$2400 in one day is par for the course with this fun new biz.



Regular readers of our magazines know that we have featured Friendly Folks in the past. The company has been around for more than 15 years helping people start their own personalized products business with prints, key chains, mouse pads, magnets and more.

We like the fact that no inventory is required and the startup cost is just $495. The company has just launched a new division involving personalized music Cds for kids.


Friendly Songs is a subsidiary of Friendly Folks, Inc., which is the industry leader in the personalized cartoon business
Company founder, Scott Kochman, shared how he launched this new offering for Friendly Folks, Inc.



“About a year ago, I was driving with a friend of mine (in his car) who has a 4 year old child. I noticed a music CD on the floor with his kids name on it. My friend explained that each song on the album incorporated his kids name. However, the name was repeated so many times that he and his wife couldn’t stand to listen it anymore.



“So I put in the CD and understood exactly what he was talking about. ‘Good morning Brian! How are you? Are you ready to start the day Brian? It’s going to be a lot of fun. That’s right Brian!’

We made it through three of the songs before my friend started lunging for the eject button. It was a shame because even though the music had that”electronic synthesizer” sound, it still wasn’t too bad.



“But what’s the point of creating a personalized CD for a child if it’s not going to get played?



“So I started thinking... You see, one of my best friends, Cory, is an amazing composer and we’re currently writing a Broadway style musical together. So I called him up and asked him if he’d like to write some kids music. I had an idea. Combine great music, live instruments and the child’s name. But...unlike anyone else, repeat the name just enough that it’s special for the child, but not too much that it drives people crazy.

“To me it makes perfect sense. How come kids have CD’s without their name on it and they listen to them frequently? One of my friends kids listens to his Wiggles CD 3 times a day! But when they get a CD with their name repeated over and over, they listen for a short time and then put the CD away? Neat idea, huh?”



Scott Kochman wanted to use his musical background to create a new product that would make participants proud. It is a logical fit for anyone who’s already in the personalized business or any business. Both products are a lot of fun to sell and definitely compliment each other. Friendly Folks started off as a small family business and remains that way today.

According to one distributor who offered this testimonial:



“This new program is great! Thanks for letting us beta test it. Last week we were easily the busiest booth at the show. We did $740 in two days and it started raining around 3 on Sunday. The wood carving guy next door hardly sold a thing (he wasn’t too happy)! People love the music and want always want to hear a bunch of names. We’re noticing multiple sales to each customer and its mostly women buying for kids and grandkids. “

Janice M. Guarneri, is vice president of Friendly Folks and has been a dealer for 12 years.



Janice Guarneri said, “Our last show was just a few weeks ago. First off, Scott and I had to make a decision whether to bring the Friendly Folks cartoon prints with us or not. We decided to see what kind of results we’d have with just Friendly Songs.

“So we brought a laptop, external speakers (louder than the ones on the laptop), empty jewel cases, blank CD’s and a couple of signs. Basically, it was a pretty shabby display. We thought we’d be lucky if we sold ANYTHING!



“So after stopping at Dunkin Donuts and after loading up with sugar and

caffeine, we headed off to the show. We knew we didn’t have much to set up so we got there about 20 minutes before it started. We found our location, plopped a couple of signs on the folding table, plugged in the computer and just sat there. I looked over at Scott and I noticed he had this ‘I think we made a big mistake’ look. But what the heck? We were already there so we figured we’d see what happens.



“Around 9, people started milling through the aisle. We kept selecting different names and songs and playing them. A couple of people stopped by but they didn’t seem interested and left. I thought it would be like this all day. But then a couple of people wanted to hear a lot of names and ended up standing there for awhile.”



Janice said, “I noticed something interesting. When there were a few people in front of the table, the people in the aisle heard the music but couldn’t see where it was coming from. So it made them curious. And guess what? They started trying to see what was going on and soon we had a bit of a mob scene. Our display was so small that everyone was trying to get a peek. And people waiting in the back of the crowd were asking the people in the front what it was. Pretty cool!

“Needless to say, the show turned out well. “We made $1260 in 6 hours."


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