Tips and advice for scrapbooking from home

A home scrapbooking business is on the rise, so congratulations on considering starting a scrapbooking business! The following tips and advice are sure to come in handy as you pursue your own business.

There are many opportunities available for a home scrapbooking business these days. However, to get started, you need to think in terms of where the market is for your business. Themes play an important role in scrapbooking. You may want to specialize in one type or you may prefer to offer a wide variety. Some topics to consider for your home based business are:

• Wedding
• The pregnancy
• Military
• Sports
• high school years
• Withdrawal
• graduations
• Careers
• elementary school years
• commitments
• holidays
• parts

As you can see from this list, virtually any event in a person’s life is scrapbook material, which is great news for those running a scrapbooking business. A woman specializes in scrapbooking for kindergarteners at the elementary school near her home. And there is a man who has an extremely successful home-based scrapbooking business where he only makes military scrapbooks for veterans.

If you already love scrapbooking, then you know about all the new and exciting products available from scrapbooking companies. Beautiful and fun wallpapers are just the beginning. And scrapbook covers are often works of art. What is the point? When you are preserving someone’s memories through your home scrapbooking business, you are an artist and should think of yourself as such.

Anyone can include some photos, letters, postcards and the like in a scrapbook. However, people who want the services of a scrapbooking business are looking for more. They want scrapbooks that are more than just stuff tossed between scrapbook covers to show family and friends.

Once you have thought and decided that you want a scrap booking business, you need to think about the actual business part if you want to make it a successful scrap booking business.

You will need to create a business plan that lays out the steps you need to take to get your scrapbooking business off the ground and ensure that it grows once you are in the process of starting a scrapbooking business. As you begin your business plan, ask yourself these questions:

• Do I want to do this part time or full time?
• Is there any material or equipment that I need to buy?
• Will I need financial assistance to start my scrapbooking business from home?
• What kind of scrapbooks do I want to provide?
• Are my skills and talents suitable for this business?
• Do I have to have a partner?
• How much should I charge for my services?
• Is there a market for my scrapbooking business in my area?
• Are there zoning regulations for my neighborhood that could prevent me from owning a home business?
• Do I need to get a business license?
• Would it be a good idea for me to take a scrapbooking course before I begin the process of starting a scrapbooking business from home?
• What type of accounting system will I need?
• How do I collect and plan my taxes?
• What is the competition doing in my area?
• How will I market and advertise my scrapbooking business from home?
• Should I think about incorporating my business?
• Where do I want my scrapbooking home business to be in six months?
• What is the goal I want to achieve through my scrapbooking business?

These are some of the many questions that anyone thinking of starting a scrap booking business at home needs to ask and plan for. Getting the details of the “business” well defined and in place before you actually start your home scrap booking business will be invaluable to you as you move forward. It will give you much less to worry about and allow you to fully enjoy making scrapbooks for your clients. And, after all, that is what your scrap booking business from home is all about!