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So I have questions. Sell me on WHY I should become an SU demo and not some other stamping company? (like i really own any other stamping supplies but SU! :lol: )
What would be my best items to buy in getting started? The most popular sets? Or the ones i like? Stick with colors that I use a lot.... or try to use other colors I don't play with much?
Any tips you could give a person who is thinking of taking the plunge? (Besides helping me convince hubby! )
My demo is sending me the packet to look at. So those are my first steps in the right direction. I have contacted her also with these same questions but would like to hear from other SU demos/customers.
I became a demo to get out with other women for a night out, support my "habit", and I enjoy showing products that sell themselves!
I am not a salesperson at heart, so my only problem at the beginning was trying to sell up. I have since learned that I am not swindling anyone, just making sure that they have everything they need to get stampin'!
when I started, it really helped me to have all of the stamp pads and paper. It sounds like a big investment, but I put it with the first workshop order (now at 30% off instead of 20%), so the blow was lessened.
I was improvising on sample cards to go with the colors I had, but it is so much easier to have all the colors to work with - less brain power required to CASE something!
I started also by buying the assorted paper packs. Once I realized what colors I was using, I started buying packs of paper in that one particular color to replenish my stock.
stick with stamp sets you like - or else you won't use them! And it is funny, some stamp sets I have I would never have chosen without seeing them demo'd somewhere (meeting, regionals, SCS) - and then I had to have it! So your tastes will change slightly as time goes on!
This is the time to do it - getting two more stamp sets with your kit is amazing! Good luck!
Oh - my decision also depended on my upline. You want a strong upline that had frequent meetings (at least 4 a year) and who you can contact/work with. It has helped me tremendously to stay motivated this way!
1: obviously you get the discount on your own stuff .
2: youget their magazine filled with ideas on stamping and business
3: get get to here the news first
4: you will actually use your stuff as you come up with ideas for events
5: you will meet people who love to stamp like you
6: If you are your own hostess you get the benefits
7: you might make alot of money
8: you might just support your habit
I'm sure others will have even more reasons
Good Luck with your decision. And remember you can always get out.
First of all, it's too have fun and be around other people having fun and loving what you do. You can get out of it, what you put into it. Here is a list I made up that highlights a lot of what SU has to offer:
To make a part- or full-time career change
To be your own boss and determine your own pay
To make a little money or to make a lot of money
To meet new people and make new friends
To get a discount on products you love
To share your love of stamping and scrapbooking with others
To get $355 worth of products for a $199 investment in your starter kit
To get an $93 worth of products for only $50 when you add the scrapbooking component to your starter kit
To get 30% off your first order placed within 45 days
To have the opportunity to earn four free stamp sets in your first 90 days as a demonstrator - Stampin’ Start
To have access to Stampin’ Up!’s wonderful and informative website
To have a free subscription to Stampin’ Success
To earn free yearly cruises to exotic locations for you and your family
To be part of an elite group of people earning free yearly trips to an exciting spa location with the CEO of Stampin’ Up!
To earn yearly awards and cash prizes at Convention
To earn free stamp sets during special promotions throughout the year - Sellabration and Spring Into Action
To earn free stamp sets by winning monthly contests
To earn free logo merchandise and products on a quarterly basis - Great Rewards
To have the opportunity to go to training and learn all the latest stamping and scrapbooking techniques in a variety of locations - Regionals and Annual Convention
To help support the Ronald McDonald House and Breast Cancer Research Charities
To build your own team and be financially rewarded for your team’s efforts
To know you're associated with a direct sales company that has a reputation for integrity and the highest standards of ethics
For a limited time, you will two additional stamp sets absolutely free for signing up, plus your personalized "Hand Stamped By" stamp that I give you for joining my team
Now that's a lot of good reasons to join and I'm sure I've forgotten something! Good luck in your decision. If you join, and you really want to make money, remember you DO NOT need everything yourself!
keri, i talked to you earlier this year and you answered some of my questions about becoming a demo and i also talked to my sales person the other day and i think i will be signing up the first of feb to be a demo. i'm pretty scared about getting up in front of a bunch of people i dont know....but i'm sure i will get used to it and hopefully love it.
You asked what items should you pick for your kit???
I'd say pick things that you like. If you like it and demonstrate it you can tell others what you like about it and they'll want it too. Also, pick the colors you like and you think you will use, eventually you'll want all 48
If later you decide that this isn't for you (unlikely) then you'll at least have products that you like and that you'll use even though you don't demo.
keri, i talked to you earlier this year and you answered some of my questions about becoming a demo and i also talked to my sales person the other day and i think i will be signing up the first of feb to be a demo. i'm pretty scared about getting up in front of a bunch of people i dont know....but i'm sure i will get used to it and hopefully love it.
thanks for all you help
Jill
Wonderful Jill! Best of luck! And this is the time to sign up if you were thinking about it, that is for sure!
I too have had LOTS of questions for my SU demo on becoming a demo myself. I hear a lot of the good, but I'm afraid I won't find out the problem stuff till I'm head over heels into it. Can anyone help with my anxiety and tell me some of the restrictions, downsides to becoming a demo....like you can't sell your work or current stamps on the internet or ebay.....i think.....anything else?
I think the only downside is that you have to be careful that you don't end up spending so much time trying to run a business that you forget why you started stamping to begin with. You also have to be careful to take the time to continue to stamp for yourself. It's also very tempting to think as a demo you need it all, and you don't! If you want to make money you need to really be careful about what you purchase and how much you purchase.
Try something for a while (sending out mini catalogs) and if it doesn't work, don't do it! Don't give too much away as it really eats into your profit. Keep track of your business (receipts and expenses) as taxes can be a real bear if you don't!
I've never had a problem meeting my minimums. But you have to stay constant in having events rather it's workshops or classes. And you need to read this website all the time for new ideas and to stay current with everything.
You will get out of it what you're willing to put into it. It can be a ton of work, but you have to learn to work smarter and not harder!
Thanks Beverly! I really appreciate your input. My husband and I suffer every year when we go to pay taxes b/c we are married and none. Having the business I HOPE would help with taxes since I can deduct EVERYthing pertaining to the business. I would be receipt savy keeping everything, you have to. I have little doubt I'd make a profit, if I did it, it would be for the tax break and the discount on supplies.
I wouldn't want friends and family to feel wierd about me stampin around them. I sometimes have them do some of the crafts I learn. I wouldn't want them to think, "well, she's just trying to sell us something." I'm very much not that way. I don't want people to feel like i'm annoying or MARY KAY like.......sorry if i offend a MK consultant, but my experience with them has seen much brut force.
Ok, my question is this- I love to stamp but only one or two of my friends do. I can't get many people to come to a party so how do you find people to buy? I know that may seen crazy but I don't want people thinking all I talk about is stamping. I teach full time and I am going to graduate school full time too. I would have time to do parties but not all the time! I want to join for the benefits and discounts but I can't afford to meet a certain amount on my own. Would you suggest that I demo or just keep buying stuff from my own demo?
I had to sit down with all my reciepts from the last 12 months, yes, I kept them all. I added up everything I had spent on cards, scrapbooking, gift wrap, some Christmas and some birthday gifts. I averaged about $100 a month. Now that I am a demo, my workshops pay for my supplies and almost everything else stamp related. I haven't bought much from any other craft store since I signed up. I can pretty much make my minimums by myself but by having a few workshops a month, I am getting stuff for free.
It has to be right for you.
Kelli
To those of you not sure about meeting the minimums...do you have a current demo? Have you asked her how she began? Would you be willing to step outside your comfort zone if it meant adding to your customer base? What would your goals be and will your potential upline be willing to invest in you what it would take to help you with those goals?
For me, I had no upline support and no real customers except a few friends...I asked them each to hostess a party and ask ANYONE they thought would be the LEAST BIT interested. It helped to broaden my horizions since I now have a pretty good base set up.
For my downlines, I ask them the questions I just put to you. I, as their upline, am responsible to be all the help I can, but I am not responsible for their success...only you can be resposible for that. Having no upline support at all has made me a real self starter and I like the fact that I am a self taught stamper. Sure I am no WOW you everytime stamper, but I have never had a customer tell me they no longer like what I demonstrate. LOL
So for those of you on the fence I say this, Find out about your potential upline, ask them anything you can and always ask here too! But see how knowledgeable they are about their business so that you can see how well they will be able to help you out too! Then see what they plan on doing to help you. For my one new recruit, Hi Rebecca~, I know that she simply signed up for the discount for now...and will let me know when she wants to begin "branching out". So for now, I will keep her upto speed but I know that just that is all she wants or needs... For my other recruits I know that they hope to be making a little income without being a "demo to be scared of" lol, or someone who you will cringe when you see... So for them I ask them what it is that they would like to accomplish, Once Identifying those goals I look and see what I can do to assist in that...none of my recruits live near me so all this is done via email. But you know what, they are all off to a good start. Setting goals are important, and you must first reach for a goal before you can accomplish it.
On the downside, well it is not really a downside more a warning, KEEP GOOD RECORDS. Print out your activity statements, stay in touch with where you are sales wise so that you know if you should place a little 20.00 order to hit the nextr sales bracket...BE AWARE of your business. You will know when it is time for you to take the plunge...best wishes. If you have more questions, feel free to ask...there are a ton of us here who can lend a helpful hand! LOL
Thanks for all the replies. They are just making me want to sign up right away! Infact I almost chased the Brown Van today and I know he had nothing in there for me! Guess it is just one more sign that I need to sign up as a Demo! :lol:
What supplies do you end up having to buy that aren't SU related but needed for your workshops? Also do you have many/ if any stamp camps? Is it okay to have those at someone else's house/church if they are wanting a stamp camp instead of doing one say every month at your own house?
Having a class held at someone elses house is really great since the people attending will perhaps be a different circle than the one you would invite to your house.
I pretty much need pens and other than that all WS stuff is SU except what I carry my stuff in...
Also If you are thinking what you will need to buy for the business...FILE FOLDERS...lots of them. The better you are in the organization dept the better off you will be. Also buy some other general things that are for the office, a stapler, some paper clips, some large manila envelopes...things like that...I personally have two file cabinets. One for CS the other for business files. I keep all my workshoporders that are pending or not arrived, paperclipped together with a note folded over it that has the hostess name, date ordered and then date due...once it arrives I move it to the Fulfilled Orders file... I have found that helps me BIG time when there is a problem or if I have to make an exchange.
Amber,
I have to say that joining SU! was one of the best decisions I ever made ... one of my closest girlfriends now is someone I met through SU! (she is also a demo). I can't imagine my life without her (love ya, Amy!).
Also, because I am a SAHM, I needed a way to get out of the house and do something that was just for ME. I thoroughly enjoyed stamping before I joined SU!, but it is even more enjoyable now ... seeing the faces of people who are "wowed" by a project or a new technique is so much fun and inspires me to keep creating.
I would agree with what Keri (and probably others) have said about keeping good records of your business. An awesome program to check out is www.stamperssidekick.com. It can manage so many facets of your business and it is quite affordable.
Just starting out ... I would build up your inks and paper. I kind of went hog wild in the beginning buying stamp sets ... but honestly, even with a few stamp sets you can do so much. If you have many colors of ink and paper and other accessories you can create so many different looks ... even just using the stamps that come in your starter kit!
I look at it this way -- until someone introduced me to SU, I had never heard of Rubber Stamping. And that was all it took. Don't worry if you just have a couple of friends that do it, because as soon as you start showing others how to do it, they'll be hooked just like you and I were when we first saw it!
As long as you stay fresh (by utilizing this website and the SU website) you'll have tons of ideas to share with new customers. And the best part of new customers is that they love stuff we've been doing for a while!
Good luck everyone! Stampin is too much fun!!!!!!!!!
Make sure you have goals as you can't reach something if you don't know what you're reaching for!
I actually just signed up to be a demo, I maile dmy applicationin on Jan 4th. I got my demo # yesterday, and am waiting for my kit (it showed that it shipped today!!!!)
There were three main reasons I decided to become a demo (and note I picked up my first ever rubber stamp in the middle of August 2004), the first being that in the 5 months I have alreaady placed orders totalling about $550 (I would have saved about $110 if I was a demo).
The second reason is that I am totally enjoying the time I am spending with my friends and family (I have hooked my sister and my mom who hooked my dad YES THAT IS RIGHT my dad's wish list is just as long as my mom's), they actually helped convince me, saying we love Jo **** (my demo) but we would rather see the money going into your pocket, knowing that she also get some from my sales (and having to keep records for my child care business (and when I sold Tupperware a couple of years ago).
The third reason is my AWESOME AWESOME upline, and her AWESOME AWESOME upline, they truly make me feel welcome. I am going to totally enjoy getting to know her more.
Best of luck on making your decision, I knew that this would be the best way to support my what's the word, not habit, it;s more like obession.
Katie
__________________
"Someone is always doing what somebody else said couldn't be done."-Anonymous
"Life consists not in holding good cards, but in playing well those you do hold."-Josh Billings
Just want to know how long it took to get your demo # and kit? Once the application gets to Calgary, do they fax it to Utah. Do they notify you or do you call them.
I'd like to be home when it comes
I'm a hobby demo, and one friend orders with me. She and I wanted the discounts, but couldn't decide which of us would sign up. My tax rate is lower, and she lives out in the boonies, and we have a few other friends that order a tiny bit now and then, so it was decided that I would sign up. We figured we'd commit to $50 a month for each of us, until we run out of things to buy. Well, we rarely keep it that low - we have not yet had a month where we didn't qualify for a party!
__________________ Kathy Wrose "Fun must be always." - Tomas Hertl, San Jose Sharks "It was fun." - Kirk, Star Trek: Generations
Kathy you are sooo funny!!! LOL What a great idea to pass along your discount to your friend...I have done that when I wanted to meet a sales goal... and let me just say for those of you who are thinking of signing...I reinvested EVERYTHING the first year and gave my customers super specials now and then to let them know I really appreciated their orders...I now have a base that places orders without any prompting!
When you have a WS do you do M&T or just demo? Call me naive but my demo just told me yesterday that not all demo's do M&Ts. They just demo the items! My demo does at least 3 M&Ts at her WS. I think that helps her sell the stuff cause once you "play" with them you are sold! If I can afford to do this out of my pocket, I will go the M&T way. Just curious on how you get your "sells" in your WS.
Thanks Beverly! I really appreciate your input. My husband and I suffer every year when we go to pay taxes b/c we are married and none. Having the business I HOPE would help with taxes since I can deduct EVERYthing pertaining to the business. I would be receipt savy keeping everything, you have to. I have little doubt I'd make a profit, if I did it, it would be for the tax break and the discount on supplies.
I wouldn't want friends and family to feel wierd about me stampin around them. I sometimes have them do some of the crafts I learn. I wouldn't want them to think, "well, she's just trying to sell us something." I'm very much not that way. I don't want people to feel like i'm annoying or MARY KAY like.......sorry if i offend a MK consultant, but my experience with them has seen much brut force.
First of all I want to say, I'm sorry you've had a bad experience with MK. Our company has some wonderful products but some of our consultants can be a little -let's say "pushy" . I'm in it more for myself and my daughter and the discount we get. If you use the products a lot, it's worth it.
As far as taxes are concerned. If you don't show a profit after (I believe 3 years) a certain amount of time , you can no longer claim the business expenses,it's considered a hobby.
MK does have some awesome products and they gave me my money back on the not so awesome ones. I didn't know about the 3 year profit limitation. Thanks for sharing that, I wish there was some way you could know the ins and outs of taxes yourself. Why does the government make tax breaks so difficult unless you have a tax accounting education when we are ALL required to do our taxes, either ourselves or by paying someone or a program to do it........no tellin....
Keri, my upline differentiates between her monthly workshops and parties. At a party at someone's house, she'll demo one or two things, and do one make & take. At her workshops, she does 4-5 projects, but everyone pays a $5 fee for materials.
My sister had a bad experience with MK product a number of years ago - her sensitive skin broke out horribly! BUT, I have to say, MK covered the medical bills afterward, so that was nice of them. I guess she hadn't yet realized how sensitive she was to things!!! Kudos to them for taking care of their customer, even knowing she'd never use it again!
__________________ Kathy Wrose "Fun must be always." - Tomas Hertl, San Jose Sharks "It was fun." - Kirk, Star Trek: Generations
Thinking of taking the plunge -- Becoming a demo
