--Norm Conrad
The project is both a business and a ministry. Going into its fourth year, the business aspect is known as Historical Reproductions (
www.historicprints.com). Historical Reproductions is the realization of a lifelong dream of Gene S. Albert, Jr., an area home builder. Decades ago, Mr. Albert began collecting old Bibles, manuscripts, and sermon notes of significant people and eras of Christian history—such as Reformationists, hymn writers, and evangelists. He is now able to share part of his extensive collection with the public through the ministry aspect—Christian Heritage Museum.
Mr. Lanning: I'm here with Norm Conrad who wears two hats: a Marketing director for the Historical Reproductions and the Curator of the Christian Heritage Museum--the ministry part of the business. Tell me, Norm, how did you get into this business?
Mr. Conrad: That's quite a story. I guess you might say that the Lord directed me here. I was working with a publishing company, fairly successful, good retirement plan, when I was approached by Gene Albert to help restart Historical Reproductions. I knew Mr. Albert as a deacon from my original church when I first accepted Christ. I was hesitant to leave the familiarity that I was comfortable with, and he asked me to pray before I made a decision.
Mr. Lanning: I guess that must have been about five years ago. What happened then?
Mr. Conrad: He asked me to pray about it and I thought I should at least do that. I have about two acres of lawn I mowed at home and that was when I did a lot of my thinking and praying out on the tractor. It seemed I couldn't get the thought out of my mind to work for him. I told Mr. Albert that I would run the business after it seemed that the Lord would not let me go—although I had virtually no experience in historical things. My experience was in publishing.
Mr. Lanning: So did you have any question that you were making the right decision?
Mr. Conrad: My questions were all before I came to work. When I came in here before, the drywall was barely up and there really was nothing inviting, but the moment I held a 450-year-old Bible in my hands, I thought, "Wow, I am holding history in my hands!" After that there was never a question that I made the right decision.
Mr. Lanning: Let's talk about the business first, then we'll get to your personal side, Norm. So you started this business off about four years ago. What does Historical Reproductions actually do?
Mr. Conrad: We sell both actual historical items such as Bibles, documents from around the time of America's founding, actual letters from some of our first Presidents regarding the importance of the Bible, Congressional leaders of that time as well as letters and sermons from the great preachers of the time such as Spurgeon and Moody and reproductions of much of these Christian and American historical documents. Prices on our products run from just $10 into many thousands of dollars.
Mr. Lanning: Those of us in business always want to know things like this, but what were your first sales like?
Mr. Conrad: Well, I remember our first week in business, we made $17.
Mr. Lanning: $17?! You must have done something to begin the climb back to the breakeven point at which you are today. How did you do it and what would you peg as your annual growth rate?
Mr. Conrad: As I mentioned, I did not exactly have a model of what to do in running a historical reproductions business, so I just started making phone call after phone call after phone call--and establishing and building relationships. I started calling seminaries, large churches and Christian bookstores. Starting so small, we needed a pretty fair growth rate and we've handled right around a 25% growth rate each year after doing a higher percentage our first year.
Mr. Lanning. Wow, that is a nice growth rate. That means you must have had some pretty nice sales in your sales calls since then, right?
Mr. Conrad: You know, some of the largest sales were serendipitous and more or less fell into my lap—essentially a gift from God. We look at any sale to be a good sale. But our larger sales basically came from relationship building. We have a tremendous customer service mindset that we maintain and build on constantly. Sometimes, I tend to get wrapped up so much in running the business of selling these artifacts that I can forget to put God first if I’m not careful.
Mr. Lanning: That brings up a nice bridge into our next point, Norm. When did you first meet the Savior?
Mr. Conrad: This too is quite a story. Although I really did not have any idea of what 'religion' was, I credit my 97-year old grandmother, who just passed away two weeks ago, with giving me some sort of foundation. Growing up I had the typical American “dysfunctional” family, dealing with alcoholism, physical abuse, etc. But I remember my grandmother would always tell me "If you come to church with me, I will make you a chocolate pie!" And I really liked chocolate pies—especially hers.
Mr. Lanning: So this was in your childhood then? What were the conditions in which you came to faith?
Mr. Conrad: Well, the poor conditions continued for quite a while into my adulthood. I completely lost any religious moorings my grandmother tried to instill in me. I hit absolute rock bottom. My life was a shambles. I was emotionally, physically, and spiritually bankrupt. I was contemplating suicide. The thought of getting into my car and running into a concrete embankment seemed like a viable option.
Mr. Lanning: You want me to make that public, Norm?
Mr. Conrad: Why not? It is part of my testimony. Anyway, 24 years ago, I think it was on February 2 1984 , I was just lost and broken, listening to a tape on the love of God. I remembered from my childhood that Moses went to Mount Sinai and that Christ’s forty days of fasting in the wilderness. It seemed like it was up in the mountains that I could find God. While driving, still contemplating taking my life, I was driving by Mount St. Mary’s near the college campus in Maryland. Hence, going to the mountain, things just broke apart inside of me and I surrendered everything to God. It is absolutely and only through God's grace that I am sitting here talking to you with these surroundings. I started to going to a small church which really helped me learn Biblical principles. It was there I met Mr. Albert as a deacon.
Mr. Lanning: Wow. That is a tremendous testimony of our Lord's grace, Norm. You said your Life Verse was Romans 6:23--is there a reason behind that?
Mr. Conrad: It is really a journey of life verses from Romans 6:23 to Romans 8:28. Romans 6:23 has a secondary meaning in my life because although the wages of sin is a spiritual death, I have experienced that through my own personal decisions there has been the death of relationships and other meaningful things as a result of sin.
Mr. Lanning: That is really neat, Norm. I really appreciate your sharing this backgrounder on your Life Verse. I also appreciate the time you have spent with Tentmakers Support Network and allowing us a peek into your business and personal life. Two quick items before we go if you would indulge us. First, do you have any advice for those Tentmakers just starting out in business? And secondly, do you have any personal and business requests that TSNI members and supporters and be praying with you on?
Mr. Conrad: Sure, Steve. As to advice to those just starting out, I would say that you really need to be persistent. Discouragement can be your greatest enemy. And building and maintaining relationships is the most important aspect of developing a business. No matter how small or insignificant you think they are, each contact is still important.
As I told you earlier, when we first started Historical Reproductions, we had virtually no viable business contacts. Until we learned who our target markets were, we were basically shooting from the hip. Mr. Albert had tried to launch this business years earlier, but had no one to really spend 100% of their time on it. I feel as though this is my calling. We called seminaries, Christian bookstores, museums-- any place I could think of to get product exposure. I even called Cracker Barrel’s corporate headquarters as they oftentimes carry historical products. You just have to knock and keep knocking. A lot of times in business, we fail to follow up on people beyond the first or second contact. However, each sales call is equally important no matter how minimal the outcome may be—it all goes back to relationship building and customer confidence.
Secondly, as to prayer requests, folks can pray for more quality time with my wife and family on a personal level. Oftentimes in the first couple of years, I spent anywhere from 15-16 hours a day, which was basically preparation for launching Historical Reproductions and developing relationships. For the business, more exposure for Historical Reproductions, and that we follow God’s will. The Christian Heritage Museum is still supported by Gene's home building business. We are launching a third website for the business in a few weeks, www.rarebiblesandmore.com, focusing more on authentic leaves and Bibles, as opposed to reproduction material. You can also pray for our traveling to and from our trade shows and symposiums where Mr. Albert and I speak. Just like the upcoming conference in Salt Lake City, Utah, where we will be speaking to 2,500 to 3,000 people on How We Got the Bible.
Mr. Lanning: Your DVD entitled "How We God the Bible" is absolutely outstanding. I feel every business should have this DVD on hand to sell or even give away as a witnessing tool. You also have Washington's Prayers, a wonderful book of the prayers and faith of our first President, along with other items such as your Heroes of the Faith series. You mentioned that you have an affiliate program where people can help you spread the word by earning money with your products. Is that still available?
Mr. Conrad: It sure is. People can call me and we can set up either a drop ship or wholesale program with their business or ministry that fits their needs.
Mr. Lanning: Thanks again for your time, Norm. The Christian Heritage Museum is just an amazing place you have here. I see that you only take groups through by appointment. Why is that and how far in advance should they call you?
Mr. Conrad: You are welcome. What we do with Historical Reproductions may conflict with people just walking into the museum. So in order to manage our time more efficiently, we ask that people call in advance and schedule.
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