Customized Calendars

The calendar will include the following features:

• One month per 8.5" x 11" sheet of paper
• Each page printed in the horizontal, "landscape" mode
• Will print up to 30 special events on dates the customer selects (for example August 12 might say "Rob Fish BD" ("BD" means Birthday)
• The customer can give the calendar a name, and that name will be on each calendar page
• Each calendar page will have a very small copy of the previous and following month's calendars
• The last page of the calendar will be an order form for additional calendars
• All pages held together by a GBC style comb assembly (the picture down below shows binding the calendar with wire, but I can't do that at home. I'll be using the plastic comb, which I could do at home).
• An index of the customers special dates will be printed on the order form page.

The Calendar

• Big picture on top sheet, calendar on bottom sheet. This is the "standard" calendar you'll find at Staples, Office Max and a lot of other places. The going price for this type of calendar, without any customized dates, seems to be around $29.95 . The calendar consists of a cover, 12 calendar pages, and an order form. This is what the layout of one of these might look like:

The folks at Staples and Office Max do not put anything on the calendar pages themselves. Ours would be different/better than theirs because we'd print birthdays, annivesaries, etc on the calendar. I think I can do that at the same "$29.95 for the first calendar and less for additional calendar" prices they charge (plus, of course, your ever-popular shipping and handling).

Before I go any further, I'd appreciate any thoughts, ideas and suggestions you might have. Am I putting in too many options? Or not enough? What else should I include, or what should I leave out?

Let me know what you think.

Thanks!

Suggestions I've Received

- Make the boxes for each day as big as possible. This is something I'll definately do. I'm going to make the photograph a bit smaller, move the calendar title and header info to the top page, and re-do the actual calendar page so the boxes are taller.

- Use clip art symbols for special days instead of abbreviations. Another idea I'll definately use where possible. We'll have a little picture of a birthday cake with a candle for birthdays. A couple of bells with a ribbon for anniversaries.

- Use the same picture on all pages to cut down the cost. I'll probably change my pricing so that it is a set price for the base calendar with one picture, and then there is an adder per picture. The problem with this is that if someone orders just one calendar at $29.95, I end up working at much less than minimum wage because of the time involved in working with all the photographs, entering all the special dates, and working with the customer to make sure the list of names is correct. Coming up with a pricing structure that makes sense, but will still allow me to make a decent amount of money on orders of three or more calendars is a challenge.

- Put a person's photograph on the date of his/her birthday or anniversary. I don't think I'll do this one, even though several people suggested it. It is a very good idea, but I see several drawbacks. The first is when two or three people have the same birthday. The calendar just isn't big enough to accommodate that. The second is that many people won't want to write on top of someone's picture. And the third is a logistical problem - making sure I get pictures of people I don't know on the right day.

- Put pictures of people who are having birthdays or anniversaries on the picture at the top of each month. I may be able to design the calendar so there's room on the top page for a row of thumbnail photographs. The very top of the calendar would have the calendar title (picked by the person ordering the calendar) and maybe the month/year. Underneath that would be the picture. I might print the month vertically on the left side of the photograph and the year vertically on the right side, just so there's a bit more room for the picture. Underneath the picture would be a row reserved for thumbnail photographs of the individuals with birthdays or anniversaries that month. And then underneath that would be the header with the days of the week printed. I'm guessing that I'd charge $4.00 per photograph to put on the thumbnail pictures, and once again, I'd be working at less than minimum wage if the customer ordered only one calendar.

- Allow the calendar to start at any given month. This is another idea I'll use. There's not much point in someone ordering a "January 2000 to December 2000" calendar in June or July. I'll probably off the option of 13, 14, 15, 16 and 18 month calendars at a very slight additional fee, providing they use only 12 different pictures.

That's all for now. I'll be making a "Fish Family" calendar soon, and will upload pictures from it when it is done. If you have any other ideas or suggestions, please let me know.

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Customized Creations; 2297 Benning Drive; Powell OH 43065
Phone: 614-889-5222; Fax: 614-718-0699
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