Direct Selling is Not a Pyramid Scheme

A lot of attention has recently been focused on Bill Ackman's claim that Herbalife is a pyramid scheme. The arguments for and against are fervent. Just this past Sunday (February 10, 2013), my local paper, the Chicago Tribune, ran the following story at the top of their business section: "Legitimate Multilevel Marketing or Illegal Pyramid Scheme?" As the Founder and CEO of Paperly, the leading direct seller of personalized stationery & gifts, I feel it's vitally important to state emphatically - direct selling is not a pyramid scheme.  There are many reasons why, but in my opinion, here's the most important...

Direct Selling is Entrepreneurialism at its Best

Direct sellers invest minimally to start their business.  For their relatively paltry investment, they receive an enormous amount of marketing materials, samples, technology, training and support.  They then have the freedom to start and grow their business to the best of their abilities.

Absolutely, positively yes - most never become millionaires. But that doesn't mean the hundreds, perhaps thousands of dollars they earn each month isn't life changing. Maybe its the first time ever they've contributed to the monthly mortgage. Or maybe their earnings go towards their first ever Disney family vacation. Whatever the dollar amount, it's often meaningful to the vast majority of direct sellers.

And just because everyone doesn't instantly become a millionaire when they start their direct selling business doesn't mean the system is inherently flawed. It's the same system that every other small business owner operates within. Most fail. But we praise entrepreneurs in American society because we love and honor success based on hard work. The same holds true for direct sellers. They have to work hard. They have to take risks. They have to occasionally be lucky. But they are no different than any other small business operators and they should be exalted, not disparaged.

Direct selling is about selling to customers, not to distributors. Paperly follows a "party plan" model, which means our Consultants asks others to host friends and family members at their homes so they can experience firsthand the products Paperly offers. Successful Paperly Consultants sell more - it's that simple. Paperly eliminates all the headaches associated with operating a small business such as inventory management, website maintenance, accounting and monthly promotions. Instead, Consultants are merely asked to share the products Paperly offers with those they care the most about. Again, this is classic entrepreneurialism, nothing more, nothing less.

It's a shame that direct selling has received a bad reputation, because it truly is an amazing entrepreneurial engine. In 2012, it helped 16 million American generate $30 billion in domestic sales. That is not an illusion.  That is not a scheme. That is nothing more than an incredible entrepreneur success story... and I am proud to be a part of it.

- Jay Rudman, Founder & CEO, Paperly (www.Paperly.com)
The leading direct seller of personalized stationery & gifts

Paperly Milestones

A new year is always a good time to reflect on past accomplishments. Fortunately, Paperly has accomplished a lot since its inception. Below are just a few highlights:

2008: Launched with 6 Consultants
After spending 12-18 months germinating the idea, we finally launched Paperly... very, very softly.  We invited 6 friends & family members to join as Consultants. Why only 6? Because we did not have an ordering system, a multi-level compensation plan, or even a fulfillment partner. We first had to ensure the business model worked - and boy did it ever! We quickly went from 6 Consultants to 36 to 125 to 300+.

2010: Direct Selling Association Member
Of the thousands of direct selling companies, only around 200 in the United States pass muster with the Direct Selling Association. The application is an arduous 12 month task. That said, Paperly knew it was the "new kid on the block" and needed the DSA's "stamp of approval" in order to distance itself from other fly-by-night businesses. In 2010, Paperly earned membership into the DSA and has retained its membership every year since.

2011: Picked by Inc.com as "The New Guard of Direct Selling"
Paperly had the very good fortune of being highlighted by Inc.com as "The New Guard of Direct Selling". Considering 2 other companies mentioned - J. Hilburn and Stella & Dot - have developed well-known brands, Paperly feels strongly about the path it is on.

2011 & 2012: Recognized by the DSA for Ethical Standards
As mentioned above, only ~200 companies in the United States are members of the DSA. And of those 200, less than 25% have been recognized for their participation in the DSA's Code of Ethics Communication Initiative. Amazingly, Paperly has been recognized 2 years in a row... and plans to earn recognition again in 2013.

2012: Won 2 Product Innovation Awards
On 2012, Paperly became the only 2x winner of the DSA's prestigious ETHOS Awards for Product Innovation. Paperly won for its personalized iPhone cases and its personalized cutting boards.

And this is just a taste of Paperly's accomplishments. We could also highlight our first President's Council, Future Leaders Program, National Conference and much, much more. Please, if you wish to learn more about Paperly and its successes, I recommend you attend a Paperly Opportunity Event. The no cost, no obligation, 30-minute call provides a further glimpse into Paperly's past, present and future. Registration is required: http://www.paperly.com/info. Hope to talk with you then!

- Jay Rudman, CEO/Co-Founder, Paperly

Recipe for a Successful Paperly Consultant

My daughter and I recently finished a book titled "Stir It Up!" by Ramin Ganeshram, published by Scholastic Press.  (Yes, my 11 year old, 6th grade daughter still lets me read to her and I love it!  Aren't I the luckiest dad around?)  Briefly, the story is about a teenager whose dream is to become a chef.  Ingeniously, the author sprinkles throughout the book life lessons disguised as recipes. I've taken the liberty of including one below, called "Recipe for Ambition", which I thought could easily be re-titled, "What Makes for a Successful Paperly Consultant". (Hopefully I won't get in any trouble for photocopying a page of the book ;)

To me, the author perfectly outlines the key ingredients to success: desire, hope, moxie and well-laid plans.  I believe all 4 need to be in the mix for success to occur.  However, the 1 ingredient most often missed is moxie, which is described as energy, courage and determination.  It's not easy being a Paperly entrepreneur. You have to absorb some "no" before you get to "yes". But if you exhibit energy, courage and determination - otherwise known as moxie - I'm convinced you can be wildly successful running your Paperly business.

After reading the recipe below, I'd love to hear your ideas as to what you believe is necessary to be successful in whatever you choose as your profession. Thanks in advance for your thoughts!

- Jay Rudman, CEO/Co-Founder, Paperly

The Paperly Story: Fall/Winter 2012-13 catalog

Paperly is preparing to release its Fall/Winter 2012-13 catalog. I am so excited! As part of that release, I have the honor and privilege of expressing my thoughts on the inside cover. I am especially proud of this catalog's theme because I believe it's time for Paperly to take its rightful place as a leader in the direct selling industry. After reading this catalog's preamble (see below), I welcome your feedback.

Regards,

Jay Rudman, CEO, Paperly

~~~~~~

Direct selling, which is the idea of independent Consultants sharing their passion for products via fun, at-home parties, has been a successful business model for generations. The Rockwellian image of "The Tupperware Party" evokes a strongly positive memory for most of us. While Paperly plans to follow a similar model of the past, we plan to lead the industry towards an exciting future.

Paperly’s products – personalized stationery & gifts – perfectly combines the consultative nature of at-home parties and today’s advanced technology to produce one-of-a-kind products exactly to the customer’s specifications within days of the order. Wow! Custom products delivered within days was unheard of before Paperly began, and now we’re doing it daily.

We started Paperly to enable those who love personalized products the opportunity to start a rewarding business. We also wanted to remind people that the personal note is alive and well. We remain true to these initial objectives, but now, we plan to change the world of direct selling. We invite you to join us. We’re confident you’ll enjoy the journey.

Paperly's Starter Kit: Different is Okay

Paperly's Starter Kit is different. Different can  sometimes feel good, but other times different can feel unsettling. I thought I'd take a moment to explain the rational behind Paperly's "different" Starter Kit.

The Past

Originally, Paperly's Starter Kit was $249. Wow! That was a big investment for a new Consultant. However, the Kit was full of samples, printouts of training & promotional materials, 2 different catalogs, etc. Unfortunately, the Kit was a big, heavy, cumbersome mishmash that didn't meet the needs of the Consultants for a number of different reasons:

• It was too expensive. The $249 price tag prevented too many from joining Paperly.
• The training & promotional materials were outdated almost as soon as they arrived on the new Consultant's doorstep. Paperly needed a more timely and accessible repository of documents.
• But most importantly, the samples were too generic. Sure, it's nice to receive a platter in a Floral design personalized with "Jane Doe". But what if the Consultant didn't like Florals?  Or didn't like the font we chose?  Or worse - what if her customers don't like Florals? Not surprisingly, the generic samples didn't generate the passion and enthusiasm from the new Consultants we had hoped.

We knew we had to make a change.  But equally as important, we knew we had to make Paperly different so that it would standout from the crowd.

The Present

In January 2012, Paperly launched its current Starter Kit and we believe it solves all 3 of the problems listed above: price, timeliness and passion.

• Paperly's Starter Kit is now only $99. We stripped away the extraneous pieces but retained everything critical for new Consultants to start and grow their Paperly business.
• Paperly's training & support documents are now available instantly online. As soon as a new Consultant enrolls, they can login to their Virtual Office and immediately begin reviewing critical training documents such as Paperly's "12-Week Roadmap to Success". Plus, we are no longer terrified of included an outdated promotion into the Kit; instead, it's always online and accurate.
• Most importantly, we removed many of the generic samples and instead began offering new Consultants "40% off for 40 Days".  Now Consultants can choose the exact product they want, in the exact design they want, with the exact personalization they want. We have found Consultants are 100x more passionate about a sample when it reflects their personal style.

We are confident the ability to personalize the Starter Kit with the exact products a new Consultant wants makes Paperly sufficiently different. Yes, sometimes it's unsettling to a new Consultant - i.e. "I now need to choose my samples?"  But all in all, we are VERY proud of Paperly's current Starter Kit.  And yet... in order to remain ahead of the curve, Paperly has further plans for what it offers new Consultants.

The Future

Paperly's Starter Kit needs to continue to evolve. The "40% off for 40 days" promotion has been a huge hit, so I expect to keep it.  And yet, I want to include additional samples into the Kit.  For example, it makes sense to include a Paperly-branded key chain or bag tag, doesn't it? And instead of single sheets of Paperly's notepads, we probably should include entire notepads, right?  Also, we could add some timeless promotional & training materials - such as Hostess Rewards, the Commission Plan, etc. - and not worry about these documents becoming extinct instantly.

In conclusion, I am confident Paperly's Starter Kit will always be a bit unique, but will always far exceed its primary purpose: To help Consultants start and build their Paperly business. In the end, I'm okay with being different.

- Jay Rudman, CEO, Paperly

Marketing Lessons from a Lemonade Stand

You can learn a lot from a kid's lemonade stand. Please let me explain.

This weekend, my 11-year old daughter and 8-year old son wanted to set-up a lemonade stand. They were incredibly patient as we first created a grocery list (e.g. lemons, sugar, ice, poster board, etc.) then discussed how to pay for everything (i.e. we each "invested" ~$8 into the endeavor). It was so much fun talking with my children about how much to charge per glass, how big a glass we should use and whether or not we should add a mint leaf to each serving.

Skipping ahead in the story, we set-up the stand in a highly foot-trafficked area and were ready for our first customer, when WHAM, I learned my first marketing lesson:

Customer engagement is critical

As potential customers walked by, my children sat idly hoping someone would stop and purchase. Argh! I quickly explained that they needed to market their product.

(Note to all direct sellers: This is analogous to a multi-vendor event where you sit behind your table and hope someone stops to chat. No!!! You need to stand in front of your table, smile, say hello to everyone who passes by, strike-up a conversation, ask them what product caught their eye, etc.)

To their credit, my children quickly took to the idea of "customer engagement" and started saying to each customer that walked by, "Lemonade, 50 cents." A few customers started buying, but I could tell from my children's faces, they weren't satisfied. WHAM, I learned my second marketing lesson.

The message is everything

Instead, of the boring and mundane "Lemonade, 50 cents", I suggested to my children they try a variety of message, a few of which I've listed below.

• Sensory: "Just made, fresh lemonade. Includes a sprig of mint, fresh from the Farmer’s Market."
• Value: "Quench your thirst on a hot day for only 50 cents. Refills only 25 cents."
• Emotional: "Buy lemonade and help 2 kids contribute to their college fund."

(Note to all direct sellers: Stop marketing your products as kitchenware, jewelry or stationery. Instead, market them as items that simplify, beautify or express gratitude. Moving away from function and towards sensory, value or emotion will go a long way to helping you market your business.)

To make a long story short, the lemonade stand was a huge hit! My kids nearly doubled their investment and learned a lot about business. But that was nothing compared to the marketing lessons I learned:

Customer engagement is critical &

messaging is everything

I'm curious if you have had an "a ha" marketing moment outside the walls of your office? If so, I'd love to hear about it. Thanks in advance for sharing. And thank you to my children for making me a better marketer.

- Jay Rudman, CEO, Paperly

Paperly’s Core Values

This past week, I went through an interesting exercise to identify Paperly's Core Values. The business coach who guided me through this exercise, Neil Phillips, defines Core Values as follows:

"Your Core Values express [Paperly’s] company's character and non-negotiable principles. They are the elements of your culture that unite you and your employees. When you make the day-to-day decisions, you align your actions with these qualities. If you consistently adhere to these qualities, [Paperly] will eventually be known for these traits."

To get to Paperly’s Core Values, I first had to prioritize 120 words (such as Triumph, Comfort, Maintain, Socialize, etc.) as either a "1" indicating it might reflect a value of Paperly or a "3" suggesting the word does not appeal to me/Paperly in any way. If unsure about a word, I could mark it as a "2". I was also able to inject 20 of my own words that would be a "1" but didn't exist on the initial list.

Then, came the hard part...

• The next email from Neil asked me to delete everything that wasn't a "1" and then pare down the 1's so only 20 remained.
• After informing Neil that I had finished, he then asked me to narrow the list to only 10.

Gulp! All of a sudden, the easy became hard. How could I narrow down the list – which once again had started at 120 – down to only 10 words that represented Paperly's Core Values. Well, below is the list I decided upon, listed alphabetically. As you'll see, I cheated (and no, cheating is not a Paperly Core Value ;) I couldn't cut to 10, so I went with 11.

1. Brand
2. Creativity
3. Fun
4. Inspire
5. Integrity
6. Journey
7. Learn
8. Meaningful
9. Passion
10. Superior
11. Wealth 

I'd love your thoughts. Do you think these 11 words accurately reflect Paperly's Core Values? Remember, these need to encompass the business, its employees, contractors, Consultants, Hostesses, and customers... basically anyone that interacts with Paperly in most anyway. So again I ask, do you think these 11 words reflect Paperly's Core Values?

- Jay Rudman, CEO, Paperly