Join the exclusive group of Stampin' Up! customers...
I wanted to share an e-mail I wrote and posted in one of the
yahoo groups I belong to. There was a woman who had asked if anyone
in the group was a Stampin' Up! demonstrator just to get a personal
discount on the products and not have parties. Below you will find
my response.
All Stampin' Up! requires of "demonstrators", regardless of your
intent (hobbyist v. doing it as a full-time business), is that you
meet the $300 per quarter minimum in order to stay active and
continue to receive demonstrator benefits. This is $300 retail
and yes your personal purchases count towards that minimum. So if
you are an SU! demo and you are not wanting to pursue it as a
business, this would mean that you personally would have to purchase
$300 retail per quarter to remain active. However, you are really
paying only $240/quarter since you get an automatic 20% discount.
I think a lot of people get intimidated by the term "demonstrator".
This is just the name Stampin' Up! gives to those who have purchased
the starter kit or in a sense bought into the discount. Kind of
think of it as the starter kit ($199) is like your one time
membership fee. You'll not only get the great products included in
the starter kit (which are valued over $199), but now you are a part
of an exclusive group of SU! customers who always get a minimum
discount of 20% as well as the opportunity to receive additional
benefits. Stampin' Up! include a bunch of business supplies with the
starter kit so that if you are interested in doing it as a business,
you'll have all the supplies needed to start your business without
the need of an additional investment. However just because business
supplies come with the Starter Kit doesn't mean you have to hold
workshops or stamp camps.
Now if you don't always want to be responsible for purchasing $300
retail per quarter yourself, you can then choose to generate outside
(of yourself) orders. Those demonstrators that wish to take this
route will most likely hold a workshop or class. If you decide to
hold workshops or classes, you control when and how frequently.
Now obviously there is a financial benefit to hosting classes,
workshops, clubs and so forth. The more exposure Stampin' Up!
products have, the more sales they generate. With the benefit of a
20% discount this also mean that you get to pocket 20% of the sales
generated from any outside orders placed. The percentage of
commission goes up with the increase in sales. A lot of us like to
"try before we buy" which is why workshops and classes are so
beneficial for generating outside sales. None of these events have
to be formal or with strangers. If you have some friends, family or
neighbors that simply like stamping or scrapbooking, you might want
to arrange to meet quarterly and crank out layouts, cards or gifts
using SU! products.
One of the great things about being a Stampin' Up! demonstrator
is that the minimums are low so that you can continue it as a hobby
or expand it into a business that fits around your schedule.
Also on a side note...if you are interested in purchasing the
starter kit and becoming a "demonstrator" (regardless of your
intention to do it as a hobby or a business) think about who is
sponsoring you. You will have questions along the way and although
you'll have access to a lot of resources (such as this yahoo group)
it is nice to have an upline that you can approach and contact. I've
heard of too many people signing up and then never hearing from
their sponsor again. That is sad, because you'll want her/him as
your number one resource. I would also suggest that you ask the
demonstrator your thinking of signing up under to give you a copy of
the demonstrator agreement to look at as well as the First
Impressions DVD and the "Join our Family" brochure. Educate yourself
on what the demonstrator opportunity has to offer beside the 20%
discount. Most importantly ASK ALL THE QUESTIONS YOU WANT ANSWERS
TO.
I hope this helps. Feel free to e-mail me if you have any more
questions. I have been a demonstrator for 3.5 years and can honestly
say that becoming a Stampin' Up! demonstrator has been one of the
best things I've ever done. I originally purchased the starter kit
as a way to get a 20% discount and be my best and only customer.
However, it eventually grew into a business that I was doing as a
stay-at-home mom. About two years ago I moved to back to Colorado
from California. A year and a half ago I went through a year long
divorce and started working full-time. I now am a single mom of two
small children (3 and 5 years old) and work a full-time job as a
software engineer. I have all the excuses in the world to say that I
don't have time to stamp or be a demonstrator, but I have never once
thought of giving up being a demonstrator. I was able to meet my
quarterly minimums even during the midst of all my moving and
personal drama. I've just recently starting holding classes once a
month (after a two year break) in order to start generating more
business. As a single parent, money is tight and the sales generated
from my classes are helping me to pay off debts I incurred during
the divorce process. I absolutely love this company and their
products. This is a great company to be a part of and I'm very proud
to be called a Stampin' Up! demonstrator!!
Alison
I want to learn more about becoming
a Stampin' Up! demonstrator and the Starter Kit.
Interested in receiving more information?
Please let me know if you are interested in receiving
more
information on cardmaking, scrapbooking, hosting a workshop,
becoming a demonstrator or receiving general newsletters.
Contact Me!
 All cards and projects have been made
using
products. For information on how to create any of the samples seen
on this website, please contact Alison Bair, Independent
Demonstrator, at 303-953-2668 or
alisonbair@hotmail.com.
|
