Have you ever tried to find the perfect greeting card, the one that would convey to the recipient exactly how you felt? No matter how many cards you may look through sometimes the right one just doesn’t seem to exist.
Sheila Sylvestre of Whisper Greetings had a childhood dream. She was enamored with greeting cards and wanted to make them. While she went many years without considering that dream the death of her father caused her to rethink her life. She knew she wanted to do something different so she reached back into that childhood dream and created a greeting card business. Sheila is also the author of a weekly ezine.
Each card conveys a specific feeling. If you’re feeling passionate, she has a card that will tell the recipient exactly that. There is no guesswork necessary, her cards convey the message for you.
Tell us a little about Whisper Greetings.
Whisper Greetings was founded in February 2010. Using original photography, verse and an essence word Whisper Greeting cards convey a specific message or feeling. The cards resonate most strongly to spirit-minded individuals and heart-centered entrepreneurs who appreciate their personal and business relationships. From here Whisper Greetings has expanded to include Life Purpose Coaching to support spirit-minded women on the path of leaving corporate America and discovering, claiming and living their life purpose, as I have.
What inspired it?
The inspiration behind the cards came at a time after my father passed away a few months after I donated my left kidney to him. It was a perfect storm between personal loss and career overload that had me take a “you-turn” away from a 26-year career in the corporate world.
I wanted career #2 to be creative and something I was passionate about. Since I was a young girl I had a dream to own my own greeting card company and created different collections. In fact, I used to put the price plus tax on the back of my homemade cards. Whisper Greetings is a grown-up version of that childhood dream.
And now not only do I get to live this dream, but support other women in living their dream as well.
What kinds of greeting cards do you offer?
Whisper Greetings offers all occasion cards such as birthdays, holidays and cards to appreciate others. Custom Card Design Services target specific needs of a business to create cards for customer appreciation and client loyalty.
Whisper Greetings specializes in cards that are specific to connection, healing and hope. Those are the bridges that I have crossed to live a life on purpose. Connecting to spirit and appreciation. Healing from the past and old limiting beliefs. Hope for living an authentic life full of abundance.
How many do you have listed? How much do they cost?
The current Whisper Greetings collection for sale on-line includes 65 cards priced at $4.45 US each.
Custom cards have been created for private clients which depending on the level of design work and volume of cards can cost hundreds to thousands of dollars.
An essence card created for a private coaching client is included in the Greeting Your Life Purpose Coaching Program.
What separates you from the competition?
There is no greeting card business that I know of that offers custom card services and private coaching about life purpose. The cards are a way to connect with a client’s specific blocks that prevent them from living their own life purpose and to shine a light on their own uniqueness.
Any plans to add to your line of cards in the near future? If so, care to give us a hint as to what we can expect?
I love to create cards and will continue to add to the existing collection but am really excited to use the cards within the Greeting Your Life Purpose Coaching Program and create custom essence cards for private clients.
What goals do you hope to accomplish over the next year or so?
My mission and purpose is to be a greeting card designer, writer, publisher and speaker. Through art and communication my intention is to elevate people’s spirits, share the beauty and wonder of the world and offer knowledge to others about finding their life purpose and living the life they love.
In addition to creating custom greeting cards I am offering coaching services to women coming from the corporate world looking to find their own life purpose.
What lead you to choose Zazzle as your store platform?
I am energized to witness the magic of synchronicities. I had not heard of Zazzle but was looking for a solution to showcase my cards. A colleague suggested I take a look at Zazzle. She had seen the cards printed by a friend and knew they were high quality.
What benefits do they offer over having your own website or using a different service?
The biggest benefit of using Zazzle is the on-line store is completely free. I was about to spend thousands of dollars to have a marketing website built with no shopping cart. I was able to officially open for business using the Zazzle on-line store complete with shopping cart with no start-up costs. Zazzle also provides the HTML code you can use for email marketing, social media and showcase your store on your blog.
What are some lessons your business has taught you?
My business has been a journey of self-inquiry and personal growth beyond my imagination. Going from being an employee to being unemployed and ultimately choosing self-employment has shown me the level of commitment that is required to make your dream a reality.
Any advice you’d like to offer fellow entrepreneurs that are just getting started?
You don’t need to do it alone or figure it all out on your own. Barbara Sher said it best, “Isolation is the dream killer.”
Having the support of a coach will help with your inner transformation and give you practical advice with the best way to bring your dream to life. That’s what I want for everyone to live your life on purpose and fulfill your heart’s desire.