Hey there PCB readers I am coming to you today with a different kind of post you see I am entering the contest at Oh My Handmade for a new biz in the new year!

In the beginning…..

Hi there! I am Angie, wife, mother and entrepreneur. I live in northern Colorado with my husband and 3 girls ages 3, 9 and 10.

I opened PCB on September 1, 2010 after months of planning and preparation. Each day brings a new sense of accomplishment along with a new set of challenges. A typical day includes answering email, working in Illustrator and Photoshop on products, video conferencing about new concepts, sketching ideas for new products and procuring inspiration in my numerous journals.

2011 was a year of growth!

In March of 2011 I recognized I just couldn’t keep up with the demand and expanded the site to include a second designer, Katie Worsham. Since Katie has joined the team it has become very clear that we work well together. We collaborate on product ideas, bounce around business plans, help each other when we are in a design rut and even serve as a sanity mechanism for life’s little hiccups.

In May we teamed up with fellow photographer Drew B in our Soul 4 the South fundraiser where we raised more than $1,000 dollars for those affected by the floods and tornadoes in the south.

Over the summer we proudly became part of the the Millers Lab Design Market as template designers. This not only was a huge accomplishment but it also added credibility and continued growth to the business.

We truly feel as though our customers mean everything. They talk – we listen and work to improve on their suggestions. Our goal is to offer a quality product at an affordable price. Just one example of this was last summer, in listening to our clients wants and needs, we found a way to make changing colors on our templates simple as the click of a mouse. We quickly went through and updated all of our designs to reflect this method and our customers have been singing us praises ever since.

We participate in giveaways related to the industry and donate to charity auctions as a way to pay it forward to the photography community. We have tried advertising on several photography forums and blogs and found the expense out weighed the results.

Over the course of 2011 I worked to continue my education by taking 3 Illustrator classes to improve my skills in the program. I also read multiple business books and even took an online blogging class (which I haven’t put to very good use).

Realizing we have weaknesses too!

Speaking of the blog, in 2012 it is one area that REALLY needs to be focused on and developed. Earlier in the year we hit a jackpot with our daily color posts. It’s been a real treat seeing them pinned all over Pinterest and watching our following grow and grow. However it isn’t enough. The blog needs some serious TLC. I have a few ideas for regular posts I would like to incorporate into our rotation and I would like to make it more personal too. I struggle with writing but vow to make it a priority in my business and put that blogging class to work!

Another area I really struggle with is social media. Yes, we do have a good following however we lack interaction from our readers and customers. I’m committed to finding the solution and increasing communication on a personal and business level.

Looking to the future….

The new year is guaranteed to be full of new projects! We are working closely with a few photographers to bring fresh products to the market. We are also pursuing a huge dream of becoming designers for a card and wrapping paper company.

Winning this would be an amazing blessing! Our logo is crying out for attention! We have tried several different “looks” and nothing has really made my heart sing. Having an outside voice give us some insight and guidance would be a HUGE benefit to the brand (and my sanity).

A business mentor would also be a dream come true. Katie and I work well together bouncing ideas but an outside perspective would be incredible! Having a business mentor on the outside to explore new ideas, critique our business moves, reflect on what is or isn’t working and most importantly to be accountable to could be life changing!

Thank you so much for offering this fantastic giveaway, it was a pleasure reviewing the journey of the past year! Good luck to everyone who enters!

Our boutique – http://www.photocardboutique.com

You can find us on these social media outlets:
Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/PhotoCardBoutique
Twitter – http://www.twitter.com/PhotogBoutique
Pinterest – http://pinterest.com/angiesandy/

Well due to a little snafu on Facebook yesterday (oops mistakes are made by everyone at least once) we have had to make a few changes to our win the store birthday celebration. We are still giving away the huge prize valued at more than $830 but we have made a few changes to how you enter. So here is how it works:

Every $10 you spend September 1-6  is an entry into the contest.
We will draw a winner on September 7th and announce them right here on the blog.
The winner will receive a FULL refund on their purchase!

If there are any questions please let us know!

Later this week I will be making our first new marketing set available, I know many of you have waited! I thought it would be fun to let you weigh in on what your favorite font header is and you get a nice little sneak peek too!

Please click the “I <3 this image” button right below your favorite. Feel free to leave us your comments too, we love hearing your suggestions and ideas

Do you love our business cards… but also love all of the new fun luxe design printing options on the market today? Well you are in luck! All of our designs are compatiable with any luxe design with little to no work on your part.

Many Luxe designs can be printed AS IS on the business cards.

This is a screen cap directly from WHCC ROES software. As you can see this design works perfectly AS IS for the Caroline Limited Edition business card template.

This design works great too! Only change is make sure you move the address block 4 to 6 clicks to the left. The key to making standard designs fit luxe designs is simple! Make sure all vital information and elements are INSIDE the dashed lines.

As you can see a little more work needs to be done before we can print this item. BUT it is simple to change! All you need to do is move the address block to the left 4 to 6 clicks, down 4 to 6 clicks, and change the font from 10pt to 9pt. You will also need to change the font size of the logo name.

Volia! Now you are ready to print this great design as a LUXE business card.

Its really quite simple to change ANY of our designs to fit into the new LUXE designs offered by Miller’s Professional Imaging and White House Custom Color!