A Note to Husbands

Not all of Paperly’s Consultants are wives, but many are.  And near the top of the list of things I inevitably hear from potential female Consultants is, "Let me discuss this with my husband."

As a husband myself, I completely agree.  After all, I too would want to discuss Paperly before my wife became a Consultant.  (Hypothetically, of course, since my wife, Cindy, is a co-owner of Paperly already!)  The wife-husband conversation makes perfect sense.

However, I NEVER hear from the husband directly.  I only get his thoughts through the wife.  And so, I thought I’d write this blog entry as a note to all the husbands out there.

(Potential Consultants: Feel free to print this out and hand it to your husband prior to your conversation with him.)

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Dear Husband of Potential Paperly Consultant,

My name is Jay Rudman and I’m the CEO and Co-Owner of Paperly.  Because I know you have questions prior to your wife joining our remarkable team of Consultants, I thought I’d try to answer some of your most common questions up-front.

1. Happy to answer all of your questions!  The very first thing I want you to know is, “please don’t be shy.”  This is a *big* decision, a family decision, and I’m happy to answer all of your questions.  Simply call or email me (773.661.1357 or jay@paperly.com) and I’ll reply directly and honestly.  It’s important for you to know that Paperly is a family-based business, and therefore, we try to be as open and honest as possible. So please call/email and ask.  We’re happy to answer.

2. No, Paperly is not going to steal your money.  I can say this, because I’m a husband too… husbands can be a bit cynical.  We husbands believe that all *big business* is out to steal money from *regular folks*.  Maybe other businesses (although I’m a bit more optimistic than most), but certainly NOT Paperly.  We’re in business to ensure our Consultants are successful.  When they’re successful, Paperly will be successful too.  Honestly, our Consultants, Hostesses and Customers come first.  So bluntly, no – we’re not going to steal your money!

3. Yes, Paperly does offer a real earning opportunity.  It would be ridiculous for us to say, "join Paperly and earn $1 gazillion in 1 week."  Anyone can see through that sham.  But Paperly does offer a real earning opportunity.  Commissions can be significant on both personal and team sales.  Candidly, Paperly is too young to have $100,000+ Consultants yet, but I see no reason why that couldn’t happen someday soon.  And wouldn’t it be nice to say your wife was the first?

4. What happens if it doesn’t work out?  Paperly has worked very hard to be a member of the Direct Selling Association (dsa.org) which requires a very stringent buyback policy. Please read Paperly’s at www.Paperly.com/policy-statement.asp.  In short, Paperly will repurchase re-sellable contents of your wife’s Starter Kit within the first 12 months at 90% of the price paid by her.  Of course, this completely glosses over the fact that the Starter Kit is such a minimal investment to start with, especially the potentially unlimited upside.  Nevertheless, Paperly's buyback policy does remove some uncertainty.

Of course, there are many, many more questions that you may have, and again, I’m happy to answer them one-on-one (773.661.1357 or jay@paperly.com).  But before concluding this letter, please appreciate the passion, the enthusiasm and the desire your wife has towards wanting to be successful with Paperly.  I humbly request that you let her try; she’ll likely erase all your doubts within days.

Regards,

Jay Rudman, CEO * Co-Owner, Paperly

All the Pieces are in Place

Time for full disclosure…  Although we know stationery (we’ve been in the industry for 10+ years), we’re still learning a lot about direct selling.

In 2007, we launched Paperly by crisscrossing the United States, conducting a half dozen test parties.  In 2008, we invited 6 Consultants – yes, only 6 – to join Paperly.  We purposely kept the community small to ensure we could deliver quality products in a timely manner at a reasonable cost before we announced Paperly to the world.   In 2009, we invested significantly to enable Paperly to grow unhindered.  For example, we spent months customizing a world-class Web solution to enable Consultants to place orders online, manage their back office virtually and post online shopping events.  See www.MyPaperly.com/paperly for a demo.

Now, it’s 2010 and we are not slowing down a bit:

• We’ve introduced a new Starter Kit option, priced at only $99, to allow new Consultants the opportunity to quick-start their business with minimal investment. (http://www.paperly.com/kit.asp)
• We’ve introduced a new Commission & Career Plan so we can return every last penny possible back to the Consultants.  For example, the maximum commission on personal sales volume has increased from 25% to 38%!
• We’re fervently working on 2 new catalogs (Everyday Collections 2010-11 and Holiday 2010), plus a Future Leaders program - both to be released soon!

I share all of this, because honestly, all the pieces are now in place for Paperly’s Consultants to be wildly successful.

I just did a quick analysis and discovered that in 2009, 62% of Paperly’s sales occurred from September thru December!  That means, if you're already a Consultant, it’s time to fill your calendar through the end of 2010.  However, if you're not yet a Paperly Consultant, there may be no better time to join than now.

I’m proud of the progress Paperly has made.  Now that all the pieces are in place, the future is truly limitless.

Regards,

Jay Rudman, CEO * Co-Owner, Paperly

My Paperly Story (by PegiC, Consultant)

I have always loved personalized items. Just about anything personalized had always been a hit with me. Giving or receiving a gift that has been made specifically for you is very special and unique. I still remember, long ago, receiving a box of stickers with the letter P surrounded by pastel flowers. I rarely used the stickers but clearly remember considering them one of my most prized possessions. There are a variety of other personalized items that I have acquired over the years. I still have some and others that have been lost along the way, but they have all had great meaning to me.

In addition to my love of personalized items, I have a real soft spot for stationery. I’m not just saying this for the purposes of this blog – I really love stationery. Even when I was younger and only wrote thank you notes as a result of nagging from my parents, I loved visiting card or gift stores that carried unique note cards, paper, invitations and the like. For me picking out my wedding invitations, and other stationery that was used for the big day, was the very best party of the planning process. The ladies in the invitation store knew me well. My husband would run the other way when I brought up the invitation subject, not understanding why I was spending so much time deliberating on the perfect one. That being said I finally picked a very simple, traditional invite that I still love today. I have it framed next to my daughter’s framed birth announcements. I am very proud of these simple pieces of paper that have become decorative pieces that represent great events in my life.

Given the fact that I really enjoying picking out, giving and receiving personalized gifts and stationery, becoming a Paperly Consultant seemed like it would be a perfect fit. My husband actually found out about Paperly online. We were both interested in having me pick-up some part time work. With our kids getting a bit older, I had the time to put aside a few hours a day to work. The commitment, on both a financial and time level, did not seem overwhelming. Of course I had a bunch of questions: What was the quality of the product? Who would I get to have parties and/or make purchases? Would people like Paperly’s products? Now that I have been a Consultant for about 7 months all of these concerns have been erased. There were no hidden costs or obligations. People love the products. It’s great to have a party and see the excitement in the guest when they realize what Paperly has to offer.

Being a Paperly Consultant has been a wonderful experience that I feel very lucky to have stumbled upon. I am so excited, along with many of my clients, to see what is in store for the new catalog and the holidays. I feel confident that with continued effort and focus on my end the opportunities as a Paperly Consultant are endless.

PegiC, Paperly Consultant (http://mypaperly.com/pegiconnors)