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Facts Publishing's E-Newsletter "Nothing
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News and Updates Please Visit This Issue's Sponsors:
Ezine
Sponsorships Hello everyone! Greetings
again from yours truly, Michael. This is the third time I've been the
"voice" behind the "News and Updates" section, instead
of Sue (who handled it for I hope those
of you in the U.S. had a relaxing Independece Day. Our Independence Day
weekend was spent at home watching hours of television. We don't usually
spend the whole weekend glued to the tube, but unfortunately, I was immobile
for the entire time. My back had "gone out" again. Before I
sign off, Sue and I would like to extend our well wishes to Tracey Gascon
of Two By Two Designs and her family. You are in our thoughts! This issue's tip comes to us from retailer Kobi Bender. Kobi and partner Lisa Acosta own Miami's acclaimed Scrapbooks & Stuff retail store. "We had found that we had many school teachers shopping in our store. Some just scrapbook for themselves, and others make boards for their classroom. "However, teachers do not earn large salaries and many of them use their own money to purchase supplies for their rooms and their students. "My
partner came up with the idea to have a teacher discount program. "We
put a small one-time coupon on the flyer, but our program gives teachers
a 10% discount on all purchases as long as they provide us with a current
paystub or Thanks, Kobi and Lisa! Like always, that is an excellent tip! Do you have a business tip or article you'd like to share? You will receive a $25 credit for our products for every article or tip we choose to use, along with your byline and contact information. Send yours
in to this email address: tips@funfactspublishing.com. Meet Annalisa D’Andrea and Greg Fujii, owners of The Essence of Memories, "In The ScrapLight!" The Essence of Memories is an online scrapbook store as well as an online community of scrapbook enthusiasts. In this "In The ScrapLight" interview, you'll learn the simple traits that Greg and Annalisa believe make an online scrapbook store a success - and how they assure that these traits are a part of their own business. They'll also share marketing tips, ideas for keeping a business unique, the advice they have for future scrapbook business owners, and more. This "ScrapLight" is a revealing look at the inner workings of a successful online store and community - it's a must-read! Read
Greg and Annalisa's story here!
"I LOVE your Platinum editions! You do a terrific job of gathering pertinent information every month. Yours is the only magazine (paper or electronic) that I read from top to bottom. Thanks for giving the industry a great tool." - Mary Lou Sheridan, Novel Approach, Inc. Platinum members have access to exclusive industry content, e-books, promotions and specials, and much more. Here's a brief look at what members are reading about in the July updates: Industry
Insider
Concerned
about the chain stores entering our industry? We monitor their announcements
and planned upcoming locations and report this news back to you, We believe that the chains add much value to this industry, and the fact that they continue to open new locations only proves that scrapbooking is still as strong, if not stronger, than it's ever been. This month, we'll tell you where the next six Archiver's stores are set to open, along with the official opening dates of two ReCollections locations in Maryland.
Platinum
members have access to all back issues, as well as exclusive content,
specials and promotions, e-books, and more.
Creating custom albums for others as a service is a growing profession of choice for many scrapbook enthusiasts who want to work for themselves. Within that service profession, there are a variety of avenues to explore, including specializng in just one theme (such as weddings), or adding extra services (photo organization or custom invitations, for example). One such avenue is digital scrapbooking. Wow! I could talk forever about the role I see digital scrapping playing in the Custom Scrapbook Service profession. This is certainly a "niche within a niche" and those who capitalize on it will be very successful! (In fact, there are several digital artists already who saw the market potential and are now offering this service.) If you are pursuing the career of "scrapbooking for others" and are already a digi-scrapper in your personal albums, you should consider establishing this service - either as a digital-only service, or as an option to your traditional "paper" albums custom service. And if you're a custom scrapbook artist who creates traditional custom albums for your clients - but you still enjoy creating layouts on your computer - you should definitely think about adding this to your list of services, and I'll explain why below. Digital scrapbooking is the art of using digital photos or scanned photos and creating a layout using a computer software such as PhotoShop, PhotoShop Elements, Microsoft Picture It!, or Paint Shop Pro. These computer-generated layouts can then be printed out at a high resolution and placed in scrapbooks. There are many benefits to digital scrapbooking, and especially to offering this as a custom service for others. First of all, there's no question of copyright because you won't be using any traditional products (some scrapbook companies, not fully understanding what custom scrapbooking is, declared their products "off-limits" to those who make scrapbooks for others. I know, I know! It makes no sense to me either). So that's the first benefit. Second, the cost of your materials is greatly reduced. (No embellishments, stickers, cardstock, whatever - just the cost of your ink and photo paper.) If you charge your client a separate fee for supplies, you can promote this reduced price as a special savings for choosing the digital option if you'd like. Third, your time will also be reduced, providing you’re proficient using these software programs. No more 1-hour or 2-hour layouts for clients that reduce your profit to 0! Once you know your way around these software programs, you'll be able to see the layout with a graphic designer's eye and quickly bring it to creation. You can even use the same template layouts for multiple clients! Another bonus is that you and/or your client will always have the images on disk or CD-ROM, so that if the time comes 20 years from now when the ink starts to fade on the printed layout, it's no big deal - you can just print out a new one! What are some of the negatives in offering this service? Well, some people prefer the handmade look - after all, that’s what makes custom scrapbooking so special. However, some potential clients will admire and respect the look of computer-generated layouts. Another negative is your potential investment. If you don’t already have the equipment you’ll need, this investment could be large - you’ll want a computer and an excellent professional-quality scanner and printer, as well as graphics software. However, if you already own all the equipment you'll need, AND you love creating digital layouts, your next step is to save this article in your "Fun Facts Publishing" folder to read again later and quickly get started brainstorming a name for your new service business! Before we
end, I'd like to point out another benefit: you can choose from several
options in providing this service for your clients:
This article is an excerpt from 'Chapter 19: Increase Your Profits By Offering More Items and Services,' from the manual Make Money Scrapbooking for Others. Learn how to launch and grow your custom scrapbooking design business, using this comprehensive book as your guide. It's complete, it's all-inclusive, it's almost overwhelming - but it will take you where you want to go. "I have been referring to it religiously while starting up my new business." - Catherine S. "I find myself consulting my manual over and over again. It doesn't leave my sight!" - Olga D. Lyris
Content Checker If you send out an ezine or any email correspondence to your customer list, add the URL above to your "Bookmarks" or "Favorites" list immediately! You should know by now that many e mails do not get through to the intended addressee. It's imperative as a business owner to do all you can to make sure each one makes it through - and Lyris helps you out with this. Just fill in your content, and the Content Checker will review it and give you a detailed evaluation within seconds. Then you'll know what words (if any) you'll need to change before sending it out to everyone. Oh, yes, and this service is complimentary. I use it every time I send out this ezine (sometimes it takes 5-7 tries before it's good to go, but it's so worth it!). Here you
go! From the
FunFactsPublishing.com Web Site: Scrapbooking Media Links -15 New Links Added! Scrapbooking has certainly caught the attention of the media. Though many newspapers are still fascinated by the fact that this such a large and growing industry, some have already covered that subject long ago and are now exploring other facets of scrapbooking. Recent articles across the U.S. have focused on the digital scrapbooking movement, the number of scrapbook businesses that fail and why this is happening, and the lack of diversity in the scrapbook industry. Check out all the new additions here.
Our Classifieds section features scrapbook business owners who are looking for help. If you're a teacher looking for a place to teach, or an event organizer looking for a teacher, this is the place to do it! If you're looking to sell your store, or hire some help, this is the place to do it! Several new classifieds have been added this month. To view the current list, please click here.
Fun Facts Publishing's mission is to help present and future scrapbook entrepreneurs succeed by providing them with solid information and inspiration. We offer a wide variety of books and reports, a monthly industry trade publication, national seminars, personal consulting, Web design, and an informative Web site, http://www.funfactspublishing.com/ . We also publish this ezine, "Scrapbook Industry News," currently going out to over 9,000 subscribers. Fun Facts Publishing, established in 1998, is owned and operated by Sue DiFranco and her husband, Michael Venzor. Please visit our Web site to learn more! Fun Facts
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I have suffered from chronic back pain for the past 3 years and in that time, my back has "gone out" about a dozen times. "Gone out," indeed! Where did that term come from? To me, whenever something has gone out, it is no longer there, no longer present, no longer an issue. The thing has gone out and it will return, eventually and everything will be all right. Well, when your back goes out, it's there all right! It's present and you can bet it's an issue! When your back goes out, the first thing you realize is that you never noticed your back before. More to the point, you never ever realized how often you use the muscles in your back, all day every day. Walking, running, standing, sitting, eating, drinking, and breathing for Pete's sake all require extensive use of your back. It seems to me that your back has "gone out" when it is healthy - because you never even know it's there. But when your back goes out, it actually "goes in." It goes inside of you and threatens the very core of your being both physically and spiritually. Physically, everything hurts. And I'm not talking about the I-should-have-taken-it-little-easier-yesterday pain that you get when you accidentally over-exert yourself. I'm talking about pain that you feel in your soul. This pain makes you feel like a person with no arms, no legs, no head, and no front. Just a back that makes you scream anytime you try to do anything that isn't lying down on a hard surface. This pain makes you wish you were anyone else in the world right now. This pain makes you wonder if God is angry with you and what you could have done to incur such a wrath. You find yourself retracing the past for evidence of bad karma you may have sent out to the world which is now coming back around. The spiritual devastation is the worst part. You know that in a few days, with plenty of rest, and alternating treatments of ice and heat, your back will heal and you will be able to get up and live your life again. But for how long? How many weeks, or days, or hours will pass until you are on the floor again? And where will you be when this happens? Will it happen at a party in front of your friends? Will it happen during a business meeting in front of your associates? Will it happen on the street in front of perfect strangers? Will someone strong be around to lift you up and help you home so that you can begin another motionless marathon? Or will you be all alone, sitting on the toilet, wondering when your wife is getting home so that she can help you out of this mess? You never know when it will happen or what will cause it and that's the worst part - the not knowing. Suddenly you feel less than a person. You feel weaker than the skinniest kid in PE. You feel less than weak. You feel useless. And in our society, it's worse for a man. Men are supposed to lift heavy things. Men are supposed to climb on ladders to change light bulbs. Men are supposed to protect their wives. Before I learned to secret to back pain, I was terrified of encountering a situation that may require me to protect my wife, Sue. This is not because I never learned to fight, and it's not because I think New York is a scary place. I was simply afraid of living through a situation that required both my strength and "manliness" and being reduced to a lifeless stump. No lifeless stump is going to protect Sue from rabid animals, drug-crazed muggers, or anything else my imagination could conjure. And that's scary all right. But the good news is that I have overcome all this! The magic, the secret, the miracle is YOGA. Yes, yoga. And I'm not talking about sitting cross-legged, breathing deeply, trying hard to think of nothing. That's meditation, something I am just beginning to explore. Yoga is the toughest, sweatiest, and most tiring form of exercise I have ever subjected myself to. And since I started doing yoga regularly about 4 months ago, my back problems are a thing of the past! Not only that, after a lifetime of being the skinniest kid in PE, I am actually starting to develop muscle mass! Sometimes, I catch myself coming out of a shower and I stop and stare for a moment. Oh, who am I kidding? I stare at myself daily and practice ESPN poses, admiring the development and imaging the ripples of the future. Why should I be ashamed? I've waited long enough! The key to mastering yoga, (and everything else in life!) is daily practice, plain and simple. However, as we all know, daily practice is the absolute hardest thing in the world to do, especially every single day! But whenever I fall off the yoga bandwagon, my back reminds me that my 30th birthday is right around the corner by taking the muscles in my lower back and giving them a slight twist which always reminds me of the times when a bigger kid (or adult) would grasp my frail forearm with both hands and twist my skin in opposite directions to see how red it could get. (The name of this maneuver escapes me for the moment, but I'm sure it's offensive anyway.) When this happens, the pain erupts in the exact same spot as when my back "goes in" but it feels more like a punch hit me there instead of a cannon ball. This is what happened over the past holiday weekend. I was reminded of my age, and was sentenced to 2 days of prone patheticness. The worst part is that even though the pain is not intense enough to keep me on the floor, past experience has taught us that even the subtle reminders of my stupid condition need to be treated with the same care as full-on injuries. The best part of all is that I have the most beautiful, caring and, knowledgeable doctor in the world caring for me. Sue is an expert at heating pads, ice packs, and everything else in between. I am so thankful for her, I could just cry. The reason I stopped practicing yoga is basketball. With the dawn of the summer, I realized that there is a basketball hoop in the parking lot across the street from our apartment and I have played there every couple days for the past month or so. I usually tire myself out and get plenty sweaty so I thought that maybe the exercise I was getting from basketball could replace the yoga. Wrongo, apparently! So now I am back to my old yoga schedule but I still get myself out to the "court" all the time. (Can you still call it a court if there are cars parked all over it for half the day?) I play against the kids from the neighborhood and some of them beat me and some of them school me (beat me real bad.) But that's OK because I have never really played before. My father took me along when he played basketball with his friends but it's hard to learn anything when you never get your hands on the ball for more than 3 seconds. I never got picked for teams during school recesses or PE, and in high school, when I tried out for the freshman team, I was cut on the first day. So, I take it in stride. Every time I get faked out, dribbled around, and scored on, I laugh right along with everyone else. All the while, fantasizing about the day when I will be able to control the ball like the 15 year old punk who is looking at me like he owns me, slowly shaking his head, trying to control his giggles. I will get there, just wait and see. Thanks for reading! Michael
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Scrapbook products keep appearing in the strangest retail stores! Learn
what four *new* retail chains are selling scrap supplies now