WAHM Forums

I am looking for some ideas from you gals. I am looking to join a party plan but can't seem to decide which one to go for since there are TONS of them out there now. I like the jewelry stuff but I'm afraid all of my friends will eventually have too much jewelry and have no further need for it. I don't want to do candles either. So I'm thinking more along the lines of consumables, like beauty/spa products maybe. My sister does Passsion Parties and she wants me to do that which is ok with me although DH doesn't seem too fond of the idea. I know that she makes a great commission thru them and they have good products. So I guess I'm looking for the good the bad and the ugly from you gals. Any companies you've had problems with? Which ones have you had luck with? Feel free to PM me with companies that you truly stand by and please tell me the commission rates. I hate going to the corporate sites because they dont actually give you the earnings potential. I only plan on doing a few parties a month just for some extra cash so I want to make sure I can get a decent commission rate. Thanks so much!

Check out www.dsa.org (http://www.dsa.org) and www.dswa.org (http://www.dswa.org) for lots of options.

Welcome!


First, what excites you! What is your burning passion! Do you love to cook? Do you love to accessorize? Do you get giddy for makeovers? Do you get silly for playing? Do you change worlds when you read? What motivates you!!!!


Who cares what anyone else is doing. It's non-relevant. This choiceis all about you!


So start there. Then we can give more suggestions.


Another thing to keep in mind, consumable is good. It's not necessary and you can do well with products like jewelry, toys, decorating, etc. I do toys and still do very well (I love to play). I recently started a consumable and have to admit it does have something to it. But consumable products can help return customers who get addicted to a certain product. So do look at that.


So start within! Check out signatures. If something looks fun, ask the person!


Debbie

The concept of consumables is an interesting one. As someone who sells products for children, I think they fall into the consumable camp, even though they aren't really consumable. =} I know that I get calls for birthday gifts, Christmas presents, etc., for both companies. Unlike decorative items, which people typically buy for themselves, toys and books are great gift items and almost everyone has children they give to for birthdays, holidays, special occasions, etc. It's not quite the same as shampoo, but it does generate a lot of repeat business (outside of parties).

Anyway, that said... don't think of your friends as your customer base. Of course, they'll eventually have as much as they need from you. By then, you should have moved past that group to other people..

I think there are two really important considerations -
1. As Deb always says, what's your passion? Most people will talk a lot about a product they like. If you buy a new brand of cookies and they are the most amazing cookies you've ever eaten, you'll tell friends, serve them at your parties and maybe even give them as gifts. That is the product you want to sell - the one that gets you naturally excited.

2. How do you want to sell? Do you love home parties? Would you like to do birthday parties? Bridal showers? Do you like doing fundraisers? How about doing vendor fairs? Do you want to carry inventory (and do cash & carry) or have no inventory (place orders and deliver)? Do you want to focus on adult products, or those for children?

I am learning that #2 is almost as important as the first point. I love BabyCrazy, the products and the company. I talk about them all the time, buy gifts for other people, and use the products in my home. However, I'm finding it much easier to market Barefoot Books. Why? Because I really enjoy doing fairs and fundraisers and Barefoot Books is more conducive to that. I carry stock and do cash and carry, which I love. People can take books home with them right away. I know that I can sell my display items (unlike my demo items) so I don't mind having extra stock. I just enjoy the marketing process far more.

Anyway, that's my input. You have to choose the right business for you, so think a lot about what you love most.

=},

Christy

Hi Kittie~


I PM'd you regarding the lia sophia jewelry opportunity. I wish you much success in choosing a company that fits you and your family. It can be an overwhelming decision.


http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/8/8_4_133.gif (http://www.smileycentral.com/?partner=ZSzeb001_ZSYYYYYYJHUS)





http://www.smileycentral.com/sigpc=ZSzeb097&pp=ZSYYYYYYJHUS (http://smiley.smileycentral.com/download/index.jhtml?partner=ZSzeb097_ZSYYYYYYJHUS&utm_id=7 925)

Hi Kittie82 -


I sent you a PM about Home and Garden Party.


I definately agree, you need to follow your passion, and choose the right business for you!


Nora

A lot of people say consumables are important, but I agree with Christy. People spend a ton of money on the children (and I'm one of them). So childrens products are good.


As you'll see from my sig. line, I like jewely. People want it and people buy it. And, with fine fashion jewelry, the styles are updated periodically so people want to see what is new.


It really depends on what your market wants and what you can promote with confidence.


I hope you enjoy being in business. It's great.

Hey Kittie82! I wanted to give you some information coming from someone who is in the jewelry business. First off, don't worry about your friends getting enough of ANYTHING you sell!! In this business you do not have to depend on your friends and family. Sure, they are the easiest ones to start out with as far as getting them to hold shows. Because they love you and want to help you get your business off the ground. But after that, you aren't still getting them to be your customers. Yes, when the new lines come out they will want to do parties to get the new stuff for free but you aren't "depending" on them anymore. You start a booking chain with each of the first shows you hold. You'll be surprised how quickly you are out of the group you started with because of the bookings that come off each show.


I'm going to copy and paste some info here from an informational brochure I've made up. If you'd like to talk more about Latasia just let me know. My phone number is 318-567-1510 and I'm available all day today til 3 pm central time and all day tomorrow til the same time. I have to go close out 2 parties tonight and do a party tomorrow night or I would be available this evening and tomorrow evening as well. Hope to talk with you soon and I wish you all the best in finding that perfect company for you!! God Bless!!!


The ALL NEW LATASIA BUSINESS KIT


Contains over$800 in jewelry, $200 of which you handpick yourself when you join the Latasia family!! Also contains over $40 in business supplies including 5 of each catalog, order forms, hostess information packets, mini brochure invitations, postcard invitations, ring sizer, training DVD and more!!


All for ONLY $139 plus tax and shipping! That discount on just the jewelry, not including the value of the business supplies is over 83%!!! What have you got to lose?? Don’t walk away from this opportunity and be left with that nagging “What If?” feeling!!! Contact me now to get ALL theinformation!!


There’s more!! Submit $500 in sales and 2 dates for future parties within 21 days of becoming part of the Latasia family and you’ll win $100 in FREE jewelry! Go on to submit a total of $1500 in sales within 60 days of joining and win ANOTHER $200 in FREE jewelry!! You could have $1100 worth of jewelry within 60 days for your $139 investment!!!


Other Benefits of Latasia
<DIR>
<DIR>
<DIR>


You get to pay yourself the night of the party! No waiting for a paycheck!


You earn 40% of all sales up front and when you've sold your first $1500 you keep 50% of your sales, up front, from then on. NO team building requirments or monthly quotas to reach to maintain 50%!!


No charge to Latasia consultants for Hostess Credits!


No charge for Latasia’s Show Entry computer program!


Toll Free phone number to our home office


No charge for using Visa, Master Card, Discover, or American Express!


Latasia consultants can place a single order for a customer


No delivering—UPS or USPS delivers all orders


No need for a sales tax number—Latasia collects the sales tax and returns it to the appropriate states for us!


Personal Discount on all your jewelry at either 40% -50% ! Plus when you purchase additional samples it goes toward contest credits for FREE Trips and monthly prizes!


FREE Training at our local monthly workshops or via telephone or the internet for long distance consultants.


No sales quotas!


No sales territories!


No requirement for order entry BEFORE you can order more business supplies! When input into Latasia's system you are permanent. NOT a "temporary" consultant!</DIR></DIR></DIR>


Edited by: IamBlessed

I PM'd you about two companies I work for.


Marie www.mupdike.tohe.com (http://www.mupdike.tohe.com)


we're having specials.

A lot of people say consumables are important, but I agree with Christy. People spend a ton of money on the children (and I'm one of them). So childrens products are good.


As you'll see from my sig. line, I like jewely. People want it and people buy it. And, with fine fashion jewelry, the styles are updated periodically so people want to see what is new.


It really depends on what your market wants and what you can promote with confidence.


I hope you enjoy being in business. It's great.





I agree it doesn't have to be consumable. I supported our family on toys. I also have my great customer base, and never realized why consumable. I do good. I work my biz, and I work hard. But I sell a lot and make money.


When I started a consumable, I work it, but I dont work hard except to get orders out and respond to requests for more info about the biz and opportunity. It's a totally different ball of wax. I'm sure it has to do with the product as well, but I have had a huge success in a small amount of time and get monthly reorders already vs. once or twice a year wit DT. Also, the word of mouth with the consumables has been stronger.


I do need to stop myself for a moment. I did try a consumable last year. People did not reorder because it was too much of an impulse buy. I quit. People liked them, but they didn't want to buy them here. So there is more to it then that.


Now for my toys, trust me, I'm busy. :-) I get requests for up to 3 hours away, have a great team and make good money. It's a very different type of biz. I do get calls out of the blue for orders, but not nearly as many. I noticemost peoplelove DT for their kids and those close to their heart, but forget me for other kids birthdays. I do have a few that are great and only give DT, but not as many as I'd like. smileys/smiley36.gif


(Discovery Toys has some consumables and I don't push them because to me it's a toy company.)


The potential is there for anyone who is willing to work and get out there. The same for any non-consumables. I've been doing it 5 years and my biz grows every year. We have millionaires in our company.


As said though, I always humphed consumables until I tried one. smileys/smiley4.gifI'd get offended when someone said "consumables are the way to go." I always felt my product was consumable. My customers love them, they come back. BUT, I also have hostesses like one I called last month to book who said "I love the toys! They are great. However, I earned so much free last year that I still have them hidden." smileys/smiley5.gifTalk about doing my job a little too well.


but I still stand by, go with what you love. If you don't like the consumable options and are in love with something else, go for it! You will still do great.


OK, off my soapbox. :-)

I agree with a lot of the comments here. It truly is about how you want to market the products. I predominantly sell to people I don't know. I do birthday parties, day cares, scouts ect and many have me back year after year or even for different holidays because I present myself as a service. The same can be done with a cooking company, scrapbooking, beauty company ect. It can truly open the doors to a whole new ball game of customers. People who wouldn't necessarily buy your product by itself will however go to a workshop using the product.

Hi Kittie!


I'm PM-ing re: The Glass Bracelet! I just joined! Awesome opportunity designing your own jewelry! smileys/smiley2.gif


Good luck with your search!


Gina


Edited by: thatspagirl

I sent you a pm about @rbonne :)


best of luck to you.


cindi

Hi Kittie,


Welcome to WAHM!smileys/smiley17.gif You've come to the right place! There are a ton of great opportunities to choose from~


You've already gotten a lot of super advise and suggestions. I would be happy to PM you info about Watkins! We have consumable products as well as a great party plan where the company pays 100% of the hostess rewards~


Good luck in your search and do keep us posted!smileys/smiley1.gif

I would love to send you some info on Drinking Wine &amp; Making Money with The traveling Vineyard. Check out my website: www.myttv.com/corinne8564 (http://www.myttv.com/corinne8564)





-Corinne

HI, I PM'd you about the BeautiControl Spa ESCAPE!</span>

Like everyone says...Find a product YOU Love! It is sooooo much easier to work it then. Plus it doesn't feel like selling when you're passionately talking about it.


I'm with Usborne Books, children's books. I PMed you and feel free to ask me anything but go with your heart and something you use in your home already.


Good luck!! smileys/smiley1.gif

Hi Kittie.I would like to introduce you to Pole Lot of Fun and Spa Lot of Fun (under EPM EmpowerNet). Not only can you earn income from teaching pole dancing at the parties, but you can also fall in love the the fabulous all natural body-friendly Spa Luna products and sell those as well.You have the option of combining the two, or doing a separate Pole Lot of Fun party and another Spa Lot of Fun party.


I just did a party last night where one of the participants arrived in tears. By the time the evening was done, those tears were the ones she had from laughing so much and having a fabulous time. I can't say enough about how this company has changed my life and the life of others.


Please PM me if you would like to hear more.


I wish you much succes in your search.

I think the advice all here has been wonderful....the biggest one is Find something that grabs YOU...follow your instincts!


Have a great time in your search and learning about all the great choices!

Wow! Thank you everyone for all the great replies. I have learned a lot from listening to you all. I agree with most of what was said. I haven't exactly decided yet as I dont want to make a decision too quickly. I am thinking about doing two maybe. How well does that work for you ladies that do multiples. Does it take too much time? Are your customers happy that they have more stuff to choose from? I do realize that I don't want to just sell to my friends and family but Iwill bestarting with them and if I'm selling stuff that my friends aren't interested in then it will be hard to get off the ground. I do like the consumables for repeat business though. I think I'm going to do one adult party line and I'm also interested in CookieLee Jewelry. Does anyone here sell Cookie Lee? My friend was telling me how much she loves their stuff and its reasonably priced but I don't know anyone who sells it. I know I said I like consumables but I also love jewelry and like you all said I should sell what I love. If anyone sells that brand please PM me to tell me more and I may possibly join you. Again, thank you all for your ideas and for giving me info about your companies. I will think things over and if I'm interested I'll get back to you.

Also, my friend is looking to find a rep for the company: Home Interiors &amp; Gifts. She is thinking about joining them and wants more information.

I can refer you to a CL rep if you want.


I had checked into them, but I just couldn't afford to invest $325.00 for the smaller inventory, or the $500.00 for the larger inventory. I know you have to buy all your jewelry &amp; sell cash &amp; carry. That wasn't what "I" wanted to do. I'd rather just carry samples &amp; have the company ship to my hostesses (or customers).

Hey Kittie. I have a gal that just joined my Latasia Jewelry team from Cookie Lee. There weren't any hard feelings or anything that made her do the switch. She switched because of the things Gina said above, the inventory and the cost of the hostess credits to her. Among a couple other concerns. And her name is Gina too, LOL.


If you'd like to talk with her just let me know. She's a great gal and like I said, there were no hard feelings about CL when she left so she will give you straight info, not tainted by a bad experience.


God Bless!

Ok then, nevermind about CL. I don't have that kind of upfront investment either. They are very vague on their website about the pay plan and kits and things like that. Good information to know though. So I guess I will be looking at other jewelry companies then. Thanks!

For Jewelry, I think Krystal's Latasia line looks great and you should
check out Jewels by Parklane. The Glass Bracelet looks pretty fun
too.



As far as doing two companies, I do two and it is really fun! They are
both so different, I have clients that buy from me for both companies.

Do you need a rep for Park lane? Let me know, someone else was looking for one, too.


Marie. www.mupdike.tohe.com

Have you checked into Lia Sophia? The upfront cost is very reasonable at $149 and you get over $1000 in jewelry, catalogs, invites, order forms, ring sizer, training material, carrying case, display trays, foam inserts, display cloth, and more. Everything you need to actually start right away. No other upfront cost!! And in your first 15 weeks you can get up to another $600 in free jewelry plus the commission of 30% that you get on each party. All hostess gifts are paid by the company, no inventory to handle, no deliveries to make as it is sent from the company direct to the hostesses.


If you need more info or have any questions, please let me know. I would be happy to give you more info as would Alice and Loretta who both answered you above. It is a great company.


Hope this helps

The website of the person I know that sells Parklane is www.parklanegems.com (http://www.parklanegems.com)


Goodmom

There are tons of jewelry lines. Find one where you like the products and that offers the best compensation.


Here are some newer ones:


www.AllJeweledUp.com (http://www.AllJeweledUp.com)


www.SteelMyHeart.com (http://www.SteelMyHeart.com)


www.DITYBeads.com (http://www.DITYBeads.com)

www.MicheleBaratta.com (http://www.MicheleBaratta.com)


www.StacyMcBride.com (http://www.StacyMcBride.com)


So you can see there are so many options when it comes to jewelry lines, including those who have been around awhile.


Good luck in your search,


Diane
www.DirectSellingBusiness.com (http://www.DirectSellingBusiness.com)

I highly recommend starting with just 1. Give yourself time to learn the ropes. THEN, when you got it, start 2. Most people who start 2 do not work both. There are many variables.


Pick the one which you feel will bring in more money and be the most fun. Start with it, then in 6 months go ahead and add the otherone if you want.


It took me 5 years to add another company. Also, make sure they are different--don't do 2 party plans, etc because then it's hard for them to co-exist, if that makes sense.


Best of luck!


Debbie

I agree with Debbie!


The Glass Bracelet (http://www.theglassbracelet.com) is my primary business (my focus). Scentsy Candle (http://www.scentsy.com/gk) is for craft shows; needed a "candle" line for my spa business.


Just don't overwhelm yourself with two programs that you think you can work. They will both command your time, and to some extent, your monetary resources. You don't want to burn yourself out. smileys/smiley2.gif


Gina

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SeneGence has a fantastic career opportunity if you want to go the beauty route!!


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Jafra Cosmetics, is celebrating their 50th year in business.


Jafra is having a great special for new sign ups in October. You can start for as little as $10 (express kit). We also have the $50 kit option.


You earn 50% on retail sales (total) over $300. And when you place your first $300+ retail order each month, all orders after that (regardless of size) are 50% off! You can even sell $150 and still order $150 free for stock, to give away or use which will get your first order of the month at 50%. If you don’t have a $300 retail order you make 30%.


If you want some more info or join you can pm or email me at jafrasuccess@gmail.com


You can also check out my website http://www.myjafra.com/jmiller1

Welcome to the boardssmileys/smiley1.gif I'm pm'ing you on info. for a home decor party plan. You can share with your friend as well.


However, whatever you choose best wishes and good lucksmileys/smiley2.gif





Sandy

Thanks everyone for all the help! I didn't realize I'd get so many
responses but I appreciate every one of them. I finally made my
decision! I have decided to go with my sister and do Passion Parties
for now. I polled all of my friends and they all said they would be
most likely to go to a Passion Party more than any of the other
parties. Also I have been to a few of them and they are a blast so this
is the route I will be taking for now. Hopefully when I get this
business off the ground and stable then I will be signing with Latasia
jewelry under Krystal. She really gave me a great feeling and the
company looks just amazing to me. Thanks everyone and wish me luck!

Glad to hear you have made a choice Kittie. Good luck with your new business. I am sure you will enjoy it and do well with it.


Krina

That is great to hear. Welcome to the passion party family.



If you hear complaints from your DH then you can always do what I did with my DH. He wasn't
to thrilled with me selling those products either. I told him that If
by the end of 6 months I wasn't bringing in more income than him I
would find something else. He agreed. I have been with pp for 2 months
now and I bring home more than him already. I hear no more complaints.






Edited by: sweetsensation

Once I showed him some of the products and told him how many of my
friends already expressed interest in going to the parties then he
warmed up to the idea a little. I think the thing that really won him
over though was that I said we would have to try the products out for
ourselves to make sure they really work smileys/smiley2.gif
He's pretty supportive about it now. I was even telling him about some
ideas for the parties and he laughed and said that would be really cute.