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.

Today I received a heartwarming email from someone I have never met. In fact, I never knew Lawrence existed until about a week ago.

Let me share my story:

When I was five years old I spent a month in England with my grandmother. We went to visit my uncle (her son) who was stationed there in the Army. We met lots of people and one couple, whom I have corresponded with ever since. Well, the husband, “Uncle” Stanley, passed on a few years ago and the woman, “Aunt” Joyce, passed on a couple of weeks ago. My uncle was asked to fly to the UK to conduct her memorial service, so she has been very close with him all these years. My uncle shared an email from Joyce’s nephew, Lawrence, with details of her service, etc. His mailing address was included in the email, so I sent him a card…. telling him how I met Joyce and Stanley when I was five, how she sent me treats and magazines as a child (very cool coming from the UK) and ALWAYS a Christmas card. In the later years of his life, Stanley took up oil painting. My brother has his very first painting hanging in his living room. So I told Lawrence how dear Joyce was and although I had not seen her in over 40 years – I loved our connection. I had a photo of her from my uncle that I included in the card. If I did not have the program I use to send greeting cards from my computer (that show up in the mail with a real stamp, mind you), I would probably not have sent a card to Lawrence. Of course I should have, but as I said, I never knew Lawrence, so I may not have thought it worth the time to go out and buy a card, write it, address it, print the photo, then go out again, to the post office – because who knows how much it would cost to send my card to the UK. Today I received the most wonderful email from Lawrence in response to my card. When I travel to the UK, I will look him up. This is why I think EVERYONE needs to have a way to send greeting cards that’s easy, personalized and affordable. It makes it possible for us to stay connected with others in ways we would not, otherwise. I was thrilled to have made a heartfelt contribution to Lawrence and his family – and touched to receive such a lovely message from someone I have yet to meet.

For more info on starting your own greeting card business, click here.

Since each of us wants our greeting card business to grow and prosper, it’s important that we understand how to send out cards to impact business growth. This understanding will help in several ways. First, we will be able to share with our customers and prospects the details and results of sending out cards. If we don’t send out cards, how can we share the experience and benefit from the process? Second, over time, we will gather a collection of stories about what happened as a result of sending cards. Often, amazing things happen when you send out a card – you will start to get thank you calls for thank you cards, and cards back with moving messages in return for the heart-felt cards you are sending. And finally, because people would rather do business with people they know, like, and trust, your cards will be building your relationships with others who can refer you business when they have the opportunity.

So, why would you send out a card to someone? Here’s a list of 10 ways to send out cards to grow your own greeting card business:

1. After you meet with a prospect, whether they said no, yes or maybe.
2. As a thank you when someone does something nice for you, like a referral, a gift, or a dinner invitation
3. After you close a business deal
4. After a networking event, send a card saying “it was nice to meet you”
5. After a telephone conversation with a prospect
6. After an interview for a job, a project, or to use their services
7. For a holiday – remember all the less acknowledged holidays
8. To stay in touch with someone you haven’t heard from for a while
9. For a birthday
10. As a heart-felt surprise to make someones day

I will go into detail about each of of these ideas in future posts to explain some good ways to use these methods. These are good ideas to share with your greeting card business customers and prospects so they learn how to use cards to grow their business, too. Check back soon for more information. For more info on starting your own greeting card business, click here.

One of my goals as a greeting card business owner is to use greeting cards in my own business to build relationships with customers, prospects and networking partners. A good excuse for sending a heartfelt card is a holiday. Many people send holiday cards to friends and family, and many businesses send a promotional holiday card to their customers. The “corporate holiday card” is typically all about the business, with a logo, the business name, or even a business card thrown inside. The recipient probably doesn’t get a warm, fuzzy feeling of appreciation when receiving those cards. A better idea may be to create a heart-felt message expressing appreciation for the customer, their patronage and support, with all the focus of the card being directed toward the customer rather than the business sending the card. This approach will let your customers know you care about them, and they are important to you.

Another great idea is to pick a holiday that is not traditionally a card-sending holiday – like Halloween, or Ground Hog’s Day, or Memorial Day. You should probably send a Christmas or Seasons Greetings card, even though your customers will be getting many of these and you fear getting lost in the pile of other cards they receive. When you send a Halloween card, you can be confident that’s the only Halloween card your customer will have received!

Sending a heart-felt card is the important step we are stressing here. Using the holidays as a ready-made excuse to send cards is a great idea. So put on your creativity hat and start thinking about what would make a splash for your spooky Halloween card this year. For more info on starting your own greeting card business, click here.

Why a greeting card business?

“The deepest principle in human nature is the craving to be appreciated.”

William James

One of the basic needs that people strive for in their lives is a sense of being appreciated. It may seem like a very simple and easy thing to do, but showing appreciation for others can have a dramatic impact on your relationship with them. Sending a greeting card is a good way to accomplish this. We all know the feeling of finding an unexpected card in our mailbox. That’s the piece of mail that always gets opened first.

When we send out a heart-felt card to someone else, it makes us feel good, too. Do yourself a favor and send someone a greeting card and make their day. There doesn’t have to be a reason, or a special occasion – just letting someone know that you acknowledge and appreciate them will do wonders for both of you.

The typical difficulty we have is making time to buy, write, stamp and mail the card. So, a simple and easy way to show our appreciation becomes a difficult task that hardly ever gets done. This is why the “Happy Belated Birthday” card exists. Because of this common human difficulty, many business owners, sales people and “card senders” really appreciate anything that will help them send the cards they know they should be sending out.

Cards are usually sent for weddings, anniversaries, “get well” wishes, thank you’s, birthdays and holidays. And, we can all find many other less obvious occasions where sending a greeting card will dramatically improve our relationship with someone important to us or to our business. These can include a thank you from a salesperson to a prospect after a sales presentation, a thank you from a job applicant to the interviewer, a thank you from a realtor to an open house attendee, and an unexpected note of love or encouragement from one friend to another.

Thanks to technological innovation, a new online service gives us the power to create a card with just a few clicks of a mouse that gets printed, stuffed in an envelope, stamped with a real stamp and put in the mail for us. The amazing part is that it’s cheaper than sending a store bought card, and the cards are high quality with a glossy-coated finish. You can even put your own digital photos on the front cover or inside the cards. For more info about this service, click here.

Welcome. This is the place to get great information on how to start and run your own greeting card business. Whether you are thinking about starting a greeting card business, or already have your own established greeting card business, there is information here that can help you grow your business. Please let me know if you need information about anything that is not addressed here. I will be happy to help out in any way I can.