Between four to six years ago, opening a retail scrapbook store was a viable option for most people who wanted to get involved in the industry. Although it can still be a successful venture for many, certain circumstances need to be examined carefully before jumping in.

A large initial investment and time commitment are needed, as well as detailed research into your local area of present and potential competition. Profits differ, depending on the area demographics and competition, and though many stores report not taking home a paycheck for at least the first year, other stores are quite profitable and open multiple locations.

This is the most expensive way to get into scrapbooking as a business. You will have to purchase a large amount of inventory and find a storefront to operate out of.

However, this can be a very profitable venture when you consider all of the options that you will have available to you. You can bring in guest instructors to teach classes for you which will increase your sales - especially if they use your inventory to create their pages.

You can schedule weekly crop nights where fellow scrapbookers get together and put together their pages. Charge a small fee for this service and offer up your expertise as a professional to help them in making a memorable page.

Hiring employees to help you run your business is also an important part of opening up your own store. Find employees who love what they do! Hire people who are passionate about scrapbooking!" There's a reason this is repeated so often - because it works.

Hiring Employees

Running a store is hard work, and you'll need to have someone to help you to avoid having to spend your every waking moment running the business. Hiring quality employees is important because they will be representing you and your business.

First, decide why you're hiring people and what you want to accomplish. If you want to increase sales, you need a salesperson. If you want someone to do a little bit of everything, they will be an assistant. An employee who helps with the books will be more of a bookkeeper than anything.

Once you know what type of position you're trying to fill, sit down and write an outline of the position and what the job duties will be. Specify what jobs the hiree will need to do. Make this list specific and outline the hows and whats of what is expected of them.

Knowing what to pay these employees is the million dollar question!  You can only afford so much, but in order to get a quality employee, you'll need to add a little extra to minimum wage to attract people who will give you the best work ethic.

See what you can reasonably afford to pay and make concessions for the worker's comp insurance and employer tax contributions that you will be required to pay. If you offer health insurance, add that into the bottom line as well.

Offer all employees a discount on the supplies that they buy from you. 30 percent is a good number to offer. By doing this, you'll encourage them to use your inventory and be able to rave about them to potential customers to make additional sales.

When advertising the position, the obvious choice is to put an ad in the classified section of the newspaper. This will work well, but also consider placing a flyer on a local college bulletin board or simply place a sign in your window. These are free options and can work reasonably well too.

Be specific in your ad as to what type of person you are looking for. Specify the hours and any benefits that you can offer them. Don't worry that you're a small business. Most often, part-time employees are going to be mothers with children in school who are just looking for a way to keep themselves busy during the day. This is the type of employee you want!

When interviewing possible employees, have them bring in samples of their own scrapbooks for you to look at. If they don't have one, they're probably not going to be a good fit for you. You want someone who is passionate about scrapbooking and can speak with knowledge about supplies, techniques, and such to potential customers.