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Got a couple of questions and hope ya'll can give me some good feedback!!!
1. What's the pro's of becoming a demo?
2. Is there a profit or are you supporting your habit?
3. What's the con's?
4. Do you work outside the home full-time?
5. How many children do you have?
I work full-time and have a 2 1/2 and a 8 month old. I'm wondering if I might be crazy even thinking about becoming a demo. Right now, I actually have 2 demos. How would I chose who my upline would be? And....how do I do this without hurting anyone's feelings?
I work full-time. I don't have any kids. I have only been a demo for 6 months. I have had 6 demonstrations. I am not a go-getter so I am not making any money. My customers are mostly already stampers. So they tend to have another demo they work with. I have won over one group (3 people) of stampers. Barely supporting my habit, but trying not to spend--it is so hard. By the time you buy the kit, catalogs, mini cats, etc. The first year is total investment--IMO. I am stamping more and challenging myself to learn new techniques. I consider myself just more than a hobby demo. Goal to be habit supporting. I don't think you make $$ until you get an active downline.
As far as choosing an upline between your two demonstrators I would go with the one you feel would be most supportive of your needs--I stress your needs. Even if one has an active downline, but you wouldn't be able to attend her meetings, maybe the other could provide more one-on-one attention.
Some might say a pro is being able to pre-order--not that big of a deal to me. Obviously, the discount (aka instant income) is a pro.
I'd be interested to hear others' input.
I hope more people post on this thread. I'm really interested in becoming a demo, but so far I haven't met any demos who are profitable.
I had a long talk with my mother because she did direct sales and she said that she really ended up losing money because she didn't have a good steady business plan.
The nice thing about SU! is that you don't have to carry stock, so you don't need a huge initial investment, but I can see where it can also be something that if you don't get out and sell, you would lose money.
You have to buy supplies for your demonstations, catalogs for your customers (let me tell you, I hate the 10 dollar fee for a catalog. The first party I went to she charged it and I bought a stamp set, and that's it, because I didn't have time to look. The second demo gave it to me free and I spent $200), you have to take in account gas fees, etc.
My demo said something to me in an email about me signing up to be a demo, but then also mentioned that she'd rather have me as a customer, because she doesn't sell enough to get commission from her downlines. It seems that most of the demos I talk to don't make profit.
And still, it's something I'm considering. If you can sell enough to meet the minimum and pay for your supplies, it seems like it is worth it as a side career. If I have to buy things yourself to meet the minimum and pay for supplies, then I wouldn't want to do it. Some people stamp enough to spend $300 a quarter, but to me that's a ton of money on stamping!
As far as choosing an upline, I would choose the one you are most comfortable with. One you can easily ask questions of.
I'm a new demo myself, so I can't tell you what the pros and cons are yet. I think not having to go through a demo is a huge pro though, and worth being a demo just for that!!
Thanks so much replying to this thread. I hope to get lots of replies. Between my 2 demos, I'm spending about $60 a month for stamps, paper, stamp pads, etc. It's $300 a quarter right? I've been going to 1 stamp club for 4 years and the other stamp club for 2 years. I actually know 5 demos. Although, I only support the habit of 2 demos. So, it'll be hard to pick my upline. Please, please share all the input you think that help me in trying to make a wise decision.
You know, time is really important to me. Although I truly love to stamp, but I love my family more! How much time do ya'll dedicate in being a demo? I'm thinking the time that I spend at my stamp clubs, could go towards the time that I spend as a demo??
I became a demo in August to support my habit. I'm not looking to make money (well a little might be nice), but that's not why I did it. I work full time, have 2 kids, and don't like the thought of going to someone's house to talk in front of a bunch of strangers. I have been having classes in my home and word is starting to spread. I do a monthly class and charge a fee. My thought was that the class fees would pay for my stamps. I am very proud to say that I now have a small but growing customer base.
If you're looking to make lots of money, I think you're looking in the wrong place. If you can afford the $300/quarter for the quota (if that's what you've been spending anyway) then there's no reason not to sign up. You get lots of great stuff in the kit, get the discount, and if you find you can't meet the quota, you can always drop. There's no penalty for trying.
As far as which to choose for your upline. Choose the one that you feel most comfortable with. Pick the one who can teach you new things and who can answer your questions. HTH!
In work full time and I say the pros are you can do one class a month and easily do your minimum, it gives you a great excuse to get out with your friends away from the kids and do something that you enjoy. It supports my habit but then thats all I am looking to do, I could do more if I wanted to commit more time but I am happy right where I am. As far as your upline choose the person who you think will best support you, give you ideas and have time to answer your questions. GOOD LUCK.
__________________
Go as far as you can see, and when you get there, you will see farther. ScrappinGallery
Hi! I'm a mom of 2 boys and don't work outside of the house. I guess SU works for me because I enjoy what I'm doing so much. I like the discount, but what I really like is the interaction with other crafters. You do have to come up with a good business plan to stay ahead. It's very tempting to buy everything - but without sales you'll just get deeper in the hole. One thing I have not been able to justify business-wise is the idea of purchasing stuff from the mini catalogs. Yes, it's good to show the stamps and products - but what about next quarter? If it's not something I would use a lot on my own (like the new envelope template) I'm not going to buy it. If I'm going to spend $, it's going to be on stuff I can continue showing. Also, I'm having to fine tune my workshops. I was doing 3 make-and-take projects, but it didn't leave enough time to go over orders and the opportunity for upselling was lost. So, I guess what I'm saying is that with a good plan - I think it could work out, but like anything you really have to be on top of it for it to be worth is financially.
One of the clubs that I go now works like this....
There are approximately 10 members. Each member is required to spend at least $15. Spending only $15 is hard. Anyway that would be a minimum $150for 1 stamp club night. We meet once a month. So in 2 months, you've got your quota of $300. We meet for 8 or 9 months out of the year. Each month 1 member is required to bring snacks. That particular member acts as a hostess for that "party" or stamp club meeting. By the way, we go to the demo's house where she has everything completely organized. We do 3 make and takes using her stuff.
So...is that a good plan or what?
My other demo doesn't require a minimum purchase and there's no commitment of joining a club. Again, we do 3 make and takes using her stuff.
Gosh, I appreciate ya'll so much in replying. Keep on!!!
I have 1 child and work full time outside the home. I joined to support a hobby, but tried doing workshops and discovered that it wasn't for me. I love the discount but find myself spending more than I should in the excitement of it all. I now hold my 1 stamp camp each month and catalog parties for interested persons. This is working for me right now but my stamp camp customers generally don't spend any $ on merchandise, so if the random orders and catalog parties don't continue, I'll have to drop.
There is a probation I think you have 1 month to catch up from the last qtr or something like that.
I've been a demo for 8 years. I work full time and have one DD who's 11, my DH recently started working evenings and weekends, so I don't do parties or classes anymore, it's too hard to plan when he's never home and DD is on the swim team so she takes priority.
SU! is like every other business, you get out of it what you put into it. If you want to make a huge profit, you need to spend 40 hours a week, making phone calls, prepping for classes and so on. There are demos who do do this and support their families really well.
For me it's been a great creative outlet, and I get the discount on products I would be buying anyway. There is a $300 minimum per quarter and if you miss that, you have a one month pending period where you need to make up the shortfall plus $100 - that plus $100 does apply to the current quarter though, so it's not extra.
One other great benefit is taxes, my new computer was a business expense. We all went to Utah for last July's SU! convention, so my plane ticket and portion of the hotel bill, along with my meals on conventions days are a tax write off - we had a family vacation for a week and I get to save some of the cost on taxes.
The best thing is all the new stamping friends I never would have met otherwise.
I've been a demonstrator since July. I love it. BUT - in the beginning it really took up a lot of my time. I have no children - just a loving husband and a wonderful dog. I make lots of money off of the business but I've given myself certain days out of the week that I allow myself to stamp for my business. I do 2-3 shows a month. If I have a stamp camp that month then I only do 2 shows. I really enjoy it a lot and think a good plan is all you need when it comes to becoming a demo. I would have orginally said that I have no con's to mention of but I do remember feeling like I had to do so much but I also had to tell myself I'm not superwoman. Try it - you're not going to lose out. You'll get a discount and if you don't like it or feel overwhelmed you don't have to keep doing it. You're not signing a contract to be a demo for a certain period of time. It's whatever works for you. As for picking an upline. Who do you find the most encouraging? You want to be with someone that will make you happy. The other will just have to accept it and move on. There are other fish in the sea for them. You have to think of yourself right now. Good luck. I hope you start up - you'll love it.
I think the amount of prep and design time for classes cannot be overestimated. If you hold a camp/class each month, your stampers are looking for something different each time -- and it takes time to research and fine tune before you are ready to have them do it. At least it does for me.
Know your personality: if you are easily discouraged when others don't share your passion, this is not for you! I've had camps where nobody bought, and that used to get me down.
My goal is to not spend any of my own money as a demo, and I've learned since I signed up in April that it's easy for me to get swept up in the semi-hysteria of the new catalog or new promo or new mini. I can now resist the strong impulse to buy everything -- I think I probably buy fewer stamping supplies for myself than I did when I was a customer. What I spend now is for camp supplies, paid for by class fees.
I get a lot of satisfaction from my stamping and teaching; I've recruited four people (only three are still active) who each run their business their own way.
And I can't put a price on the friendships I've made!
So.......how do you get the word out that you're now a demo. The majority of my buddies are clients or customers of demos. In fact, my best friend of 25 years goes to the same stamp club that I go to. So, how do you get new clients without stealing from other demos?
1. What's the pro's of becoming a demo?
You get a discount and if you want you earn an income. You meet people that like to do the same thing you do. You get free stuff.
2. Is there a profit or are you supporting your habit?
There is money to be made, you just have to work for it, like anything. I started thinking I would make my minimums with help from a friend. I worked out how much I spent on craft stuff, gift wrap, cards, etc. every month and what I spent would more than make my minimums so I knew I could do it. But I had an open house and my friends and family were hooked and I now have 3-5 Stamper's 8 groups a month, a couple of workshops and classes. I have a small downline, mostly hobby demos, so I don't count on that income. I'm not pushy when it comes to recruiting, it's not my strong point, luckily it doesn't have to be to be successful.
3. What's the con's? I want it all, the stamps, the paper, the ink, the markers.
4. Do you work outside the home full-time? I work outside the home less than part-time right now but in the fall I work almost full-time.
5. How many children do you have? 2 children, 9 and 16 years old
I plan all my workshops and stamper's groups in a weekend, cut, sort, organize them all at once. I make almost the same cards for each class in a month, unless I know the same people will be at more than one, then I change it up. I have one group that is more scrapbook oriented, we alternate between pages and cards. I have just started offering classes, cardmaking, scrapbooking, papercrafts, and have found it to be going over well.
You make it work for whatever you have going on in your life, that's the great thing about home-based business.
Kelli
Now edit to add: As a demo, if you miss your minimum for a quarter are you automatically dropped, or is there a probational period?
You are not automatically dropped, but you do go into "pending" status. If this happens, you have one month to make up the shortfall from the previous quarter, plus you need another $100 toward your quota for the current quarter. For example, if you only have $250 in sales for January-March, then you must submit $50 in sales, plus an additional $100 for April-June before 11:50 pm MT on the last business day in April or you will be dropped as a demo.
For the quarter when you sign up, however, the quota is waived and you have until the end of your first FULL quarter to make your $300 minimum. That means if you sign up now, you will have until the end of June to fulfill your sales quota. After that, it's $300 every quarter to stay active.
Clear as mud?
__________________ Rachel Proud SU! demo and Sci-Fi Geek!
My Stampin' Up! blog "I'm a time traveler -- I point and laugh at archaeologists." 10th Doctor, "Silence in the Library"
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1. What's the pro's of becoming a demo? - being able to order what you want, when you want
2. Is there a profit or are you supporting your habit? Depends on how much you order... ;)
3. What's the con's? - being able to order what you want, when you want :oops:
4. Do you work outside the home full-time? yes, unfortunately
5. How many children do you have? 1 - 2 y.o. dd :mrgreen:
In all honesty though, I really don't have a lot of time to invest into my business, mostly because I feel like I don't get to spend enought time with DD as it is, but I do have a good core of customers, who help keep me well above my minimums every quarter, and it helps me get what I'd like to get...
Maybe some day, I'll be able to go part time, or even stay home, and have a little more time to invest, to really turn a profit, but for now, I guess I would be considered a glorified 'hobby demo' and that's ok with me...
I think you have to consider how much time you'll actually have to invest into mailings, phone calls, projects, preparation, etc...and then decide what you will do. Good luck to you!!!
I had an open house sort of event. I invited a bunch of people, even those that aren't 'creative'. Some brought friends. One booked. From there I met her friends, 2 more booked, and so on. Encourage people to bring friends, mothers, mothers-in-law, co-workers, etc. Everyone knows someone that stamps, scrapbooks, makes cards, or would love to start.
Talk about what you do. Take business cards and minis with you every where. If the kids are in school or other programs, talk to other moms.
I was in Michaels talking to an acquaintance and she asked what I was up to, I said SU and someone else overheard me, asked for my info and called last week and placed a $120 order.
One thing I have learned is that customers won't always fall in your lap, you have to be willing to go out there and get them. Who knew my neighbour was into scrapbooking, or the secretary at my DD's school made cards and would join my Stamper's 8, or that my best friend would become addicted and sign up too?
Kelli
I signed up last August after supporting my demo for over 5 years. I moved states and no longer felt she was an asset for me. Do find someone to sign up under that is going to support you since you can't change. I never hear from her anymore. I mainly wanted the discount since I already spent close to the $300 a quarter anyway. I don't make a whole lot and the little I do, I save for minis and other supply items that you have to buy. I dread buying a box of the new catalogs when they come out because it is a big chunk. It is like everyone said, what you get out of it is what you put into it. It can be hard to find new customers and I encourage my few stampers to bring guests and convert anyone. I had no success at starting a monthly club, so that was disappointing since I hoped it would make my mins. The hardest part for me is restraint, I can order whenever I want or I buy things I think others would like, I demo it at my monthly workshops and nobody buys it. I now only buy things I like and it makes it much easier to demo to others.
I don't have kids, married, with a very demanding job that takes lots of hours and I travel for work as well. I was hoping to make enough to support my spending and not spend any extra. I'm really going to hold myself to that in the New Year.
1. What's the pro's of becoming a demo? Discount on products I'd buy anyway, creative outlet, way to meet new people, pre-ordering stamps, and there is always a possibility of earning some money.
2. Is there a profit or are you supporting your habit? So far, I haven't made any money but I really didn't have any designs on making money when I signed up. Recently, I decided to have ocassional parties and would like to do stamp camps and ladies' nights things in my home. But, I'm won't be sad if all I do is get a discount for the forseeable future.
3. What's the con's? The temptation of ordering whatever, whenever was very great. I think I'm over it. If you want do develop it as a business, you have to be willing to devote time to making calls, thinking up ideas and promoting yourself. I sold for another company once and failed miserably because I just didn't want to work all that hard.
4. Do you work outside the home full-time? No, I have a very flexible part-time job.
5. How many children do you have? 2, one 8 and one 6.
I think it's completely what you make of it. I love the stuff and love being able to buy it for a discount. Nothing's perfect though and it can be very, very hard to establish a business. If you really, really want it, you can make it happen. I think that it's probably a good idea to make sure you can sustain your minimums by yourself for a bit, just in case.
The pros of any home based business is just the joy of doing it. If you are having fun, then it is a good thing. You can keep it simple and only do a few workshops which will probably make your quarterly minimums, or you might find you want to do classes. You are incharge. So you can be as involved as you want to be.
I don't see any con's as it is your choice to be in business or not. You are able to stop at any point in time.
The biggest pros I see are getting to do what you love, and the discount. I wondered if the discount is better than all the free stuff you get when you host a good workshop. I just had a really good workshop with my demo, and got $100 worth of free merchandise, a level one and two hostess set from the catalog, plus the set from the mini, and sellabration sets.
If I had been my own hobby demo, I wouldn't have had my friends over. I would have just placed my order, gotten the discount, fewer SAB sets, and maybe one catalog hostess set.
Are there other benefits besides the discount for hobby demos? If not, I'm thinking its worth it to host workshops and support your demo. I know there are lots of hobby demos out there. I can see how the real demos make money. I'm just wondering about the whole hobby demo thing.
I've worked for other direct sales companies in the past and the only reason I signed up as a SU demonstrator was to get the discount. It was a way to support my hobby. However, to my surprise my hobby has become a business. I have two workshops a month along with running two 'techniques clubs' each month and taking outside orders.
In otherwords, you can be just as busy as you want to be. If you're buying lots each month, then it probably would be worth your while to sign up because the kit in itself is a good deal.
You need to sign up under a person that is a good 'fit' for you. If you like the way she does her business and she is going to be a good mentor to you, then that's the one I'd sign up under.
I'm not an SU demo but I sell direct sales for another company and the pros are:
1) Instant income - you get commission the night of the show
2) Discount on stuff you would buy anyway
3) Friends! I've met more people through my business whom I would have never met otherwise.
4) I like seeing things ahead of everyone else - being in-the-know is fun to me!
5) Tax write-offs for virtually everything dealing with your business - computer, mail, cell phone, gas, office supplies, business related trips, all of your stamps that you buy!
6) Getting out of the house 1-3 times a month (I have a 3yrDD and 6yrDS).
My demo tells me that SU has a website and magazine that gives her all of her creative make/take ideas, so even if you don't deem yourself overly creative, you can show cool stuff!
If you want to make money at this - just sit down and determine how much you want to make, how many shows (estimate) you think you'd need to do that, and then make the number of calls you need to earn that! If you organize a stamping club, you might not need to book as many shows.
And as far as who to pick for an upline - I would want someone who is FUN, encouraging and positive! Someone really enthusiastic who would make calling her and dealing with her FUN! But then those are the people I like to hang around in life period.
In all seriousness, you have to consider the forms, mini cattys, catalogs, etc. that you have to keep on hand and pay for. Is buying these going to offset any profit that you would make? I have a 2 yr old and another on the way, just moved to another state, and am not actively pursuing any new clients with all this change. I've been a demo for 4 years or so, and I sometimes wonder if I would have just been a client if I would have spent the same amount that I do on all the little stuff - forms, mini catty's, catalogs, etc. - because you do give out a good amount of cattys.
If you spend $60 a month, that's $720 Plus tax & shipping - that would be around $850 cost for you. If you were a demo, you would spend around $700 cost. So $150 savings. One box of cattys is like $35 after tax/shipping. I end up giving away my first box, may get reimbursed for portions of the others. I only charge $5 a catty - free if they have big orders. Covers my cost anyways. So if you go through 2, that is $70, plus the mini cattys that you mail $.60 a piece to mail from SU!, would cost $.80 a piece to order and mail yourself. So say you mail out 10 a quarter - that is $30 in just mini's (including SAB), then you order some to have on hand, say you order 2 sets @ $3 a piece - minimum $3.95 shipping for supplies, so you could pay $10 to order 2 sets of minis. That's another $50 in mini's. So in catty's and minis you could be out $150.00 Plus the post cards you give your customers to hand out, customer order forms - SU! gives you a decent stock in the starter kit - so in just the catty supplies, you would be about breaking even from what you are paying your demo to what you would be paying if you were a demo.
As a note, Stampin' UP! does tell demos to sell the catalogs for $9.95 retail. Please, no one get upset with their demo for charging them $9.95 plus tax for their catty. The price is an individual decision. Each demonstrator decides what to sell the catalogs for. Personally, one reason that I charge $5 is to cover the cost that SU! charges me, and so I don't have to collect extra tax and then file a special form to the state for the tax I collected on my catalogs. This is something you are supposed to do - EVERY SINGLE DEMO if you are collecting more than you are paying on the catalog. Reporting that tax is MANDATORY!
Plus, as a demo you have to keep track of the stuff for taxes. No big deal for me, but some people are bad bookkeepers, and you want to have every tax deduction you can get. The first few years when I had more activity, I probably broke even, or lost a little after what I bought for myself. I have NEVER made a profit. I buy too much stuff. Do you want to keep track of taxes?
Preparing for workshops does take a lot of time. It is fun, but customers - you should appreciate your demo for the work she does because she puts in SOOO much time preparing the perfect card and then cutting everything so you can make a card quick. Let's say you prepare the night or two before, you can spend 5 hours thinking up a card and cutting all the pieces and making sure you have everything for a party. IF you do a lot of parties, you can come up with a few cards and do the same at different parties if you know no 'old' customers will be at the other parties. By 'old' I mean, ones that have been to a party, then go to another to support another friend. You don't want them making the same card. So you have to come up with a few different ones.
SU! just changed their commission plan to start effective July 1, 2006. If you don't sell more than $400 a month, you make no override. Right now if you sell more than $150, you make an override, but if I were to sell $400 this month vs. July, I would make more in July. So good if you are a decent seller, and having one party a month can cover the $400. Not good if you are a hobby demo.
So it does take a lot of time, effort and (some) money to have workshops - will you do enough to make it worth it?
As far as finding customers. When I first moved to my house in Ohio, I was determined to meet people in my neighborhood. I did and would have a SU! party once a year at my house and get some sales from that. I had some repeat customers, but I would never push it. Anyways, when I had my party, I put a flyer in everyone's mailbox - 120 homes. My friends came, not really any new ones, and I got some parties scheduled from it.
You go from one demo to the other and have a good consciouse about it - it's like going to one scrapbook store or another - so if you take some of their customers for your benefit, I wouldn't feel bad about it, especially if they (customers) are your friends. You aren't tied to one demo. And when you do sign up as a demo, it is common that the new demo will take some of the old demo's customers as some of those are their friends. A demo can't take offense to it, it's just how it works.
As far as what demo to pick...pick the one that can train you the best, has downline meetings and supports her existing downline. You do not want a hobby demo if you are in this for a business - you would be better off getting a demo that would be able to help you, and you can get so much advice on this board from other demos. Just ask the two of them if they have a downline, what they do for them, do they have meetings, go to other meetinsg, does their upline have meetings, etc. Interview each of them, and go with the one you think will meet YOUR needs the best. When you pick one, send a thank you card to the other and tell her you picked the other because you feel she could meet your needs the best and thank her for being such a great demo over the years. If someone picked someone else over me, I would totally understand, and I would recommend they go with someone else. When I signed up I was looking for a good upline, but I had 3 refer me to someone else because they were hobby demos. The one that I found had that my MIL had a party with that she found from calling SU! - was a little peeved that I didn't pick her, but she was like 4 hours away and I wanted someone who lived close to me and could help me. It was the best decision I ever made, and I didn't care that she was upset. My upline is awesome!
Good luck in your endeavor...sorry about the long post.
Vicki
Anyways, you have to weigh the cost of supplies vs. what you would spend, and when you are a demo, I think you do spend more on STUFF - stamps, etc., and sometimes I do it to meet my minimum, and if I weren't a demo, I wouldn't have spent that money. Now I am glad I have the stuff, but could have lived without it longer. Heck, you can find good deals on the BST boards here - and cheaper than you would had you paid for it as a demo. Sometimes I think I should quit being a demo and buy all used stuff! LOL!
I hope I helped you think of some things. You have to decide what your goals are and are they attainable? Will you actually make a profit? Probably not, not unless you are doing a few shows a week and have a good downline and are good at limiting what you buy.
Pros: you get a discount, you get to order on line and pay by credit card. You get a monthly magazine from SU, access to the SU demo website and access to the SCS demo portion of this website, you get (to pay to) go to SU training events and meet other demos.
Cons: you have to buy/sell $300 a quarter.
Whether you can do it successfully depends upon your definition of success. I can't imagine working full time and having 2 very small children and also finding the time to really work the business. However, I meet my minimums by doing no workshops. I place orders for a couple of stampers at work and buy a lot myself! I consider myself a success!
However, if you are in it to make money -- I'd wait until you have more time. Holding workshops is way more time consuming than most folks realize and many areas of the country are saturated with demos. Good luck!
__________________ Dear Paperlicious is my blog...with a series on how I'm learning to improve my cardmaking by studying others.
The pros and cons are as varied as the demos who signed up.
My main pro is that I get "paid" to do something I love.
However, my main con is that my "pay" is pretty low once time and expenses are factored in.
I have been a demo for a year and 4 months. I stocked up on supplies my first year because of the free shipping in Dec. 04. I am still living off those postcards, customer and hostess order forms. (I tried to figure out what I would use in a year.)
In 2005, I went to Convention (big outlay there but worth it), upgraded to high speed online, made some necessary large purchases (laptop, Carl Cutter), added a cell phone and so on. I haven't run the numbers yet, but I do not expect to make a profit.
In 2006, I do plan to make a profit. While I think I will skip Convention this year, I am planning on the NJ regional (although that could cause a personal loss since it's in Atlantic City). I am off to a good start with Sell-A-Bration, in fact, I'm second in my upline's downline for the month. (Yay, me!) My upline earns the cruise pretty regularly so someone makes money at this.
I don't have any anticipated major stamping expenses coming up in 06. I have a core group of stampers who think they have a lifetime contract to come to my classes (yay, them!) and I have tried, with somewhat limited success, to expand beyond that core group. I use my class fees to purchase my class and workshop supplies and plan to save my instant income plus volume rebates. I work full-time and have a 20 y.o. DS who's in college.
Ask me this time next year where I stand! HTH and good luck.
The way I have generated customers (so far, I still haven't recieved my kit yet) was first, to send out fliers to everyone I knew. I printed them off, then stamped them, and mailed them out. When I stamped them, I was up at school on my lunch break, so I was stamping in the student lounge. All sorts of people came up and started asking questions. That was last week, Monday, I carried a stack of cards with me everywhere I went, and as I was talking to people I'd whip 'em out and say, look what I made...and everybody loved them and wanted to know how to do it. I now have a waiting list of 23 people for my first class. hehe
I've decided I may have more than one class a month, but every class in a month will be the same. I am limiting the number of people in my classes to 5 or 6, so I'm not overwhelmed. With multiple classes, everyone gets to learn the techniques I'm showcasing that month with plently of room to work, andhopefully, their demo won't be too wigged out because there won't be a huge looming crowd. Just me and the girls...
1. What's the pro's of becoming a demo? Make your own schedule, sneak peeks at new products, meeting new people (which can also be a con, if you don't like that person) being able to buy new stuff before anyone else, and working for a company that believes in their employees and contributes to the community.
2. Is there a profit or are you supporting your habit? That is up to each person. You can make this business into whatever works for you. I personally don't make money, because I choose to reinvest it all into supplies. I am now getting to the point that there isn't too much more left in the catty that I want...so I might make a few bucks between now and when the new catty comes out ;)
3. What's the con's? It can be frustrating to watch people not use care and caution when using your supplies, I have had a few things stolen from me...like my SU! scissors :(, It can be time consuming....if you let it be.
4. Do you work outside the home full-time? No I do not, but I do work at home.
5. How many children do you have? I have three kids ages 10,9,& 7. I did work full time outside of the home when my kids were babies, and no me there is no way I would have had time to be the demo I want to be.
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*Mandy* Heading to the Southern Caribbean!!
Just earned Alaska 2/27/10!!
As a demo I found after 6 months there wasn't much more I wanted as far in supplies and new stamps. I never wanted to do parties, camps or clubs to support my habit. A few of my friends helped for a while but I could have gotten the same help on a huge party once a year. To get the few sets that come in the minis or new catty won't kill me to support another great demo. Some demos put in a lot of work and get very little in exchange for the discount. Others seem to do nothing had have great success. Just my thoughts.
Bottom line...how much time do you spend a week preparing for SU parties and how much time in preparing for SU stamp clubs?
That really, really depends on the demo. It also depends on your experience. When you're new at it, it will feel like it takes forever and you will agonize over whether you forgot something, are your ideas good enough, etc. Also, how many workshops or camps/classes you have in a month. If you have just one, you have to start from scratch, but if you have more than one, you can typically use the same designs/materials for each so your "time per event" goes down.
I think eventually you can get it down to a "science" and be very methodical about your preparations. I, personally, am still waiting for that day to dawn, but I'm working on it!
I posted this earlier too, I plan all my workshops in about a weekend. I do totally hands on workshops so we do 2 cards at each. I use the workshop outline from the SU site and list all my supplies on it. I cut all the cs for each card. If I know approx. how many people are attending, like in my Stamper's 8s, I will cut for 10. I put all supplies for each person's 2 cards in small bags I buy at a local supply store and put all the bags for each workshop/class/club in a small box and label it ei. Heathers 10. I do the same cards all month, unless I know the same people will be at more than one workshop. I might change the colours of cs but the design is the same. Use the Inspiration Sheets, they save you the time of thinking up new cards, same with the Stampin' Success and this site.
It takes a few hours, but it's only one day and once everything is sorted, all I have to do is look at my supply list and pack my stuff up, if it's not at my house.
Kelli
Another cost you need to consider is incentive stamps and prizes. Incentive stamps are $15.95 for a set- the bigger stamps come as a pair, cost $.50 each, so that is $1.00 to give away for the bigger stamps. I think you get 16 stamps with the bigger stamps, the smaller stamps - you get 28 stamps, still same price, so the cost per stamp is less. This still goes into your expenses. If you have extra SAB sets, you can give those as incentive stamps as well. They go a long way sometimes!
If you are a perfectionist, it can take a long time to prepare, not only do you prepare cards to make, but you make hostess gifts, and those take some time to do as well. It's fun, but it's still a time issue.
Here's my financial stats for the past few years - I'm a hobby demo - started in Nov. 2001 - my organization of my records has been better the last few years after I figured out a system for keeping track...
2001 I spent $120 in supplies in 2 months. For what, I have no clue - probably incentive stamps, catalogs - plus $300 for the starter kit. I believe it's only $200 now. After I paid $300 for my starter kit, I went and spent another $150 in stuff - I had nothing!
2003 - $3700 sales, $1200 on my individual orders, $320 on supplies, Income $740 - If I had bought $1200 worth of stuff and paid tax/shipping, I would have spent $1405.80, so that's $200 more - I spent $320 on supplies, but made $740, so I made $400 to spend on goodies, my loss was $800, but on stuff I use. No true profit, but there was a profit to pay for my goods even after paying for supplies.
2004 - $2800 in sales, made $544, spent $362 on individual orders, $223 on supply orders (included $75 regionals fee), net profit -$111.00 Still even after paying for supplies, I got some goodies paid for.
I had parties once a month if that, and not every month. Some months I would have more classes and sales (SAB).
I can't believe I only spent $362 on my own orders in 2004. I know it's less for last year since I lived in a hotel for 1/2 the year and couldn't stamp...
Anyways, it does take time to plan and prepare for a party. It's best to try and do it all in one time and get it done with then have it ready to go, but is that realistic? Many people I know start planning the week before or the night before a party, and it takes a few hours to do that.
So true profit - No, never, won't ever happen with me. But I have gotten some of my stuff paid for over the years, and that is a profit, just not a true profit.
Bottom line...how much time do you spend a week preparing for SU parties and how much time in preparing for SU stamp clubs?
Honestly, waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too much! That is my ONLY downside with doing this. I am a MAJOR perfectionist & I spend too much time making everything "perfect" for each group. I do much more than I should but my customers are truly thankful. I plan to take some time off beginning in May to focus on my PERSONAL scrapbooking & card-making. I've really missed it! The only time I seem to get to stamp is for "work" not "play".
Aside from that I will REALLY miss teaching (that's the way I describe what I do). I don't consider myself a salesperson - just a teacher. I love Classes & Workshops & Club WHILE I AM DOING THEM - but the prep can be a BEAR!
The best thing about SU is that there really have been no "skeletons in the closet". It's a very Simple Demo agreement & very straightforward. I love SU & wouldn't have known all of the fun if I hadn't just gone for it!
Thank you all- to the demos who posted in this thread. I am becoming more and more concerned about taking this as a part time job as I read this. It seems like SU! is a great way to support your hobby, but not to support yourself.
I am moving in August and if I can't find a job teaching thought I might do SU! and substitute teaching, but now it looks like the money I would be spending to do SU! is going to be equal to (if not greater than) any money I can bring it. At this point, I can't do that.
I really appreciate all the honesty, and for now, will keep supporting my demo.
Tell me....pro's and con's of being demo
