Start a Scrapbook Store

Any business owner knows that hiring the right staff is top-priority when it comes to success. At first, you may decide, perhaps out of financial necessity, to be the sole worker at your shop. This will quickly take its toll on your family, even if you do keep the store closed one or two days a week, which itself has its drawbacks in terms of wasted overhead and limited hours your store can be open. As soon as you’re able, consider hiring someone—at least part time.

Ask any die-hard scrapbooker and they will tell you one thing that is the kiss of death for a scrapbook store: employing people who don’t scrapbook themselves. Make scrapbooking experience mandatory for your employees, and ask to see a scrapbook as a “portfolio” when interviewing a potential hire. Consider college students (more and more of them are scrapbookers these days), young moms and other easy-going people who seem like they would be a good fit. Make your expectations clear up front. You may find that the person who was such a great friend isn’t such a great employee, and you could end up losing both.

Don’t overlook the possibility of “bartering” for services. A couple of your regular customers may be willing to “work” a day-long crop (helping serve meals, organize games and such) in exchange for a break on the event fee. Many class teachers (See “Scrapbooking Classes at Your Store”) are happy to work not for cash, but in exchange for store credit and/ or a store discount. This is a great deal for you, because not only are you not expending cash, you’re still realizing a markup on supplies. Consult your tax expert or attorney for more advice in this area. Also, find out about workers’ compensation, tax and social security withholdings and other requirements.