It is hard to believe that Christmas is next week and the year end right around the corner. It was a very naive and hopeful person (me) who decided in October to start a new business. Last Christmas, I had a gift that was too large for paper wrap. I had some pretty fabric in the house and used it to wrap the gift. I used fabric again for Tammy’s birthday gift in July. The seed was planted and kept growing in my brain. I decided that using fabric instead of paper is just good. It is good for the planet and good for your pocketbook. ReWrap was born.
Keep in mind, I have no business background whatsoever. I began by doing some research on starting a new business. I went to the library, bought a few books, created a business plan and got my family on board. I researched the competition and pricing. I am not a very gregarious person and have no desire to be a salesperson. The internet is the logical place for me and ReWrap. I spent a ridiculous amount of time researching web building software and hosting sites. I bought Dreamweaver, thinking I could build my own website. I tried, unsuccessfully, to teach myself html. After a few wasted weeks, I realized that I needed to hire someone to help me get a website going. I hired a web designer, with the help of my friends David and Guilianna, to help with the website. My webdesigner, Matt, has a full time job and works me in when he can. I get most of my communication from him late in the evening or in the middle of the night, when I am fast asleep. I don’t know when he sleeps.
I set up my business acounts with the bank and set up the credit card service for the website. I filed the necessary forms to register the company in Arizona. Once I had that, I filed for a Transaction Privilege Use Tax. This took 7 weeks to get. I bought a domain name on Yahoo, only to have to switch it to GoDaddy and then switch again to HostMonster
I learned about shooting photos of the wrapped boxes and optimizing them for the website with Matt’s help and the help of my daughter Tammy.
The most fun has been finding the beautiful fabrics, trying out the different sizing, and finally locating some gorgeous ribbon that I can get at wholesale prices. I haven’t yet found a wholesale outlet for fabric that is cheaper than what I can find around town. I cut the fabric into various sizes to fit a small necklace box, a clutch purse box, small shoebox, a shirt box and a sweater box. I use pinking shears to cut down on the fraying. The cutting itself is very tedious but somehow therapeutic.
I have a very generous friend, Faye, who has been my mentor. She and Diane own Mombomb, a fabulous boutique at 44th and Camelback, in Phoenix. She has agreed to sell my wraps in her store. I also found two other very generous store owners to sell my wraps. Lila owns Urban Kidz in Scottsdale and Kristin and Melissa own Rowdy Boutique on 7th St across from Xavier.
I am so grateful for Jack ,Tammy, Casey and Molly, who are constantly giving me suggestions and support. They have also put up with some pretty crummy dinners due my state of distraction.
Today I filed my first Tax Statement with the State of AZ. Hopefully, this is the first of many. Regardless of the outcome of this project, it has given this 55 year old brain some much needed challenges. My mantra for this project and for life in general is “Okay, What’s next?”
