Recap from the Business Discussion Group on Alternative Income Streams
Product sales is only one way to earn money through your stamping business. In the Business Discussion Group, we explored other ways to create income streams and here are the salient points from that meeting:
Fee Based Services
Fee based classes and events are great because they give you CASH and the potential for sales based on the products used during the event.
Types of events are card classes, stamp-a-stacks, crop nights, stamp camps, theme based events, project based events, technique classes, etc.
- Each attendee at an event pays a flat fee
- Consider offering a three-tiered fee structure; your basic price for the “early bird” registration, slightly more for “standard registration”, twice that increment for late registration. So if your “Early Bird” fee is $25 and your “Standard Registration” is $30, your “Last Minute” would be $40. ALWAYS REQUIRE AND OBTAIN payment at registration; a seat is NOT reserved until it is paid for!
- Be sure that your costs are completely covered in your lowest price point.
Someone raised the issue that their customers are reluctant to pay more for classes than at the big box stores. It was suggested that she offer “intro” classes at a fee close to those at the stores and “advanced” classes at the higher price point.
“Goody bags” can be part of larger events. You want to provide a small but tasty sampling of what other things they can purchase through you. Inclusions are things like swatches of DSP, small amounts of hardware, ribbon, punchies, card or page maps, individual rub-ons, etc. It is not recommended that these include retired product. Contents should represent VERY low cost to the demonstrator and the value of the contents should be a line item in your costing worksheet.
Brenda shared that she held an event at which each participant was able to choose the DSP they wished to use on their finished project. In order to ensure that each person was able to choose embellishments that worked with their choices, she cut tickets from retired DSP and placed several of them in each person’s project kit. The participants were able to exchange those tickets for items from provided embellishments. Because the tickets were part of the fee, this was not considered to be a violation of the cash and carry policy and this was verified twice through demonstrator support.
Kits
Kits can be an excellent way to introduce customers to new products or projects. There are several things to be aware of, though, before planning your kits.
- You CANNOT include STAMPED IMAGES in your kits.
- You CAN include items that have been cut or embossed with the Big Shot, including the Build-A-Bear images (as per compliance at demonstrator support today, August 19, 2010)
Kits can be a great way to use up leftover project pieces from classes or events. Brenda packages up the components with a copy of the printed directions with a photocopy of the completed project on the same sheet, priced according to the amount of material and embellishments in the kit.
You can also use kits to get rid of retired product. One demonstrator packaged everything she had of one retired color in a bag and priced it accordingly. You can also put together page or card kits using an array of retired product. Just be sure to price it based on WHAT YOU PAID for it. It can be tempting to think that it’s all windfall because “it’s retired” but you still paid for it and to remain a profitable business, you have to sell it at a profit!
Kits can be sold at events as “until supplies last” items, at fairs and trade shows, on your blog or website, etc.
Punch Your Lights Out
For a fee, customers come and use your punches and scraps to punch out shapes. This could be expanded to the Big Shot. This gets the tools into customers’ hands and shows them that they can’t live without certain punches. It was mentioned that this should perhaps not be scheduled too often in an attempt to prevent customers from never purchasing the tools.
Creating and Selling Completed Products
Sell cards, scrapbook pages, home décor items, etc. at retail locations or to people who would need a finished product. Be sure to ALWAYS comply with the Angel Policy!
Some locations mentioned were farmer’s markets, art galleries, candy stores, bakeries, liquor stores, hospital gift shop, maternity stores, flower shops, airport gift shops, knitting stores, schools, preschools, country clubs, realtors, hospice, etc.
Basically anyone or anywhere who would need a card, a scrapbook or scrapbook page or other fabulous thing you make is someone or somewhere you can contact!
Don’t forget about Etsy!
Tutorials
We all know there are some talented demonstrators out there who are doing very well creating and selling tutorials, scrap maps and card sketches. Try your hand at this with your own customers and test the market for your own contribution to this lucrative angle. Cassandra pointed out that someone on Etsy sold many MANY tutorials at about $10 each. The nice thing about these is that you make them once and sell them many times with no additional work other than sending them out electronically when purchased.
Updated 1/20/11 – You can now sell your tutorials on Amazon for the Kindle or Kindle application. Go to www.kdp.amazon.com and sign in, set up and sell! John Sanpietro has an excellent class on how to do this; see his site at www.stampingismybusiness.com and check to see if/when it gets added.
Custom Work
Advertise yourself as a full service party producer and create invites, cake toppers, plate wraps, balloon weights, etc. For people who love scrapbooks but can’t or won’t create them themselves, market yourself as a professional scrapbooker. Create holiday cards for people who want something hand done but don’t have the time or inclination to do so. Brenda has done many memorial boards for wakes and funerals. Again, think about what people NEED and see how you can work yourself into that equation.
Create an album of invitations/thank you notes and bring one to each preschool, wedding shop, funeral home (not invites!), bakery, candy store, etc.
Remember that with MDS the only supply cost is the final project so be sure to consider that when giving a quote for an electronic album.
Private Parties
These are similar to fee based events but you would submit a package price to the customer. Examples of this type of event are a baby shower where everyone makes a page for a New Baby book, a bridal shower where everyone makes several thank you notes for the bride to send after her wedding, team building exercises for corporations, a girl’s night out for an organization, etc.
ALWAYS REMEMBER!!! Pay yourself first! Just because most of us absolutely LOVE what we do, that doesn’t mean it’s not work.
Always follow the Angel Policy and if you have questions, ASK!
Don’t take it personally if someone doesn’t fall all over your stuff! It doesn’t mean they don’t like what you made; they just may not be able to see how it fits in with their own business.
Don’t give up!
