Savvy Stationery Site Offers Cards for Divorce & Diwali

Ali King is the Associate Digital Director at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It's a non-profit and one of the most selective music schools in the United States.

She also runs the ecommerce site Groundswell Greetings, selling greetings cards with a twist.

Ali enjoys the thrill of discovering quaint, independent boutiques. The originality and flair of the cards found in these shops surpassed those she'd find in her local grocery store aisle. In fact, whenever she'd find herself looking down the lonely abyss of a drugstore greeting card aisle, she would sigh, roll her eyes, and question the meaning of life before storming out in indignation. OK, that's a slight exaggeration… but she was disappointed.

Mostly, she was underwhelmed by the mass-market selections being offered. The cards were out of touch, low quality, and lacked personality.

She began giving serious thought to the idea of making her own cards. As she put it, "Greeting cards made sense to me because they require little capital to get started yet make up an $8 billion dollar industry in the U.S…. I felt I could differentiate our brand with unique designs that represent a more diverse, modern audience."

Ali's card topics are as diverse as the groups they represent. Same sex weddings, Diwali, Ramadan, 'new pet' and even 'divorce,' which reads, "Heard about the divorce. Congrats on the weight loss!"

In short, she's trying to tap into groups that are underrepresented in the greeting card market. She started reaching out to local female artists and designers through social media and built relationships. She told them she wanted to "build a community in support of the arts and women in business." These master makers were looking for additional places to showcase their work and agreed to come on board.

Groundswell Greetings launched in April 2017 with the mission to "create an affordable alternative to the underwhelming card options in drugstore aisles."

She originally focused the brand towards consumers. She was fixated on ways to get new customers, raising brand awareness and selling more cards. She created massive lists of herculean tasks to tackle. It was a lot of work.

However, after winning Philadelphia Magazine's "Best of Philly" award for stationery last year, she had unexpected interest from stores wanting to carry her brand. She initially built the company and her margins around a direct to consumer assumption (or B2C, business to consumer) but found the wholesale side of the business to be more sustainable and easier to manage.

She still has to balance GG with her full-time job, and the B2C model has stayed pretty flat over the past few months. So she started thinking about how she could leverage her time in more valuable ways.

This meant addressing issues like how much time she could devote to cultivating relationships with her wholesale customers if she cut out the direct to consumer side of the business.

While her wholesale margins are lower, she's getting free marketing by being exposed to their customer base. Also, per order, wholesale orders cost less in printing, packaging, and shipping.

It turns out that having fewer, more meaningful relationships to manage and following up with other small businesses actively interested in partnering with her just made sense.

Ali's advice to someone else considering taking this leap: If she had the woman-power and the time, she'd try to grow both distribution channels. But for now, she's excited to really invest in these wholesale relationships.

She also suggests learning as much as you can about your industry, peers and competitors before you start. "Most people will talk to you. Buy them beer, coffee, and give their business some social media love."

Ali said the wholesale model is not a one-size-fits-all. "If convenience was a primary value proposition for your product, this would obviously be a bad route to go. I'm making it harder for people to get my cards, but hopefully more exciting when customers see them on the shelf."

As far as pricing goes, Ali has kept the price at $5 per card. The stationery industry is very seasonal. She rarely loses money, but a number of months are break even and her biggest profit months are between $3 - 5,000. She recently launched her own rewards program, Club GG. The annual membership consists of: a $40 credit, 20% off all cards, a free birthday card, and a holiday card grab bag in December.

What's next for Groundswell Greetings? Ali says she's excited to see how the wholesale pivot continues to develop. She'd like to grow her brand in Pittsburgh and DC if possible. She also still loves her day job, and is invested in learning as much as she can there. Her boss is supportive of her entrepreneurial pursuits and sees her side hustle as a benefit to the office. Success is in the cards.

Listen to today's episode to learn more...