Scrapbook Obsession Blog: Why Things Are Changing in 2015

So.

I don’t usually get too personal on this blog. It’s not a site about MY scrapbooking. It’s a site about SCRAPBOOKING. That’s how it’s been from the beginning and the way I want it to always stay. I want to be different from all the other scrapbook blogs out there. I want to be a place where we talk – not about my life, my scrapbooking, my photos, my family – but about this obsession called Scrapbooking.

The other component I believe in is being honest and transparent. I tell you my real opinion on scrapbooking topics, products, companies, “celebrities”, etc. And if I don’t have something nice to say, I try to keep my mouth shut, LOL. Unless I can be constructive :)

Even though the title of this post says “things are changing,” I want you to know that the plan is for this site to stay about scrapbooking and stay about honesty. That’s not going to change. What I hope IS going to change is that Scrapbook Obsession is going to become bigger and better and more fun throughout the rest of 2015 … and beyond.

I’ve been wanting to build this site up for SO many years. I’ve had plans in the past for various things that either didn’t work out or I had to abandon due to constraints on my time. I’ve also let fear hold me back: Fear that I’ll disappoint you, fear that because I’m not a fancy scrapper that I have nothing to offer, fear that I’ll drive away people who’ve been so supportive of this blog. But I’ve felt from the beginning that 2015 was going to be an awesome year and it sure is turning out to be.

Over the years, I’ve watched amazing women in this industry build their online, at-home scrapbooking businesses – Becky Higgins, Ali Edwards, Lain Ehmann to name a few – and been SO inspired. But I’ve always thought they had something special I didn’t, that they were doing something I could never do, that they knew some secret I didn’t for making their dreams come true.

While I still don’t think I’ll ever be running a million dollar company like BeckyHiggins.com, I’ve come to realize that I CAN do big things. I can take this love of scrapbooking further – via this site i’ve been building for 8 years – and I can turn this passion into a business I love without “selling out” or letting you down or becoming some fake thing you don’t recognize.

The main thing that’s changed my attitude is that I’ve been attending an online business school. It’s geared toward female entrepreneurs who want to dream big and run online businesses. The education I’m getting has opened my eyes wide and also opened many doors. It’s all very exciting! The other women who attend are extremely encouraging, helpful, and we all cheer each other on. I’m using the teachings to improve and expand my virtual assistant business but I’m also going to apply these wonderful things to Scrapbook Obsession.

Business school has expanded my beliefs about all the things I have to offer, what makes my site unique, what a difference I can make, and has me so stinkin’ jacked up, I can hardly stand it! Finding time is still a challenge but I’m making it happen. Changes will roll out slowly as I can implement them but I have self-imposed deadlines I plan to meet. Wish me luck.

Hint: One of those deadlines is National Scrapbook Day 05-02-15 … yikes, not very far away!

I’m a reader, writer, scrapbooker, creative type. I gotta’ tell ya’, the technical side of all this online biz stuff is challenging! But I’m stubborn and will figure out whatever I need to. In the meantime, it might not be pretty but don’t worry. It’ll all be good in the end :P

And back to the fear thing: One thing I’ve learned in business school is that I can’t make everyone happy. “If you try to make everyone happy, you end up pleasing no one.” We all like different things and different aspects of scrapbooking. We all want different things from the sites we choose to spend time on. But I’ve come to realize that I can’t make “people” happy, I can only make “my people” happy. My people, my tribe, the scrappers who think like I think and like what I like. I do feel badly that I can’t cater to EVERY kind of scrapper but I also feel very blessed to have offerings for MY kind of scrapper. That’s all one person can do, right?

This new venture is going to require me to do something I’m not comfortable with: Asking for help. I’ll need to reach out to members of the scrapbooking industry and ask for things that they may or may not be willing to give. That’s scary! But, like mama always said, “If you don’t ask, you’ll never know!” Time to put on my Big Girl Scrapper Panties and get ready for rejection! And – maybe just maybe – some pleasant surprises, too. I’ll also need to ask some of you to help me behind the scenes so I can make this site super useful for you.

What I ask of each reader is to be open-minded, be excited, and join me on the journey!! It’s gonna’ be fun, I promise ;)

Yikes! Hitting “Publish” … no turning back now!!! YEEHAWWWW