Ooh, a New Joining Offer!

Well, that’s nice, isn’t it? I think to be able to start a new business, from just £30, with loads of support and no targets is tempting enough (well, I was tempted, wasn’t I?!), and now there’s more!

For anyone who joins in January, there are also some potential freebies! You can read more about them here and as always, do feel free to ask me anything at all.

I started selling cards back in August 2010 when my daughter was 10 months old. She’s now 4, I have a 16 month old son, and I’m still going strong! I think the key, for me anyway, is that the business is so flexible. I do as much or as little as I want, at times to suit me, and sell in whichever ways suit me, too. And the greatest appeal is that I love the cards, think the products all represent great value and I’m proud to be selling British, not-on-the-high-street wares.

So, as 2014 begins, my Phoenix resolutions are simple. Continue to look after my customers and provide them with excellent service, continue to support and grow my team of traders, and jump about with excitement at every new product release (this last one’s easy – never failed me yet!)

So Happy New Year to you, and I’m here if you’d like to get in touch about doing this, too, or if you’d like to buy – www.jocelynscards.co.uk – the new January range is there, too!

Last Minute Ideas For Christmas

I am here to help! Orders from my website are with you within 3-5 days, so order over this weekend, and you’ll receive it in time for Christmas.

For keeping the kids amused, how about..

Colour-In Christmas Tablecloth £5

 

Paperchains – £4

 

Nativity Colour-In £4.50

 

Christmas Lotto £5

 

And a few last minute gifts..

Little Kittens Note Cards £10

 

 

Farmyard Finger Puppets Colour-in £3

Camper Van Jotter £3

 

There are plenty of other jotter pads, too.

Secret Agent Activity Pack £3

 

And there are other activity packs and stationery sets.

And while you’re grabbing a few things, why not get yourself ready for an organised new year, with this!

Family Organiser £4.80

 

The shop is also stocked full of every day greetings cards, including special occasion cards, all priced at £1.50 each, or buy any 10 or more and they’ll cost just £1.20 each.

And, as always, do feel free to ask me any questions about the products or for recommendations 🙂

Happy shopping!

Christmas is Keeping Me Busy!

I’m still here, still beavering about with my cards!

As you’d expect, at this time of year, I can get a little busy. I’ve concentrated on mainly doing home coffee and cards for my regular customers this season, which I’ve hugely enjoyed. They have a really nice atmosphere, are very informal and it’s great to chat to people about Phoenix and show off the current range. I hold plenty of stock and always take a bag of samples of all of the current Christmas card packs. People do like to see them and then I take orders of any I’ve not got in stock to deliver back at a later date. A party tends to last for an hour and a half to two hours, and it’s always time well-spent for me, and an easy, laid-back way to shop for everyone.

I’m also doing a few more public events, as it’s nice to mix things up! For example, next week I’m booked in to a school staff room for their lunchtime and also into a retirement home for a coffee morning. Looking forward to both 🙂

My regular customers, of course, are continuing to order and my team are all out there getting on with it! I’ve been delighted to welcome Julie, Louise and Emma in the last few weeks, too. So, as I mentioned, busy!

And top-sellers at the moment?

 

 

 

Tower of Shoes A096AB

Butterfly Cupcakes LS20

And, I’m always happy to get a little busier, so do feel free to order from me at www.jocelynscards.co.uk, or ask me for a little free information about doing this yourself, too (email joloreading@gmail.com or tweet me at @IHaveCards) – I’d hate to get a restful period this month!

Favourites From The Autumn Range

I have been busy, so sorry to have not reported in sooner on this! I’ve been doing plenty of parties, orders from both regular and new customers are coming in thick and fast now, and I’ve lovely new traders, too. It’s a sure sign that we’ve hit busy season!

So, onto a few of my top picks from the new range…

Little Kittens Note Cards set GP01 – £10

I love these! 30 note cards with 30 brown ribbed envelopes, presented in this cute little case. They’re already proving popular and I can see them flying out as they will make such lovely Christmas gifts for cat-lovers.

Lazy Dog Days L274 £1.50 (or £1.20 when you buy any 10 or more)

So sweet! As with all of the cards, this is blank inside for your own message. There is also a cat version, too.

Christmas Lotto GP03 £5

This game comes with 4 A5 lotto boards and will be perfect for getting everybody into the Christmas mood!

I Love Tractors S228 £1.50 (or £1.20 when you buy any 10 or more)

I think this card would be perfect for little boys (or big boys!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Colour-in Finger Puppets CP008 £3

My daughter will definitely be needing these! She loves colouring in anyway, and then there are finger puppets to play with – love them!

Hope you like these, too – the full range, including all of the new and Christmas products can be bought from my shop now, and you can expect delivery to you within 3-5 days.

If you’d like more information about selling the range yourself, my website has more information here, and do feel free to email me for an information pack and with any questions you may have at joloreading@gmail.com

 

Special Offer! Free P&P 3 days only!

With the fabulous new autumn range now out and all of the Christmas goodies in my shop, now is a good time to browse and buy! With that in mind, and because it’s Friday so I’m feeling happy, I’m offering FREE P&P (UK only) on all orders, whether for £3 or £300! This offer’s available from now until midnight Sunday 13th October 2013.

Stock up on your every day cards, stationery sets, gift wrap, and of course get your Christmas cards in and I’d definitely recommend checking out the advent calendar range, the quirky advent calendar cards and fabulous paper chains. Remember you can email me specific items and codes and/or best-seller packs if you haven’t the time or inclination to choose lots of individual cards.

You must place these orders by emailing me, as my website ships straight from Head Office and cannot honour this offer, and I cannot refund postage this way. As it’s a free offer, please do allow up to 3 weeks for delivery (if you need items sooner, please do use my website which should ensure you receive your goods within 3-5 days, though you will then pay the postage).

I can then easily arrange payment with you, via Paypal, cheque or debit/credit card payments over the phone – whichever you prefer.

So what are you waiting for?! You can view the entire range on-line at www.jocelynscards.co.uk Get telling me what you need at joloreading@gmail.com

 

Hooray for the Autumn Range!

I’m excitable as we have new products today! The autumn range has been released and it’s very good (no bias here!).

There are 76 new products, with plenty of fresh designs to choose from. I’ve just ordered all of them in so I can’t wait to see them all! From what I’ve seen so far, I’m loving Super Heroines, Lazy Dog Days and the Little Kittens packs – so cute!

The full range is available on my website here, so can all be ordered now. Why not stock up on your every day cards and get your Christmas cards, stationery and advent calendars ordered at the same time? All organised and you’ll only pay delivery once.

The entire range is at www.jocelynscards.co.uk and do remember that this is a business for everyone, so if you fancy selling these fabulous things, too, get in touch to find out more 🙂

I’m Still Busying Myself Here!

I’ve been a little absent from this blog lately, but never fear, it’s because I have been busy! So, I thought I’d best pop by and give you a brief update to reassure you that I’m still here!

With the children back at school, and the weather turning decidedly autumnal, people’s thoughts seem to be turning to Christmas, as I’m definitely selling cards and advent calendars! In the last couple of weeks, I’ve got my Christmas catalogues out to my mailing list, I’ve booked in some more at home ‘coffee and cards’, booked a Macmillan coffee morning in, taken sales and orders from my regular baskets, and my website sales are going strong. Those boxes full of Christmas goodies are already dwindling!

On top of my activity, I’m delighted to be welcoming Julie to my team, too. Now is a fabulous time to join, with our best few months upon us and the free e-commerce website offer for new traders ends this month, too, so if you’re toying with it, get in now! You can find more information on my website or get in touch directly with me with your questions 🙂

And now I’m off as I have another free brochure pack to post out to a potential new customer – shout if you’d like to peruse one, too 🙂

My Picks of the Week #20

With most children back at school, or starting school this week, I thought I’d pick out a few of my favourite children’s cards to share with you. I’d always recommend (of course!) keeping a stash of these in your drawer as I know that once at school, you seem to need to send a card every other week, and this’ll mean you’re prepared!

All cards are blank inside for your own message, and are all priced at £1.50, or (and this is why you’re best to get a stack in!) if you buy 10 or more, they’re £1.20 each.

 

Remember, if you’re pressed for time, or just bamboozled by all of the choice on my website, I can put together a best-sellers pack for you.

My shop’s at www.jocelynscards.co.uk

And with the run up to Christmas, and the offer of a free e-commerce website for joiners this month, now’s a good time to sell these cards yourself – just get in touch for more information on joining my growing team.

Get Yourself Organised – I’ll Make it Easy!

I can’t be alone in feeling happy and smugly organised by having my cards sorted for the next few months? I’ve always liked to have a stack in ready for all eventualities, and obviously now that I sell them, my stack to choose from is rather huge! If you’d like to get organised yourself (because you always like to be, or because you’re determined to become more organised!), then let me take the hassle out of it now for you.

Tower of Fairies A097AB

I’m doing a ‘back to school’ pack of 20 best-selling children’s cards, for £26 inc. P&P.

It’ll be a mix, though I can easily tailor it if you’ve specific requirements, for example, if you need more girls than boys cards.

All you need to do is drop me an email or tweet me and I’ll get yours together for you. I’m at joloreading@gmail.com or Twitter at @IHaveCards. I can then take payments via Paypal, credit cards over the phone, or you can send me a good old-fashioned cheque, if you prefer.

And there you have it. Simple as that, and you’ll have a drawer full of organisation..!

I can also do general best-selling card packs, typically including 10 ladies cards,  5 mens, 3 general and a couple of special occasion cards. But again, as with the kids’ packs, I can take requests, so if you definitely need a baby girl card including, for example, tell me and I’ll pop one in. Same price for 20, £26.

Another popular one is a ladies 20 card pack for £26.

And then I can always tag things on – gift wrap, stationery, a couple of packs of kids Christmas cards for the whole class, a reusable advent calendar – you tell me! Again, I can choose the selection for you if you’re pushed for time.

If ordering it all together, I’ll only be charging the £2 P&P once.

So, has that made it easy for you? There’s no excuse not to be smugly organised now 🙂

To browse, I’m at www.jocelynscards.co.uk, and you can of course buy directly from there if you’d rather make all of your own selections.

I’m also growing my team of UK traders, so if you fancy selling these yourself and making some extra money in the run up to Christmas, get in touch for more information.

 

Made My Day

A couple of days ago, our local Mums in the Know website featured a fantastic review of my business, written by one of my lovely customers. It reads..

‘I always like to keep a stash of cards in my top drawer. Being a busy Mum of two and running my own business time always seems to be short and birthdays or special occasions suddenly creep up on me. I bet many Mums can relate to this! Not only do I now have to remember my own friends’ birthdays and anniversaries but my kids seem to be being invited to more and more kids birthday parties too.

I used to pop down M&S every few months and stock up on a range of greetings cards (kids birthday cards, ladies and men’s cards, thank you cards etc) and keep them in that top drawer. Then I could grab one out of the drawer whenever a birthday crept up that I had forgotten about. That was until I stumbled across iHaveCards on twitter. iHaveCards is run by Sutton Coldfield based Jocelyn Reading, a young Mum of two young children, who trades in the Phoenix range of cards, which are absolutely lovely. The cards are so unique and Jocelyn is so forthcoming.

So I decided I didn’t want to put my money towards a large impersonal company anymore but instead support a local Mum trying to earn a living for her young family. What’s not to relate to? I need cards and she sells them, simple really. I’ve taken a photo of just a few of the cards I have bought from Jocelyn (my stack is starting to go down already so I will have to re-stock again soon). On the left you can see some of the kids cards, on the right are some of the ladies cards, in the middle are two male ones. You can’t see it in the picture but some of cards are even 3D. This is just a small selection of the ones I have bought, there are so many more in the range. And Jocelyn stocks loads of other stationary too, gift wrap, tags, present accessories and lots more.

Now I contact Jocelyn every few months instead of going to M&S and I buy a bulk of cards from her to put in my top drawer. It’s so easy, I can phone her, email her, buy via her website or I’ve even visited her and had a mooch through her entire collection. She does Facebook parties and open house evenings as well to get extra discounts. And you don’t have to buy in bulk like me, you can just get one-off cards.

And I have not been bribed to write this, I just simply believe in supporting other mothers around the area who are providing great products and a great service.
Hannah x’

I’m so pleased with it and it really made my day. It’s fabulous that it’s so positive, but it’s just the fact that Hannah took the time out of her very busy life (she runs Kids Let’s Dance, as well as looking after her children) to write and share this that touched me the most. Thank you so much Hannah, as you’ve made my day (possibly my week..!) Oh, and I’m quite partial to the ‘young mum’ comment, too – not sure that’s strictly accurate, but thanks so much… ;-)!

Remember, my shop’s at www.jocelynscards.co.uk and if you fancy selling cards, too, I’m always happy to welcome and support new team members 🙂