There are going to be a few changes, so before I give you a sneak peek I wanted to provide a little explanation.
When I decided to take a break from my business last year it was because I was completely overwhelmed. Up until this point we have made every planner {from start to finish} in my home. We printed, cut, bound, folded, glued, personalized... every little detail was done right here. The planners were EXTREMELY labor-intensive. I had five part-time employees helping me, but even with their help I worked everyday and many nights {long nights} trying to keep up with the demand.
Last summer I had had enough. I reached my breaking point, threw my hands in the air, and said, "I'm done!" It was a hard decision, but the tipping point was that even after 5 years of business and several thousand planners sold, I had not made a profit. The planners were just too labor-intensive. All of my profit was going to my employees, because rather than making planners I was spending all my time printing.
The truth of the matter is that when I first started selling my planners, the medium size was $48. I lowered my price to $38 a couple of years ago, hoping to appeal more as a gift item, and it worked. Too well. I never should have lowered my price. By doing so, I eliminated my profit margin. All of my closest competitors' prices are in the $50+ range, and that is really where mine should have been all along.
HOWEVER, I do not want to raise my price. And that is why I had to outsource. It is the only way to keep this business going, and keep my prices low.
So here are the changes you will see in the new line:
- There will be one size, 6" x 9". This is slightly smaller than our previous medium size. I am really excited about this change, because this size still has plenty of writing space, but it will fit a little better in your purse!
- There will be one cover option, and the covers will not be personalized. However, we will be offering some cute alphabet stickers that you could use to personalize your own cover. {And I have a very exciting announcement coming soon about a fabric cover option from a *very special shop* that I know you will all be super excited about!}
- The front and back cover will be laminated cardstock, much like the cover of a paperback book.
- A sheet of cardstock, adhesive tabs will be included with your planner for you to install yourself. Don't be intimidated by this! The pages will have markings where the tabs should be inserted, and it should take no more than 10 minutes for you to do this. This is one of the major changes that is allowing me to continue my business. 10 minutes isn't a lot of time, but this will save me over 200 hours of labor.
- We will be offering the Day Planner, the Months Only Planner, and the Student/Teacher Planner {August line only}, but we are no longer going to be offering the Appointment Book.
- We will once again be able to offer any start month for your planner!
Each month starting in June, you can place orders from the 1st thru the 10th of the month for planners starting two months later. The planners will ship at the beginning of the next month. Any orders placed after the 10th will go into the queue for the next month. For example, from June 1st thru June 10th you can order August start planners which will ship at the beginning of July. If you order after the 10th, your order will be filled with the July 1st thru 10th orders and you will receive a September start planner in August. Make sense?
Okay, enough chatter. Here's your sneak peek:
I hope you are all as excited as I am about this news! My husband would like for me to be done with calendars forever, but when I found this opportunity to have the printing outsourced I told him I have to give it a shot.
Thank you all for your continued support! I really can't express to you how much my customers mean to me. I remember your names and your comments, and I am grateful.
