Having your own home-based business….. a greeting card business. It’s a terrific business to be in since we send greeting cards to express happiness and joy and good tidings. The majority of times when people send out cards to others, they are doing so because they care about them and want to wish them well or at least let them know they’re being remembered. Seeing a greeting card in the mail creates a good feeling.

That’s what I appreciate most about this business. It’s a feel good business. I’m in the business of helping people learn how to – and share how to – make others feel good! This business has been a perfect fit for me as I feel it’s important to put good out into the world and help others do the same.

So if you’re in the market for a home based business and one that can positively impact the lives of *MANY* you might want to take a close look at this one.

My home based greeting card business is one that makes it so easy and affordable for us to send out cards, that we’re inspired to send many more than with traditional methods for buying and sending out cards. I share with people how they can have a card in the mail, with a stamp, in their own handwriting, in a couple of minutes – for less than $1. Hard to believe? Try it out for yourself! Just click on the gray bar on the upper right corner of this blog “GIVE ME MY FREE ACCOUNT AND PLAN”. At the very least you can send a heartfelt card to someone you care about, on me, no strings attached.

Leave me a comment below about a time someone sent you a card and it made you feel good, or a time you sent someone a card and they told you about how good it made them feel. Can’t wait to hear from you!

Here is the 2nd of 10 sequential videos explaining in more detail how to use greeting cards to grow your business. These videos focus on growing a home based greeting card business, but the tips and techniques translate well to any other kind of business. Check back frequently, as I will post quite a few in the coming days.

Thanks!
Tari

“Click Here to Tweet This Free Video to Your Friends.”

Yesterday I talked about the popularity and convenience of Netflix. Let’s look at exactly how popular Netflix is. Netflix has been around for about 11 years. At the close of 2008, there were 9.4 million subscribers which was a 26% increase over the 4th quarter of 2007. The revenue for the 4th quarter of 2008 was $360 Million – a 19% increase over the 4th quarter of 2007. Netflix 2008 fiscal year Revenue was $1.36 BILLION – an increase of 13% over 2007. Now that’s a lot of movies! How would you like to share in the profit? I obtained this information from Netflix.com.

I have “heard” but can’t substantiate that Netflix will PROFIT $100 million in 2008. How would you like to share in that profit?

This blog is geared toward people who are interested in starting their own Home Based Greeting Card Business. Would you be interested in sharing a pool of 50% of the profits of a greeting card company that works just like Netflix? A greeting card program where people can send cards from their computer yet they show up in the mail?

Here are some numbers on this company….
In 2004, this company’s annual revenue was $200,000
2005 – $2.5 million
2006 – $12 million
2007 – $24 Million
2008 – $41 Million

At the close of 2008 there were 160,000 users of this service which was a 78% increase over the prior year. In all likelihood, 3-5 years from now, this company will be where Netflix is today. Now I ask you again… How would you like to share in the profits?

I ask people this every day…. everyone has heard of Netflix and most people use the service. Why?

Who wants to drive to the store, look around for a DVD, ask at the counter for a particular title (which they may or may not have), drive home, then back again before the deadline to avoid late fees!

With Netflix you log onto a website, choose your movie, hit send, and it shows up in the mail. Send it back when you’re ready. It’s easy, fast, very affordable and you have thousands of titles from which to choose.

What if you could…. log onto a website, choose a greeting card, type your message, hit send, and have that card show up in the mail? I’m thinking real mail, with a stamp, same place as our Netflix DVD’s arrive.

Well, actually you can! Same as Netflix it’s easy, fast, very affordable and you have thousands of cards from which to choose.

Now what if you could get in on the profits that Netflix is making? Yeah, I think we’d all like a piece of that pie. No problem, you can get in on the profits of sending greeting cards through your own Home Based Greeting Card Business. Want to look at some numbers? Stay tuned, I’ll work on that now and share them with you tomorrow!

Here is the first of 10 sequential videos explaining in more detail how to use greeting cards to grow your business. These videos focus on growing a home based greeting card business, but the tips and techniques translate well to any other kind of business.  Check back frequently, as I will post quite a few in the coming days.

Thanks!
Tari

“Click Here to Tweet This Free Video to Your Friends.”

In my last post I shared how I used my Greeting Card Program to be in touch with various people I had just met or saw at a recent “Chamber” event. There was something else about that day I’d like to share.

Since I was up and out of the house bright and early, I was sure to schedule plenty of meetings to make the most of my day out. I work from my home office more days than not, and find that the weekly mix of most days “in”, and a couple of days “out” works well for me personally. It’s important for me to get out and be with people regularly.

One of the best features of my home based greeting card business is there are as many ways to grow this business as there are people. Some people work their business 90% from home, and others attend in-person networking events 5 days a week such as Kiwanis, Business Network International (BNI), or after hours “Mixers”.

I know online marketers who work solely at their computer, and other people who find the huge numbers of contacts made at Trade Shows work well for them. Many people will share this program with their “warm market” contacts.

You may be familiar with “Lifestyle Marketing” which means connecting with the people you encounter during your day-to-day activities, such as your kids sports, the PTA, involvement in a club or hobby. My son is a musician, he and his friends have a “garage band”. They’ve done a couple of performances at school, so you can be sure I grabbed some pictures to create cards (with their photos on the front) to send to the other parents. What a great way to capture a memory!

I like to exchange business cards when out and about and casually meeting others. As mentioned in my prior blog, there are many occasions to send cards to say “Hey – it was nice to meet you – I enjoyed hearing about your…….”. People appreciate the personal connection and thoughtfulness.

There are some in the home based greeting card business who focus on a particular niche. For example, people in the Real Estate industry find this program to be a tremendous tool: Realtors, Mortgage Brokers, Title Companies. Another great niche is Photographers. Having the ability to put ones images or photos on the front of their cards as well as inside is appealing. Human Resource directors appreciate this program for sending the employees Birthday cards, Anniversary of Employment cards, or Spot Recognition (this is huge!!) cards.

So, variety is the order of the day. “Have it YOUR way” to recall a past burger advertising campaign. I have found through trial and error it’s good to pick 2 or 3 of these methods and be consistent. Trying to do too much at once can dilute your efforts. Maybe some of the suggestions here apply to marketing in your industry…

Tari Conley

The other day I went to a local Chamber of Commerce breakfast meeting. It’s always a great place to make connections. I meet new people, catch up with clients, networking buddies, business associates, and distributors on my team. So on this day, when I got back to my home office, here’s a list of the cards I sent out after attending the breakfast:

1) A humorous “Congratulations” card to a business associate who won a door prize of “Free Coaching” (very funny – no one in the room needed it more although he will probably never use it).

2) I won a door prize of tickets to a sporting event and sent a “Thank You” card.

3) “It was nice meeting you” cards went out to two women sitting at my table who I met for the first time. One of them actually enrolled in my program within a few days.

4) Another “Thank You” to a Chamber staff person who told me she recommended me to a newspaper reporter writing an article about my industry.

5) A note of apology for being late with keeping a promise to do a volunteer job at the Chamber office (with the most adorable sad puppy dog face you ever saw on the front).

As you can see, there are typically more opportunities to send out cards to people to say “I’m thinking of you”, “You’re important to me”, “Thank you”, “Congratulations”, etc. than one has time for. And just think how every one of them will feel when they receive my heartfelt, personalized greeting card in their mailbox! Make their day… it feels good and it comes back to you!

I will be adding an assortment of how-to videos to assist you with starting a home based greeting card business. Check back frequently, as I will post quite a few in the coming days. Thanks!
Tari

“Click Here to Tweet This Free Video to Your Friends.”

Is it possible that a home based greeting card business could have something in common with Netflix? Let’s look at some facts and figures and see if we can find any similarities:

• According to their 4th quarter 2008 financial statements, Netflix profited $90 million in 2008 on $1.4 billion in total sales to 9.4 million subscribers. This is a 13% annual increase in sales and a 26% increase in subscribers.
• Netflix sends out 1.9 million movies every day.

So, what can we assume from these facts so far? Netflix is growing. And as a result, because most people prefer going online and picking out a movie to rent and having it delivered, I would guess that brick-and-mortar video rental stores are shrinking. This impact of technology of an industry is similar to what is happening in the greeting card business.

There has been a technological breakthrough that allows a person to go online and create a custom greeting card that is printed, stuffed, stamped and mailed. This means that person did not have to go to a greeting card store, pick out a card, buy a stamp and drop it off at the post office (or walk out to the mail box). This technology, like the advent of Netflix, should have the same impact on the greeting card business and the brick-and-mortar stores that sell greeting cards, because like Netflix, there is a particular greeting card company that offers a more convenient and cheaper way. In their case, to send a greeting card. So, in 3 to 5 years, why wouldn’t they be where Netflix is today?

In 3 to 5 years, most of us will be doing more or less the same thing we are doing now. What if 3 years ago, people were given the chance to sell Netflix subscriptions and keep a percentage of the monthly payments? Do you think some people would have gotten rich doing that? What if they saw what was happening in the greeting card industry , realized it was in the same paradigm as Netflix, and took advantage of the opportunity to sell greeting card “subscriptions” and keep a percentage of each card that was mailed? How do you think that would impact them after 3 to 5 years? Do you think some people would get rich doing that?

It is an interesting world we live in. Netflix has shown us how powerful the internet is in our lives and our businesses. We all need to pay attention to the trends and changes so we don’t “zig” when we should “zag”. If a home based greeting card business ever interested you, now would be the time to get started. For more info on starting your own greeting card business, click here.