Paperly: Product Innovation

Paperly had the great fortune of being the only 2x ETHOS Award winner in 2012 for product innovation.

In 2012, Paperly won for its personalized iPhone cases and cutting boards.  In 2013, Paperly submitted 2 new product innovation entries: personalized platters and iPad cases. Unfortunately, Paperly did not earn awards for either entry.  However, I thought you may enjoy snippets of each entry.  Below, I'm highlighting Paperly's personalized platters.  In a later blog post, I'll highlight our iPad cases.

Personalized Platters

All of Paperly’s products are one-of-a-kind creations; however, no product provides greater versatility than our personalized platter. This versatility – along with its reasonable price ($39.95) – helped the platter become one of Paperly’s most popular products in 2012. Paperly’s platter measures 14” x 10” and can mix and match designs, colors, fonts, names, logos and photos. The ability to create a beautiful, hyper-customized platter to the exact specifications of the customer at an incredible price is a true “game changer”. The platter has quickly become a top 5 most popular of Paperly's. Given Paperly’s keen focus on personalized products, and its belief that hyper-customization is ideal for the at-home party model, the platter is the perfect fit for Paperly’s existing product mix.

With Paperly's platters, customers may choose from any of our 25 designs, 24 colors and 24 fonts, in addition to adding a name or favorite quote. The outcome is truly a one-of-a-kind creation, as illustrated below.

Paperly’s Consultants and customers quickly realized they could create platters perfect for any holiday by matching certain colors and quotes. For example, red, white and blue stripes are perfect for Independence Day. Or an orange and black platter personalized with “Boo” makes the ideal serving platter for Halloween treats.

Paperly’s platters also proved to be a fabulous way to memorialize a favorite vacation or a family reunion.

One of the most popular uses of Paperly’s platter was to mix and match colors to showcase a fan’s favorite team on game day.

As shown in the photos above, Paperly’s platters are the epitome of hyper-customization. Each platter combines designs, colors, fonts, names, logos and photos to create never seen before, one-of-a-kind products. The ability to create a beautiful product to the exact specifications of the customer at an incredibly reasonable price is a true “game changer”. Given Paperly’s keen focus on personalized products, and its belief that hyper-customization is ideal for the at-home party model, the platter is the perfect fit for its existing product mix. Paperly cannot wait to see how its customers personalize its platters in 2013.

Congratulations to Longaberger for winning this product category.  Next year, we'll come back strong and hopefully win!

Regards,
Jay Rudman, Founder & CEO, Paperly (www.Paperly.com)

Paperly: Time to Shine

Last year's theme to Paperly's Conference was:

Being the "new kid on the direct selling block", Paperly challenged attendees to think and dream big about their Paperly business.  Through a lot of hard work over the past 12+ months, Paperly has risen far beyond thinking big... now it is Paperly's Time to Shine.

Like a rising sun, Paperly's business is rising and ready to shine.  At our upcoming National Conference  (which in a not-too-small coincidence will be held in Florida, the Sunshine State), we will work side-by-side with our Consultants to help elevate their Paperly businesses to the next level.

Paperly has a great team, amazing products, fabulous incentives and so much more. We are on the brink greatness. Now is truly the Time to Shine.

Regards,
Jay Rudman, Founder & CEO, Paperly (www.Paperly.com)

Mother's Day Gifts from Paperly

Paperly's Founder & CEO, Jay Rudman, highlights a few personalized gifts perfect for Mother's Day including cutting boards, platters, iPad cases and stationery:

To see Paperly's entire list of Top 10 Gifts for Mother's Day, visit http://www.paperly.com/pdf/Paperly_Top_10_Mothers_Day.pdf

Now comes the hard part... choosing just one.  Don't worry, I'm sure your Mom is wonderful enough that she deserves them all!

Regards,
Jay Rudman, Founder & CEO, Paperly (www.Paperly.com)

Paperly's 15% Off Sale Through April 30, 2013

Paperly's Founder & CEO, Jay Rudman, announces a 15% sale on select items through April 30, 2013:

To learn more, visit http://www.paperly.com/pdf/Paperly_Sale_April2013.pdf

Regards,

Jay Rudman, Founder & CEO, Paperly (www.Paperly.com)

March 21 is Absolutely Incredible Kid Day

I am so proud to announce that Paperly is partnering with Camp Fire to support its annual event, Absolutely Incredible Kid Day® (AIKD).  Celebrated this year on March 21, AIKD is an annual call to action for adults to write letters of love and support to America’s children. Knowing how uniquely special a handwritten note is, Paperly’s goal for AIKD is it to help Camp Fire ensure that every child receives a special letter.  Here's how...

Throughout March, Paperly will automatically send each of its purchasing guests at no additional cost:

• 3 specially designed flat notes titled "You are an absolutely incredible kid!"
• 3 pre-addressed envelopes
• A "how to" guide for writing and mailing the letters
• A primer on Camp Fire and Absolutely Incredible Kid Day

AIKD Packet from Paperly

Paperly’s notes will be mailed to Camp Fire, who will then distribute the letters as they deem appropriate. We envision helping hundreds, if not thousands of kids through this letter writing campaign.

Both Paperly and Camp Fire feel strongly that letter writing on AIKD – or any day for that matter – can make a huge difference in a child’s life.  Children need positive reinforcement and a handwritten letter can deliver personal, tangible and long-lasting words of encouragement.

Although 2013 is Paperly’s first year directly supporting Absolutely Incredible Kid Day, we hope to make this an annual campaign. You can read more about Paperly's involvement in AIKD at www.paperly.com/paperly-press-2013-02-AIKD.asp. Hope you decide to join this wonderful initiative.

Regards,
Jay Rudman, Founder & CEO, Paperly (www.Paperly.com)

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