When you move toward a new business model, especially one that is more luxury, you make a lot of changes and find you need new things to make your business run smoothly. When I first moved to IPS, I made all the necessary changes and bought all the extra equipment, office supplies etc. and very quickly realized that some of it was really not necessary. Just the other day I decided to clean out my cupboards that contain my business supplies and I was immediately inspired to create this list as I threw away thing after thing that seemed so necessary at the time.

My intention with this blog post is to both save you money, and help you think outside the box of what the IPS model usually looks like. 

The very first thing I came across that I threw away SO MUCH of, and what mostly inspired this post, might surprise you a bit since selling wall art is a huge part of my business.

1. Frame Corners

I kid you not, I threw out about 50 frame corners when cleaning out my space. I remember thinking they were sooooo necessary. How else could you sell someone a frame? What if they couldn’t picture it? I originally purchased only a handful and then thought, what if none of these match someones decor? So ordered more. Then worried that they need more options per colour, and then needed different price points. Guess what? No one cared. No one. Even when I did in person as opposed to virtual sales, none of my clients cared if didn’t have a frame corner they were looking for.

It turns out most people have a pretty good imagination when you say a simple white wood would match your decor. And if they don’t, we have this amazing thing called the internet, where you can literally pull up frame corners by finish and show them to your client, right from your laptop or phone. Some of the larger suppliers even let you upload your photo to see exactly what it would look like in the frame. Technology is amazing.

Now, I’m going to be honest. This entire blog post was created for this one point. DON’T WASTE YOUR MONEY ON FRAME CORNERS. You don’t need them. It bugged me so much as I threw out frame corner after frame corner that I had to write this post. It maybe should be called One thing I regret Spending my Money on, and 4 more you can likely do without. When you sell someone a print for their wall, they generally buy a frame, with or without samples. Don’t overcomplicate it.  Since we got that out of the way early, here are 4 bonus things you probably don’t need to spend money on.

2. Client snacks

When I offered in-person viewings, I would bring my clients popcorn, craft candies and sparkling water, like a little upscale movie night treat. While this was a super fun touch, about 75% of the time they sat in a box untouched while we viewed their images and chose their artwork. I had the thought of mailing them out ahead of their zoom reveal when I decided to move to virtual, but decided to save the cash since I never knew whether or not my clients actually ate the snacks!

3. Gift boxes

This goes hand-in-hand with the previous. I bought these gorgeous rose gold gift boxes to pack my client snacks in so they were not only fun, but had great presentation. When the snacks became a thing of the past, I had about 50 of these gift boxes sitting around wasting space in my work area.

4. Paper samples

When figuring out what to offer clients for artwork, It can be hard not to worry about creating limits by not offering everything you can think of, but the truth is, most people get overwhelmed with too many choices. Creating limits around the choices can increase sales because it makes it easier to make a decision. Also, clients don’t know that there are 17 different types of paper styles they can order their prints on, and they don’t need to see and feel them all to make a decision. Lustre, Matte and Fine Art is generally plenty. If a client specifically asks about a different paper finish, you can let them know if your printer supplies it, but don’t waste your money on a sample in every paper type.

5. A Projector and Screen

Yep. I said it. I spent thousands of dollars on a good projector and screen, because they seem fairly necessary for showing clients their images. But It quickly became obvious to me that going to my clients, driving 45 minutes in traffic each way, lugging around all this gear and my samples, carrying them up flights of stairs, did not serve the work/life balance I so desperately wanted. It turns out, if you have a good system set up, you can do a very successful client reveal over zoom, right from the comfort of your own home or office. I did this at first by accident because of COVID, but found it was so much better than going to my clients, setting up all my stuff and almost forgetting my screen every single time.

There they are. Five things that have taken up space in my home for the last three years and wasted my money that I really never needed. Learn from my mistakes! Just because someone’s business relied on it, doesn’t mean yours will. Figure out what you really need most and start with that, and once you have your process solidified, then make the investments in whatever is missing.