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)

Why We Do What We Do

One of the first questions I ask folks interested in becoming a Paperly Consultant is - logically, “Why are you interested in becoming a Consultant?” Their responses vary from “I’m looking to earn some additional income” to “I need something that better balances work and family”. Interestingly, Consultants never volley my question back to me. Nonetheless, I think it’s important to share with you why I run Paperly.

First, I love stationery. I hope that passion is evident in everything I do. When you love your product, you’re never “selling”. Instead, others are simply swept-up by your passion.

Second, I love helping others. In the past, I’ve owned and operated other businesses, but they were all transactional. Paperly is unique. It’s not about the transaction, it’s about helping others. Paperly’s new Consultants are typically never-before entrepreneurs, who are opening a new business often for their first time, so they can build a better life for themselves, and often their family. Rightly, they’re scared and lack confidence. I love helping new Consultants reach their potential. Inevitably, they blossom as they discover that they truly can be successful!

Lastly, and probably most importantly, I’ll share with you a few words my 9-year old daughter recently wrote (please ignore any errors in grammar or punctuation):

"I admire my dad because: He opened his own business Paperly. Not many of my friends parents have opened their own business. My dad is wonderful in many ways and running and owning Paperly is just one of many."

The lessons my children are learning by watching their dad start and grow a business are immeasurable. Each day, my daughter and son (who is 6 years old) ask about Paperly. They love to provide their opinions on Paperly’s products. They love to visit the office. They love asking about our new Consultants. They simply love being part of the Paperly process.

So why do I run Paperly? Because I want to teach my children, by example, the pleasure of working hard with the hopes of succeeding. That truly is the best reason to do what I do.

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

Environmentally Friendly Products

It goes without saying, the environment matters to Paperly.  We try, whenever possible, to use environmentally friendly materials in our products.  Unfortunately, being a paper company, it’s harder than you might think.  True, “green” paper products exist.  But shifting Paperly’s entire product line to those materials is impractical in the short-term for numerous reasons: price, quality, product selection, etc.

Nevertheless, Paperly does currently offer some great, environmentally friendly products:

• Most all of our Color Collection products (#10240-10247) – both paper and envelope – is composed of at least 30% post-consumer waste.

• Our Eco Tablets (#10281), which consists of 7 notepads of 100 sheets each (700 sheets total), is composed of 100% post-consumer waste.  Additionally, this product uses a recycled, cardboard holder instead of the more traditional acrylic holder.  Even the name, “Eco Tablet”, is “green”!

• Paperly’s catalogs are printed on paper approved by the Forest Stewardship Council, a non-profit organization devoted to encouraging the responsible management of the world's forests.  In addition, our catalog paper is composed of at least 10% post-consumer waste.

We know Paperly still has a long way to go to meet our strong desire to use 100% environmentally friendly products, but we feel we’re making good progress.  I can assure you Paperly is committed to making beautifully designed, environmentally friendly stationery.

Regards,

Jay Rudman, CEO * Co-Owner, Paperly

The Most Common Gripe

Unlike any other industry I’ve ever been a part of, the direct selling industry is extremely open.  For example, in most industries, if you walked up to Competitor XYZ and asked, “How do you reward your consultants?” the question would be met with stunned silence.  Oppositely, in direct selling, the competitors share.  That same company would say, “Our rewards include A, B and C.  How about your company?”  And I would gladly share Paperly’s program (within reason, of course).

Over time, I have concluded that such openness is caused by, what I’ll affectionately call, “The My Sister-in-Law Can Find Out Syndrome”.  I’ve named it after my sister-in-law, because she’s the one that can call Competitor XYZ and say, “Hello, I’m interested in becoming a consultant for your company.  Can you tell me how you reward your consultants?”  Voila!  It’s that easy!  And because it’s so easy, direct selling companies do not try to hide much.

So where am I headed with all of this?  Well, I’ve spent a decent amount of time talking to other direct sellers – not just folks at headquarters, but consultants in the field.  The consultants, in particular, are amazing!  They are truly passionate about the products they sell, and they have so many incredible ideas as to how to grow their respective businesses.

Yet, the one gripe I’ve heard most consistently – regardless if the consultant is selling jewelry, cosmetics or kitchen products – is:

“I wish I had gotten involved from the beginning!”

All these consultants appreciate the growth, the income and the prestige tied to being one of the first.  They’re often frustrated by the oversaturation in their community.  In short, they wish they had started before all their neighbors were consultants too.

And that’s the point of this entry!  Paperly is climbing the hill towards what I hope to be amazing success.  Therefore, if you truly are passionate about Paperly’s products, then I implore you to join Paperly sooner than later.  I’d hate to meet you 10 years from now and hear you say, “I wish I had joined

Paperly when I first heard about it!”

Regards,

Jay Rudman, CEO * Co-Owner, Paperly

How I Plan to Grow my Paperly Business

If you were to ask me earlier this year about how I would grow my future business, I would have looked at you sideways!  I had no idea I would be selling Paperly products.  I stumbled onto Paperly because someone approached me about selling a different product line but I was not passionate about the product assortment.  It got me thinking, “What am I passionate about?”  One of the things I am very passionate about is staying in touch with people in a meaningful way.  I love to send birthday cards, thank you notes, anniversary cards, and handwritten notes of any kind.  On that same note, I also keep a personal blog, Facebook page, and chat via AOL Instant Messenger/Gmail Chat/Facebook constantly.  I feel like I do a pretty good job of staying in touch with the people in my life while putting my personal touch on everything.  I stumbled onto Paperly’s website during all of this soul searching and had a "light bulb moment"!  I already use 90% of the items Paperly sells and could easily find a use for the other 10%.  Getting set-up as a Paperly Consultant was very easy and quick.  Paperly’s staff was extremely helpful along the way.  So the next thing I knew I was a Paperly Consultant!

One of the things I spent some time thinking about was how to promote my new business venture.  I have a huge network of family and friends many states away and a medium sized network where I currently live and then a few smaller groups of people in other states.  How was I going to promote my business to my entire network, spread out across the U.S.?  The best way for me to do that is to really promote and push my Paperly online business.  I knew right away that I would be using the personal online website that Paperly offers.  Along with hosting parties, the website offers an alternative to the response, “I don’t have time to throw a party.”  You can now set-up Online Paperly Parties where the Hostess earns credit towards Paperly merchandise for every item sold at her Online Party.  How great is that!?

But I wanted to take that one step further and try to reach beyond my network.  I wanted to reach the masses and communicate my passion for staying connected.  I started a blog, www.SavvySentiment.com.  This blog will give tips, ideas, and product suggestions to help people stay connected and stand out.  Savvy Sentiment features a “Paperly Pick” item to correspond with the most recent blog post and has a “Shop Now” link to direct people to my Paperly website. I also set up a Facebook and Twitter pages for Savvy Sentiment to reach even further beyond my network.  In today’s world of social networking, the sky’s the limit when it comes to promotion of online sales.  I am excited to see where my blog and my Paperly business takes me!

AlanaK, Paperly Consultant (http://mypaperly.com/alana)

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Alana's current "Paperly Pick"