Cash gifts for New Year's

One of my customers was telling me that she is giving Foldin’ Money Stars to all of her New Years party guests as a party favor. What a great idea and, of course, she’s making them herself from the kits!! A Shirt or Cake could be decorated in a New Years theme, with things like Fire works, 2009 letters, or Happy New Year confetti which would make for a very festive design. Remember that the Chinese say Money is the best thing to give someone on New Years because it brings good luck and good health throughout the rest of the year. China is not the only culture that believes this (the Middle East, Africa, and other Asian cultures) so it must be true. If you’re going to give cash make sure you do it the Foldin’ Money Way! Happy foldin and Happy New Year to all of you!

Timing Is Everything

Inventions are wondrous things! But timing is the key element to successful launching of said invention! Retail sales of a new product takes time, timing and investment. Putting together a new product is so much fun and while your in the process, dollar signs dance in your eyes. Then reality hits you square in the face and you learn that if your product is at all related to a holiday, you should have been in the market a year ago to be able to sell in the current holiday season.

All is not lost however, you just need to be able to hang on to that enthusiasm and hit the trade shows which will be my next adventure. Stay tuned for more entries about the Foldin’ Money travels into the trade show seen!!

And Merry Christmas and a Happy and Prosperous New Year to all of you!

Hard times are a craft givers paradise!

I was watching the news last night on Channel 5 News; they had a story about the hard times in the economy and people making their Christmas presents this year. So I wanted to remind all of you that for a small investment you could give Foldin Money gifts to all the people on your list. To be clear, you can purchase all three kits for about 45 bucks on amazon.com and for an additional 30 dollars in “ones” you can build six unique presents. Once you fold them, the fun begins, decorate them with fabric, stickers, and other scrapbooking materials. Make sure to use double stick tape or something like rubber cement for easy removal. Give the gift of cash with a touch of class the Foldin Money way this year.

here is the linke to my listings on Amazon.com = http://http//www.amazon.com/s/qid=1227641918/ref=sr_nr_seeall_1?ie=UTF8&rs=&keywords=foldin%20money&rh=i%3Agarden

The Next Chapter in The Foldin Money Story

Its been a while since I have written due to producing and marketing my new kits. I have released three designs which include the Star, Cake, and Shirt designs as do-it-yourself kits. This was a huge undertaking which included writing directions, building templates, and packaging. My sister and I worked hard writing the directions to make them as simple as possible while keeping the image professional and affordable. Then came finding printers, packing materials, shipping costs, UPC codes, and the list goes on.

The hardest part was choosing an online retailer and in the end we chose Amazon.com because of its fulfillment program and customer service. This was not as simple as one would think and there were more then a few issues to deal with, but they have been resolved. The interesting part in all this for me was, you start out with one product and during the course of going into business to market the product, you learn that the thing you start out marketing is not always what you end up with!

To find our products on Amazon.com go to: http://www.amazon.com/s/qid=1227641918/ref=sr_nr_seeall_1?ie=UTF8&rs=&keywords=foldin%20money&rh=i%3Agarden

Classes coming soon!

Sorry for the delay in writing I have been busy; of course Folding Money “it’s what I do”. My sister and I have been getting lots of requests to learn how to make our Foldin Money designs well I have decided to launch some classes. I will be teaching the Star and Cake designs. The fist upcoming class will be hosted by Joann Fabric located at 5824 196th STREET SW Lynnwood Washington on October the 9th at 6:00PM. The class will teach participants how to make the Foldin Money Cake and Star designs. Cost of the class is $25.00 per person, which includes a supply list and instructions to make more of these unique spendable art designs. I am excited to share my knowledge and love of these gifts.

Some of my highlight orders this month included a custom House Design looking like a Ski lodge, a 5 tier wedding cake and bulk orders of Movie Camera’s for a customer appreciation. I am back to the studio Foldin Money let me know what you think.

Sue the Money Artist.

The Ultimate Green Gift Product!

The big question is why? Well I think this can be answered in the words of one of my customers “So Foldin Money is like Sending flowers! But instead I am sending money. For example I want to send 100 bucks. That would cost me around 120 bucks to have you fold and ship to the recipient?” I replied “correct it is that easy!” Our biggest hurdle at Foldin Money has not being attracting inters, driving traffic to our website, or even a buzz about what we do. Our biggest Challenge has been educating potential customers enough to buy! We have learned a lot about whom and where the best customer for us is? We have looked at Sporting Events, Street Fairs, and the Chamber of Commerce. However we know our customer is a person who buys and gives unique gifts we are planning on attending more Arts & Crafts type events where the profile for our best customers is more likely to be. We are committed to our gift product and know that with a little time and effort we will be a player in the gift industry. Just watch and see! I am in the studio foldin more money..
Sue

When and what is the right amount to give as gifts?

So I think it’s the when that matters in the first place. So there is the basic holidays the 12 federal ones anyway! But there is also the important ones of Weddings, Birthdays, Anniversary’s, Retirements, New Babies, and Graduations. This is really the fun part of my art because people really help with designing the perfect gift. We have lots of customizable features to add to our Foldin Money Product.

The how much question is not hard I use the SUE System which is anything unrelated to a wedding or anniversary can use the $25.00 amount, because who does not like cash and when it comes from Foldin Money you’re giving it with class. However if it is a wedding or anniversary I say no less then $50.00 makes you look more like you care. But this is the world according to the SUE System!

So the real trick is being organized and remembering to prepare for the upcoming gift giving occasions and remember the Sue System I will be in the studio working on my of your orders. Hope that helps.

Sue

Designing on speculation.

This is a very interesting thing that seems to occur more and more often in my business. Although I have many designs already available, people like to challenge me!!

Like this picture of a cutomized woman's birthday shirt.

If you are in a business like mine, I had to learn to get paid upfront! I charge a $20 concept creation fee. Your time and skills are important whether or not your design or what have you works for the customer.

Generally these requests come from businesses looking for unique gift ideas for their customers or employees such as our Holiday House is a great hit at Christmas time for Realtors.

I am frequented asked for custom designs that "match" the companies product, these are always the most fun to do and at the same time the most frustrating! Such as phone, fire extinguisher, guitars, to name a few.

The best advice I can give you if you are in this situation is get paid for your time, it's your most valuable asset! Happy designing!

EVENTS

In a brief history of events Foldin’ Money has attended we have had the most success and fun when attending smaller and more intimate events. Because there more of an opportunity to make a connection with customers. An example of this is when we were first started out we attended The Port Gamble County Christmas. (http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2007/dec/02/kitsap-adventures-port-gamble-country-christmas/ ) . We had a great time for the two days we were there, enjoying the show as well as the people, place and activities. Even though it was cold, the orders made up for any frostbite we suffered! This was a highly successful opportunity and one we look forward to attending in the future.

When Foldin’ Money has attended larger events, we have had difficulty because people have a short attention span. But with adding technology to our display and having more promotional items to give away, we feel prepared for our upcoming event at the Taste of Edmonds.

This is a three day event happening August 8-10, for more information check out the web site(http://www.edmondswa.com/Events/Taste/index.html ).

Hope all of our fans will see us there!!!

Networking?

Since starting Foldin' Money I have been experimenting with several networking ideas, these include face to face and digital formats. With regard to face to face I have been to chambers, BNI groups, private networking groups and trade shows. These have been marginally effective to say the least. I have found that trade shows have been the most effective, but most time consuming to attend. It maybe my product, but my new pricing will overcome this huddle.As to digital formats I use facebook.com, http://Youtube.com, and http://Linkedin.com. So far the most effective has been my Youtube posting http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Awqo47XSIdY, I had this video shot by a professional, similar to an infomercial. It was fun, interactive and has brought a lot of hits to our website foldinmoney.com. The second most effective has been our facebook page http://www.facebook.com/pages/foldinmoneycom/15708766335, where we have a developing fan base. Last but not least, I am now using linkedin to reach corporate clients and expand my network http://www.linkedin.com/in/suetrapp. I prefer the benefits of digital networking because of the response and effectiveness of these tools. Come join me on any and all of these tools!! Just a few thoughts...I'll be in the studio working on orders!