Name of your website?Kits & Pieces
Your name?
Linda Martens
Your Location (city, etc)
Alden, MN 56009
Please give us a short summary of your website?
Kits & Pieces is primarily a monthly scrapbook kit club. We are unique in that we feature two new kits each month with a variety of expansion options. This gives you the ability to expand beyond just the basic kit and allows you to design a kit to fit your budget.
Aside from our kit club, we have a Design Team made up of some very well-known ladies in the scrapbook industry. They create very inspiring layouts with our kits each month, run contests, participate in our message board, write article for our newsletter and upload to our gallery.
We are a growing community dedicated to inspiring others with a craft we love!
What inspired you to launch your own website?
I've always had a desire to run my own business so when I stumbled upon scrapbooking a few years back, I knew this was the right thing for me to do. The low overhead of running the business from my home was the most appealing factor along with the fact that I like to set my own hours.
When did you launch your first website, and what was it?
My first website was also a scrapbook website but it was more of a store as opposed to a kit club. I kept inventory on hand but found running the business this way to be extremely time consuming. This is what lead me to seek out an easier method while still working with a hobby I love.
How did you decide on a name for your website?
Many hours of racking my brain, creating huge lists of possible names and then seeing if any of them were taken by doing a search on the internet, is the method I used to finally decide on the name I ended up deciding upon.
What makes it different from other, similar offerings?
Our kits and their expansion options sets us apart from other kit clubs. We have a few "tricks" up our sleeves in the coming months that will really make us unique.
What is your eventual goal? (To sell it, keep it for income, secure a book or other mainstream media deal?)
Short term, I just want to get it established to the point where it can pay for itself. Eventually I would love to turn a nice profit but that's down the road a bit yet.
How does your investment of time and money balance against your success?
It's a lot of blood, sweat and tears in the beginning, at least for me, with very little to show for it. It can become quite stressful at times and difficult to make ends meet but it will all be worth it in the long run.
If you had an unlimited development budget for development, how would you change your site?
It would really make it easier to become established in this market. My mind is reeling at the possibilites.
If your site got really big, really quickly, would you be able to keep up with the demand?
Honestly, probably not. But I see that as a good problem to have!
What unexpected costs and headaches have you had to deal with?
There are always costs that you don't expect or think about. But the biggest headache is the time factor.
What has been your biggest challenge?
Time. There is never enough time and things always take longer than you anticipate.
What method has been most successful for promoting your website?
My Design Team has played a huge role in website promotion because they are affiliated with a number of other scrapbook sites. This makes it easy for them to talk about our site and peek the interest of other scrappers.
How has running your website differed from your expectations?
Again, I really didn't expect it to be so time consuming.
How long have you run the site already, and how long will you continue to keep it up if you don't enjoy big gains in traffic, income or popularity?
This site has been up since July '07, but I've been in this business for almost 5 years.
What is your website address?
Kits & Pieces
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