is Party Plan worth it or is something else better?
HI all,
I would love it if i am able to not go back to my job, but i am in need of just that extra little bit of cash.
Anyway today i was thinking of maybe becoming a party plan consultant. like either tupperware, or kids clothes , nutrimetics, body shop etc.
Does anyone do these or have done it and is /was it worth it. ??
I am an ex-tupperware consultant...the only reason i am an ex is because we moved and DH's job is so full on, shift work that it doesnt really allow me the time.
Tupperware was great though, you work when it suits you you base your working hours around your family life. There is potentially lots of money to be made ...it sells itself and offers great specials and the benefits you get as a consultant are fantastic too. I would definately recommend you loooking into Tupperware!!!
I did The Body Shop at Home and found it worthwhile. I stopped because I was also working full time and couldnt fit it in. I just didnt have the time to commit to it properly. I signed someone up before I left and sold on a lot of my gear to her (towells, display stuff etc) and she is still going strong 3years later.
I agree you need to be very organised. And strong. I found when I didnt prep the host properly - giving them guidelines on guest attendances, presales etc - that my party sales were poor. If I put in the work before the party, the sales on the night were great.
Body shop was FANTASTIC for getting you set up before you start. They give you a full day training on everything. All about the products, the company ethics (as that is a big sell point) preparing your host, follow ups etc. and my group leader was wonderful. I could talk to her on the phone about my parties, any problems, tips etc and there were goals as a group too. I went to a couple of free workshops on building a business and a fantastic awards day too at the novotel. prizes galore Plenty of people there had built a full time business out of TBSAH.
Downfall is that every one wants a party in the evenings or weekends time so you miss out a lot on social things and family time.
I tried Avon a couple of times and found it to be a lot of work for little money. The problem is once you drop the booklet off you lose control over the sale. There is not much you can do to make a sale when you dont even see the customer. Good thing is you can do it in varying hours. I mean if you make a booking for a party sale you have to keep it but you can drop brochures at a moments notice or change times if it suits.
The best business is something that people consume or cant get readily at the shop down the road. Body shop was great for me because we are 130km away from the city and any of their stores. Suburbs would be tough to do it as the shop is 5mins away.
I always think tupperware is great cause you cant get it int he shops and even though your demo kit might have pieces that are no longer made you can still sell off your demo products. You cant sell off a tub of face cream that everyone has sampled!
partyplan will only work if you can find a niche market in your area - if you have several other reps in the area, it can be hard to break into tthe market (everyone has a consultant already) - and you do have to sacrifice your time with your family. you have to be able to find a product that will fit with people in your area too - i've sold kids toys (fantastically successful for a short term thing - not so much for long term as, once people have what they wanted, there is no market for them), ladies clothes (was great cos i got my own cheaper - was making enough to keep my wardrobe furnished, which is what i wanted!), have done avon (purely to make myself get out there - between two of us, we had a whole town essentially as our "territory") and am now doing partylite. being consumable, you do get some repeat custom - but it depends on the socio economic area in which you live. as much as almost everyone i know would PREFER to have partylite (due to the quality) they tend to find cheaper places (like reject shop) with lesser quality more within their price range. i don't take offence - i know what it's like to have money issues and to do things as cheaply as possible - but it makes it hard to run a business in my particular area. i keep myself active just for my own benefit at the moment - i can't run out of candles or i'd CRY soooo badly!
there are so many partyplan opportunities - look at your target "customers", what you'll do with the products if you DON'T sell them (for me, i'll keep them!) the start up costs and the minimum sales expectations from your partyplan opportunity. thankfully for me it's one party every few months, and my manager knows how sick i've been through this pregnancy, so she helps to remind me when i need to get an order in. i do send friends the really good sales that come up - but i can't physically do parties at the moment so i'm somewhat snookered!
I did Nutrimetics for a while and it was one of those products that people either loved or hated. It was a great product tho for repeat business as it was consumable and people would become regular repeat customers buying in bulk their fave product when it came on special.
In the end I couldnt commit the time required for it and was struggling with babysitting issues (dh worked fulltime and played soccer which required 2 nights a week training as well as the weekend game).
I think if you can committ the time and dont mind giving up nights/weekends then it can be very successful.
In my circle of friends, nearly everyone does something LOL. We have Avon, Partylite, Tupperware, Creative Memories, and another used to do Nurtimetics.
As the others have said you really need to work out what would suit you the best. Is there a cost outlay for your kit product or can you pay for it as you "work"? are there incentives for you to do well, such as free products for your kit etc? The time it takes to do orders, parties (if you go that way) and other things. Do you have a partner or family that aren't going to get mad at you for dumping the kids on a weekend so you can do parties. Also look at how much you would earn for the various party plans out there. Each one differs.
I did Mary Kay for a while, and loved the social side of the ladies in my unit, BUT HATED THE UPSELLING side of it all. It really left a bit of a bitter taste actually, and I found it all a bit fake iykwim. The products were fabulous, but I found that when I went to a lot of the parties, there would be lots of women that did not want to try the products on their face in front of others etc. The other aspect I hated was that it was always the people that I KNEW couldn't really afford the products that would spend the most and this really played on my mind a lot. The profit margin was 50%, so it was quite profitable, but quite hard to get party bookings, and I hated having to ask all my friends at the beginning.
Anyway, this is just my experience, and I know that I will never do any sort of party plan again.
you have a minimum percentage of sales (all) and you get your "kit adds" cheaper depending on your sales levels the month before. minimum "party" level is fairly high i think - can't recall now - i was doign it while i worked for a telco. most of my wardrobe is postie (cos it lasts so well) and UCW (no, i didn't sell that as well - just had a few parties a few years back!). my ex manager for Postie is someone i still talk to a fair bit. have looked at the latest catalogues and i'm not so impressed with their clothes any more though so haven't bought from them for ages... again, it's about your target audience. given i'm not sure where you're from, you may need to scope out the people you will try to sell to as to whether postie is on the too exxy side
something to consider is the benefits for you and for your customers - UCW offer both underwear and clothes - there are items catering to a larger price range so appeal to more people. customers as well as hostesses earn rewards for what they spend. people are more likely to spend more if they get more back (i think it's something like a $25 voucher when they spend $250 as a customer - they get loyalty points for parties in that) - definitely the kind of thing to look for... it's so much easier to sell to people who are short on cash if they can see the bargains - like two bras you save x dollars, two tops you save x dollars - kwim?
Almost all will have a minimum sales or bookings quota to keep you in. Or else you would just use it to get cheap stuff for yourself.
I found with The body shop that was another problem. I didnt have the time to hold that many parties. I think they have relaxed their requirements now though.
I know people who do Creative memories can maintain their requirements just by their own and family an friends, plus friends of friends needs.
I started with Nutrimetics at the start of the year. All I need to do is put in a minimum order once every 5 months to stay as a consultant. Kit, catalogues, delivery, hostess gifts, booking gifts have to be paid for by me. There are freebies each month if orders are put in between certain dates about a certain amount.
Downside I am finding is that I think the work when you want is a bit of a con. Basically if you want the parties then you have to be flexible with your customers. Also there are meetings and training sessions that are set. I find that these are not a convenient time for me, but seem to be for the other consultants (they are much older than me with adult children) and are of an evening. Oh, the meetings also cost $2.00, so it all adds up over time.
Others are right about finding the right product for your area. Where I am I am competing with Mary Kay (the rep steals my brochures), Avon, Body Shop at Home etc. Went to one facial only to find she had signed up with Mary Kay that morning. I signed up with Nutrimetics as I really like the product and want to get it for myself, I just did not think about what the market wanted around me. So it remains to be seen how I go. It is just a matter of keeping on going and taking 2 steps forward for every 1 step backwards.
Whilst it is great to get product cheaper, don't be caught up in buying heaps for yourself. I kind of needed to as I was desperate for makeup and skincare after years of neglect, but it has put me behind the 8 ball with regards to being profitable. I have given myself 12 months to be profitable and as of this week will be kick starting things again to start getting more business.
I did Creative Memories for 4 years and loved it. Classes were very hard to come by for me though because people had to pay to do them so it was hard to get new people to my workshops. I did workshops twice a month which only just kept me going. It didn't really make me the money I thought it would and in order to make my quota I was spending my own money. I also found with CM that I had to have stock on hand which I purchased with my own money.
I then did Tupperware for a year. Tupperware was seriously easy money, heaps easier than CM and I didn't have to stock anything other than my kit as people were more than happy to wait for their orders. People loved it and it just sold itself. Party bookings came so easily as did new recruits.
With any party plan it really depends on how much time you put in as to your return. You have to rmember that with some of them you have to purchase your own catalogues and business supplies, so a small % of what you make goes back on your business supplies. You'll be on the phone quite a bit so your phone bill will go up and you'll need to organise your kids to be semi quiet at those times . If you do 3 parties a week you'll probably spend that amount of time at home doing paperowrk and follow ups. You really do have to earn your money, it's not easy but it can be rewarding.
is Party Plan worth it or is something else better?
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Plenty of people there had built a full time business out of TBSAH. 
. If you do 3 parties a week you'll probably spend that amount of time at home doing paperowrk and follow ups. You really do have to earn your money, it's not easy but it can be rewarding.
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