are often part of content partnerships with established brands looking to advertise.

Traditional drugstore cards "are saccharine and overly sincere, and that's not the tone that people are that excited about now," Mitchell said. Instead of the slapstick humor that characterizes many of the cards sold in the supermarket aisle, his cards -- which can be sent for free -- strike an edgier tone, with birthday greetings like “May you live twice as long as Michael Jackson and be half as creepy.”

Meanwhile, the popularity of high-end cards, like the ones sold at Kate's Paperie, has not been lost on American Greetings either; it purchased the Papyrus chain, which sells pricey cards, in 2009. Papyrus, which had $1.6 billion in revenue last year according to the company website, also owns greeting card producers Carlton Cards, Gibson, and Recycled Paper Greetings.

continued...Read the entire piece here.

Are Greeting Card Apps the Future?

Check out this article on Techcrunch  I've been seeing a lot of companies buying and selling greeting card app software rights in the news lately.  In fact I even license cards to an app maker.  

What do you think the future is?



Mobile Greeting Cards App Red Stamp Acquired By The Occasions Group

Minneapolis-based Red Stamp, a social commerce company best known for its mobile greeting cards app which competes with the likes of Apple’s Cards app, Sincerely, and Shutterfly’s Treat, among others, has been acquired by Taylor Corporation affiliate The Occasions Group.  The Occasions Group President Mike Provenzano explains in a release that Red Stamp “brings a top-notch mobile experience that will blend well with our long-standing experience and offerings in the printed social stationery and communications arena.”

The company also referred to Red Stamp as a “top 1% Lifestyle App,” but even though it pushed up to spot #1 in June, and has sometimes been featured in the top 20, the app has usually been ranking in the top 100′s or 200′s in recent months. (Yesterday it was #229 in the U.S., e.g., per App Annie). The app offers over 1,000 greeting cards, invites, announcements, and more which you can edit and send from your phone, making it one of the most comprehensive mobile cards apps on the market. Cards are mailed for you for $0.49-$1.99, which also makes it something of a no-brainer for those of us whose penmanship has long since suffered from lack of regular handwriting in our day-to-day lives.


Red Stamp recently scored a deal with Starbucks, which let users pick from a specialized collection of cards in order to thank their Starbucks barista for doing a good job. Those cards would then be mailed the local Starbucks store.

Read the entire article here.

10 Outrageous Ways to Simplify Your Business

By Kate Harper

Life is short, so why not invest our time in things we truly value?

The following 10 practices might sound outrageous, but I did all of these for 15 years while running a manufacturing business that serviced 2,000 stores and had 40 sales reps and 4 contract workers.  As a result, I gained more personal time, reduced my stress, and my sales continued to increase.

Keeping things simple in your business might mean dropping key accounts or turning off your email for the day. Rather than negotiating with difficult people, I stopped working with difficult people. Instead of waiting on people who are always late, I replaced them with people who were always on time.

I invite you to try one or more of these practices. Let me know your results or tell me how you keep your business simple. Post them below on the comments or start a conversation on my facebook page https://www.facebook.com/kateharperdesigns. 



10 Outrageous Ways to Simplify Your Business

1. DON'T TALK ON THE PHONE

You might not believe it's possible to run a business without talking on the telephone, but it's true.  In fact, I kept my ringer off so I would not be disrupted or get pulled into a long conversation that had nothing to do with business.


You can save time by responding with email, texts, a fax, or even mailing a note in a greeting card! When you record your outgoing message, specify that your number is only for leaving voice mail messages.


Also see: 10 Reasons to avoid talking on the phone (humorous) http://theoatmeal.com/comics/phone and Do Not Call Registry This gives you a choice about whether to receive telemarketing calls at home. https://www.donotcall.gov/





2. STAY OUT OF THE CAR 

Try to only deal with vendors that ship or deliver. Office Depot, Staples, manufacturing suppliers, furniture stores, and most printers offer free delivery. If you calculate your hourly wage, and ask yourself the question: "Is it really worth an hour of my time to run to the post office in the middle of the day and wait in line?” Instead, arrange for the post office to do a free pick up. You can do this online at http://www.usps.com/pickup/welcome.htm?from=home_header&page=schdulepickup
You can also order all your supplies online.  On Amazon.com, the product range is extensive: from groceries, to car tires to cat litter.


Also see: I Want to Drive Less http://www.bemorewithless.com/2010/i-want-to-drive-less/ and How to Live Without a Car http://www.ehow.com/how_2037517_live-car.html




3. DROP YOUR OFFICE HOURS

If you are waiting for deliveries, put a plastic bin outside your office labeled “Deliveries. ”  Then you don't have to be there or answer the door. Don't wait around the office for two hours just because you told a client you would be available in case they decide to drop by. Often they don't show up or may cancel.



4. MY PLACE OR NO PLACE

If you must meet someone face to face, arrange for meetings only in your office so you save a trip across town.  For clients who are resistant to meeting at your location, ask them if they really need to see you face to face. Maybe you can Skype instead. If they need a document approved, ask them to fax it or email it.

Remember, your time  (and your client’s time) is better utilized if you are not running around being a “delivery service.”  If they agree to meet at your office, and they are running late, you can still get work done while you wait on them.  Whereas, if you go to their office, not only have you lost time traveling, you may find yourself waiting in their lobby because they are late for your appointment.



 

5. DON’T HIRE EMPLOYEES

Most small business owners I have met tell me they spend a majority of their time:

- Finding and training new employees.
- Preparing work for them.
- Finding out why they didn’t do the work.
- Finding new employees who will do the work.
- Making new policies because someone didn’t do the work.
- Getting involved in employee’s personal problems.

Does having employees give you more free time or less free time?

Instead, consider hiring independent contractors, temps or virtual assistants, and export your work outside of the office.  Most contract employees prefer to be their own boss anyway, so tell them the result you want, and let them decide how to do it. The less you supervise them, the more time you will have to do your own job.

When you don’t have employees, you don’t have to cover for them if they quit or call in sick, and you can eliminate expenses such as worker’s comp, social security taxes and insurance.
If you like having employees because you want someone to talk to, it's better to spend time with friends.  Using employees for socializing is not always fair to you or to them.

If you must hire employees, avoid hiring people "who need a job."  Often they need a job for a complicated reason. Instead, decide what personality traits you need and seek out that person.  Often, people who work in bookstores are great employees for all kinds of businesses.


Also see: The Real Cost of Hiring an Employee http://www.npost.com/blog/2009/03/30/fully-baked-the-real-cost-of-adding-a-new-employee/ and Alternative to Hiring Employees http://www.gaebler.com/Alternatives-to-Hiring-Employees.htm



6. STAY SINGLE

Avoid setting up your business as a partnership. For every business that is a successful partnership, there are one hundred whose partnerships turn out bad.  Instead, make one person the owner and the other person a commissioned agent who gets a cut of the profits based on the revenue they generate.


Also see: The Dirt on Partnerships http://www.daveramsey.com/article/the-dirt-on-partnerships/lifeandmoney_business/ and Starting a Small Business: Partnerships http://www.fool.com/personal-finance/retirement/2006/06/29/starting-a-small-business-partnerships.aspx




7. ONLY WORK WITH LOW HASSLE BUSINESSES 

Sometimes you can tell a lot about a vendor by the way their employees act.  Do they refer to the business they work at as "they" or "we"? If there is a problem with your order, does the employee blame “higher ups,” or do they try to solve the problem themselves?

Also, try to work with vendors who accept orders by fax or email day and night. Then you can order supplies when you want to, and you will also have a written record (versus verbal) of the order.




8. SELECT AND EDIT YOUR CUSTOMERS

Avoid difficult customers.  If they are overly demanding the first time you meet them, this could be a preview of things to come.  If they appear to have emotional swings that consume a lot of your time, it is OK to say “no” to a customer who wants to work with you.

If this feels awkward, then ask for a significant upfront deposit for the job.  This will politely turn away customers who are not serious.  I often found that the ones who were the most demanding were the last ones to pay on time.


Also see:When to Fire Your Customers http://www.recmanagement.com/200307gc01.php



9. TURN BUSINESS TRIPS INTO CAMPING TRIPS

On a business trip, pack all your clothes in a carry-on bag and ship heavy items ahead of time. Avoid taking more than two pairs of shoes, one for comfort and one for dress.  A blazer looks dressy with anything, including a t-shirt and jeans. Instead of bringing necklaces, put a lapel pin on your blazer.

Instead of packing a lot of clothes, have the hotel laundry or wash-and-fold service deliver your clothes, so you can wear them twice on the same trip. It's not as expensive as you imagine.


Also see: Project 333 and learn how to reduce your wardrobe at home to 33 items. http://theproject333.com/ and How to Pack One Bag http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=90297199 and How to Travel With One Bag http://www.wikihow.com/Travel-With-One-Bag


  
10. USE YOUR EXTRA TIME TO THANK PEOPLE

Once on a whim, I decided to do an outrageous thing and write a letter to a CEO of a nationally known corporation to tell him about the excellent customer service I received from one of his 12,000 employees. Imagine my surprise to receive a personal note back from him, expressing his appreciation for my letter. He promised to put a copy of my letter in the employee's file (and the supervisor's file) along with his acknowledgement.  It showed me how much he valued taking time out of his busy day to recognize his own employee.

After that, I decided to always write to CEO’s because I want to have more influence in the world over what types of people get promotions and salary increases.

Research has shown that one of the main reasons people are unhappy in life is because they feel unappreciated at work. If you appreciate someone's work, don’t keep it a secret.


When you simplify your business, you will have more time to acknowledge people, and as a result, your own burdens feel lighter.


CONCLUSION 

Next time you are standing in the checkout line at the discount store to save $1.29 on a ream of paper, remind yourself that for every minute you stand there, you are also racing towards death. Our life is comparable to someone who just fell out of an airplane. The only thing we don’t know is how close we are to the ground. So, look at the bigger picture, utilize your time wisely and spend time doing the things that really matter to you.



ADDITIONAL RESOURCES FOR SIMPLIFYING YOUR WORK AND LIFE

The New American Dream  They work with individuals, institutions, communities, and businesses to change the way goods are produced and consumed.

Your Money or Your Life Book about how to transform our relationship with money. That relationship encompasses the time these functions take out of our lives and how it is reflected in connection to your family and community.

Dave Ramsey Radio Show Radio show and podcast of how to beat debt, build wealth and find the best ways to give.

Backblaze Low cost, remote Backup Storage for Computer data so you don't have to worry about your computer crashing or getting stolen.

Freecycle Network A grassroots and nonprofit network of people who give and take stuff for free. It's about reuse and keeping good stuff out of landfills. Each local group is moderated by local volunteers. Membership is free.

Simple Life Together is a great podcast and website about simplifying your business and personal life. You can even learn how to have a paper-free office.

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Photoshop Cat Hair Remover

I'm feeling humorous today.

For those of you who have cats (or pets) and find that you always have cat hair all over your clothes, wouldn't it be great to have a photoshop cat hair remover?  This just happened to me recently when my husband had professional photos made for his job and he noticed our cat's hair showed up in the photos.  I had to go through them and remove all the hair in photoshop.

No matter how much you try, you can never get rid of it.

Meeting with an Artist by Video!

I had a nice video meeting with artist Carol Grace Anderson yesterday. We spent time evaluating her card line and looking at ways to expand it.

Here is one of my favorite cards of hers.  It follows important greeting card guidelines: Bright Colors, text on the top third, and clear message.  I also like her texture and color blending.  It makes your eye move around the card.

You can see more of her work at www.HipGreetingCards.com

Learn more about Online Greeting Card Video Meetings for artists.

Inside Text:  With God, all things are possible. 

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Troubling News on the Greeting Card Industry

This article in the New York Times Blog offered some stunning statistics on the greeting card industry:

• According to the United States Postal Service, the number of greeting cards mailed within the U.S. has declined by 24 percent from 2002 to 2010, and continues to drop today.

• Traditional sales have fallen by 60 percent over the last decade, to $5 billion a year.

• American Greetings stock was valued at 65 percent less than it was in 1998. 

• Hallmark’s card sales dropped to 5 billion cards a year in 2012, down from 6 billion in 2011.

Some bright spots:

• Digital greeting cards continue to rise, up to $4 billion in sales in 2013, a 20-percent increase from 2012.

• The statistics were based on "traditional" cards, and not independent designers. 

• The report said barriers to enter the industry are not difficult and possible areas of growth are likely small geographic areas and niches in the market.

Unfortunately these stats only reflect traditional cards sold through corporate publishers.  It is unclear how all this reflects on card publishers who services boutique shops (see more confirmation on this here) .  Also, what about the imprintable industry?  Is that a growth area?

Book on creating wedding invitations.