Monday Spotlight: Scrappiness

Who is Scrappiness?
We are an online Scrapbooking Retailer offering a wide variety of scrapbooking items and will soon add our own line of scrapbook kits. Next year, we hope to begin offering our own line of Scrapbooking paper as well. We offer the opportunity to purchase brads and eyelets individually.


Where are you located?
We are located in the Northwest Suburbs of Chicago.


How did you come up with your business name?
Scrapbooking brings happiness to many people, and thus the name was born.


When and why did you decide to start your own business?
I have wanted to start my own business for many years. I have a Bachelors in Interior Design and have thought of opening an Interior Design business, but couldn't afford to quit my job, and I felt that I wouldn't be effective if I wasn't available other than nights and weekends. I began looking into purchasing a business when I was pregnant with my third child last year. I came across an ad in an online newsletter for Scrappiness and had an accountant check out the numbers and submitted an offer. Having been involved in the management of other companies made me realize that there were so many constraints on my decision-making abilities. My vision wasn't necessarily the vision of the company overall. Having worked full time in the corporate world until August of this year, I had a goal to be home when my kids went to school. My oldest son started Kindergarten this year and being able to stay home and see him get on and off the bus, was a great motivator.


How did you get started?
You would think purchasing an established website would have been easy, but I ran into all sorts of problems with the website. I have changed the look of the site completely, changed the hosting site and changed shopping carts to one of my choosing. One of the first steps I took was to obtain a resale license from the State and have my attorney check the State business directory to ensure that someone else hadn't already established a business with the name I had chosen. I went to the bank and opened a checking account and applied for a business credit card. I am also enrolled in a Small Business Management course at our local college, which has been very beneficial for me. We are working on creating a Business Plan that would be used to obtain financing from a bank.



What motivates you to keep your business going?
Being the decision maker and being able to use my creativity to come up with solutions to issues that arise is a great motivator. I am very interested in my industry and scrapbook myself as a hobby, so I think that keeping up with current trends and industry research is very easy for me because I like the industry I am in.


Do you have a new product/design you are featuring on your website?
Digital Scrapbooking is all the rage right now. Scrappiness is offerring 4 different Digital Scrapbooking software kits.


How do you juggle family and work at home?
Having a support system when starting a new business is very important. Every Sunday I try to map out my week so that I have scheduled time into our family schedule to work on the website. My husband and I also had to clarify our priorities, and we have been very good at communicating what is happening at home and in the business that would adjust our schedule in any way. My husband helps a lot with watching the kids or running errands for me so that I can focus on the business when I need to. I have also empowered my children to contribute to the household by giving them chores. I have chosen tasks that are easy for them to do, which builds their self confidence and they also get allowance at the end of the week.


What advice would you give to moms seeking to become a WAHM?
Don't give up your dream. I have been sorting out a career path for the past 5 years, with no real clarity until recently. Don't give up, the extra work is worth the effort. I also feel that I have set a good example for my children on reaching your goals and working towards your dreams. My kids are always telling me that Mommy is tired because she had to work on Scrapbooking and didn't get to sleep late because of the baby. You are going to give up some things, and it won't be easy, but it is very rewarding.


Visit Scrappiness at www.scrappiness.com