Need Some "Downsizing" Advice...

[chefkeri]

Hi all,

I have decided that I can't do PC full time any longer. I have drafted a letter to my director but haven't sent it yet. I would like to finish off the summer.

I LOVE TPC. I know that I will come back to it, it is just that I need to find a job right now that I can "leave at the office". Also, my back has been aggrivated from a previous car accident trecking my ware's around.

I can't see keeping my business going if I can't give it the time it needs to survive. I have been back/forth about this w/ my family...

Can anyone give me advice about doing this Part Time ~ with Book shows & individual orders? Is it done? possible? Whatta ya think?

Thanks all. I love this site. Can I still read if I'm not PC anymore?

 

[chefann]

Keri,

I know that this can't have been an easy decision for you. But I applaud that you had the courage to make that decision, and to recognize that PC is for you, just not now.

You can keep your business going with just $200 every other month - that's one catalog show a month. Your commission won't break any records, but you'll keep your career sales.

Good luck!

 

[jrstephens]

I know it was not easy coming to this decision. I wish you the best of luck!

It is possible to do it part time - that is why PC is so great, you do what you want. I do this part time while working full time. I limit my shows to no more than 3 cooking shows a month.

I also have some regular people that I take up a catalog show every other month from of people that I work around that want the whole catalog and just buy it one item at a time. If you have customers like that, that would be enough to keep you active and not loose career sales.

Best of luck!

 

[GeorgiaPeach]

Keri, It is possible to keep your business going at a "slow simmer" until you decide to quit entirely or kick things back into gear. I have about 5 consultants that have sold $200 every other month for over a year. They do it when they can.

It says you've been doing PC for 1+ years so I would suggest tapping into your customer base....contacting past hosts, explaining your situation and asking them to do a catalog show in a certain month. Go through your past guests and ask them to do a catalog show in a month that has a host special they might be interested in. For example: if you have a guest that loves SA and it is the host special for a certain month, call and let her know and see if she is interested.

My director takes 6 weeks "off" every summer to work at a kid's camp in Michigan. She has done this for the past 10 years. She lines up her catalog shows before she leaves town and then closes shows on her laptop.

If you want to do it, it can be done. If alot of your concern is the physical strain of carrying your stuff into shows, don't hesitate to ask a host for help. I'm always amazed at conference when you see consultants with physical challenges (leg braces, crutches, wheelchairs) and they are directors, they are earning TPC, etc. Where there's a will, there's a way.

 

[pamperedval]

There was a lady in my cluster that was awesome at PC - almost got TPC in sales last year - and she decided that she needed to be home with her family more and that she didn't have the time to devote to PC anymore.

She still sends out a monthly email to her customers and submits a catalog show often enough to stay active until she decides the time is right to pick up again. If you can swing that, you don't lose your career sales and won't have to pay to start up again when you decide to give it another go.

You can at least try the downsized business with just catalog orders and see how it goes. If it is too stressful trying to get the minimum together then you can just let yourself go until you are ready again. It couldn't hurt anything to try to stay active - plus I think you can request a three month leave of absence too...

 

[chefkeri]

Thanks for the advice guys... but?How would I make any money at all p/t after I buy catalogs & product?

I would still need to buy the latest/greatest... right? How else would people
want to buy them from me?

I think I just spent $300 between catalogs & new products...

 

[lisacb77]

Keri, Ann's exactly right. That is kind of where I am with my biz right now, just aiming to get $200 every other month and more is gravy. My full-time job is taking more of my energy these days. Basically I work on 2 projects, and if I can double the revenue in the one I prefer, it will be 100% of my job. Not easy but I'm up for it. So that meant cutting back PC among other things.

I've only done 1 cooking show this year. It can be done! I had a $1000+ Feb and only $700 of that was from the show. The rest was orders on an open house (which everyone just ordered online, no one wanted to come LOL) and registry orders.

To supplement this I am offering catty hosts cooking show benefits if they get up to $500 in sales. Right now my one March host is over $300 and still 10 days to close. I think it's working smarter, not harder, and really zoning in on what works for you. And I agree, I started being really honest with people that I'm trying to grow fundraisers/registries (they are less work out of the home).

And I think you can still read here as long as you pay Greg the annual fee!

Good luck and hope it works out for you.

 

[lisacb77]

Oh and wow Keri, that's a lot on products and cattys! I scaled back on my purchases when I started doing this very P/T. I just bought a few (like $40) worth of new products and I don't buy a pack of catalogs until I'm almost out.

 

[GeorgiaPeach]

How would I make any money at all p/t after I buy catalogs & product?

I would still need to buy the latest/greatest... right? How else would people
want to buy them from me?

I think I just spent $300 between catalogs & new products...

Keep in mind too the tax benefits of having a small business. You can take a loss on your income for 3 yrs (I think...or 2) before it's considered a hobby. Even if you are doing this very part time you can write off your mileage, your products, your food.

 

[yummy4tummy]

You can take a loss on your income for 3 yrs (I think...or 2) before it's considered a hobby.

you have to show a profit for 3 out of 5 years before it is considered a hobby.

 

[GeorgiaPeach]

you have to show a profit for 3 out of 5 years before it is considered a hobby.

Do you mean "loss" for 3 out of 5 to be considered a hobby? And what happens if it's considered a hobby? Last year I didn't take my mileage deduction so that it wasn't a loss.

 

[jasonmva]

How would I make any money at all p/t after I buy catalogs & product?

I would still need to buy the latest/greatest... right? How else would people
want to buy them from me?

I think I just spent $300 between catalogs & new products...

Keri - I buy only when I have the money for stuff. I don't have any of the new gadgets that are out but I do my research, look through the catalog and when I see something I think I would like, I get excited about it and talk it up at my shows. Then if I am having a good show, I might add an order to the host's party and buy it under my BF's name - I may be paying full price but I look at it as I am helping my host get to the next level and I get commission so it evens itself out. Hope that helps a bit.

 

[floccies]

Have you considered offering an extra incentive for hosts that are willing to have the shows in your home?

 

[DebbieSAChef]

Catalog shows are great.....

How would I make any money at all p/t after I buy catalogs & product?

I would still need to buy the latest/greatest... right? How else would people
want to buy them from me?

I think I just spent $300 between catalogs & new products...

and you can always try to do more than one show in a day. Not to put too much pressure on you but that way you get two over with. Have a morning show and an evening show on a Saturday and with that commission and sales you should be good for that month.
It just depends on you. What exactly do you mean by part time? I know some people consider 4-6 shows part time, others consider 2 shows part time. You make this part time PC job work out the way you see best. If you are spending that much money on supplies and products, then you obviously need to cut down and take on a few extra catty shows that month if you wish to make that money back. IT shouldn't be hard. I love catty shows, the host does all the work and you just get the commission and enter in the orders in the convenience of home.
And the sooner I get to giving birth, I will push the catty shows for my business. Even with a newborn, doing catty shows is very easy. I do this for a hobby so I only do about 2-4 shows a month. I just always try to do $200 at least every other month.
I love my job!!
Debbie

 

[Paige Dixon]

Hook some builders or real estate agents to call you for their closing gifts. Push the registries. Imagine having $1000 or more in sales every month without doing a show!

 

[tlmcunning]

Keri - You can do it! When you do PC part-time you will not need as much paperwork as you would for a full-time schedule. I have found that I can get by with 2 or 3 packs of catalogs. I try and use OOF and then print off receipts. As far as new products, I try and only buy what I would actually use in my own kitchen, I also try not to buy all the redesigned products. I use the old style and then tell my customers during the show that this item has been redesigned and if they will turn to pg xx of the catalog they will see the new design and then I talk about how it has been redesigned and what the advantages to the new design are. I hope this helps you out.

Tracy

 

[Jilleysue]

My full time job takes up a lot of my time in the office and at work. I have a hard time, but even if I get one show a month in for right now. I know it is the best I can do. I know I'll get better and better. I never planned on doing this full time for right now. I just planned on picking up a hobbie, making some new friends and adding a few dollars to help me out in a my checking account. I did spend a little too much in the beginning, but now I have it under control and only spend when I make money or exactly when I need supplies, not when it is fun to buy. Although it is very fun to buy...LOL

 

[chefkeri]

I am so glad to know...That I am not the only one out there that is thinking about running my business this way...

Is a "catty show" a book show? Where did that name come from?

Why is it that... just when I decide to cut down, all my hosts call me and book a spring show?

Good for me! But I think I'm going to take all of your advice & try it. I will start to take less items to a show. I like the Host at my house idea... Also, showing the old if you can't afford the new w/ a "refer to page # conversation at show. You all have given me so much to think about.

I just did an Golf Luncheon and actually had someone say they wanted to sign w/ me....

NOW HOW DO I QUIT??? I guess PC is in my blood. I will keep going until I can't go "no more".
THANKS LADIES!

 

[janetupnorth]

Keri - glad to hear things changed for you a bit...you can scale back a little and make it fun...go with the flow and remember, your hosts need to schedule around you! If you're not available, you're not available.

 

[jenniferp417]

Is a "catty show" a book show? Where did that name come from?

A book show is also called a catalog show... "catty" is just a deviation of that.

I'm glad you're not quitting for right now!

 

[chefann]

Why is it that... just when I decide to cut down, all my hosts call me and book a spring show?

There's a woman in my Director's cluster (cross-line from me) who has experienced this several times. Every time she announces that she's thinking of quitting, the fence-sitters book shows and she ends up with a couple of full months.

 

[sailortena]

You can work full time and do PC. I work full time, and the max number of shows I can personally handle these days is one a week. I tried doing a month during sell-athon in November with like 8 shows, working full time and also putting in some overtime ... my husband hated it. I got really stressed and I turned into Mrs. Hyde, according to my husband. LOL. So I try to do shows only on the weekends these days. If I do any weeknights, they are local and within a 15 minute drive.

 

[chefkeri]

Wow!My husband has been pushing me to leave PC. Maybe if I keep telling him I'm leaving & act like I'm winding things up... more shows will keep coming & I can sneak in another year (or so) before he notices...

HE is a whole nother thread all together... TOTALLY UNSUPPORTIVE.

 

[lisacb77]

It's OK Keri, mine's not into this either. He is more supportive now that I'm only doing about 1 show a month. But I also cut back some of my other outside stuff too so it's prolly b/c we actually see each other now!

Your DH will probably not mind it as much if you cut back. I told him my goal now is just to do enough to stay active.