Should Small Businesses Have Scrapbooks?

Think back to the 1800’s. We can actually produce a visual image based on what we’ve been told, what we’ve read in history books and what we’ve seen on t.v. One of my favorite movie trilogies is Back to the Future. Of course, one of those movies is based back in the 1800’s, so I always conjure up those images when I think of the 1800’s.

Without written accounts of what happened, this era would be lost to us. For anyone who affiliates with a religion that uses a bible, again written accounts tell readers what happened hundreds or thousands of years ago.

Businesses are no different. By keeping a written and visual account of what’s happened, this information is preserved into the future.

I have a scrapbook of all the articles I’ve ever written. I chuckle at how my thinking has changed over the years.

What else changes with a small business? Logos change. Save one of your business cards, a sheet of stationary, a copy of your web banner. Mission statements change. Type these out, put them on the business stationary you are using at the time. Labels on products change. Create scrapbook pages of your product labels as they change over the years. Formulas and recipes change. Again, choose a scrapbook paper that fits your business focus and put your formulas and recipes on these pages and then add them to your business scrapbook. Advertising changes, verbiage that worked 10 years ago, may not work today, but might work 10 years from now. Save copies of all of your ads. If you have employees, they too may change over the years. Take photos of your employees. Write a short bio of those who have worked for you.

I have saved all of my website pages over the years. I keep them stored on a DVD, but I also have pages printed that I keep in a scrapbook. Time changes, time moves forward. Your business will change and grow as time moves forward. Keep your business history in a scrapbook.

About the author:
Audrey Okaneko has been scrapbooking for several years. She can be reached at audreyoka@cox.net or visited at http://www.scrapping-made-simple.com