What inspired your mom and you to continue the legacy of Paper N More?

Paper N More has been serving the neighborhood from their corner store on May Avenue and NW Grand Boulevard since 1983. My mom, Brenda was originally an employee before she decided to take over the business with dreams of revitalizing its offering of gifts, stationeries, and invitations.

Armed with a desire to leave my corporate job and encouragement from my husband, I joined my mom and we became the third owner of Paper N More in December 2012. We have always loved building a sense of community within the store where our customers, as one claims, is her “happy place”.

How does Paper N More want to be remembered?

We will always be a mom-and-pop store with a one-stop-shop ambition. Paper N More will be a place where our customers can buy for multiple people on their list and have the gift wrapped complete with a handwritten card. We can also accommodate custom invitations for any occasion with any budget, from parties to weddings.

Ultimately, we want people to find intentional gifts for all special and simple moments in life. We are driven by making people feel special and we want our products and services to amplify that feeling, for the gifter and the giftee.

Why was there a need to outsource bookkeeping services?

As Paper N More started to grow our selection of gifts, stationeries, and invitations for our customers, so has our volume of invoices. We were needing help to professionally and efficiently process payroll and pay bills, and the workload has grown beyond the capacity of my father and husband who have another business or a job respectively. 

I got to know Tammy, owner and CEO of DecisionGrid at a women's networking event and was immediately drawn to the values that drove her company. Having DecisionGrid provide us with insightful financial reports, we were able to grow and even pivot during the pandemic of 2020. More importantly, we want to continue supporting a local business like DecisionGrid who invests in the potential of their employees while empowering them in life.

Is bookkeeping services an expense or investment for Paper N More?

I would say it is both an expense and an investment. Outsourcing professional bookkeeping service to DecisionGrid is a necessary expense as we don’t have the needed expertise. It is also a worthwhile investment towards our own time, as we are empowered to manage Paper N More with laser-like focus on customer service and innovative products.