The Yearend Family Letter

You know by now that I am a very strong proponent of the handwritten note. Paperly was founded on the belief that the handwritten note is alive and well. Today, few things are more heartfelt and memorable as receiving a personal note on well-designed stationery.

Yet, how does the handwritten note fit-in with the tradition of including a yearend family letter alongside your holiday card. You know those letters… they typically include a brief summary of the year that just passed (e.g. “Sally went to overnight camp for the first time” or “Hard to believe Jimmy is now in first grade”) as well as pictures of the kids.

These letters are typically typed, rightfully so, to ease the process of including a copy of the note in each holiday card sent. So does the typed letter remove your obligation to include a handwritten note in your correspondence? In my opinion, absolutely not!

I completely appreciate the need to type the letter, but that should never inhibit your writing – perhaps in the margin or as an attachment – a note, no matter how small, sharing a personal thought with the recipient. It can be as simple as “Wish we could see you this holiday season!” Or as individualized as “I am so excited to hear about your new grandchild! I can’t wait to see pictures when we see you in a couple of weeks.”

Personally, I love the family letter. I receive holiday cards from friends who, because of time or distance, I hear from all-too-infrequently. Thus, the “Year in Review” lets me stay connected to their lives. However, I truly relish those notes that include a personal sentiment. I’m confident you feel the same.

So as the seasons change, and our thoughts turn towards the holidays and the annual rite of sending holiday cards, please take the extra minute per card to handwrite a note on each. (If you order your cards early enough, you can spread the task over weeks, rather than days. Paperly has already released its Holiday designs.) You’ll feel good, the recipient will feel good, and perhaps, it’ll rekindle the personal connections and warmth we all covet from the holidays.

Regards,

Jay Rudman, CEO * Co-Owner, Paperly

8 Mistakes You Don’t Want to Make With Your Holiday Cards

Although the holidays are still a bit away, now is the time to jump on your holiday cards. Try to avoid the "Top 8 Mistakes" I list below, and you'll thank me later!

1. Waiting to place your order 

Paperly’s holiday designs are available now! Buying today means you receive the newest designs all-the-while avoiding any unforeseen delays that may occur later in the season. Plus, when you add together all the steps in the ordering process – proof, production and shipping – it can be a bit before you actually receive your personalized holiday card.

2. Hoping for the perfect family picture 

The kids are always going to be tired. The dog isn’t going to cooperate. And someone will close their eyes when the picture is being taken. Don’t fret; just keep trying. Digital cameras are great because you can simply delete the bad pictures and start afresh. Try to take the picture at a time of the day that you know your kids are going to be in a good mood. Line-up a neighbor or a friend if you plan to take a family photo. Although scheduling an appointment with a professional photographer can be daunting, it is often worth the additional stress and expense because the photos typically come out wonderful.

3. Portrait card, landscape picture 

Whichever you do first – take the picture or purchase your holiday card – be sure you match orientation. If taken as a portrait, no matter how great the picture is, it will not fit a holiday card that is landscape oriented.

4. Starting your list from scratch 

A guaranteed way to embarrass yourself is to forget to send a holiday card to a friend or family member. To prevent this, don’t start your list from scratch year-to-year. Instead, use last year's list as a starting point. If you don't have last year’s list, start with your address book, your wedding invitation list, a recent birthday party list, etc.

5. Writing all your cards in one night

You might envision sharing a cup of hot cocoa around a warm fire with your family, leisurely writing and addressing your holiday cards. Get over it; that isn’t going to happen. We’re all pressed for time, so don’t delay. You can start addressing envelopes today, even before you get your cards finalized. (A great time saver is to have your return address pre-printed on your envelopes or purchase pre-printed return address labels.) Then, start writing a few cards each day during October and November. Worse case scenario and you run out of time, don't worry – most people are pleased to hear from you no matter when your card arrives. Alternatively, skip the Christmas/Hanukkah “deadline” entirely by sending a New Year's card.

6. Mr. and Mrs. Smith (I think) 

Mrs. Manners probably has a hard time keeping up with today’s complicated marriage situations. Check and recheck names before addressing your envelopes. For example, do your recently married friends use the same last name or different last names? 

7. Needing 100, but having 75 

There are always last minute additions to your mailing list. Order a few more cards than your original estimate. It is always less expensive to order extras with your initial order than to place a second order.

8. Not enough postage 

If you include separate photos and notes alongside your holiday card, you may be surprised at how much the whole package weighs. Before mailing it, weigh it at the Post Office. Otherwise, you run the risk of having all your holiday cards returned because of inadequate postage.

(P.S. A great time saver is to buy your stamps online from the U.S. Postal Service. Buy your holiday stamps early; sometimes they run out of special issues.)

Hope you find these tips helpful!

Regards,

Jay Rudman, CEO * Co-Owner, Paperly

Uplifting Words

Because of Paperly’s 2 new catalog launches (Everyday Collection 2010-11 and Holiday 2010), for the past 2 weeks, I’ve either been overseeing my data entry team or performing data entry myself… hour after hour. The work is both tedious and exhausting, yet the attention to detail must remain high, because an error can create dramatic consequences (i.e. a bad customer experience, a wrong price, etc.)

Fortunately, while doing data entry, the Paperly team was also shipping out the new catalogs and sample sets to our team of Consultants, which now reaches across 27 states coast-to-coast. I say "fortunately" because as the new catalogs and sample sets arrived on the doorsteps of Paperly’s Consultants, I started to receive phone calls, voicemails, emails and Facebook postings about how much they LOVE what they received. Those kind words gave me the extra fuel required to plod along with the data entry. So, thank you to all the Consultants who shared such kind words about our new designs.

I thought you too might enjoy a few of their comments: 

• "My catalogs and samples arrived yesterday… They look great! I gave out several sets at a football game today and got a good response."
• "SO excited to receive the catalogs & samples today - Everything looks so beautiful, and I can't wait to share it all..."
• "I received my new catalogs and samples sets today!!! I LOVE EVERYTHING!!!! I can't wait to share the new designs with my friends and family."

Here’s my favorite from a Consultant as she eagerly awaited the arrival of her catalogs:

• "I keep waiting by the front door for my box o' catalogs every day @ 530! Can't wait to get them in my grubby hands!"

And finally, although a bit unrelated, I received this quote today, from a new enrollee, and I loved it so much, I wanted to share it:

• "After looking through the catalogs for all of 3 minutes, I made my decision to join her team."

Wow! It is words like that which keep me going. And now, back to data entry.

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

Anatomy of a Launch

My apologies for the delay in posting this latest blog entry.  Although it’s not an excuse, we are in the midst of launching 2 new catalogs next week: Everyday Collection 2010-11 and Holiday 2010.  The entire Paperly community – Consultants, Customers, Hostesses and employees – is very excited about the launch.  That said, I thought you might find it interesting to read the basic steps that occur prior to such a massive unveiling.  Please note, I’ve grossly simplified each step below, but I’m hoping to give you an idea as to what occurs “behind the curtain” at Paperly.

• 6 months prior: Paperly aggregates all the feedback it has received from its Consultants, Customers and Hostesses about its designs.  By mapping strengths and weaknesses, Paperly is able to identify what direction its future designs might head.
• 5 months prior: Paperly begins to marry its new design ideas with its team of designers.  For example, one designer might be a better illustrator while another might be better at geometric patterns.
• 4 months prior: Initial design ideas are reviewed and feedback is given to designers.
• 3 months prior: Final designs are agreed upon, and then, designs are carried through all product types (i.e. gift stickers, address labels, etc.)
• 2 months prior: The design of the catalog begins.
• 1 month prior: Loose samples are printed and quality checked.  Photos are taken of the loose samples.
• 2 weeks prior to launch: Catalogs go to the printer, e-catalogs are created and the website begins to be populated with products.
• 1 week prior to launch: Boxes are packed full of catalogs/sample sets and shipped.  At times, it’s hard to find a square inch of Paperly’s office that isn’t covered in boxes!
• Launch!

Of course, this series of events completely skips over the marketing, promotion and training that needs to occur in parallel.  As you can tell, a catalog launch is a Herculean effort.  But boy, is it worth it when the positive feedback starts pouring in from Consultants, Customers and Hostesses.  Of course, by then, we can’t bask in our success, because we are already behind in started on our next catalog!

Regards,

Jay Rudman, CEO * Co-Owner, Paperly

Paperly's Co-Founder, Cindy Rudman, Shares her Vision

Cindy Rudman, President and Co-Founder of Paperly (www.Paperly.com), has been in the stationery industry for 10+ years. She created the following video to share her vision behind Paperly, including:

1. The reasons for creating Paperly

2. Paperly’s core principles

3. The importance of balancing life and career

4. The belief that the handwritten note is alive and well

Enjoy the video, and as always, please contact me if you have any questions.

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

Paperly’s Own Triathlon

Last weekend, I completed my 5^th triathlon.  (No, not an Iron Man… I’m not that crazy!)  For the uninitiated, a triathlon combines 3 separate disciplines – swimming, biking and running – into one event.  I love participating in triathlons, because I love the challenge of trying to excel at three things at once.

What do triathlons have to do with Paperly? Perhaps more than you can imagine.

When speaking to Consultants, I often ask, “How do you judge the success of a party?”  Most every Consultant immediately replies, “By how much I sell!”

To me, that answer is analogous to focusing exclusively on the swim portion of a triathlon and completely ignoring biking and running.  A triathlete can never be successful if she only focuses on one discipline.

Instead, like a triathlete, a successful Consultant needs to view a successful party as the combination of 3 disciplines: selling, booking and recruiting.  At Paperly, we suggest our Consultants aim for $600 in sales, 2 bookings (i.e. future parties) and 1 recruit (i.e. future team members).

Without sales, the Consultant earns no commissions.  Without bookings, the Consultant has no future.  And without recruits, the Consultant’s earnings are limited to her own efforts, rather than the collective effort of her team.

Only when a Consultant completes Paperly’s version of a triathlon can she truly say, “I had a successful party!” Go Paperly triathletes, go! I’m rooting for you.

Regards,

Jay Rudman, CEO * Co-Owner, Paperly

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.)

~~~~~~

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