How to Become a Greeting Card Maker ~ Starting a Paper Craft Business



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Greeting Card Maker

Paper Craft Business

Breaking Into and Succeeding as a Greeting Card Maker
How to Start a Paper Craft Business
How to Become a Social Stationery Artisan

The term “social stationery” describes a large category of printed products whose purpose might be loosely described as “putting a personal touch on routine and ceremonial communications.”

In other words, social stationery is what you use to give your letters, cards, and invitations a look and feel all your own. Wedding invitations are an obvious example, but there are also business cards, letterhead, gift tags, casual letter-writing paper, and those little “at home” cards you might hand out, in elegant old-fashioned tradition, or mail to people you’d like to supply with your physical address.

As people continue to socialize, there will always be a demand for stationeries, greeting cards, and paper crafts.

The different designs you can offer are limited only by your imagination—they’re certainly not limited by what you can print. Designs can be worked into the paper itself, as with handmade floral stationery, or they can be embossed into the letterhead and margins. Decorative elements such as leaves, rhinestones, beads, and cloth patches can be pasted on.

Stationery can be even more its own work of art through origami (paper folding). Anything that makes the art of letter-writing more elegant and personal is a possibility for a stationery shop or catalogue.

Another common focus in the paper goods industry is party supplies. We’ve already mentioned wedding invitations; there’s also birthdays, holidays, office parties, beach parties, and “for no good reason” parties. Every party needs invitation supplies, which include the invitation itself (a kind of greeting card), the envelope used to send it, and an RSVP card and reply envelope.

Other possibilities are “at home” cards for formal parties, and for more casual occasions, name tags and door prize raffle tickets. Custom placemats bring the banquet tables more into line with the party’s theme, as do custom name cards (for showing guests where to sit). Also, don’t forget gift-wrap, table coverings, and decorative banners.

Aside from the personal and the celebratory, there’s the business end of things. Business cards are an obvious need (and business card holders are great gadgets to go with them). Adhesive note tablets to match the corporate letterhead can make the otherwise too-casual inclusion of a sticky-note more professional. And again, it’s a good idea to complete the ensemble with matching envelopes.

Now, how big is this business? Who are the consumers?

A way to look at it is to split the demographics up by generation.

Thirty three percent (33%) of the market belongs to the Boomers (41 to 58 years old)
Millenial generation (27 years or younger) at 28%
The GenXer (28 to 40) at 26%
The Swing/WWII generation (59+) comes in last at 13%

You probably guessed that married people buy more stationery products, what with often having more family connections as well as having uniquely marital events, like anniversaries, to celebrate. In fact, married consumers make up 50% of the demographic—that’s right, an entire half of all people who buy these products.

Looking at education, the greatest part of the demographic consists of those who have completed some education at the college level (32%)—that’s distinct from those who have graduated from college (20%) and those with post-graduate degrees (15%).

Looking at income, you might be surprised, considering the “luxury good” status of this industry, to see that those in the $25k-and-under bracket take the biggest slice of the demographic pie: 26%. (On the other hand, you might not be surprised after all; greeting cards are much more affordable gifts than those luxury items typically favored by those with higher incomes, such as jewelry.)

Now if you're wondering whether you can start this business with only a few hundred dollars, the answer is definitely yes. Now consider these possibilities in making and/or selling:

Make-your-own cards
Custom-made small batch cards
Wedding invitations
Novelty cards
Religious cards
Personal stationery
Embossed paper crafts
Calligraphy paper crafts
Hand-painted
Hand-written
Photograph cards

Now, how much money can you make?

Assuming you sell a box of 10 cards with price tag of $15 per box, you only need to sell 20 boxes per day to earn yourself a nice $300 per day. This translates to $6,000 per month. If you have a 24/7 online storefront, you have the potential of earning $10,000+ per month.

Need we say more?
This eGuide provides insightful information, advices and tips for anyone who is contemplating to start a greeting card and paper craft business. Numerous hard-to-find resources are included to help you locate pertinent information.

Do you know?

The stationery goods market, which includes social stationery, greeting cards, gift wrap, party ware, and other paper crafts reached $36 million in 2004. That was an increase in industry sales of 6.3% over the year 2002, when the market valued at $33.9 billion.

Editor-in-Chief Jennie S. Bev, co-author Nicole J. LeBoeuf-Little have talked to several greeting card and paper craft professionals, to provide you with the best and the most comprehensive self-study guidebook filled with insider information, tips and advice for breaking into and succeeding in this lucrative crafty business.

About the Authors

Jennie S. Bev is THE fashion, image and fun careers expert, whose reputation has been acknowledged by prestigious media internationally. She has been profiled and mentioned in Entrepreneur, Teen People, Canadian Business, Home Business, Dong (France), San Francisco Chronicle, The Independent, Daily Southtown, The Arizona Republic, Femina (Asia) and Dewi (Asia).

Editor-in-Chief Jennie S. Bev was named 2003 EPPIE Award finalist in Non-Fiction How To category for excellence in electronic publishing. She has published over 40 books and 900 articles in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, France, Germany and Southeast Asia. She is also a college professor based in San Francisco Bay Area.

Co-author Nicole J. LeBoeuf-Little is an accomplished author, freelance writer, and web designer from the New Orleans area. She graduated from Metairie Park Country Day School and went from there to the University of Washington to pursue B.A. in English.

Her fiction and essays have been published in a diverse handful of literary and New Age magazines, including PanGaia. An aspiring novelist, she has been an annual participant in National Novel-Writing Month since 2002. She now resides in Colorado.

This 67-page instantly downloadable StyleCareer.com eGuide Breaking Into and Succeeding as a Greeting Card and Paper Craft Maker brings you valuable insider tips, advice and suggestions not available elsewhere to help you embark on this highly lucrative career path.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

The Myths, the Realities, and the Basics
I’m not that creative. Can I start a greeting card business?
My vision is rather eclectic. Is there a market for my vision?
Can I make a living creating $2-a-pop card products?

The Social Stationery Industry in A Nutshell
What Is “Social Stationery”?
Statistics and Outlook
Who’s Buying What?

The Landscape of the Industry
Players in the Field
American Greetings
Blue Mountain Arts
Brush Dance
Carlson Craft
Carlton Cards
Carolina Pad and Paper
Hallmark
Maggiecards
PaperCraze
PaperDirect

Show Me the Money
Starting Your Own Greeting Card and Paper Craft Business
Anatomy of A Social Stationery Business Owner’s Personality
Are You A Self-Starter?
Do You Enjoy Paperwork?
Are You Creative?
Can You Empathize?

The Multiple Hats to Wear
Accounting
Marketing and Distribution
Print Production and Packaging
Trademark and Copyright

Embellishing Your Paper Products
Photography
Fun with Paint
Calligraphy
Texts
Textures
Three-Dimensional Items
Origami

Pre-Production Workflow
Stocking Up
Designing the Set
Designing Each Item
Getting Equipped
Packaging
Outsourcing

Post-Production Workflow
Press Releases and Promotions
Attend Conferences and Trade Shows
Ways to Get Retailers Carry Your Products
Selling the Products by Yourself
Staying in the Black

Game Plan to Break In
Know Your Target Audience
Tooting Your Own Horn
Getting Investors

Being Successful
Joining Trade Associations
Trade Shows
Expanding Your Stationery Empire

Success Anatomy
So you’re a self-starter.
So you dig the paperwork.
So you’re creative.
So you can empathize.
Success Profiles

This eGuide literally saves you hundreds or even thousands of dollars spent on professional workshops and training and hundreds of hours of research. It will help you break into the career of your dream faster without having to repeat the same mistakes that most newcomers do.

We have also included resources on the following:

Trade and networking associations
Trade shows and expos worldwide
Learning resources
Wholesale suppliers and resources

You can have this exclusive eGuide right away by instant download for only $26.95, which you will earn many times over with your first paid job. This special low discount price is reserved for today, Saturday, 07-Nov-2009 09:35:10 PST only. (Regular price: $36.95)

Breaking Into and Succeeding
as a Greeting Card & Paper Craft Maker
Regular Price: $36.95
Sale Price: $26.95

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