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I was a Stampin Up demo from 98-2001 and am thinking of signing up again. My upline from that time has left the area and I haven't heard from her in years. I have taken classes and attended stamp camps with two different demo's in my area this year and they are both talented but I was disappointed with the customer service aspect of their business.
There are demos on this site that based on their posts really seem to provide great service to their downlines and customers plus they are mega talented. The only problem is that they are no where near where I live. Do you think your upline should be local? How did you pick your upline if she/he wasn't your demo to start with?
I have a local upline, but she isn't ANYTHING like I have seen on this board. I am her ONLY recruit and I just called her up to say I wanted to join catching her off balance I think. I wish I did have more support from her, but maybe she doesn't know what to do since I am her first. I am actually thinking of contacting her upline to do a stamp camp to introduce myself. My upline does not offer these. I was in her club when I first started and just finished my committment last month.
I think it really depends on the amount of support you want from your upline. I have out of area downline and we do all our training and questions, everything thru e-mail and phone. I have located uplines in their area so they can go and see classes, new product, etc. But it works really well...it just takes alot of time and dedication, follow up, follow up, follow up.
I am overseas military, so my Upline is in a different country! I am part of a yahoo group that goes 4 uplines up (does that make sense??). I am constantly getting new ideas and help.. plus I just signed my first downline that will be movnig back stateside next summer. So I hope I am as much help to her as my uplines are for me.
I do miss going to classes and that sort of thing ( I went to one while I was home visiting). But it works out for me....
Interesting question. I think a lot of that depends on your personality and your needs:
For example, I am independent, highly self-motivated, persistent, optimistic/enthusiastic, and enjoy learning for the sake of learning, so I actively seek out information to help improve my skills as a stamper, as an instructor/demonstrator, and business person.
If I can't find the information I need, I'll turn to my upline for assistance; I moved the July after I signed up in April, nearly 9 years ago. I basically trained myself via the SU! demonstrator site, monthly newsletter, networking with fellow demonstrators all over the country, and attending SU!'s annual Training Convention. And, truth be told, I consider myself always "in training"--there's always room to improve what one does, so this is a continual process for me. ;)
While I'm nowhere near the upper echalons of demonstrators within SU!, I consider myself successful, even tho my downline is small--I'm not even a Manager.
My upline, who is a marvelous lady and I wouldn't trade her for anything, has monthly meetings I could attend, if I wanted to travel, but right now, for me, with my kids' schedules, etc. it just doesn't work out for me to ever go. But, for me the meetings are not a necessity; more like icing on the cake.
I'm personally happy with occasional emailings of tips, or a card idea, and am not motivated by incentives offered by an upline for performance in sales or recruiting--they're nice, but I'm motivated by striving to achieve goals I've set for myself personally far more than anything else.
IMHO, anyone can be successful as a demonstrator, no matter what upline they have or where the upline is located because of the vast resources available all around; all one has to do is tap into 'em! Subliminal message: Splitcoaststampers' SU! Demonstrator Only Forums ROCK!
Good luck in your quest, and best wishes for success!
__________________ Julie Ebersole (JulieHRR once upon a time . . . )julieebersole.com"So shines a good deed in a weary world." -Willy Wonka
It depends on what you want in her. If you want to attend local meetings, then a local demo is important to you. If you are self-starter and independent learner, then a hands-on type of upline is not needed - you may feel confident to go it alone. (That 's like me - I learned on my own - and that was in pre-Splitcoast days. It's much easier now with Splitcoast!)
I'd have to say that I'm very much like Julie and I identify with her in many ways. I don't consider success to be in a title (Manager, Sr. Manager, etc.) Success for me is meeting the goals I set for myself. I think that is important when you sign up as a demonstrator - to know or have some sort of idea of your goals so you can pick someone appropriate as your upline. ( must be honest - I didn't do this when I signed up and I regret it)
If you really want to make money and learn, but you feel you need guidance as to how to make that happen, then it is important to choose an upline that regularily has classes, workshops and experience that you can benefit from. The person who needs that know-how, should not sign up under a hobby demo. She will not get the service she needs from a hobby demo.
Since you've already been a demo, you have a handle on how it works. I struggled with this when I signed up. My MIL had a party - she lived 3 hours away, and I talked with that SU! demo for a little while talking about signing up under her. Then she invited me to a monthly meeting and I was like - I can't go to this, this is unrealistic, and at that point I called SU! to find a local demo to where I was moving. Then they had a rule - one demo referral a day. They gave me some demos in the wrong direction of where I was moving to, and when they told me one demo a day, I told them I would just call as someone else, so they might as well give me someone in the right direction. LOL!
I called a few hobby demos and one of them referred me to her upline who was very active and had a good downline. So nice of her. My upline is great and does a lot to encourage everyone in her downline, levels 1-5. I've since moved away - tear - from her and some other demo friends. I signed up 4 years ago, so I don't need the support, I just enjoyed getting together with her and the other demos to bounce ideas and stamp.
I would suggest getting an upline in your area so you can go to the monthly meetings etc. - E-mail all the demos in your area from the demo finder on the SU! site and ask them about how they handle their business and downline. If their answer fits what you want, sign up under them. My upline lived like 35 minutes away, and that was no big deal to me. It is nice to be able to get together with your upline just to get together...something you can't do if she lives in another state. I enjoyed the monthly meetings for swapping and meeting other demos in the area as well.
If you choose to sign up under someone in another state, you can still get together with demos in your area to bounce off ideas, stamp and create friendships. Just find them on the demo finder, e-mail them, and invite them over. I've just moved from OH to TX, so that's what I've started to do to meet other people who are OBSESSED! It's so nice to have a hobby that helps you meet others with the same interests as you!
Thank you all so much for all the advice. I've got a little over a month to consider it all since I plan to sign up in January. I think what I need from an upline is inspiring ideas - the business side I'm okay with - just need creative ideas since I tend to get stuck "inside the box".
In that case, I think an upline in your area would best meet your needs. Mine is in another state, and while she provides a lot of info by email, I miss not going to "hands on" events -- for ideas and for comraderie. If I had to do it over again, I'd go local.
__________________ Dear Paperlicious is my blog...with a series on how I'm learning to improve my cardmaking by studying others.
Question on picking an upline
