Keep Business Thriving During/Post Pregnancy

[smilesarepriceless]

Ok, This is totally business related, but if it should be somewhere else, please let me know, or re-post it!

But I am nearly 3 mths pregnant, only 5 mths into my Pampered Chef Business, and want to keep my momentum going and keep my business strong.

I'd love to hear business tips from others which have been in TPC and gone through a pregnancy and kept it strong!

SHARE so I can learn from you..

I have a 3 yr old too..

 

[Gina M]

Heather,

Sorry I don't have any advice - but just wanted to say congratulations on your pregnancy! Hope it goes smoothly for you

 

[chefann]

None of these tips are from personal experience, but they're things I've heard from other consultants.- really market catalog shows to keep your sales up.
- Take advantage of the help hosts offer to get your stuff in and out of their house, when you shouldn't be lifting things.
- Do the same recipe all month, so you don't waste time repacking your kit. You'll also get good at it, which will shorten your show (and the time you spend on your feet).
- schedule live shows as long as possible in your pregnancy. Warn some hosts that you are due around their show and you may need to cancel or send another consultant.

 

[chefmeg]

CATALOG SHOWS! My Director had over $4000 in sales in her due month and the month after by offering a full set of cookware to the highest catalog show host.....she started promoting this in the few months before she was due.

CONGRATULATIONS!

 

[jrstephens]

I do not have any advice but I can tell u what I plan to do. I am due May 17th.

I have already asked friends and repeat host to think about doing catalog shows for me in May, June and July. I have 2-3 that I know already they will do it. I will talk about it at my shows in the coming months too.

I have enough Panorama points to get a satute skillet for free. I am thinking of entering all catalog hosts for those months into a drawing for it to attact more people.

I am taking 3 months off from shows during that time I will see if I can continue to do shows. I want to give myself plenty of time to get adjusted before getting back in the full swing of things.

I will probably book cooking shows until the middile of April and then will not book toward the end just in case I go early.

Well, that's my plan. If I come up with anything else, I will post it here.

 

[pamperedgirl3]

Congratulations!

I just had a baby in October (& I have a 2 year old). I was due in early October (had him on the 9th) & my last cooking show before delivering was Sept 24. I also closed 2 catalog shows on Sept. 30. I took October off (no takers on a catalog show during that time), but I did have some individual orders. I wanted to earn sell a thon, so I booked shows starting in November. My first show back was Nov. 8. I did 7 cooking & 1 catalog shows in Nov & hit over $3000 in sales.

I would suggest that whatever month you plan on going back in, that you get actual DATES on the calendar, not just people who might want to do a show. My November shows all held & they were dated before I had my son, but my director didn't set dates when she had her son & no one followed through on their promise to do a show.

Good luck!

 

[cmdtrgd]

I know of a consultant who went overseas with her husband (not military) for 3 years. She didn't want to give up her business and could not do it where she moved to since they were not a military family. She booked 3 years worth of catalog shows and did VERY well for herself. She did a lot of host coaching via email, too. I believe she might have had someone in the states put her host kits together and mail them out - she paid for the supplies in the kits as well as shipping costs. Now, that was very daunting! I know you can do something similar, too! You might even joke that if there is a show on the day the baby is born and the host goes through with it (have your kit packed and ready for the host to pick up) that s/he will get unlimited half-price items or cookware, or a DCB or even your commission for that show. I'll think on this some more and post on the thread if I think of anything else.

 

[ChefBeckyD]

Congratulations!

I just had a baby in October (& I have a 2 year old). I was due in early October (had him on the 9th) & my last cooking show before delivering was Sept 24. I also closed 2 catalog shows on Sept. 30. I took October off (no takers on a catalog show during that time), but I did have some individual orders. I wanted to earn sell a thon, so I booked shows starting in November. My first show back was Nov. 8. I did 7 cooking & 1 catalog shows in Nov & hit over $3000 in sales.

I would suggest that whatever month you plan on going back in, that you get actual DATES on the calendar, not just people who might want to do a show. My November shows all held & they were dated before I had my son, but my director didn't set dates when she had her son & no one followed through on their promise to do a show.

Good luck!

Very good advice!

 

[buckeyefan08]

I am only 7 months into my business and I am also 7months pregnant. (AHH!!)
I have a four year old and a two year old and have come to find out that I will now need a c-section. My plan is to book Jan. & Feb. Solid and then try to get some book shows for Mar & Apr. With only one potential show for Jan. I am getting a little discouraged. Thank you for the advice and please keep it coming!

 

[catlwilles]

That sounds like me. I had my baby in July and I had a 4 year old and a two and a half year old. I also had a C-section so I had to take it easy for a bit. I did do a few catalog shows to keep me active and I also held some cooking classes in my home so I didn't have to take my products anywhere. Those were great cause the kids basically came over and made some fun recipes and got to take home a bunch of PC stuff. I did them in June, took off July, and started doing shows again in August. I even hit my 15,000 in sales during that time! You can do it, just be honest with your hosts. They will be glad to help make your job as easy as possible.

 

[clshirk]

Although I'm not a great example of someone who's kept the business strong since getting preggo- which isn't because I was preggo but b/c we moved and I had to take a full time job (my job was actually the reason we moved), so PC has been pushed to the side a bit- but my biggest concern is carrying products into homes with how heavy it can be.
My suggestion on that note is to either ask your hosts for help, bring someone to help you get your stuff in the door, or drastically change your setup pattern to minimum. THere are some great consultants on here who have ideas on how to bring bare minimum supplies to a show and still have great shows and such. Get some of those ideas from them so you can have less to take.
I also suggest coming up with a plan and staying as organized as possible and keeping that same plan with all your shows so you're not stressing yourself out with constant change.
Good luck!

 

[Sallie_M]

Take someone along with you to do your lifting and carrying. It's been a while since I was pregnant but did parties thru cancer treatment 5 years ago, and a major surgery a year later.

People are nice to you when you are not at your best.

I took my teenage son a couple times, and a team member several times. It was wonderful for me to have their help during shows, too. I paid them to help me, and wrote them a receipt for my taxes.

 

[genburk]

Ok, This is totally business related, but if it should be somewhere else, please let me know, or re-post it!

But I am nearly 3 mths pregnant, only 5 mths into my Pampered Chef Business, and want to keep my momentum going and keep my business strong.

I'd love to hear business tips from others which have been in TPC and gone through a pregnancy and kept it strong!

SHARE so I can learn from you..

I have a 3 yr old too..

Congratulations !!

We must be due near the same time. I think I am just a few weeks behind you. I am due August 2, but carry the babies longer and longer each time, so I am really expecting it to be the middle of August.

I have a 17 year old boy, 16 year old boy, and a 4 year old girl. And my husband was just in another accident and will be off work until at least April, possibly longer, so this will be a long year, so I will need to get my business going stronger. I need a few tips as well.

 

[katiemoser]

clipboardI am due at the end of June and was talking to my director about this. She suggested having a clipboard to pass around at shows for catalog shows during the month of July. Tell everyone when your baby's due and say that you're trying to keep your business alive that month. Just be sure to get a firm close date out of them so they don't back out later.

I thought it was a good idea...

Katie

 

[Chef_TK]

We must be due around the same time, I am due Aug 16th. I think by mid July I will just start doing catalog shows, until September. Plus houses here in England don't have A/C, so it may be sooner lol This is our 1st child, and I would like to take more time off, but we are moving 6mths later, and I will really need to start my business all over again there.

I plan on having specials, and giving them such things as a baby bar pan, etc if they hit certain levels in their sales.

 

[Intrepid_Chef]

Work the wedding registry!That's what my recruiter is doing. She's due in April.(She's talked to me about giving me some of her shows if she goes early ... of course, any bookings would be HERS.)

 

[smilesarepriceless]

Thanks everyone for the great tips thus far.

Especially as a new director, I'm totally wanting to try my very hardest to continue strong, yet have time with my newborn this coming end of July/August.

I have lined up about 3 catalogs for August and 3 for September...and really want to grow each of those numbers to 10 each..

 

[PCMelissa]

Wow, I didn't realize so many people were in the same shoes as me.

I am due 10/14, with a c-section planned for 39 weeks. I too want to keep my business strong, so I appreciate all the advice in here!

I started PC and then found out I was PG- and I have a 9 month old. So I was a bit freaked! I thought, I cannot do this. Then something hit me and I realized...now I HAVE to do this. SO that I can make money, work my own hours, and hopefully NOT return to Corporate America. SO, I have been going strong and hoping to keep it going once the baby is born. I don't want to lose all of the shows during Nov and Dec since that is good shopping time!

 

[Kristina21]

I'm so glad we have this thread...old as it is. I had a consultant ask me what she could do as well, she's due June 1st