The First Party Plan Business

Quick... name the first party plan business? If you said "Tupperware", think again!

Actually, the very first company to systematize the idea of showcasing products at a Hostess's home to a group of guests (at that time it was typically housewives) was... Fuller Brush Company.

It began during the Great Depression, when a salesman named Norman Squires realized the inefficiency of door-to-door sales, and thus in 1935, he developed his hostess home party plan. Squires continued to perfect the at-home party until 1950, when Earl Tupper, inventor of Tupperware, made Squires general sales manager of Tupper Corporation's Hostess Division. And as they say, the rest is history.

Learn more by watching this video put together by the Direct Selling Association (www.DSA.org) as part of its "Centennial Moments" series.

Perhaps one day history will report favorably on Paperly's incredible success?

Regards,

Jay Rudman, CEO * Co-Owner, Paperly

What is Direct Selling?

You have to watch this video titled, "What is Direct Selling?" put together by the Direct Selling Education Foundation.  I love the video's key themes including:

• Direct selling is the freedom to run your own business
• Direct selling is about defining success on your own terms
• Direct selling is being passionate in what you do
• Direct selling requires trust & integrity (Paperly is proud to be a member of the Direct Selling Association, meaning it abides by its Code of Ethics.)
• Most importantly, direct selling is about having fun!

I am proud to say Paperly is everything described in this video... and more.

Please feel free to share this video with anyone who is thinking about becoming a direct seller. You just might positively change her/his life forever.

Regards,
Jay Rudman, CEO * Co-Owner, Paperly

DeeDee’s Paperly Party

DeeDeeM, a Paperly Consultant located in a northwest suburb of Chicago, recently documented two of her Paperly parties using Paperly’s Flip video camera. Thanks DeeDee for sharing with us how fun and easy a Paperly party is.

Pre-Party Preparations
I absolutely love the things DeeDee has prepared for her party including a card of upcoming holidays/occasions, a sign that reads “Host your own stationery party”, wish lists and an Open Date Calendar (see Karen Phelps' website for more information). A bit of prior planning goes a long way towards maximizing sales and booking future parties. Great job DeeDee.

(Sorry for the sideways video.)

Displays, Displays and Displays
I find it amazing how creative Paperly’s Consultants are in displaying their samples (see Crystal’s and Bridget’s displays). What a great idea, DeeDee, to use the shoe rack. As she said in a subsequent email, “…the shoe rack is an easy, clean way to display the folded notes and to see so many different designs”. I completely agree!

At The Party

This is a great video for two reasons. First, we finally get to see DeeDee (she’s on the left). Yea! Second, this video shows that the Paperly purchasing process is collaborative… it’s a creative partnership between the customer and the Consultant. I often hear from others how Paperly provides an outlet for their creative flair.

Actually, I have a third reason why I like this video – because you can hear in the background how lively and fun a Paperly party is!

Straight from the Hostesses

Lastly, below are two snippets from the Hostesses of DeeDee’s parties. Of all the videos, hearing from the Hostess – how they used their Hostess Rewards and had so much fun at their party – is always my favorite. Hearing their praise of DeeDee and seeing their delight with the products brings a BIG smile to my face.

(Don't you think both Sarah and Janel should become Paperly Consultants?

They'd be amazing!)

Thank you DeeDee for sharing your Paperly parties with us. If you're in NW Chicago and you're interested in hosting a party for DeeDee, you can find her at http://www.mypaperly.com/DeeDee

As for the Flip recorder? It's already on its way out to the West Coast. Stay tuned...

Regards,
Jay Rudman, CEO, Paperly

A Retrospective: Special Occasions 2008

As we prepare to release Paperly’s Special Occasions catalog for 2011-12 (available on April 1, 2011), I thought it would be fun (and eye-opening) to write a retrospective on catalogs from Paperly’s past. Below is the second in the series. My first blog entry focused on Paperly’s original catalog, Everyday Collection 2007. The entry below discusses Paperly’s very first Special Occasions catalog.

While there were many positives that came out of this initial foray into a Special Occasions catalog, there were many mistakes we made and learned from, including:

• In an effort to be cost conscious, we shrunk the size of the catalog to 8.5” x 5.5”. Big mistake! Unfortunately, it made this catalog seem inferior compared to the 8.5” x 11” Everyday Collection catalog. Lesson learned: Always make your catalogs the same size!
• We introduced a gorgeous set of stationery that included 30 flat notes and envelopes, packaged within a sturdy, well-designed gift box. We loved it! Unfortunately, to make a reasonable margin on it, we needed to price the product at $75! Wow – lesson learned: There is a price point that cannot be exceeded. We now aim for all personalized gifts to fit within the $19.95 - $34.95 price range.
• One of the catalogs most popular products was 300 memo sheets stored in a gorgeous linen holder for only $30. It was a hit! Actually, it was too big of a hit, because we quickly sold out and our manufacturer couldn’t replenish the product fast enough. For the first time, Paperly had to tell its Consultants that we were back-ordered. Yuck! From that point forward, I vowed to never let Paperly get into a foreseeable backorder situation like that again.

Whew – lots of mistakes, but lots of success too. We quickly learned of the market’s insatiable appetite for reasonably priced, personalized beverage napkins, guest towels, teacher gifts and notepads. All those items continue to be strong winners for Paperly.

I must admit, it is fun looking back at Paperly’s past catalogs. I can’t wait to write about Paperly’s next one.

Until then,

Jay Rudman, CEO * Co-Owner, Paperly

Bridget’s Paperly Party

Recently, I asked BridgetG - a Paperly Consultant who was traveling to her hometown to conduct two Paperly parties – to document her parties using Paperly’s Flip video camera. Below are a few video segments, taken by Bridget (although disappointedly we never see her in any of the shots!), intended to show how fun and easy a Paperly party is. Thank you Bridget for allowing us to peek into your parties.

Sample Table

I love this shot of Bridget’s sample table. It is so densely displayed… you certainly get the feel that Paperly offers tons of options from personalized stationery (e.g. flat notes, folded notes, memo sheets, note pads, etc.) to personalized gifts (e.g. clipboards, placemats, wine tags, etc.). I especially love the creative use of the tennis ball as a sample holder. Wish I had thought of that!

By the way, I’ve heard from Paperly Consultants that they love that Paperly’s samples are easy to tote from one party to the next. Guess that’s one of the beautiful things about paper: it’s lightweight!

Customers

Below, I’ve included video of customers from both of Bridget’s parties. Why? Because I love that one party takes place around the kitchen table and the other takes place in the living room. The two scenes prove that there is no “perfect” or “right” party. Instead, it’s whatever works for the Consultant and Hostesses. Equally as important, both of these videos provide a brief glimpse at the energy inherent in a Paperly party. Yea!

Hostess Rewards

I must admit, this is my favorite of Bridget’s videos. I love hearing what the Hostess plans to spend her Rewards on: personalized stationery (the blue Grecian Band folded note is one of my favorites too!), a self-inking stamp and luggage/bag tags. Furthermore, I couldn’t have said it better: This has been "definitely the most fun and the most successful" party the Hostess has been a part of. I’m so happy to hear it!

Thank you, thank you, thank you Bridget for sharing your Paperly parties with us. If you're interested in hosting a party for Bridget, you can find her at http://www.mypaperly.com/Bridget.

And of course, like all good movies, we’re already preparing the sequel. The Flip recorder is on its way to another Paperly Consultant. I can’t wait to see what her party is like!

Regards,

Jay Rudman, CEO, Paperly

A Retrospective: Everyday Collection 2007

As we prepare to release Paperly’s Special Occasions catalog for 2011-12 (available on April 1, 2011), I thought it would be fun to start a retrospective series on catalogs from Paperly’s past. So let’s dial the time machine way, way, way back to Paperly’s very first catalog, Everyday Collection 2007.

Being our very first catalog, boy did we make a lot of mistakes with it! Here are just a few key learnings we discovered:

• The catalog had no pricing! How is that possible, you ask? Well, we envisioned the catalog to be a mere complement to a 3-ring album we had put together, so we put pricing in the album but not in the catalog. Big mistake! We quickly learned that the catalog needed to stand on its own… and soon, we ditched the album altogether.
• There were no exclusive products! Instead, Paperly used other company’s designs and passed along orders to those companies. Big mistake! Without exclusive designs, customers asked why purchase from Paperly as opposed to the designers directly. Plus, without owning the designs, there isn’t enough margin to pay our Consultants the commissions they deserve.
• We showcased the designs, but not the product! For example, we’d show an icon of ballet shoes, but we wouldn’t show that icon on a flat note, folded note, luggage tag, address label, etc. We learned that customers need to see the product in use, as a flat note – for example – and preferably in a photo, so depth, contrast and scale were all readily evident.

I could probably go on and on about other mistakes we made with this first catalog, but the important thing is we quickly learned from our mistakes and our catalogs have continued to get better and better.

My next blog entry will discuss Paperly’s first Special Occasions catalog!

Until then, 

Jay Rudman, CEO * Co-Owner, Paperly

Crystal's Paperly Party

In late January 2011, Paperly gave Crystal L - one of Paperly's more successful Consultants - a Flip video recorder to document how fun and easy a Paperly party truly is!  Below is a few short snippets directed, produced, acted and choreographed by Crystal.

Before the Party

Crystal introduces herself and provides a "behind the scene" look at her pre-party set-up.

Why Crystal Loves Paperly

Crystal explains why Paperly is the perfect fit for her mom lifestyle. In short, Paperly provides Crystal a fun way to make money!

In the Car

Thank heavens Crystal was at a red light when she filmed this short segment!

Arriving at Jane's House

Jane, the Hostess, is surprised by the camera, but more importantly, excited about "so many people are coming" to the party.

"Paperized"

As Crystal so eloquently describes it, Jane's house has now been "paperized".  By the way, I love the displays Crystal has done.

The Hostess Rewards

Seems like the hardest part for Jane will be deciding what products to get for free using her Hostess Rewards!

The Party is Over

The food and wine is gone, Jane's husband is thankfully okay (he had a bike accident on hisway home from work) and "everyone had a great time".  What an amazing night by Crystal and Jane!

Thank you so much, Crystal, for enabling us to glimpse inside one of your Paperly parties. If you're interested in hosting a party for Crystal, you can find her at http://www.mypaperly.com/Crystal/.

The Flip video recorder will now make its way to another Paperly Consultant. Stay tuned for more party videos soon.

Regards,

Jay Rudman, CEO, Paperly