Image Bank Checks Reorder

Image Bank Checks Reorder

Corporate Freedom, Female Entrepreneurs and Flipographs!   by Forrest Kolb

When we first layed out the groundwork for the BizzView'08 interview series, I knew we were going to have the opportunity to introduce the community to some very inspirational business people. What I didn't think about was how many BizzFlip community members there are already that have amazing stories to share. I am confident that today's guest will leave you feeling enlightened and encouraged. So get comfortable, feel inspired and enjoy meeting Karla Jacobs, a true entrepreneur and Founder of Flipograph...

BF: Karla, please tell us a little about yourself, your background and current project/business.

Karla: Ever since we were small, my sister and I have been fascinated with those little changing pictures we used to find as prizes inside Cracker Jacks boxes. One day, a couple of years ago, she said to me, "I'd really like to find out how to make those 'little flippy things,' but not make them cheesy. Make them out of good photos or better yet, make them personalized, so a person could flip from his dog to his cat, or grandma could see each of her grandchildren making faces at her."

Well, being a curious person I looked into it and was told that you had to have them made overseas, and you had run large quantities of the same image to make it affordable...like 5000 units of the same two pictures. And so the dream sat on the back burner for a few years. And then, earlier this year (2007) I started hearing a buzz that, thanks to advances in digital photography and printing, there may be a way around the old methods of production, and I started digging deeper into the technology.

I pieced together what I learned, made a lot of costly mistakes, and came up with the proprietary Flipograph method of creating custom-designed prints that flip, like magic, from one photo or artistic image to another. I even started delving into making 3, 4, and 5-part Flipographs, and experimenting with adding typography, graphic elements and more. What a blast!

At this point, we weren't sure if anyone else would be as excited about Flipographs as we were. So we made a dozen or so different ones using digital photos from my collection and took them around to various frame stores, camera stores, and gift stores. We showed them to everyone we encountered, (always carried a package of 6 or 8 of them in our purses). We weren't trying to sell them at this point--just looking for feedback and advice.

Without exception, the response was wild. Everyone came up with dozens of applications where they could see a market for Flipographs: sports action photos, jewelry, ornaments, postcards, business cards, party favors, souvenirs, you name it. The best thing is, everyone who held a Flipograph in their hands smiled and usually said something along the lines of "ooh" or "cool" or "wow." This was quite gratifying.

So, the next step was to build a website. As a marketing consultant and copywriter, I had written and planned out many websites for my clients. But I had never handled the back end of an e-commerce site. Flipogragh.com is a big project, and it's functioning, but always under construction.

BF: What are some of the challenges of marketing your own startup web-based business?

Karla: Well, this is proving to be quite a mind boggler. We're a startup in a category that doesn't exist yet, so people aren't yet searching for what we offer. The other challenge is you've got to see a Flipograph in action--flipping from one image to another in your hand-- to even know what the product does. A flat photo of it just won't do. Fortunately for your readers, most of them won't have this particular set of challenges. But we do.

Once people "get" what a Flipograph is their imaginations run wild. They start culling through their digital photo collections to see which ones might combine well into a Flipograph. (There are some guidelines in the FAQ area of our site) and when they realize how inexpensive they are (just $13 for a 4 x 6 print, unframed), they go ahead and upload their photos and try us out.

Because our minimum quantity is just one print, people generally start with one. And when they receive their first Flipograph, they're likely to reorder in quantity right away. Because they need one for Grandma, one for Uncle Fred, three for the kids to play with, and so on.

BF: How are you getting the word out about Flipograph, outside of posting on BizzFlip's StartUp Ads?

Karla: We're writing articles to send links back to our site. We're listing ourselves in directories. For example, Flipographs make great wedding favors, so we're running listings on all the big wedding resource directories. They also make great trading cards, reunion gifts, portfolio pieces for photographers and artists, signs for businesses, greeting cards, badges, trade show giveaways, wall art, and Christmas ornaments.

Doing this diligence to increase our presence on the web is tedious work. It has to be done every day. We're looking into several web-based PR services and even some pay-per-click programs to kick start our momentum. But unless you're a huge corporation, it's a daily "to do" item. My goal is three new placements a day. Some days I can do more, but it averages about that.

BF: Describe your transition from working in Corporate America to working as an entrepreneur? In which ways has your lifestyle changed?

Karla: Before I started my business, I held a number of corporate jobs. By working inside at Bank of California, Charles Schwab, Wells Fargo, DHL, and at several ad agencies with Fortune 500 accounts, I learned how decisions are made by group consensus. The result is that good project can get stalled for political reasons beyond any one person's control. Changes that might seem arbitrary, may just be the result of too many cooks, each trying to add their ingredient to the stew. All too often, a decision maker would make a substantial change just to make it look like they were paying attention. People who passed the project through without change risked looking like slackers.

When I switched to working outside the corporations, I had much more compassion for these seemingly random changes in direction, and as a freelance writer/marketing consultant, I simply found a way to get compensated for every change they requested, and just do my best to keep the quality level as high as possible.

Because I've been an entrepreneur with one exception since 1981, I'm much more comfortable being self employed. I did take a job for two years recently, and in my exit interview I told my former boss, "I'm afraid I've gone feral. I can't work in a sealed building with florescent lights and windows that don't open." At this point in my life, no matter how great the workplace and co-workers are, I need to be my own boss.

BF: What is it like being a female entrepreneur today? How do your day-to-day activities differ from those of other people you know?

Karla: Well, I've been female all my life, and an entrepreneur since 1981. These days it's quite acceptable to work out of your home, have a virtual office, and still have credibility. Back then you had to pretend you were renting an office downtown with employees and all the trappings.

As a consultant, it's entirely possible to make more per year than your customers make, and believe me, they're aware of this possibility. Often they envy your freedoms--like the freedom to not commute, not dress in business clothes, and say "No" if you don't feel like taking on a project, working with a difficult person, or working for the budget they're offering. There's a level of respect that comes with that that's been a long time coming.

That said, there is still the vendor/client relationship to keep in mind at all times. I see too many consultants and entrepreneurs who forget that customer service is every bit as important as the work itself.

Recently I hired someone to work on our project who didn't understand the basics of service:
1. Show up when you say you're going to.
2. Take responsibility for your side of the transaction...and a little more.
3. Under promise and over deliver
4. Always be polite and professional.
5. Remember that your client is under pressures at work that we cannot imagine. Give them the benefit of the doubt, unless you're being abused or treated unfairly by a bully.
6. Follow up and make good on any leftover details. Let the client know you are available for future work and that you appreciate any referrals they can offer. (The only way you'll get a referral is by following steps 1 through 5.)

BF: What advice would you give to someone who wants to get started in a business of their own?

Karla: I would not even think about starting a business unless I was madly in love with the product or service I was providing. Yes, having a business plan is essential, running the projections and making sure you can make a profit once you're up to speed, checking out the competition, and all that good stuff you learn from the books. But without your passion for your product and your belief that this how you want to spend your time, you may not make it through the hard times.

With Flipograph, I have the extra boost that comes when I show some of our samples to people. There has never been a single person who has seen them that hasn't shared my enthusiasm. And this keeps me rolling forward. If I get discouraged, I go to my local cappuccino joint and give the barrister a Flipograph business card along with the tip. (A Flip and a tip!) And pretty soon, they're showing it around the store, and I've made five or ten new customers.

Recently I attended a local entrepreneur group. There was a woman there who had started an internet business where you can create a site to memorialize your deceased relatives. She was wondering why it was so hard, after three years of struggle, to gain traction for the site. I didn't want to tell her I thought it was because no one wants to think about death before it happens, and then afterwards, they're in grief. I'll bet if she walked into her local cappuccino joint and mentioned her site, all she'd get would be confused looks and awkward silence. I'm not saying her idea isn't good, it just isn't easy to sell. And I can tell her enthusiasm is flagging. So love your product, and don't just be in it for the money. That's my advice, and I'm sticking to it.

We would like to thank Karla for taking the time to be part of our Bizzview '08 interview series...

About the Author

Forrest Kolb is Founder and CEO of BizzFlip, Inc. For more information go to www.BizzFlip.com

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