|
|
Post by scrapaddict702 on Jan 22, 2019 20:40:15 GMT
That's the downside to using your name as your brand (or at least a significant part of your brand...her shop is still beckyhiggins(dot)com not projectlife(dot)com). When you get bored and someone else takes the reigns, your name is still tied to the things you no longer give a rat's ass about.
|
|
|
|
Post by 950nancy on Jan 22, 2019 21:36:03 GMT
Couldn't she make smaller kits that are both specific and general She could put in a small stamp that people would use. She could put in some different wooden shapes, glitter shapes, a mist, sequins, etc. Let people try some new things they don't normally use in a small amount. It would make her kits more versatile and people would have some some embellishments that normally don't come with PL.
Now that I think about it, wouldn't it be great if she used her App to create cards 4 x 6 and 3 x 4 and a little printer so people could use blank cards with whatever corners they wanted. You could print the PL card on the printer in about 5 seconds. How hard would it be to create (or make preexisting cards) digital and available to the consumer. Sell a digital pack for $4-$5 and let the consumer decide what color matched their page. Or maybe I'll save that idea for myself and have my kid design it. I'm thinking like the Epson Picture Mate.
|
|
|
|
Post by leftturnonly on Jan 22, 2019 23:05:49 GMT
I read her post on FB this morning and on rereading it, it still makes no sense. It is like a rant of a crazy woman, putting down others while saying ambiguous things about herself. Weird You had me curious, so I went to FB to find it. I had to scroll down and then click more just to see it! What the what? What is it that you do do now, Becky? Because what you are not doing is promoting your own concept of scrapbooking easily through the use of pocket pages. *That was a rhetorical question.  Exactly, and she finally showed her products when the show was over and they had turned off the lights! So many companies were sharing stuff the whole time but nope not her.   Who does that? She's her own worst enemy at this point. |
|
|
|
Post by crafty on Jan 22, 2019 23:21:56 GMT
I said earlier that I didn't think she was a mean girl, just bossy, but I take that back. The way she just talked about her peers in a public forum is not ok.
I think she really just wants to be in Instagram Influencer.
She is oblivious to her own behavior-I'm sure a product of a privileged life and being surrounded by "yes" all the time from "my girls"- if she thinks that she doesn't jump on every bandwagon she's nuts. How else does a "memory keeper" get into necklaces, earrings...etc?
I also was burned on the photo class so I am not in the current class (or any other class going forward) but the excuse of "I'm late with my email because we were busy" is BS. Do shit ahead of time...seriously you have known when the show was for MONTHS...it didn't sneak up on you.
|
|
|
|
Post by scrapaddict702 on Jan 22, 2019 23:48:20 GMT
I said earlier that I didn't think she was a mean girl, just bossy, but I take that back. The way she just talked about her peers in a public forum is not ok. I think she really just wants to be in Instagram Influencer. She is oblivious to her own behavior-I'm sure a product of a privileged life and being surrounded by "yes" all the time from "my girls"- if she thinks that she doesn't jump on every bandwagon she's nuts. How else does a "memory keeper" get into necklaces, earrings...etc? I also was burned on the photo class so I am not in the current class (or any other class going forward) but the excuse of "I'm late with my email because we were busy" is BS. Do shit ahead of time...seriously you have known when the show was for MONTHS...it didn't sneak up on you. I have a friend who has a history (like during the hey-day of Becky with the magazine she was with) in the industry. She never would tell me WHY she was less than excited about Becky's successes, just that she never really cared for her as a person when they crossed paths. I wonder if what we saw during her PL prime was the refined Becky putting on a show because she had to and what we're seeing now is the real Becky.
I get my BH news here (and the one link to the verbal diarrhea post was too much for even me to read...and living my life with kids where I don't have much IRL conversation with adults, I tend to talk A LOT in my comments here, so that's saying something) so I don't know what she was saying about other people, but if she is going all mean girl on her peers, could it just be jealousy because she's not a part of the group managing to stay successful in a struggling industry?
|
|
sneakylatina
Full Member
Posts: 107
Dec 28, 2018 5:16:09 GMT
|
Post by sneakylatina on Jan 22, 2019 23:59:28 GMT
I said earlier that I didn't think she was a mean girl, just bossy, but I take that back. The way she just talked about her peers in a public forum is not ok. I think she really just wants to be in Instagram Influencer. She is oblivious to her own behavior-I'm sure a product of a privileged life and being surrounded by "yes" all the time from "my girls"- if she thinks that she doesn't jump on every bandwagon she's nuts. How else does a "memory keeper" get into necklaces, earrings...etc? I also was burned on the photo class so I am not in the current class (or any other class going forward) but the excuse of "I'm late with my email because we were busy" is BS. Do shit ahead of time...seriously you have known when the show was for MONTHS...it didn't sneak up on you. I have a friend who has a history (like during the hey-day of Becky with the magazine she was with) in the industry. She never would tell me WHY she was less than excited about Becky's successes, just that she never really cared for her as a person when they crossed paths. I wonder if what we saw during her PL prime was the refined Becky putting on a show because she had to and what we're seeing now is the real Becky.
I get my BH news here (and the one link to the verbal diarrhea post was too much for even me to read...and living my life with kids where I don't have much IRL conversation with adults, I tend to talk A LOT in my comments here, so that's saying something) so I don't know what she was saying about other people, but if she is going all mean girl on her peers, could it just be jealousy because she's not a part of the group managing to stay successful in a struggling industry?
I think she's pretty bitter at being dropped by big box retail. She insists "demand" is down as if that just happens. ... I suppose it does somewhat, but she's had years to correct issues with her product... but not for people who adapt and grow with enthusiasm rather than move on to dresses, earrings, and stone wrap (how is that even a "home" line?). She seems pissed at AC (people who only care about their bottom line and want to demand you do things there way). The not showing product until the lights are off is probably a dig at AC. She doesn't want to sell their stuff and help their bottom line. She seems scorched earthish... except that she's not allowed to be pissed! She has to be really really excited you guys! It must be a living hell to 1) be disappointed and sad, 2) have to put on a happy face on that, and 3) struggle to be an Instagram Influencer when you just aren't. You're not Oprah, you're not Joanna Gaines. You're not even Ali Edwards at this point, who may not have as many "followers" but has a very steady stream, a curated plan, and growth galore.  |
|
|
|
Post by scrapaddict702 on Jan 23, 2019 0:26:37 GMT
I have a friend who has a history (like during the hey-day of Becky with the magazine she was with) in the industry. She never would tell me WHY she was less than excited about Becky's successes, just that she never really cared for her as a person when they crossed paths. I wonder if what we saw during her PL prime was the refined Becky putting on a show because she had to and what we're seeing now is the real Becky.
I get my BH news here (and the one link to the verbal diarrhea post was too much for even me to read...and living my life with kids where I don't have much IRL conversation with adults, I tend to talk A LOT in my comments here, so that's saying something) so I don't know what she was saying about other people, but if she is going all mean girl on her peers, could it just be jealousy because she's not a part of the group managing to stay successful in a struggling industry?
I think she's pretty bitter at being dropped by big box retail. She insists "demand" is down as if that just happens. ... I suppose it does somewhat, but she's had years to correct issues with her product... but not for people who adapt and grow with enthusiasm rather than move on to dresses, earrings, and stone wrap (how is that even a "home" line?). She seems pissed at AC (people who only care about their bottom line and want to demand you do things there way). The not showing product until the lights are off is probably a dig at AC. She doesn't want to sell their stuff and help their bottom line. She seems scorched earthish... except that she's not allowed to be pissed! She has to be really really excited you guys! It must be a living hell to 1) be disappointed and sad, 2) have to put on a happy face on that, and 3) struggle to be an Instagram Influencer when you just aren't. You're not Oprah, you're not Joanna Gaines. You're not even Ali Edwards at this point, who may not have as many "followers" but has a very steady stream, a curated plan, and growth galore. I think the big box stores might have been the problem for her and not just because of coupons. It only works if your product is something that you can turn over quickly and still leave customers wanting more when the next season rolls around. The lifespan on just about everything in the scrapbook world is really short...much like the fashion industry. The entire concept of PL is one kit for one year. There is no seasonality to it, which means putting 5-6 kits out at one time and rotating them every 3-6 months hardly gives enough time for consumers to feel like they need anything new. Her business concept just didn't mesh well with big box store platform from the start. |
|
|
|
Post by leftturnonly on Jan 23, 2019 0:36:18 GMT
The entire concept of PL is one kit for one year. There is no seasonality to it, which means putting 5-6 kits out at one time and rotating them every 3-6 months hardly gives enough time for consumers to feel like they need anything new. Her business concept just didn't mesh well with big box store platform from the start. One kit for one year, yet she was putting out a bunch of kits a year for several years. One kit is too dang much. And even those of us who bought more product even though we hadn't finished what we had yet couldn't use all of the new product either. At some point, enough becomes enough and we.stop.buying more and try to use up some of what we have. I realize this is right up there with rocket science, but sooner or later, you'd think the lightbulb would go on and the person trying to sell the kits would take ownership of a plan that needs to be revised to move on. And by revise, I do not mean everything but scrapbooking. (I'm looking at you, Becky Higgins) |
|
|
|
Post by Night Owl on Jan 23, 2019 5:41:25 GMT
Becky is not an innovator, but she has been savvy enough to take other people's ideas and brand them. She didn't invent pocket scrapbooking. She also wasn't the first to do creative lettering and sketches but since she worked at CK she was able to put her name on them and get a following. I think one of the main reasons she is flailing is because she has surrounded herself with yes men who won't tell her when her ideas are crap. Becky is not creative, so she needs to have creative people working for her.
|
|
|
|
Post by Night Owl on Jan 23, 2019 5:52:13 GMT
I have a friend who has a history (like during the hey-day of Becky with the magazine she was with) in the industry. She never would tell me WHY she was less than excited about Becky's successes, just that she never really cared for her as a person when they crossed paths. I thought it was just me. I worked a convention back in the CK hey-day and got to mingle with some of the so called scrapbook "celebrities" that people worshiped back then and was disappointed that a few of them were mean girls and Becky was one of them. I was leery to say anything here because I thought I may get flamed for it. |
|
|
|
Post by joblackford on Jan 23, 2019 7:28:54 GMT
In talking about embellishments, I always wanted good simple alpha stickers for my PL pages. Most weeks I would use colorful letter stickers to create a "week -" title card, sometimes with the dates, and then I'd add letter stickers to a lot of my photos or cards to indicate what day they related to. I used up a lot of sheets of little letters from Kelly Purkey and Simple Stories - SS was great because they were nice colors, and KP had a really good size and she gave plenty of letters.
But I always ran out of 1s and 2s, because obviously a lot of dates are in the teens and 20s. And I'd use a lot of M T W (for Wednesdaay and week) F and especially S stickers as well as the usual vowels I'd run out of. I often said I'd love it if someone released nicely colored small flat stickers designed for PL. I know BH had some a loooooong time ago but they were neutral ugly colors, and I'm not sure they had more of the letters that PLers would use. BH could totally supplement her products with stickers. They're probably not the most exciting, high profit item, but they're the kind of thing most of us USE UP all the time!
|
|
|
|
Post by crimsoncat05 on Jan 23, 2019 16:33:51 GMT
so after all this talk, I had to go to her facebook page to read her ramblings... and it IS rambling! "I’d like to say that I am super duper *focused* today but really it’s kind of more of a catch-up day with random-but-intentional stories going on" what the heck does "random-but-intentional" mean, anyway? and I like how the post is just a 'hey, it's so cozy here' but oh, if you like this blanket, here is the website, and hey- here's a % off code, too! ...like it's somehow NOT supposed to be a sponsored post, and it's just a totally random comment? yeah, right.  eta: and bringing notebooks to church for her Sunday school class is somehow a *revolutionary* idea?!? "what an amazing idea! thank you." and "you are an inspiration!" seriously?!? blech. My teeth hurt from all the sweetness! |
|
|
|
Post by leftturnonly on Jan 23, 2019 19:41:39 GMT
eta: and bringing notebooks to church for her Sunday school class is somehow a *revolutionary* idea?!? "what an amazing idea! thank you." and "you are an inspiration!" seriously?!? blech. My teeth hurt from all the sweetness! I tried. I made a valiant attempt. I failed to hear out the podcast where she claimed to explain her brilliant new concept using notebooks. I never did get that far. If she wants to do something that has never been done before, I'm not sure who's gonna be the one to tell her that church services and Sunday School classes (for adults) often have pencils/pens and paper/bulletins available making it easy to take notes. And when they aren't readily available, almost without question, you can borrow from a neighbor. I do have to give credit where credit is due. Binding your notes up in one place is a revolutionary idea! She should try selling her idea to schools. <gasp> IDK. Does she have a new system to recording her thoughts, aka known as journaling? Because.... I'm pretty sure I saw a pin on Pinterest using all kinds of scrapbooking supplies to do just that already. And those bullet journaling FB groups did not just spring up overnight. Pee on my leg. Tell me it's raining. Then dare me to care about your products that you're hiding away to seek them out to purchase when I already have more of your products than I can ever use. Hats off to an innovative business plan, sure to change the direction of her company! |
|
|
|
Post by crimsoncat05 on Jan 23, 2019 20:11:08 GMT
|
|
|
|
Post by lisacharlotte on Jan 24, 2019 2:02:42 GMT
In talking about embellishments, I always wanted good simple alpha stickers for my PL pages. Most weeks I would use colorful letter stickers to create a "week -" title card, sometimes with the dates, and then I'd add letter stickers to a lot of my photos or cards to indicate what day they related to. I used up a lot of sheets of little letters from Kelly Purkey and Simple Stories - SS was great because they were nice colors, and KP had a really good size and she gave plenty of letters. But I always ran out of 1s and 2s, because obviously a lot of dates are in the teens and 20s. And I'd use a lot of M T W (for Wednesdaay and week) F and especially S stickers as well as the usual vowels I'd run out of. I often said I'd love it if someone released nicely colored small flat stickers designed for PL. I know BH had some a loooooong time ago but they were neutral ugly colors, and I'm not sure they had more of the letters that PLers would use. BH could totally supplement her products with stickers. They're probably not the most exciting, high profit item, but they're the kind of thing most of us USE UP all the time! Becky also sold PL branded alpha stickers in tan and gray. I bought a crap load at Tuesday Morning a few years ago. They are a little smaller than the Kelly Purkey alphas. |
|
|
|
Post by joblackford on Jan 24, 2019 2:20:14 GMT
That was my issue with them - tan and grey? I mean, yes, neutral can be good, but UGH! I felt like she was playing it toon safe with those, to the point where she made them completely unappealing. I bought the SS ones because they actually had fun colors! |
|
|
|
Post by Florida Cindy on Jan 24, 2019 2:22:45 GMT
I would love to see the data analysis on PL.
|
|
|
|
Post by refugeepea on Jan 24, 2019 3:52:32 GMT
I’m not interested in conforming to someone else’s ideas of what they think is important, when really it’s just about their bottom line. Then perhaps she shouldn't be running a business.  In talking about embellishments, I always wanted good simple alpha stickers for my PL pages. Most weeks I would use colorful letter stickers to create a "week -" title card, sometimes with the dates, and then I'd add letter stickers to a lot of my photos or cards to indicate what day they related to. I used up a lot of sheets of little letters from Kelly Purkey and Simple Stories - SS was great because they were nice colors, and KP had a really good size and she gave plenty of letters. I bought a bunch of mini letter stickers, the Recollection brand from M's. They are tiny, but great for mixing with other alphas. Jillibean soup has some good sized mini letter stickers.
and bringing notebooks to church for her Sunday school class is somehow a *revolutionary* idea?!? "what an amazing idea! thank you." and "you are an inspiration!" seriously?!? blech. My teeth hurt from all the sweetness! Believe me, to her Mormon followers, it is nothing new!
If she wants to do something that has never been done before, I'm not sure who's gonna be the one to tell her that church services and Sunday School classes (for adults) often have pencils/pens and paper/bulletins available making it easy to take notes. And when they aren't readily available, almost without question, you can borrow from a neighbor. Not in the LDS church.  You bring your own crap. I've heard there's been a push to use ipads and e-readers for scripture study during church. I'm not familiar with who is and isn't using actual books right now. It's been a while since I've been to a class.  |
|
|
|
Post by leftturnonly on Jan 24, 2019 5:53:29 GMT
Not in the LDS church. You bring your own crap. Well, that explains a lot! I'm gonna go waaaay out on a limb here and throw a further monkey wrench into BH's grand new scheme. All the cool kids are using their tablets, phones & laptops for notes now. Looks like Becky has pulled up to the station after the train has left, the passengers have gotten off at the dock, gotten on board the ship and the ship is sailing away into the sunset. Proving the truth to the saying, "What's old is new again." Notebooks, not just relics in the museum any more. |
|
|
|
Post by lasteve1 on Jan 24, 2019 12:53:15 GMT
That was my issue with them - tan and grey? I mean, yes, neutral can be good, but UGH! I felt like she was playing it toon safe with those, to the point where she made them completely unappealing. I bought the SS ones because they actually had fun colors! Same thought here! I remember being excited when she announced they were coming and then not getting any when I saw those were the options. If you want to do neutral, fine, make black and white. |
|
auntmimi
Full Member
Posts: 471
Jun 22, 2018 18:55:37 GMT
|
Post by auntmimi on Jan 24, 2019 19:08:33 GMT
Anyone holding their breath that BH is going to fix what's wrong with PL physical products better reconsider...
In her most recent podcast, "The Story of BH," (gah) she explicitly talks about how the big box retailers came to her when sales began to slow and asked her to be more innovative and trendy with her products, giving her suggestions of way to improve PL. She talks about how her face flushed, tears welled up in her eyes, and she was so proud of herself for telling them no. She said she was not about being trendy or jumping on a bandwagon, but wanted to offer "solutions to problems." So she despite doing what was "absolutely" a way to increase business, she stayed true to herself and her vision and turned them down. Hence, the real reason big box stores don't carry her product anymore - declining sales + inability to adapt or consider constructive feedback.
Although without a trace of irony, her next "tip" was how businesses need to adapt and evolve.
She also mentioned the licensing and distribution agreement she has with AC as a "huge blessing" but that she has no hand in what they do with their products. She also talks about how other companies "knocked them off" by copying their product, but eventually she was able to see that there was room in the sandbox for everyone to play. How gracious.
So if you want to hear it for yourself, but don't want to endure the entire 70-minute podcast, she starts this discussion around the 40 to 45-minute mark
|
|
|
|
Post by wendifful on Jan 24, 2019 19:54:24 GMT
Anyone holding their breath that BH is going to fix what's wrong with PL physical products better reconsider... In her most recent podcast, "The Story of BH," (gah) she explicitly talks about how the big box retailers came to her when sales began to slow and asked her to be more innovative and trendy with her products, giving her suggestions of way to improve PL. She talks about how her face flushed, tears welled up in her eyes, and she was so proud of herself for telling them no. She said she was not about being trendy or jumping on a bandwagon, but wanted to offer "solutions to problems." So she despite doing what was "absolutely" a way to increase business, she stayed true to herself and her vision and turned them down. Hence, the real reason big box stores don't carry her product anymore - declining sales + inability to adapt or consider constructive feedback. Although without a trace of irony, her next "tip" was how businesses need to adapt and evolve. She also mentioned the licensing and distribution agreement she has with AC as a "huge blessing" but that she has no hand in what they do with their products. She also talks about how other companies "knocked them off" by copying their product, but eventually she was able to see that there was room in the sandbox for everyone to play. How gracious. So if you want to hear it for yourself, but don't want to endure the entire 70-minute podcast, she starts this discussion around the 40 to 45-minute mark Wow. Just...wow. Thing is, the core concept of PL is pretty basic, so it would have been easy to change things up without compromising on the concept of PL. I don't know specifically what suggestions the stores offered, but how does something like having square corners or having new designers change PL? |
|
|
|
Post by Citygirl on Jan 24, 2019 19:57:28 GMT
Interesting.
What are these "solutions to problems" that she is offering?
|
|
|
|
Post by lisacharlotte on Jan 24, 2019 20:00:44 GMT
Clue-less.
|
|
|
|
Post by crimsoncat05 on Jan 24, 2019 20:03:02 GMT
asked her to be more innovative and trendy with her products, giving her suggestions of way to improve PL. She talks about how her face flushed, tears welled up in her eyes, and she was so proud of herself for telling them no. She said she was not about being trendy or jumping on a bandwagon, but wanted to offer "solutions to problems." sooo.... when faced with a problem (declining sales) and given ONE way to solve it (being innovative and more trendy), she decided to say No, and declined to offer a solution of her OWN. what the heck?!? Apparently the issue here is that she either doesn't see declining sales as a problem, or she's blinded (obviously) to the root CAUSE of that problem-- which is her and her lack of flexibility. huh. Someone is paddling waaaay far down the river of de-Nile, I think. ETA: how the heck are changing to square corners considered 'jumping on a bandwagon' or being 'trendy' for gosh sakes?!?!! I guess she's not comfortable with jumping on trends at ALL, lol... weren't her pilgrim dresses with the bell sleeves a few years behind the style trend, too? |
|
|
|
Post by miss2peas on Jan 24, 2019 20:48:04 GMT
Anyone holding their breath that BH is going to fix what's wrong with PL physical products better reconsider... In her most recent podcast, "The Story of BH," (gah) she explicitly talks about how the big box retailers came to her when sales began to slow and asked her to be more innovative and trendy with her products, giving her suggestions of way to improve PL. She talks about how her face flushed, tears welled up in her eyes, and she was so proud of herself for telling them no. She said she was not about being trendy or jumping on a bandwagon, but wanted to offer "solutions to problems." So she despite doing what was "absolutely" a way to increase business, she stayed true to herself and her vision and turned them down. Hence, the real reason big box stores don't carry her product anymore - declining sales + inability to adapt or consider constructive feedback. Although without a trace of irony, her next "tip" was how businesses need to adapt and evolve. She also mentioned the licensing and distribution agreement she has with AC as a "huge blessing" but that she has no hand in what they do with their products. She also talks about how other companies "knocked them off" by copying their product, but eventually she was able to see that there was room in the sandbox for everyone to play. How gracious. So if you want to hear it for yourself, but don't want to endure the entire 70-minute podcast, she starts this discussion around the 40 to 45-minute mark 100 percent agree. |
|
julie5
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,621 
|
Post by julie5 on Jan 24, 2019 20:54:12 GMT
Anyone holding their breath that BH is going to fix what's wrong with PL physical products better reconsider... In her most recent podcast, "The Story of BH," (gah) she explicitly talks about how the big box retailers came to her when sales began to slow and asked her to be more innovative and trendy with her products, giving her suggestions of way to improve PL. She talks about how her face flushed, tears welled up in her eyes, and she was so proud of herself for telling them no. She said she was not about being trendy or jumping on a bandwagon, but wanted to offer "solutions to problems." So she despite doing what was "absolutely" a way to increase business, she stayed true to herself and her vision and turned them down. Hence, the real reason big box stores don't carry her product anymore - declining sales + inability to adapt or consider constructive feedback. Although without a trace of irony, her next "tip" was how businesses need to adapt and evolve. She also mentioned the licensing and distribution agreement she has with AC as a "huge blessing" but that she has no hand in what they do with their products. She also talks about how other companies "knocked them off" by copying their product, but eventually she was able to see that there was room in the sandbox for everyone to play. How gracious. So if you want to hear it for yourself, but don't want to endure the entire 70-minute podcast, she starts this discussion around the 40 to 45-minute mark Clearly her entire business is designed just to make her look good. Because she’d have no trouble evolving her brand if her kids you know, relied on her income to EAT. But basically at this point she’s just showcasing what an a$$hole she is. |
|
|
|
Post by leftturnonly on Jan 24, 2019 21:31:03 GMT
In her most recent podcast, "The Story of BH," (gah) she explicitly talks about how the big box retailers came to her when sales began to slow and asked her to be more innovative and trendy with her products, giving her suggestions of way to improve PL. She talks about how her face flushed, tears welled up in her eyes, and she was so proud of herself for telling them no. She said she was not about being trendy or jumping on a bandwagon, but wanted to offer "solutions to problems." Although without a trace of irony, her next "tip" was how businesses need to adapt and evolve. That's just sad beyond belief. Clearly her entire business is designed just to make her look good. Because she’d have no trouble evolving her brand if her kids you know, relied on her income to EAT. True all day! Personally, I resent being considered as someone pushing her to do anything against her core beliefs. How dare she respond to her paying customers like that and then expect us to follow her off into the sunset of non-scrapbooking? Yet another woman who built a fantastic woman-based business who took her business personally rather than professionally. |
|
|
|
Post by lasteve1 on Jan 24, 2019 21:40:06 GMT
I think that the main issue with BH's stubbornness is that we aren't the customers she wants.
She created Project Life as this simple, slipping photos and cards into pockets, solution for "getting documentation done." I think this goal and focus on simplifying and "just getting it done" comes from her religion and the fact that Mormons stress the importance for women to keep the family history--whether they have an interest in it or not. I think her goal is to help out Mormon women who feel overwhelmed with this responsibility and have no real interest in scrapbooking and just want to "get it done."
However, instead of the Mormon population (of women who aren't really scrapbookers but are tasked with the family responsibility of recording the family history) becoming her core customers, she found that scrapbookers of all faiths (including those Mormon women who actually enjoyed the hobby) purchased her products. I don't think she anticipated that at the beginning and rode the gravy train in the excitement of her product taking off. However, we were never the customers she wanted. So when we wanted embellishments, square corners, more designs, etc., she kept thinking how that would get away from the demographic she really wanted to sell to--people who don't actually want to scrapbook but "have to." But, as her products took off and became more and more popular she continued to add more and more kits and designs and eventually embellishments, etc. and I think she felt lost in it all because, even though her products were flying off the shelf, WE weren't the people she wanted to buy her products. Meanwhile, the products don't seem to have taken off (at least it doesn't seem that way from what little info I have) with the demographic she originally targeted.
All of her soul searching and jumping around and unrest I think comes from the struggle she has had between trying to shape her product to aim at the demographic she wanted while still maintain the sales from the demographic she didn't want, but nevertheless was making up the bulk of her sales. This last bit of info from the podcast, that she turned down Michaels', etc., ideas just reaffirms my thought that all of these recent "changes" are her redevoting her product to the original concept of "solving a problem" for Mormon women who don't want to scrapbook. She doesn't care that they aren't buying and that her product is wildly popular with non-Mormons. We aren't the customers she wants and she has made a conscious decision to stop giving into our requests, even more so than before, so that she can redevote her product to her original target demographic.
Ultimately, she would rather be an unsuccessful business that has stayed true to her core goal of helping Mormon women, than bend to the requests of the scrapbook industry for profit. |
|
auntmimi
Full Member
Posts: 471
Jun 22, 2018 18:55:37 GMT
|
Post by auntmimi on Jan 24, 2019 22:05:05 GMT
I don't know specifically what suggestions the stores offered, but how does something like having square corners or having new designers change PL? She did not specify. You know she is the queen of being vague. What are these "solutions to problems" that she is offering? That PL customers want simple, easy, and less complicated items. Apparently the issue here is that she either doesn't see declining sales as a problem, or she's blinded (obviously) to the root CAUSE of that problem-- which is her and her lack of flexibility. She said she was crushed about declining sales, but she stayed true to her vision. |
|
You bring your own crap. I've heard there's been a push to use ipads and e-readers for scripture study during church. I'm not familiar with who is and isn't using actual books right now. It's been a while since I've been to a class. 
