This has been on my mind for awhile. I have some concerns, which I’ll spell out in a moment.
I originally set up my on-line store to design and sell custom photo cards that you can’t get at your local retailer. Many people have asked me, “What makes you different from Tiny Prints, Shutterfly or Snapfish?” When I first opened my store, quite a lot. I was the only place that was printing custom photo cards on high-quality matte cardstock, that offered matching, hand-lined envelopes at an affordable price. But a good idea never lingers in just one place, so the BIG card folks have caught on. It’s an interesting place to be for a little business like mine. How do I remain competitive?
So, it brings my business mind to wholesale. Which kind of throws an interesting curve ball into my design aesthetic. I started out wanting to create handmade custom photo cards for my customers, because that’s what I wanted to buy. How do I bring that desire to wholesale? That’s a question I have yet to answer.
Another concern I have is owning a site where I sell my designs and then asking someone else to sell them too. I’ve done a little research on this and retailers prefer to sell your goods without competition from you. It makes ethical sense, but not so much for the bottom line. Will keeping my shop open and running prevent a retailer from selling my designs? I don’t know, but there is so much competition in paper goods, it is a concern.
One huge decision I have to make is whether to show at the National Stationery Show in 2010. I’ve been in touch with a sales rep there and he assures me that I would be a good fit. I think much will depend on the decisions I make design-wise in the next couple months. There are many ideas in my head, but whether they make it to the computer, then the cardstock, is always a challenge.
If you have any thoughts on the subject, I would love to read them. The more informed I am, the better business decisions I make. And we can all use a different perspective, no matter what the question.
