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Getting ready to join as a Stampin' UP demonstrator during Sale-a-Bration. Do any current or former demonstrators have any pearls of wisdom? Would love any and all advice.
Read anything and everything you possibly can. Read/watch videos on Stampin' Up! website on being a demonstrator. Browse various demo blogs. Join the Demo forum here as soon as you become a demo. Then read as much of the past threads as possible. Ask questions. HAVE FUN! Start telling your family and friends that you are planning on signing up. Schedule to host a workshop as early as you can, and get people to RSVP NOW. Be sure to demo the Big Shot on what it can do to make a card great. Ask your upline for help. I ask my upline for cards, so I can get some different styles and showcase some different products that I don't have. HAVE FUN!
If I were you, I'd read through any recent threads here on this forum about "thinking about becoming an SU demo" or "How to make SU a business". You'll get a LOT of info that folks have already posted.
Buy what you like yourself, not what you think might sell. Of course, it is good to have stamp sets from specific types: something you can color, a two step stamp, something that goes with a punch and a good set of sentiments. However, you don't need to have EVERYTHING. If you can, find other demos to share with. You can swap cards, share techniques, you can even borrow each other's "stuff" Set yourself goals to work toward. Carry catalogs with you everywhere. Give cards to teachers, neighbors, people at church and word of mouth will spread. Have a great time and enjoy your new goodies as you buy your kit.
Oh yeah, DON'T buy too many stamp sets!!!!! Some will retire before you even put them together and ink them up. I would invest in embossing folders, embosslits. Probably not too many dies, as they are pricey, especially the ones that are over $30. But Top Note die is a must have. I also love the Two-Tags die. You'll be surprised how fast your cardstock will go once you start hosting workshops/classes, etc. So get those, coordinating inkpads and some ribbons. As for ribbons, see if you can do a share with other demos/upline. It is hard (for me anyways) to go through rolls and rolls of ribbon. But I like the variety. Or better yet, do shares with your new customers! And remember we're all here to help cheer you on. So come on back and tell us what you're doing and how you're doing! Good luck to you!!!
Don't forget to sign up on the demo side here at splitcoast. When I was a demo, I didn't have an upline close to me, so I got most of my training and support from the other demos here.
First of all, most of the people I know who joined Stampin' Up! did so when they really needed this type of experience. Myself included, many ladies (sorry guys!) had been through divorces, miscarriages (my own experience), difficult jobs, and other various difficulties. Becoming a demo helps you focus on things that are beautiful, creative, and intended for encouraging relationships (occasions, friendship, thank you, birthday, etc.). I found that during my severe depression following being laid off and then losing a baby, I really NEEDED something beautiful in my life to keep my mind and hands busy instead of slipping farther down into an emotional hole. Sending thoughtful cards and growing relationships with friends, family, stamper customers, and other demos was a key component in my healing from my difficulties. This period lasted about 2 years. Then things changed . . .
Second, I got back on my feet and my needs were now different. I had a new baby and I had less time to put into detailed make-n-takes for several parties a month. I realized now that my expenses (supplies, time, babysitters, gas, etc) were FAR outweighing my income. For the time when my emotional needs were overwhelming, the benefits outweighed the costs. But when that changed, I realized that I had to do something different to make this work for my family. So I built a downline and started to earn income from that. I won a few recruiting awards at convention and felt good about coming up in the company. Things were working out until . . .
Third, SU made a change in their payment and advancement system. Before, I did not have to reach any sales minimums to reap the financial rewards from my downline. They changed that to me needing to keep up a hefty minimum to get anything from that. This was NOT going to work for my family at all. There was no way I could do so much in sales a month to meet that. Also . . .
Fourth, I was seeing some patterns emerge that I was not aware of when I started. SU would retire a set of something and then we would all get rid of it. Then they would bring it back with a tiny change/new name/jacked up price and then we would all buy it again. I felt like I was on a merry-go-round of wasted money and frustration. I realize they need to keep things competitive and "fresh" feeling. They had to compete or go out of business, and THAT would leave all of us hung out to dry. But the patterns continued: certain things were only offered in the in-colors and many customers were saying that they have piles of things that are retired and old and "out." Less and less of the catalog items were things that they could continue to see ways to use or buy accessories to go with. Also, with so much coming "in" and then going "out" just as quickly, I felt pressured to keep buying, buying, buying to keep current and have the "latest" things for my group or they would go where they had the "in" thing.
Finally, I decided to end my time as a demo. I had a room full of scrappin' stuff--what a dream! And I had friends and skills I never would have developed without SU in my journey. I am still a customer! I am still a fan! Since then I have started my own company (not a craft company) and I make somewhere between $800 and $1000 a week. My family is very happy and we are reaching many goals for our lives. My husband and I laugh now and say, "Wow! Babe, you would have had to sell $5,000 of SU to make that income this week. Crazy!" That's a lot of ink pads.
Bottom line, when it is the right TIME in your life and the right thing for your family, it is GREAT. When it is NOT the right time or not the right thing, you will know something is not right. It has to be the best thing or you and your family at the time.
KJeans - First, I'm so sorry for the loss of your baby. I know that must have been tremendously difficult. I'm glad you found an outlet for your grief. Stamping has gotten me through some crazy tough times. It's definitely my Prozac.
Oh my . . . how eloquently spoken. You expressed my sentiments exactly. I've never regretted being a SU demonstrator. It was a great springboard for my crafts and I made fabulous life-long friends. It was the right thing at the right time. But about two years ago I came to the same conclusion you did. When SU changed the demonstrator agreement and required all of us to resign it, I knew it was time for me to move on. While I completely understand why they did it, requiring us to use exclusively SU products just did not go with my philosophy of carpe artum. I'm just an equal opportunity shopper - always will be.
Browneyedsuzy - You can't go wrong if you're hanging out here at Splitcoast. They are a demonstrator's life line. Absolutely, be sure you get signed up to the SU demonstrator part of the site. And, best of luck to you. You'll do great!
BrowneyedSuzy, you will LOVE being a demonstrator!! My upline was not active after a year or so, and the Demo Forums here on SCS have been my upline and my buddies since I became a demo 7.5 years ago.
The wonderful thing about SU is that you can totally make it what you want. Whether you strictly want to build a business NOW or whether you are in it "just for the discount", you can do whatever you want. Also, that can change over your career as a demo. There are some very successful demos that have taken significant time off due to family situations (deployed husbands, having babies, etc), and they can pick it right back up when they have a little more time.
One of the BEST parts of being a demo is the Demo Forum here on SCS (oh, I already said that?), so as soon as you sign up, do whatever the instructions say to get onto the Demo side - that might take a few days or longer, so do it right away. And I'd recommend looking mostly at the SU Gallery, instead of EVERYTHING here on SCS.
When I started, it was for the discount. Then I had a couple of people over to see if I could teach them how to stamp and they LOVED it! Then I had an Open House and everyone was seated around my dining room table at the start-time of the Open House and they were ready to learn and ready to order! I've been able to mostly cover my own SU purchases through my sales over the years - some years more than others. I did recruit my "best customers", which was the best for them and now I need to expand my customer base and get some more "best customers", but really, SU is so flexible and it's SO fun being able to pre-order everything a month early.
Looking forward to seeing you on the other side! :-)
__________________ ~ Susan - Celebrating 19 years as an SU demo! Grammy to Anna 15, Elizabeth 14, Nora 12, Abigail 12, Kendall 10 , Isaac 10, Evan 7, and Hudson 3 with me in my avatar Proud to be SCS Fan Club Member since the beginning!
I'm loving all the answers! I was thinking about setting up a blog for my business. Has this been helpful for those who have one? If you do have one, how did you go about getting the Stampin' UP materials linked to it? I thought that I could start on this before I get my Starter Kit....
I LOVE being a demo. My husband loves it too. He says its the best money he's ever spent on me!
Sale-a-bration is a really great time to join, a very good deal.
I really haven't been as successful as I would like, BUT I use my income to feed my crafting habit (and then we don't spend any of our money on it). I love the bonuses and free stuff Stampin' Up offers.
There's lots of good info and helps on the Stampin' Up! website, in the demo magazine (which you will get monthly) and here. I was even so lucky as to attend a Stampin' Up! event and it was really great! Your upline should be there to help out too, but if for some reason she isn't, then there are other places to go for help.
Stampin' Up! is an awesome company to represent. I support what they do. I feel they are very good to their demonstrators and customers.
I think you will enjoy it. If nothing else, then at least you will get some great supplies for joining and a discount. You can always drop out later if it doesn't work out.
One piece of advice. My favorite is to have a monthly stamp group. That way you have sales each month and its really fun to meet with the same people and grow in learning and have fun together. Even if you can scrounge up a few people, it doesn't have to be 10. Its worthwhile!
__________________ Sending you a SMILE! :p
This is the day the Lord has made, let us REJOICE and be GLAD in it!
I would recommend deciding what type of business you want. If you want to have a big business and make money, do some research on how many demonstrators are already in your area. Figure out who you know that would be interested in having a workshop or joining a club.
Best piece of advice that I can give--do not be your best customer. When I was a demo, I bought so much stuff, thinking that I would demonstrate and sell every thing in the catalogue. I found that most of my customers already knew hat they wanted to buy. I only had one hostess in my 2-3 years as a demo. I did somewhat better with classes. Remember that items in a mini catalogue might not carry over to the main catalogue.
Browneyedsuzy, thank you for starting this thread. Have you signed up to be a demonstrator yet? I just did.
Ladies, thank you for the advice that you've been sharing. I signed with Stampin Up to be a hobby demo, and I will most lilkely be my own best customer. :/ Lol.
I did sign up on Tuesday evening. I'm just trying to patiently wait for my Starter Kit to arrive! I should have it by Monday evening though. So excited!
Words of Advice?
