Here is the 7th 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 videos 8 through 10 this week. I also plan to go back over the last 10 video posts and type in some explanatory text so everyone can see what is in each video.

Thanks!
Tari

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

Here is the 4th 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.”

Here is the 3rd 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?

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.”

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.

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.

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.