Sowing the Seeds: Week 5/6 –Scrapbook Queen….Not, by Tatiana – In The Mix #37

November 5, 2009 Tatiana EL-Khouri 1 Comment

Many summers during my childhood, my family vacationed in my Aunt’s timeshare in Carlsbad, CA. The timeshare had a slew of activities lined up for all the guests. When I was in elementary school, I looked forward to spending a whole week splashing around in the pool. At that age making friends there was easy, you showed up at the pool and anyone remotely in your age group became your week long best friend.

As the summers came and went and I got older, the amount of people my age vacationing with their families at the timeshare dwindled.

When I was 16, I decided to take a look at the activities schedule and participate in the workshops. I signed up for a scrapbook workshop. During the activity, I learned different layouts, used fun tools, and created a scrapbook layout page to fill with pictures from the vacation we were currently on. There wasn’t many participants. While I was placing my order for supplies, I spoke to the instructor at length about her love of scrapbooks and giving workshops.

She informed me that the timeshare workshops was only a small part of her business. Most of the time she threw scrapbook parties that were reminiscent of tupperware parties. My wheels started to churn, as I thought about the many tupperware parties I was dragged to as a child with my mother. They were filled with chatter, food, camaraderie, and tons of sales!

When I got back to Los Angeles, I researched the scrapbook company. I was sold!

I loved the quality of the products and their unique business approach. I was convinced that I could make a great business out of becoming a consultant. All I needed to do was convince my mother. I was willing to pay the initial consultant set-up fee, but I was under 18.

After much negotiating and persuasion, I convinced my mother to partner with me. Deep down I knew she didn’t think I should do it, but my mom knew me well enough to know that I would not budge on my position. The only thing that would stop me was learning the hard way.

After much prodding, I convinced her to allow me to become a scrapbook consultant. I invited many people from my church and received confirmations for my first workshop. The place was set, supplies laid out, and I sat.

Waiting.

Nothing.

Hours passed and no one showed!

It was a dismal failure! In the end, I was my biggest client.

But it wasn’t complete defeat, at 16 I learned a lot of practical business lessons from the experience.

Keep overhead low. – The bulk of my savings went to my initial business supplies. I bought more supplies than I needed to hold the workshop, because I over-projected which items would sell.

Research the geographical positioning of your business. – I’m an anomaly. My interests rarely matched the interests of my peers or community and I neglected to take that into account when setting up the business.

I’m happy I had the experience and learned those lessons first hand. My mother bit her tongue and never said I told you so until years later. She recognized my entrepreneurial spirit and was wise enough to know I wouldn’t get it unless I experienced it.

In retrospect, I think I was well ahead of my time. Years later the company implemented online shops, digital tools, and the independent scrapbook stores began popping up.

I may be stubborn but one thing is for sure I don’t need to experience that again and have been resilient in setting up my current business. The postcards and supply catalogs have been rolling in almost daily. I’ve made choices that continue to keep my overhead low and have resisted the temptation to purchase luxury items and cool trinkets.

As I continue on this journey, I’m sure the learning curve and lessons will continue.

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