Greeting Card Business?

[Bluebell]

I am a photographer and would love to start my own greeting card line. I am feeling rather intimidated....if anyone could help...I would be very grateful!
-What type of printer does professional looking greeting cards?
-How do I get them in stores?
-What does the printing cost?
-What is the standard size of a greeting card and where can I find a template?

Thanks to anyone who can help!

 

[VinceM]

1. You should really know how to RUN a business before you think about starting a business.

2. You should know something about the greeting card business before jumping in and starting your own. (it is clear from your questions that you don't.

If you don't know the first thing about MARKETING your product, your venture is doomed to failure. Any advice you get from Yahoo Answers is bound to be iffy, and may not apply in the various stages of the marketplace.

What you NEED is a publisher for your line of greeting card designs. With a publisher, you only need to worry about the creative end of the business while the publisher takes all the risks. (I worry about this, for your sake because if you need a template, and don't know that greeting cards come in a VARIETY of sizes and formats, then you really aren't in a position to be a card designer, no matter how skillful a photographer you are)

I suggest you contact a greeting card company, find out who the art director is and ask THEM about their design submission guidelines. Send them a SASE (usually a #10 business size envelope) and then read these guidelines carefully. NOTHING gets tossed into the trash bin faster than submissions from people who can't follow simple directions.

If you insist on going it on your own, be prepared for a lot of obstacles. You will have to be your own sales staff, so that means research and legwork to find out who to contact to get your product into stores. Have a contract ready. You can't expect to just drop off a case of cards on a merchant and just aske them to track the money for you. If you don't know how to draw up a contract, then this is another reason to reconsider starting your own business.

Do you know how to do your own bookkeeping? File for taxes? Deduct business expenses? What kind of business insurance do you expect to carry? Etc. Etc.

"Intimidation" is only the FIRST of the uncertainties of running a business.

Good luck.