Jorjana Brown delivered the final BYU-Hawaii entrepreneurship lecture of the school year April 11 on how she has grown her scrapbooking business from a small retail start-up into a manufacturing company that's part of a multibillion-dollar international industry.
Brown — sister of BYU-Hawaii service missionary and "entrepreneur in residence" Elder John Simcox — explained how she started All My Memories after raising six children, with the financial backing of her husband who has his own successful national business buying and selling furniture.
"I was pretty much a stay-at-home mom, and had no clue that I would ever run a business," she told the BYU-Hawaii students, indicating she felt compelled to look into something after her husband experienced three "weird food reactions in one year. I really wished there was something I could do if something happened to him, but I really didn't want to run his business."
Brown turned to scrapbooking, which she had learned about in Relief Society and though she lives in Draper, Utah, she opened a small retail shop that had been vacant for 13 years in Lakewood, Colorado, with the help of her former sister-in-law.
"When we opened our first store, people thought we were crazy," Brown said. "Since then scrapbooking has grown into this multibillion-dollar business, but when we started it was pretty darn new."
"There were a lot of interesting things that happened," she said, noting the former sister-in-law soon moved away. "Don't ever start your business 500 miles away from where you live. So we turned it over to two gals who were my managers. Within a month we started getting huge invoices. They were ordering everything in the world...and completely ignoring their budget."
"For the first time in my life, I had to fire people," she continued. "It doesn't matter what you're selling — sporting goods, jewelry, office supplies — the principles apply."
Brown ended up hiring her son who had just graduated from BYU where he took some business classes. "He got in there and did a fantastic job...and within two years we grew that business to four stores," including one near her home in Draper.
"I love retail. I think it's fantastic. It's a ton of work, and you have to be open whether you like it or not. As an independent retailer, you have to give absolutely fantastic service. Your customers will take it personally if it isn't fantastic," Brown said, adding she started manufacturing her own products because "there were tons of things that I wanted. I thought, wouldn't it be wonderful to do a wholesale business."
She soon noticed the difference between wholesale and retail. "In a wholesale business, you're working out of a warehouse. It doesn't matter what it looks like, you're open from 9–5, and closed on weekends and holidays." But, she said, "I was very naïve to think that everything would be simple."
Brown launched her new line of products at the biggest industry trade show in 2001 in a 10-foot-square booth. "We only had 48 SKUs — items to sell. We were super busy and won the 'buyer's choice award,' but we didn't even know what that was." Last year, she added, she had over 3,000 SKUs and is one of the top-six vendors. She brings out new products about four times a year and manufactures about one-third of her inventory in China, with the help of go-between brokers.
"It gets more and more competitive every year," Brown continued. "The number-one rule of success is be first-to-market, and then work it. If you have a really cool or innovative idea, you can still have huge success."
"I wish I had your knowledge," she said to the BYU-Hawaii business students. "Everything I've learned, I learned from experience, and spent thousands of dollars in the process."
For example, "if you're going to open a retail store, you've got to have the population," she said, telling how her first small store in Draper was okay, but business tripled a year later when she moved into a strip mall. "You need a store that people can see."
All My Memories now has 32 employees, a 15,000 square foot warehouse "and we're going to have to move into a bigger building, and we ship all over the world. Everywhere else in the world scrapbooking is brand new. One of the things that's really helped my business is the lovely Internet."
Other advice Brown offered: "In the beginning it's usually you, but as soon as you can you need to hire the right people," she said, admitting that hiring family and friends "can be difficult. You need to hire people who have done it before. You need to hire people who know more than you do."
"Make friends with your competition. Get to know other people in your industry. Competition is what keeps the whole industry lively and interesting. Don't let things like that threaten you."
"Be sure to control your finances. You've got to keep your money going back into your business. Be very careful and patient. Pay yourself a reasonable salary."
"Last but not least, keep balance in your life," Brown said. "When I walk into my house, I try to completely shut it all off."