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Cara Craft Supplies DIYWedding.ie

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Handmade Greeting Cards extremely popular in the UK, and a growing market worldwide ... Handmade Greeting Cards Card Making Supplies DIY Wedding Supplies The ... – PowerPoint PPT presentation

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Title: Cara Craft Supplies DIYWedding.ie

1
Cara Craft SuppliesDIYWedding.ie

An example of an SME in Ireland today

2
What will be covered

Cara Craft Supplies/DIYWedding.ie story
Steps we took
Why its working
Lessons Learned that apply to all young
businesses
Areas the EU can help
Going forward expanding into the UK and EU

3
Section 1

Cara Craft Supplies/DIYWedding.ie story
Lessons Learned that apply to all young
businesses
Going forward expanding into the UK and EU

4
A little History

Background
8 Years in the Software Industry, managing
software product sets
Lived in the USA for 3 years where I took up
quilting and other crafts
Witnessed huge supply of craft materials
Michaels stores, Joannes
Returned in 2002, started Cara Cards 2004

5
1st Step Cara Cards Ltd.

Set up Cara Cards Ltd.
Handmade Greeting Card Company
Handmade Greeting Cards extremely popular in the
UK, and a growing market worldwide
After 6 months was selling to approximately 30
shops and growing.
Became very frustrated at lack of supplies in
Ireland
I was ordering in from the UK, USA, Far East
Lengthy shipping times, customs duties, exchange
rates didnt work well for the small quantities
I was importing

6
2nd Step

Spotted a potential gap in the market and decided
to set up a craft supplies site for Ireland
Proven market abroad - 40 such sites in the UK,
00s in the USA
Growing Crafts Market - 10bn in the USA, 3bn in
Scrapbooking alone.
Built the website myself and sourced supplies
from all over the world on the Internet
Launched Cara Craft Supplies, www.craftsupplies.ie
, in September 2004

7
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8
Cara Craft Supplies ProductsCard Making and
Scrapbooking
9
Cara Craft Supplies Now

June 2005 moved into first official (tiny)
premises, moved again in December 2005 to
premises 3 times larger, which weve filled
already ?
December 2005 awarded employment grants by DCEB
and hired two part time employees
Cara Craft Supplies Now
Irelands first dedicated Craft Supplies Website
Over 2,000 customers
Shipping to UK, Europe and as far afield as
Brazil
More than 2 million hits per month
Profitable and has 2 part time employees as well
as myself

10
Cara Craft Supplies not just an online shop

On the Internet, as with other retail outlets,
footfall is everything
April 2005 launched the online Crafters Forum
May 2006 60,000th post on the forum.
Keeping the Site Interesting and lively
Monthly Competitions and Craft Challenges
Online Classes
Online Gallery
Monthly Newsletters and Special Offers
Sale Section
New Products each week

11
Why is it working?

Online Craft Supplies Market was already working
in other countries
UK, USA, Australia, France
Research showed a need in Ireland
Knit and Stitch show, CCOI course, lack of bricks
and mortar shops
Products are small and 2D display well on the
Internet and have low cost of shipping
Customers are geographically disparate
often in remote areas with little shopping choice

12
Why is it working?

Crafts Market as a whole is growing
30bn industry in the USA
Scrapbooking 4bn of that and growing
Site is innovative, interesting, friendly and
constantly changing
So far, so good )

13
3rd Step DIYWedding.ie

February 2006 I had an idea
Cara Craft Supplies was getting regular requests
from brides looking for materials to make their
own invitations
We had a set of free MS Word Templates which we
sent out on request.
Requests for these were increasing
Wouldnt it be great to have a website dedicated
to making it easy for brides to make their own
invites?

14
www.diywedding.ie

April 2006 www.diywedding.ie launched
A one-stop shop for making your own invites.
50 kit designs which include MS Word Templates
and Instructions, or you can design your own
Brides save anything from 200- 2000
1 million hits in 2nd month of business
Fully up and running and profitable by month 2
!!
In the Irish Times, Daily Mail and Star.
Adding new products all the time favours, albums

15
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16
Section 2

Cara Craft Supplies/DIYWedding.ie story
Lessons Learned that apply to all young
businesses
Going forward expanding into the UK and EU

17
Lessons Learned and areas where the EU can
help.

Lessons learned and mistakes made ?
Know your Market
Dont venture into areas you arent familiar with
Do your Market Research
Feet on the Street, not just demographics
Talk directly to potential customers

18
Lessons Learned

3. Get a good Accountant early
Unless you are great with accounts, a good
accountant can save from an early stage
4. Market Carefully in your Niche Area
Avoid Generalist Trade Shows
Market in your niche area only to start
Consider print marketing costs carefully

19
Lessons Learned

A good supplier is worth their weight in gold
Monitor and plan your cash flow
Crucial for knowing when you can spend, when you
cant
Be prepared to muck in and do everything it takes
You cant be precious about which tasks youll do
if you want to make the business work

20
Lessons Learned

8. Approach everything with enthusiasm and
optimism ?
It may take 100 letters to editors before you get
your first piece of PR, but when you get it, its
worth it
Keep up with your accounts
Its more work than you might think

21
Lessons Learned

10. Listen to your customers
They tell you what products they want, how much
they are willing to pay, what makes them happy
and what doesnt.
Survey or do focus groups on a regular basis if
possible.
11. Price based on what customers are willing to
pay, not on cost of goods
A product is only worth what a customer is
willing to pay for it.

22
Lessons Learned

12. Keep moving, learning and evolving
Its a competitive marketplace
Success may not come from where you originally
thought
Keep an open mind
Look out for market opportunities
Handmade Greeting Cards ?Card Making Supplies
?DIY Wedding Supplies ? The World ?

23
Section 3

Cara Craft Supplies/DIYWedding.ie story
Lessons Learned that apply to all young
businesses
Going forward expanding into the UK and EU

24
Next Steps

Have purchased
www.diywedding.eu
www.diyinvites.eu
The Internet opens up European markets to all
Ireland is a small market, and lagging in
broadband usage.
Aside - .eu domains 1.7 million sold so far.
24 bought by Irish entities! Sites yet to
arrive, but its just a matter of time.

25
Expanding into EU Markets

Advantages of EU Market
No customs duties
Huge market potential UK market alone 10
times the size of the Irish Market
The Internet provides a huge advantage and ease
of access to customers, never before available
Common currency

26
Expanding into the EU Market