ScrapBizness

Starting a Scrapbook Business? There's still time to get our book!

2009-10-21T12:33:00.000-07:00

We have FIVE THREE TWO ONE!!! ALL GONE! ScrapBiz Business Start-Up Guides left and we are selling them for the fantastic price of just $39.95 plus shipping. The guide has been the "how-to" book for hundreds and hundreds of women who have started successful small businesses in the Scrapbook industry since 2002.

This book normally sells for $99 but we are letting the last five go for less than half that price. We don't know if we'll ever sell this book again since we are closing ScrapBiz on December 1. So, if you're thinking about starting a scrapbook business of ANY type or could just use some additional insight, hurry and get this book before it's sold out!

Our members have referred to this book as their "Business Bible". It's the only book specifically aimed at starting a home-based or small retail business in our industry. You can see an excerpt of it HERE and read more about it HERE.

Click on the BUY NOW button and grab yours before it's gone!!! There is only 5 ONE of them!

Digital Scrapping and the Traditional Retailer

2009-10-14T11:42:00.000-07:00

Recently, I did an informal survey about scrapping habits. It consisted of one question and I posted it on both traditional and digital scrapbooking message boards.

The results, as informal as the survey was, should be noted by every traditional scrapbook retailer who has felt a downturn in business and a loss of customers in the past 3-5 years. Then, those same retailers should think about how to win back the hearts of those customers.

The question was this: Choose the one statement that best describes your scrapbooking RIGHT NOW.

The options were:

I have only scrapped traditionally
I have only scrapped digitally
I was a traditional scrapper but now do only digital
I am a traditional scrapper who dabbles in digital
I am a traditional scrapper who is thinking about digital
I am a hybrid scrapper who scraps both traditionally and digitally
I started out digitally but moved to paper scrapping

Of the 100 answers I got, 51% said "I have only scrapped traditionally". Okay, that's good. But, that still leaves 49% of the respondents.

4% said they have only ever scrapped digitally and another 4% said they converted completely from traditional to digital, but then the water gets muddy.

The remaining 41% said that they were either a traditional scrapper who dabbles in digital or a traditional scrapper who is THINKING about digital. or a hybrid scrapper who regularly does both. That's the area that every traditional retailer should be concerned with. Forty-one percent of your customers are on the verge of moving to digital and never looking back. AT MINIMUM, you have lost some revenue there because that 41% is buying or going to be buying LESS from you over time since part of their scrapping is digital.

So, your job is to capture some value from the shift in scrapping activities among your customers.

Figure out how to incorporate digital scrapbook products. Set up a section of "digital scrapbook products" that includes albums, slick writers, mugs and frames to alter, rub-ons to embellish, software, etc.

Add a photobook component to your store through PhotoBookBiz. Many use the big names like Shutterfly, but they don't necessarily have the best quality, lowest prices or coolest software!

Scan photos for those wanting to go digital. Scanning is time consuming and there are some really fast scanners out there that most customers won't put the money out to buy.

Most of all - tell your customers (the 41% who are flirting with digi) that you are DIGI-FRIENDLY so that they won't feel the need to leave you.

The bottom line here is to pull your head out of the Bazzill and understand that nearly 50% of scrappers are wandering down the digital path. They may not convert completely, but they will buy fewer traditional supplies from traditional retailers just by the mere fact that they are dabbling in it.

I Wear Your Shirt Guy Scraps!

2009-10-08T13:29:00.000-07:00

I Wear Your Shirt Guy scraps for the very first time ever (and I'd say not the last time - he really seemed to be enjoying himself). October 7 was sponsored by my friend, Sandra, of The Memory Workshop in British Columbia. Her kits are SO GOOD!

It was funny when he was doing his live video later and making another page, a bunch of us were on the chat giving him directions on how to do it. When he pulled out a Sharpie, we all gasped! We also got a good laugh when he stuck a random radish sticker on his page. After he was done with his page, he made a card. He couldn't stop scrapping! He was blowing through the adhesive like there was no tomorrow by coating the back of everything. It was really funny. What a good sport he was and a what a smart business owner Sandra is. Enjoy the video!

Carrying On the Work of Helping Women Start Businesses

2009-10-05T13:17:00.000-07:00

As I look towards a new angle of my business, I have found a way to keep my passion of helping women start businesses alive. Please read my PhotoBooks{etc} blog to see how I am going to use my own business to help others start theirs. Then please consider making your photobooks and custom photo products through my site so that we can enrich the lives of others together.

I heart PagePlus X4 by Serif

2009-09-30T09:18:00.000-07:00

For years I have used Microsoft Publisher to make all my business brochures, cards, etc. Well, after discovering Digital Scrapbook Artist by Serif (check out the free version at DaisyTrail.com), I was invited to try out PagePlus X4. It has many of the same cool features of Digital Scrapbook Artist so I decided to take a crack at it.

Shortly after I got it, I had to make a flyer for an activity at church. I started making it in MS Publisher but then remembered I could use Page Plus. So, I started it over in that program.

When I was done, I printed them both out and asked my husband which one he liked better. He chose the PagePlus one. It was SO MUCH COOLER! Instead of flat fonts on the page, I had a custom shadow under my font. Instead of a flat arrow graphic, I had one that looked like an epoxy dimensional sticker. Everything just *popped* off the page and the flyer was more visually interesting than the Publisher one. It really appealed to the digi scrapper in me!

I also used it to make my son's birthday party invitation and add dimension to some graphics for my new PhotoBookBiz website.

While I have yet to scratch the surface of this gem of a program as far as understanding and using the many features, it was easy to figure out and when you start clicking around, there are so many cool ways you can create with it! If you're looking for some great business desktop publishing software that allows more creativity than most out there, I highly recommend Page Plus X4 by Serif.

Start a Photobook Business Today!

2009-09-23T18:06:00.000-07:00

As I look towards my own personal business shift in December with the discontinuation of the ScrapBiz Member Support Program, I am also opening a new chapter. Well, okay, it's not really new. It's been an option at ScrapBiz for nearly a year. But it's grown up into it's own website.

If you have thought about starting your own photobook business - we've got the solution. We aren't an "affiliate" program where you place a link on your site and make a small perk whenever someone makes a photobook through your link. And, we aren't a multi-level direct sales company with high prices and recruiting. Just like ScrapBiz, PhotoBookBiz sort of stands alone in it's own category.

This is a completely independent option that gives you more control than any other option out there.

Check out PhotoBookBiz for details on how, for just $49, you can set up an business as fast as you can fill out a form!

How Do You Scrap?

2009-09-21T12:30:00.000-07:00

I'm curious about how people scrap now vs. how they scrapped before. Did you start out traditional but move to digital? Are you hardcore traditional? Have you never done anything BUT digital?

Will you take my ONE QUESTION survey and tell me about your scrapping?

Click Here to take survey

A Special Announcement from ScrapBiz

2009-09-01T07:00:00.000-07:00

When I started ScrapBiz in September 2002, the scrapbook industry pretty much offered only two ways to start a business.

You could either become a consultant with one of the numerous direct sales companies or open a brick and mortar store. There was no "middle ground" for people wanting something less investment-intensive than a store and something more independent and flexible than becoming a direct sales consultant. After leaving I Remember When, one of the early consultant groups, I discovered by accident that I wasn't the only unhappy consultant and there were others who wanted to know how I was able to strike out on my own and sell the same products and out of this happy accident emerged the concept that became ScrapBiz.

Now fast-forward 7 years. Though there have been many changes because of the economic recession, the decrease in consumer demand for scrapbooking products and the resulting impacts on stores, manufacturers and industry trade publications, not all of the news has been bad. As long as there are photos, there will be scrappers and many scrapbooking businesses continue to thrive. However, fewer people desire to start a traditional scrapbook business and most wholesalers are now happy to sell to and support any retailer who has a business license, regardless as to whether their store is brick and mortar, online or home-based.

When I started ScrapBiz my focus was on creating tools and resources to help independent, home-based scrapbook businesses to be successful. After seven years and having nearly 1,000 people participate in ScrapBiz, I have been amazed at the success of many of our members. They are smart, savvy and are some of the best business owners and leaders in the entire industry. I credit them as being the BEST PART of the past 7 years and the people who have really made ScrapBiz the strong community that it is.

I opened ScrapBiz for business in September 2002 and, therefore, it seems fitting that I announce the closing of ScrapBiz in September. As of December 1, 2009, the ScrapBiz member support program will be discontinued.

So, what's next? There are bright spots in the industry and one of the most dynamic parts is the emergence of digital scrapbooking. I will continue to build the PhotoBookBiz brand and support the resellers. I will also keep my PhotoBooks{etc}. Additionally, I will be considering consulting and special project opportunities with both traditional and digital scrapbooking companies. So, I am not leaving the scrapbook industry entirely, but I am refocusing my efforts and scaling down the amount of time that I spend each week.

The focus of this blog will change slightly to reflect my own personal business shift, but the blog will continue to be updated with information about the changing scrapbook industry.

Thank to all those who have been kind to ScrapBiz over the last seven years. I have always appreciated your kind comments and thoughts about our business and the scrapbook industry.

Now for a little fun:

Check out the history of our site courtesy of the internet WayBack Machine:

August 2002
September 2002
October 2002
Noveber 2002 - Our first REAL website
May 2003 - Another major website change
May 2006 - Yet another major overhaul of our website
ScrapBiz now

Get FREE Digital Scrapbook Software!

2009-08-29T11:07:00.000-07:00

I LOVE Digital Scrapbook Artist by Serif. They sent me a copy to try and I totally fell in love with it. Every time I try it, I learn something new! It's got some FANTASTIC features and I love it because, unlike other programs, this one is designed for the digital scrapper. The new version is AWESOME because I can arrange the products I already have into digi-kits using the program. That is a really cool feature to help me organize my stash!

The software would make some GREAT classes at a traditional scrapbook store. You could do a series with it with the aim of doing hybrid projects or using it to help customers make pages they could then upload to your PhotoBook site and print books. You would make money on the class, the software, and the photo books. It's a great trio of ideas to profit from digital scrapbooking in a traditional scrapbook store setting. A Walk Down Memory Lane in Iowa is gearing up to do just that! Stores that figure out how to add digital scrapbooking profitably are smart!

I'm thrilled that Serif introduced a totally FREE compact or light version of the full Digital Scrapbook Artist software! You can see a video about it and download it HERE. Of course, using the compact version will leave you wanting the full version! But, it's a good way to try it before you buy it!

Serif is also having a world-wide contest for digi scrappers who use their software. You can see the contest page HERE at their Daisy Trail site.

Check out the free compact version of their software if you are wanting to try digital scrapbooking or if you are a traditional store owner wondering what it's all about!

Are You Using Socialnomics?

2009-08-24T04:08:00.000-07:00

You can't deny these stats. If you aren't using social media to communicate your business message, you are missing the boat! Scrapbookers are using social media - are you there to join in the conversation?

Everything Old Can Be New Again

2009-08-21T08:11:00.000-07:00

It seems like 10 years ago, we couldn't find the new techniques and fun products to put on our layouts fast enough. We were using slide mounts, bottle caps, magic mesh, fiber, eyelets, brads, staples, rings, buttons, etc. Have you noticed, though, that the "new" techniques and embellishment announcements have slowed to a snail's pace? It's like we have come up with every small, lightweight thing we could to stick on our pages and we're out of ideas. I think we all "jumped the shark" when one company tried to put out a line of colored bobby pins to use on our pages. I actually never saw those in my LSS. It was odd.

I remember ScrapBiz members buying bottle caps from a home-brewer place in massive quantities and dividing them up among members. Bottle caps were THE thing for a while. I still have a bunch of stickers in my stash made to fit in the middle of the flattened bottle caps. Every time you went to a crop, you could hear the pounding of mallets flattening the edges of those little gems.

Is it time to re-introduce some of those embellishments again? One kit company I know of is including slide mounts, bread tabs, bottle caps, etc. in their kits and scrappers (many of whom were NOT scrapping when these crazes were going on) think she's a genius! Maybe it's time to recycle and re-introduce fun projects using these simple embellishments! Another retailer is ruling the paper piecing universe. Scrappers are discovering techniques and embellishments that old-timers have forgotten.

I went through my files recently and found an article I had pulled from a scrapbook magazine all about making your own cute 3-D embellishments using bottle caps, tags, mesh, beads, etc. There were some very cute ideas! Maybe it's time to resurrect them. If you've been around a long time in the scrapbook industry, you should have no problem pulling out your old ideas.

I think we have forgotten at times that everyone in the scrapbook industry didn't arrive on the scene in 1997. Many only started scrapping in this decade and they missed a lot of these things. Can we update and reintroduce them and start the craze all over again? I bet we could!

I'm So Confused By the Confusion

2009-08-07T16:17:00.000-07:00

I have been surfing around for some commercial use digital scrapbook kits to use. I have been carefully reading the commercial use licenses and I've come to the conclusion that we really need a standard in the digital scrapbook industry regarding what IS and what ISN'T "Commercial use".

Some CU licenses are nearly indistinguishable from the S4H license. They have two different licenses but you can't really tell what the difference is.

Some CU licenses are SO restrictive that you feel like "why bother"? They have a million conditions that almost include, "I don't permit you to use this on a Tuesday". If you really don't want to allow commercial use of your products, then don't have any commercial use products.

Some swing the other way (the ones I like) and say, "I'm so over the drama of what constitutes commercial use - just go ahead and use it in your business. Just don't sell or give away the individual pieces."

It seems to me that there needs to be some organization in the digital world. They need to agree on a standard licensing contract that isn't so confusing that you're never sure if what you're going to use the CU products for is legal.

The Custom Photo Book Solution for your Scrapbook Store!

2009-08-03T22:34:00.001-07:00

My newsletter for people interested in the PhotoBookBiz part of ScrapBiz went out today. I thought I'd share it here, too. There are five ways you can turn our PhotoBookBiz program into a custom digital scrapbook business for your site or store. It's really one of the best programs out there!

Click HERE to see the newsletter

I Can't Be the Only Traditional Turned Digital Scrapper Who Wants This

2009-07-31T01:26:00.000-07:00

I'll admit that much of my scrapping is now digital. I make cards and once in a while, I'll scrap an actual page to frame or put in an older album.

But, I still love to go into scrapbook stores and I still love the pretty papers there. Unfortunately, when I see something, I don't buy it because I know I likely won't ever use it.

I am sure I'm not the only one who finds traditional products delicious but scraps digitally due to lack of time. I can't tell you how many times I have seen a paper in a scrapbook store that I wanted but in digital form.

I don't know why - wait, actually I do know why and I'll address that in a minute - that traditional scrapbook manufacturers don't capitalize on people like me who started out with the hands-on approach, still goes into scrapbook stores, but scraps mostly digitally now. I know very few of the digital scrapbook "brands". I love Shabby Princess and will look at Scrap Girls or A Cherry On Top when I need something specific. But, I still love Bo-Bunny (Shabby Princess look!), Karen Foster, Little Yellow Bicycle, Flair Designs, etc. I want those - in digital form.

It would so very easy for the traditional manufacturers to offer their traditional paper designs on CD for digital scrappers. And, it would be a brilliant idea to sell those CD's ONLY through traditional retailers who also sold the traditional papers (that's the KEY here - don't cut the traditional retailer out by selling the download at your own site). I would be all over those to get the look of my favorite traditional companies that I have loved for years in my digital scrapbooks!

Now, I'm sure someone has thought about this. I even have a friend who talked to some companies at CHA a few years ago about digitizing their older discontinued lines. Most of them were interested in doing that but it didn't go any farther than that. Why hasn't anyone actually done it, though?

Fear.

The fear of digital scrapping.
The fear that customers will print off your designs at home and never buy the traditional paper
The fear that your designs will end up shared with other users.
The fear of all things digital... period.

It's totally irrational. You are either digital or you aren't. You either have a way to print digital pages or you don't. Like anything - some might abuse the CD. But, most will buy it because they want that traditional brand look in their digital scrapbooks.

I can find "Bo-Bunny-esque" stuff (Shabby Princess). I can find Karen Foster-esque stuff or any other "similar" products. But, I keep shopping the traditional stores and coming out empty handed. Wouldn't this be a good way to make sure I didn't?

I see the pretties. I want the pretties. Sell me the pretties in a format I will use them in and I will cease to leave empty handed.

Basic Customer Service: LISTEN!

2009-07-27T11:31:00.000-07:00

I'll admit right now that I'm not a chiropractor person. After a couple of run-ins early in my adulthood with Chiropractors who made some unsolicited claims that they could fix some very odd issues I had internally as well as a couple who told me I was evil to get my children immunized, I pretty much decided they were not for me.

Well, I have been experiencing severe pain in a tendon in my lower back for nearly a year now coupled with clicking in my tailbone. So, after consulting with my podiatrist (I have on leg shorter than the other and this is my short-leg side), I decided to try a chiropractor to see if they could get rid of the clicking and pain. It felt like something was out of whack.

So, I found one that claimed to do "Sports Medicine" and "Physical therapy", too. After talking to a cousin-in-law who's a Chiropractor in CT, he suggested I find someone who did a mix of stuff like that so there was a more mainstream approach to my pain.

Well, that was a mistake...

Okay, I'll admit that my neck feels pretty darn good. I can turn it better than I could before and my left knee - which had been clicking, catching and feeling like it was going to collapse feels really great! So, I give them an A+ on that. But, the original problem I went in for is a big fat F. I'm still not sleeping at night and the pain hasn't gone away. It seems at times like they work on every area BUT that one I came in for. I get the feeling they aren't working on it so I will keep coming back. They want me to come in 5 days a week at $45 per visit. Do the math - that's $1000 a month. Not gonna happen due to money and the fact that by the time I visit all their stations (physical therapy, massage, adjustments) and drive over there, I am looking at nearly 2 hours per day. I pointed all that out and got the response I totally expected, "What's the price of your health?" Came straight out of a chiro marketing book somewhere, I'm sure.

What if I took my car into the repair shop and said, "The engine dies when I stop at lights" and they sent it back and said, "Hey, we noticed the tires were low so we filled them. Then we washed and vacuumed it. Then we noticed your headlight was out so we changed it. Oh, and there was a couple of old hoses that we swapped out and we also changed the oil." Thank you, that's great that you took care of all those other things but the car is still dying when I stop at a stop light. "Oh, we'll work on that over time and fix it eventually."

Would I as a customer be satisfied with that answer? Nope.

I feel like they aren't listening to me and that frustrates me. They plop me on a line of tables and poke at my chart and then ping, pop and plop me for a few minutes and then send me out the door while they slap another face sheet on the table and another patient lays down. No one has asked me specifically about the pain in my back and no one really addresses it. They just fix what they can feel is wrong - but while those things might be wrong - they aren't the reason I came to them in the first place.

So, as of today - I'm done. I tried, I really did. But, when I get back from my trip later this week, I'm going into my regular doctor because I know she'll do something about the pain in my back and send me off to physical therapy.

Listening to customers is SO important in any business. I appreciate the way my knee feels, but I really need my back to feel good. It's been a month of 2-3 times a week visits - you'd think there would be at least some progress. There is, but in the wrong place - there's been absolutely no change in the thing I came in for in the first place. That's not good customer service.

CHA Networking Event!

2009-07-16T11:15:00.000-07:00

The biggest value of ScrapBiz is the networking between like-minded industry retailers. There is lots of synergy that comes out of our group as well as quite a few real friendships! Being able to discuss the scrapbook and craft industry with people who understand it is invaluable to retailers.

I think one of the best things we can do to help scrapbooking is to get to know each other personally and attend events where we can talk. I loved the scrapbook retailer lunch at PMA - it was a room full of energy!

Kizer and Bender are sponsoring such an event at CHA Summer. If you are going to CHA, don't miss this!

Retailer Connect: a CHA Networking Event

Monday, July 27th

3:15 - 4:30pm

Room # W303B

Orlando Convention Center, West Building, 3rd Floor

Have you ever wanted to get to know other craft and scrapbook retailers but weren’t sure how to do it? Problem solved! Join Rich Kizer & Georganne Bender and CHA’s Member Connect Committee for the FIRST EVER “Retailer Connect” – a special “Let’s get to know each other” Meet and Greet at the CHA Summer Tradeshow & Convention.

“Retailer Connect” will follow KIZER & BENDER’s presentation of “4th Quarter Calendar: EVERYTHING You Need to Run In-Store Events that Build Sales! (Business Seminar S103). You don’t need a ticket or seminar pass, just a pile of smiles. And business cards so we can all keep in touch.

It doesn’t matter if you’re a retailer, vendor, service supplier or designer. Whatever your title, EVERYONE is WELCOME. Let’s build the lasting friendships and camaraderie we all need to grow our businesses and stay the course!

Learning From Donut Wars!

2009-07-13T12:18:00.000-07:00

Recently, a new shop was opening near me. They had painted a website on the paper-covered windows intended to create an air of mystery. They had a big contest at their site about "what are we?" To me, the website totally sounded like a cupcake shop. They had a Facebook page with the same contest and to many others, it sounded like a cupcake shop. In fact, the hints they were giving made it sound like it was a cupcake shop where you could go in, choose your cupcake flavor and have it custom-frosted for you. It would have been a FABULOUS idea for two reasons:

There are no cupcake shops in this whole area. Cupcakes are HOT right now, but few places are selling them here beyond what you can get in a plastic clamshell with nasty Crisco frosting.
This is an upscale upper-middle class shopping area and people would have totally bought into the upscale idea of serving cupcakes at Birthday parties, showers, etc.

But, alas, the place turned out to be a DONUT shop. Which, did not fit the website name in my opinion. The URL sounded like more cake than donut.

So, my kids and I decided to check it out and see if the donuts lived up to the hype so we wandered over there the first day of their Grand Opening. We showed up in the afternoon - wondering if there would be any donuts left. But, given the fact that they stay open until 10pm, I assumed they would be making donuts all day long. There was not much of a line if you don't count the busload of elderly people who arrived just 30 second before us and took most of the afternoon to order.

I bought 4 donuts - two chocolate frosted custard filled, one german chocolate with coconut-pecan frosting and one Maple Bar. My total for 4 very average donuts was over $8. They put them in a brown box with a cutesty label on it that was sort of meant to be "signature" packaging since pink and brown are their signature colors. I think I paid $4 just for the packaging alone because what we got was 4 donuts I could have bought across the street at the grocery store for less than $4. And, to top it all off, my kids didn't get any custard in their donuts until the last 2 bites. They had skimped on the filling.

The next day was the annual 5K Race and festival in this area. We happened to park near this donut shop when we arrived about 7:45 am for the race. This was the second day of this shop being open and I kept an eye on the foot traffic as I sat in the car waiting about 90 minutes for the race to start. I didn't notice a lot of people going in and out. It was surprising given all the hype.

My husband went to warm up for the race and came back with a postcard he handed to me. Apparently, the book store at the other end of the parking lot just opened a branch of a very famous donut shop from Seattle where they had previously had a coffee shop. They were handing out postcards for free donuts. So, after the race, we went and got 4 donuts. We didn't use our postcard and paid $6 for 4 donuts. Still too high in my opinion, but they were much better than the other place and they had the "brand name" behind them as well as features on the Travel Channel and the Food Network. I immediately thought, DONUT WAR!!! You can't tell me that the legendary donut shop isn't going to throw their name and reputation around against this upstart across the parking lot. It will be interesting to watch.

So, what's the lesson here? First, if I was doing a big "what are we?" promotion and everyone kept guessing I was a cupcake shop and they were EXCITED about the fact that a cupcake shop MIGHT be opening in our area - I honestly might have taken a step back and thought about changing my plans. Listen to your customers! People were THRILLED with the idea that it might be a cupcake shop. How many, including myself, were disappointed to find out it wasn't?

Second, I can get donuts at 5 grocery stores and this other new "legendary" Seattle-based donut place all within about a 10-15 minute walk from this donut shop. And, none of them are going to charge me $2 for a custard filled donut. Actually, this new shop sits in the middle of a parking lot between the high-end (similar to Whole Foods) market with lots of donut and pastry choices and the legendary donut place in the bookstore. So, it's literally one of three choices from one parking lot.

How many places can I get cupcakes? ZERO. Okay, I can get them at the grocery store, but they are prepackaged - nothing custom. How many times will I pay over $2 for a donut? Never again. I can't believe that I'm alone in that thought, either. The donuts weren't bad, but they weren't the best I've ever had, either. Perhaps they will develop their donut menu over time to include outrageous things like a bacon-maple bar you can get at VooDoo Donuts in Portland. But for now, they are just a cute donut place selling donuts and I hope they can stand out in the crowd enough to make people want to pay the high price of their donuts.

The scrapbook industry lesson is similar. You need to really evaluate how many other places around you are selling what you sell and try to figure out something of value to the customer that sets you apart from the others. Cute packaging isn't enough anymore. People want VALUE and UNIQUENESS. If you find yourself among lots of others doing the same as you, find that thing that makes you unique! Do you provide better customer service? Have unusually themed crops? Have custom papers for the local area? Stay open later? Can provide lots of "fan comments" about your store that will make others want to come check it out? What's your "hook" that will make people choose you over someone else? It's got to be more than cute colors and decent donuts - especially decent donuts that are higher priced than other decent donuts in the area.

Scrapbook Fever - A 21st Century Scrapbook Retailer

2009-07-08T15:13:00.000-07:00

I told Shelly Izen, the owner of Scrapbook Fever in Salem, OR that I was going to blog about how smart she and her husband, Bud, are.

They are a scrapbook retailer who "gets it" when it comes to thinking outside the box and looking for opportunities outside the normal "make and take" or technique classes for their store.

Scrapbooking without photos is really just a paper craft. And, GREAT photos inspire us to scrap. I can't tell you how many "so-so" photos don't get scrapped at my house. It's only the great ones that make me feel like scrapping.

Could scrapbookers use digital photography tips? You bet they could! And Scrapbook Fever has responded to that need and is now offering digital photography classes in their store.

Read their class description - makes me want to drive to Salem:

Digital Photography Class 101 series with Canon Rep – Our fabulously successful Digital Photography 101 series is brought to you by Canon! This is a course for beginners who need some assistance in understanding their digital camera and its functions! If you take the majority of your pictures using the Auto function on your camera, this course is for you!

This is a series of four (4) two-hour classes designed to help you understand the functions on your digital camera, show you some cool Canon products to print your pictures on, and finish up completing a project using the pictures taken and printed during these classes! Everyone will complete a very cool 8x8 mini album (designed by us of course)

Now, if they added custom photo books and gifts (also a great series of classes to offer) with something like our PhotoBookBiz option, they will have propelled themselves completely into the 21st Century of Scrapbooking.

I applaud their willingness to offer a class like this and think they are very smart scrapbook retailers!

Digital Scrapbook Artist by Serif

2009-07-06T11:44:00.000-07:00

I got a copy of Digital Scrapbook Artist a couple of months ago. I'm the first to admit that I'm a Photoshop Loser - I simply can't enjoy using it and can't seem to make it work for me. I think it's because while I'm not normally technically challenged, that I think like a "traditional scrapper" too much. I want all the tools and techniques of traditional scrapping right there and very obvious for me.

I have used a much simpler program to do my digi pages but was starting to feel limited by it. Then I discovered Digital Scrapbook Artist. I love it because it's "traditional scrapping" in a digital form. I can crop my photos in cool shapes and there are deco scissors to edge my papers with. The program is specifically built for digital scrapping unlike PhotoShop Elements which is USED for digital scrapping but not specifically built for it.

Digital Scrapbook Artist has a site where you can download some very nice kits that work with the program. The site is called Daisy Trail and they're still getting it up and going.

What's really exciting is the update to the program coming later this summer. You can read about it HERE. I love that it looks like the upgrade will help me organize the kits I already have - it's a mess and I can't find anything. I haven't found a solution that I like to organize yet despite many suggestions.

If you're like me and haven't found a program that you're completely comfy with - I'd recommend Digital Scrapbook Artist! You can check it out at their YouTube Channel HERE. There are lots of videos about using the program as well as a video tour to help you decide if it's right for you!

Scan My Photos Scanned My Photos

2009-06-30T11:00:00.001-07:00

A while ago, there was a contest sponsored by Scan My Photos on Twitter. If you re-tweeted the contest tweet, you could win free scanning. Well, I won free scanning!!!

The prepaid shipping box was quickly emailed to me and then I had to decide which photos would go into it. I hauled out all my photos and started sorting. I actually wish now I would have just grabbed piles and put them in the box instead of trying to sort them. They will all have to eventually be scanned anyway. But, I wanted the photos of family members scanned first so I went for those.

I followed the instructions provided and crammed the box FULL - I think I ended up with well over 1000 photos and I could have probably crammed in a few more. Then I dropped the box in the mail - it was all pre-paid so all I had to do was take it to the post office and send it off to California (not India as some services do).

In a week or so, I got it all back - all the photos were scanned! WooHoo! The prize package included several copies so I was able to give a CD to my folks. Now, I have to decide what to do with the photos now that they are scanned. Do I throw them away or keep them? I guess I'll keep them.

I can't wait to use them for digi scrapping and make photo books at PhotoBooks{etc}!

The best part is that I didn't have to scan them! I had started several times but doing one at a time on a flat-bed scanner was going to take FOREVER!!!!!

If you're on the fence about the cost of a scanning service - get off the fence and go for it! Time is money! There is no way I could have ever scanned this many photos myself! I highly recommend Scan My Photos and will use them again to finish up my scanning.

Scrapbooking is Everywhere- Part 2

2009-06-29T19:55:00.000-07:00

Last summer I blogged about seeing Scrapbooking in the post office in the small town my parents live in. Well, last week, I was on vacation in Coeur D'Alane, Idaho with my family and we stopped at Cabela's on the Idaho/Washington border so my husband and sons could, well, do whatever men do at Cabela's (we actually walked out the door with ammunition and 2 pocket knives). I said, "See ya'!" when we walked in the door and they headed for the "Gun Library". I headed over to wander around the "housewares" department. Did you know you can get a recliner done completely in camo - as well as curtains, towels, and hot pads? Anyway, someone asked if they could help me find something and I (being sort of snarky) said, "Yes, a scrapbook store." Their reply was, "Uh, we have a section over there of scrapbook stuff."

I almost laughed in their face. I went over near the "Country Store" and there it was - a small section of Karen Foster Hunting and Fishing scrapbook products! And here I thought I was being all smart-alecky about it.

Scrapbooking at Cabelas... who knew? I had visions of Wes from the Scrapped Movie shooting holes in the albums to embellish them (remember that?)

"I'll Be There For You..."

2009-06-22T16:40:00.001-07:00

Remember the theme song to the show FRIENDS by The Rembrandts? What's funny about starting your own business is that usually, as you start talking about it, your friends are SO SUPPORTIVE of the idea. They'll say, "Go for it!" or "I'll support you 100%!". They will cheer you along and tell you that you've got the talent to do whatever you're thinking of doing.

But, you know what happens when you finally open that business? Your friends are often nowhere to be found. There is an old saying that comes from the bible that roughly says, "No man is a prophet in his own country". That is true at times. I often find that those who were your biggest supporter during the planning stages of your business, don't take you seriously when you actually launch the business. They will often treat your business lightly and sometimes even expect a "friend discount" (translation - WHOLESALE PRICE).

It's sad, really, because you would hope that those closest to you would be your best customers if they are interested in whatever you're selling or doing. You would also hope that they would be your best customer advocates and tell others about your new business.

So, the lesson for today is that if you have a friend who owns a business - be it a scrapbook business or a plumbing business - use them. Put your money where you mouth is and show them that you really DO support them 100% by becoming one of their customers.

Kizer and Bender at CHA

2009-06-19T11:26:00.000-07:00

Check out what the Scrapbook Industry's favorite retail consultant duo have going on at CHA Summer next month.

They have helped CHA put together a national "Craft 'till You Drop" weekend.at the start of the show. You can get details on it HERE at their blog.

And, if you're heading to CHA in Orlando, you can sign up to attend some of their fun and informative sessions there. Find out more about what they're doing at CHA HERE.

Please take advantage of the opportunity to get some great advice. Scrapbook retailers sometimes don't realize how much they could use sound help and information. Veteran retail consultants like Kizer and Bender and established peer-to-peer networking groups like ScrapBiz can be absolutely essential to your survival as a retailer.

Why Scrapbooking Matters - Part 2

2009-06-09T16:57:00.000-07:00

So many of our photos have such fun stories to go with them. I encourage you to make story telling every bit as important as photography when it comes to scrapbooking. We can put photos into an album with the name of the person and the date of the event on the back. But, is that enough? We can glue the photos on cardstock and embellish them like crazy and not have enough room for much journaling - but even that may not be good enough.

For instance - the photo to the left looks like a boy just putting on a shirt. And, in 25 years, that boy may not remember exactly where he was at the time. In 50 years, no one will know that there's more than meets the eye in this photo. They will just see a boy putting on a shirt. They may not even be sure who the boy is.

Here's the story: This is a photo of my 11 year old son at our Family Reunion in Wyoming last year. We were playing a game with all the cousins to see who could put a shirt on first. But, here's the catch. I had soaked the shirts in water, rolled them up and put them in the freezer the night before. Does that change what you see in the photo? He has spent about 30 minutes beating and pulling on his frozen, rolled-up t-shirt. Only after he was able to break the ice enough to unroll it and then pull the sleeves apart was he able to get it on. And, out of the 25 kids playing the "Frozen T-Shirt" game, he got his shirt on FIRST!

Wouldn't it be a shame if I didn't take the time to put that story with the photo? It totally changes what you see and suddenly you start seeing how the shirt is pulled at the neck. You can see the frost on the top of the right sleeve. You might even wonder if he's freezing as he puts it on.

The stories are what make the photos meaningful to the next and future generations. Don't forget to leave a place for them.

Why Scrapbooking Matters

2009-06-03T14:32:00.000-07:00

This is GREAT! This is exactly why we do what we do! We should be teaching our customers that scrapbooking isn't just for this generation, but for the future generations who will love to "meet" us through our scrapbooks!