WAHM Forums

I have been thinking about this since our Image discussion.

Unless you are a VIP. the percentages aren't worth your while on things like a $10 makeup. Please don't say "become a VIP". That's not as easy as it sounds, otherwise there would be a lot more in the units than what I see on director's websites. To me that's a "toss away" attitude, like "let them eat cake".

So I am working with at best a 30% discount. So I am thinking I show them the stuff, or give them a pamplet, and they can order it off my website if they want to. Gary was just talking about this either on his blog or one of his videos.

I intend to take advantage of the makeup sales, order some skin care samples, and build somewhat of a display inventory. I would concentrate on what makes BC unique, like the plantium lipsticks which I have on even as I write. They are great!

I am asking you more experienced ladies for your opinions before I begin this.

I am in that before the Vip stage, and I would have to say that your main focus is this is YOUR business! These are YOUR clients! not just someone that buys one time, or only spends ten bucks! I've had people do that , and then turn around unexpectedly and order a large amount at Christmas for friends and loved ones. But, I've kept myself in their eyesight,too.

I want a bigger team, I want a car, and the 40,000 income! That's what I aspire to, and am working toward, right now its alluding me, but I'm growing. I try to keep at least 8 spa's on the calendar. And add to my client list every month.
And to help with my discount, make sure I get in a $750 order/orders a month, so I get the discount! And I only buy inventory when its on sale, so I get the most profit.And upsell, dont' be afraid to ask!

I think with each of us though you have to make it your own ! I have a friend who only wants one spa a month, and she loves that! My mother is one of my recruits, and she doesn't want to spa, but have me go with her to do 1-on-1's, she's great at those!
sometimes its hard! I've been in Direct Selling before,when it was awful! Product was bad quality,replacement was bad,customer service was bad,and rep's couldn barely speak english! Then I wa given this opportunity, and LOVE it!
Agh, I'll quit rambling!:D

Ramble as long as you want to, that's what this board is here for!

It either get it on and start selling, or totally drop BC because I just don't need enough to put in a $150 order each quarter and would have to have outside orders to make up the difference.

The good thing about BC is that you can always order from the company, and give your consultant the credit. This is the great thing for the consultant.

I really am bummed about what has happened to the discount. I know they want to get rid of the small users so this is make it or break it time for me. To increase the minimum ordering requirements while decreasing the discount is one sure way to do it.

I almost preferred the one weekend every other month when any order was 50% off!. But, they are probably testing the waters.
I'd be in even if it was for only my skin care, cause thats made such a difference. That's originally why I started,to get that discount.

You sure would have to use a lot of skin care at a minimum of $600 a year!

I forgot that you only have to put in $150 now a year stay a consultant.

I signed up a few years ago for the discount, have only had a few spas, mostly family. I started to place an order last week, wanted the 50% discount, but realized I would have to order $750 worth to get it because I am not a VIP yet. I also needed business supplies and it all adds up. I just couldn't commit to that for the 50% off right now, so I am in the same boat, get serious with it, or get out. I am looking at all the "extras" like credit card fees, hostess gift costs, website fee, odds and ends and I get way too nervous to spend that kind of money not having spas on my books.
I can see the big picture, but am too afraid to push myself and my checkbook! lol.....

Rick Goings the Tupperware president has continually said over the last year or so that they are rebranding BC in order to get the "hobbyist" (his words) out of the picture.

I am not a hobbyist, just someone who has been in BC for a long time, and has enjoyed using the product, giving it to people as little gifts and also as Christmas gifts.

By giving VIPs 50%, BC is rewarding recruiting. That's their perogative, but Mary Kay gives you 50% whether or not you are a consultant or the highest level of their hiercahy.

Let's look at the facts: BC has increased the minimum amount to be active, they have decreased the percentage unless you order that amount, and changed the frequency from four months to three. Please tell me how this helps the consultant. It doesn't.

Until BC goes back to the four month, $101 30% or something even better, I won't be ordering anymore. I can get what I want online directly from the company.

I'll still be a consultant until my time is up, and it shall be interesting to see if this new freedom plan works.

This post is saying thanks to the ladies who PM'd me with their concurring views of the new discount and minimum changes, as well as the Freedom Plan.

This is the last thread I'll be posting on at this time. Never say never, never always happens. I am not a seller but an intense user and there's no room for that right now.

Good luck to all of you!

LadyJ - Not sure if you'll read this since you said you weren't posting any more, and this is not meant to attack, just curious. :) Which products are you using? As a personal user, I order more than $150 every 3 months. That is not including my spa orders, just my own and my family's items (family consists of me and my fiance). I was just wondering because my personal use girls haven't really had an issue with the change in structure as they mostly order more than the minimum anyway. I even have a girl who has never held a spa (been with BC since 07) and consistently orders more than the $150 minimum. So, I was just thinking maybe there is something you aren't buying from BC that you could be and it would help get to your minimum.

Bethany I will still be on this thread until it runs out.

I can't use everything BC makes on my skin and I am not a spa fan. Also I don't like the switch to the new mineral makeups. So that's leaves out a lot. BUT bear in mind I have been a personal user for the last 12 years as well as taking advantages of some of the big discounts you used to see every January. Last year I ordered over one thousand dollars for personal use and gifts.

But remember, I was ordering thinking it would be four months instead of three, $100 instead of $150. So I stocked up on things I won't need for at least a year. What also bothers me is the decrease in the percentage. To do both at once is quite a whammy and this was done specifically to weed out the personal users like me. Rick Goings has said so many times on his quarterly reports which you can google to check it out if you haven't read it.

As a personal user, I have to think about would it be easier to just get it from the company without a discount? Also I have to admit I am somewhat offended by what Rick is saying, considering I've put a lot more $$ into the company over the years. Mary Kay and Arbonne even Avon is happy to get the "hobbyist" and personal user.

So it is a combination of things for me, as well as others out there in Beautiland I know! Only time will tell if this is going to work. It may work initially but I'd say by August, October we may be seeing a change in the game plan.

Well one perk: Everything you put on your body as a consultant is tax dedcutible, part of your business.
And I myself use lots of stuff, makeup and spa. This comany has been the best direct selling company I've seen, hear, or tried. I was with Tupp, didn't work so well. My mom did MK , and there skincare doesn't compare, plus you have an ordering minimum to get your 50%. And we hav peopl in our group that sold the Arbonne.
But, you have to do whats best for you, right now moving up to VIP is awesome, becasue of all the cash bonus'.
All the Best, hope you find what you need. And I'll tell you my director went 6 months without one recruit, she felt really bad, like she was ust not moving. And now 2 years later, she's almost every trip since, and got her Mustang in Aug! And I watch her,she's just a regular person:)

You are so right, some of these directors seem like regular persons but they do have something extra going on!

You now have an ordering minimum in BC too. Since I am not a recruiter, don't you have to put in at least the minimum to get your commissions? That's another side of this. But consultants who are getting commissions are already putting in orders, which is how BC makes its money.

I don't know what you mean when you say everything you put on your body is tax deductible. You are supposed to exit out personal use from your tax form C, only put down what you have bought to sell, or what you have sold. Some Mary Kay directors claim that you can deduct you haircuts, clothes, makeup wear, skincare, since image is your business. This is not true at all. But your taxes are your business.

I did the math on Mary Kay vs. BC. Now that BC has raised their minimum, you have to order retail $600 each year to KEEP ACTIVE.. ($150 X 4)

With Mary Kay, in order to keep active, you have to order retail $1600. ($200 minimum order X 4)

But the differences lies in the percentages. With BC $600 gets you a 30% discount. With Mary Kay $800 you get a 50% discount. For $200 each year, you get an additional $1000 retail!

Before the BC percentage change, you could order $404 each year ($101 each quarter) to get your
30%. That was a big difference from Mary Kay, $400. But now that BCs minimums have increased, you have to pay $200 more to get the same percentage as last year. When you are paying that much more, you are getting closer to the Mary Kay minimum of $800.

I didn't major, or even minor in math so if my figures need correcting please do so. Right now I am just putting down actual base figures, not going into who has the best skincare, company, consultants, etc all the things that you need to take into consideration. Just the $$ facts.

I know that BC has sales throughout the year, but this year they are making it very clear this year they are only having a one time skincare sale, a one time makeup sale. when they do have sales, it does level the playing field but if you missed the sale, then you are not making as much profit.

Yes, LadyJ you are right. You do have to be ordering to get your team commissions, but this has not changed. It is actually better now than before. In the old program, as a VIP you had to have $900 in retail sales in a month to get your top commission on your team. Now you have to meet a $500 sales goal to get your commission and the % you get is based on your team's sales. I think the new structure is definitely better because I keep an inventory so some months I do not need to order $900 in product. But a $500 order is pretty well my average monthly order with spas and personal use. Also, since the bigger concern here is how this affects the "little guy" (the non-vip consultant), that change is even better. A Senior Consultant only needs $150 in personal sales to get her team commission. Before, she needed $400 to get commission on her team, so this is much easier to achieve (though again $400 was never an issue for me as a worker).

For the discount as a personal user, you really only need to order $150 at least once every 12 months. You will be considered inactive if you don't place that every 3 months, but if you aren't working and don't have a team, then it won't matter. As long as you place it all together in one order, you will still get the 30% commission. So you could even wait until that 4th month just like before to place your order without any consequences.

I just reread what I wrote and realized I contradicted myself. What I meant was that ordering to receive your commission has not changed in that you have always had to do that. That isn't something new that was added in to the new plan. The part that has changed is that your minimum has been lowered. Sorry. :)

Also I think corp reps told me that you can "accumulate" enough every three months if it totals $150 to stay active. The only offset of this is that there is shipping so that erodes the discount.

Your are right one $150 order a year would be fine. For me however as new products are introduced I want them now!

I am also including that the image thread got me thinking seriously about introducing BC to new people who werent familar with it. But when I did the math, it didn't add up unless you are doing good regular business. I love to help people out with skin needs, but I also want to make it worth my while.

I am glad for the sr. consultants and vips that they made the minimums lower. As I said before, they are rewarding recruiting. The company wants as many people selling and recruiting as they can get, which is only smart business.

I've talked to 2 tax people abput this this year, becasue I didn't want to be lying. And one read it right out of the tax code. Since your face, and how the products effect you promotes your business, then it can be taken as a business deduction.
And if you have one or two 'uniforms' you wear to your spa's, you can dedeuct those,too.

The tax book I read to help prepare a schedule C specifically addressed this issue.

Yes you are right abou the spa uniform, as long as it is something you wear specifically for this, and not wearing apparel. Also if it has the name of beauticontrol embossed on it, that also helps it qualify.

The author of this book specifically addressed the makeup deductible issue. The only time the IRS allows makeup and hairstyling to be deducted is if it for a specific event, such as being a speaker at a luncheon, or going to the Oscars.

Anyone who reads this thread and wants to take their everyday makeup as a tax deduction, I'd advise them to educate themselves . Just make sure that any book you buy is up to date with the latest tax code advice.

The person I talked to is a current CPA with a major corporation, and read right out of this years tax code. Thats a pretty good reccomendation to me.
But, its your business.

I educate myself as close to the code as possible becasue I have to prepare 2 schedule c's, a schedule f, and a 1040.
Too late at night for me to have a nice conversation:) Just got through with a Makeover Open House in my home (got kicked out of our church building last week:) So had to send out another invite,yuck. And it rained a ton and we live on gravel,double yuck for some.
But , I demo-ed Out the door makeup with a Bronzer for first time, Sold 3 of them!! And the new line went like crazy! YAY!! Off to bed for me.

This is my last post on the tax issue of deducting your own makeup.

If you want to know what the irs says, google irs publication 911 for direct sellers. I found one for 2003, and I don't think the IRS has gotten more liberal on its deductions. Under costs of goods sold, look for "personal withdrawals". This publication explains that if you use an item for personal use in your home you cannot deduct this and must withdraw it from your cost of good sold.

Finally I urge anyone to verify any adivce or opinions of anyone on the internet, even to their directors or fellow consultants, unless they are an enrolled tax professional who does direct selllers returns on a regular basis.

I sent this PM to LadyJ and I wanted to share it with you all. Typically I do not say negative things in a public forum but this has me pretty upset with BC. I really thought I was going to make a career with BC but at this point I do not see it happening.

Here is my PM to her...


That I agree 100% on your thoughts on the "Freedom" Plan. I am a SR. VIP and I sold more thank $900 last month and my team did $2600 ($1700 coming from the girls on my team). I made only $27 in commission because my team didn't sell/buy more than $4000 (I think). I would have made a lot more under the old plan (I would have made $136 based on the old plan). I would have made 8% commission based on my team sales under the old plan.

I built my team on personal use consultants because that is what BC told us to do and now they pulled the rug out from all the personal use consultants and are losing a lot of revenue. So far in 2010 I've lost 6 girls on my team and I'm going to lose 3 this month and probably 2 next month.

I love BC and I do spa but I'm having a very hard time understanding and embracing the freedom plan. If anything it's very confusing and restricting. Honestly what it reminds me of is our political system today.

I just wanted to shoot you off a PM and let you know you're not alone in your feelings with the freedom plan. It's really a shame that they are letting so many go and when they go chances are they are going to another product and not having much good to say about BC in general.

All the best,
Tiffany

Tiffany - how did you do the math on your commission? Was there a bonus in there? I only came up with $68 commission (commissionable base is 1/2 of the total sales, so half of 1700 is 850. Then 850 x 0.08). Maybe I missed something though. Also, aren't they matching the commission from the old plan if it is higher? You might want to call them and double check on that because they might have missed it. My understanding is that you get the higher of the 2 plans for the first 3 months of the year.

Tiffany - how did you do the math on your commission? Was there a bonus in there? I only came up with $68 commission (commissionable base is 1/2 of the total sales, so half of 1700 is 850. Then 850 x 0.08). Maybe I missed something though. Also, aren't they matching the commission from the old plan if it is higher? You might want to call them and double check on that because they might have missed it. My understanding is that you get the higher of the 2 plans for the first 3 months of the year.


You're right...Sorry about that. It's been a long day and I didn't do my math very well. Still I made less than half this month than what I would have made on the old plan.

I did call BC and talk to them at length. I did not get the higher of the 2 plans.

I love BC and will not stop spa-ing and using the products and I might even still recruit but I will only focus my recruting on spa girls. It just has me kind of with a sour taste in my mouth about the freedom plan. There is so much if this then that in the freedom plan it is so much like our current political system and it drives me BONKERS.

Tiffany because of your background here and because you have a sincere desire to make BC successful, your thoughts and comments on the new plan means a lot. Because I am a long time BCer, my opinions reflect some of us who are looking and saying, do we want to continue having to order more to get the same percentage we had for a long time, like ten years or so?

Only time will tell if this new plan is long term successful.

Tiffany- why wouldn't they give you the higher of the 2 plans? I thought they said they would do that for the first three months.

I was totally wrong in my numbers the other day. As a team we did $2253.35. $902.90 was from me and my other girls had $1350.45. My commission was $54.02 since I got 8% on $675.22. Under the freedom plan I would have only made $27.

I'm also a mortgage underwriter and the other day when I posted my brain was totally fried. I've been very busy at work and I was on the board while taking a quick break. I did call some one at BC and they did tell me I was only going to make $27. I was so PO'd that I think I just shut out the rest of our phone comversation. Yesterday I had to call BC about something else and I asked about my commission and she clarified that it was $54.02. I checked my propay account and indeed it was $54.02.

I'm very sorry the information I gave was wrong. I wanted to clarify.

I still do not like the freedom plan at all and I think once all consultants are paid under the new plan things will change and feelings about the freedom plan will change.

Like I said before, I love to spa girls/woman so I will continue, I love taking care of people and having customers. My one and only reason for joining BC is the skincare. It has changed my face, adult acne (worse skin at 37 then 17 see what kids and stress does to a woman HA) and anti aging. Recruiting has never really came very easy for me so I'm hoping I can maintain at a VIP level so I can continue to get a 50% discount/profit.

I was hoping to make BC my main source of income and be able to stay at home with my kids but I'm not sure if that will happen now under the freedom plan. I will still work BC as hard as possible because I do love BC.

Please forgive me for giving false infromation the other day.

HUGS and much success to all of us!