A Lesson from "Jane" - What NOT to do as a Direct Sales Person

I’ll never forget the day I told my family members that I was joining a direct selling business. “You are doing WHAT?” they asked…clearly stunned. Quite honestly, I think they would have taken the news better had I told them I’d quit my job as a social worker to become an exotic dancer. I used to wonder why many people had such negative opinions of the direct selling industry until I met “Jane”.

This summer I set a booth up at a local craft fair for my business. Jane was in the booth next to me. She sprayed perfume on passerbys. She grabbed their hands to give them impromptu hand massages (that they never asked for). She shoved her business card in their hands and fed candy to their children without asking permission. Jane was the epitome of a pushy salesperson.

I talked with Jane quite a bit that day. She was actually quite nice when she wasn’t peddling her products. We talked about our children, local schools, and business issues. Despite her obvious overzealousness, I was starting to like her.

Actually, I liked her until I became Jane’s next sales target. As we were enjoying casual conversation, we traded business cards. Two days later, I got a message on my cell phone. It was marked, “urgent”. My husband is a police officer so I was convinced that he had been involved in an accident.

My heart skipped a beat as I called the number. “Hi Traci, this is Jane, I just couldn’t wait to tell you about our latest special….”

I hung up. I was infuriated. Continue Reading…

"Um - You do *What* for a living?"

Alright WAHMS…do you ever have any problems explaining your work at home career to people?   Do you have a title?  What do you call yourself? 

I ran into this issue the other day when I was chatting with a group of my husband’s former co-workers.  Most of them knew that I used to be a social worker (pre-kids).  One of the ladies asked me (in front of everyone) what I do for a living. 

“I am a blogger”.  “A what?” “A blogger”. “A what?” - “Um…I just write stuff”. 

It was a bit frustrating.  While I love staying home with my kids and wouldn’t give it up for anything, a small (albeit selfish) part of me still wants an official, and socially acceptable title. 

Prior to my blogging career I was a direct seller and had the same problem. 

The titles always changed and were always confusing to people who are unfamiliar with the sales world.  “I am a Team Leader”.  “I am a Representative”.  “I am a Four Star Director in Training”.  “A WHAT?” - “Ummmm….I sjust ell stuff”. 

Frankly, I miss having a quick, easy and understandable title  “Social Worker”, “Nurse”, “Teacher”…you get my point.

Perhaps I need to just start owning (and loving) the best title of all….”I am just a mommy”. 

Technorati Tags: wahm , sahm , work at home mom , stay at home mom , home business , home based business , direct sales , blogging , bloggers , blog , party plan , representative , consultant

My New Gig - Just in Time for the Holidays

I am pretty excited about my new blogging gig for Internet Shop Girl.com  - just in time for the Holidays!

Why am I a good fit for this “official” blogging gig?

I refuse to stand in checkout lines. 

I will not take my two preschool aged children shopping with me unless I only need a loaf of bread, a container of milk…and a stick of butter.

I will not get up at 4 am for so-called - “door-buster” sales. 

A discounted Polly Pocket set, lounging Elmo doll or Leap-Frog system is not worth a good night’s sleep….no matter how bad my kids want them.

So…that’s me..your Internet Shop Girl in a nutshell.

Are you ready for some steals, deals & splurges?  I am. 

Post your site suggestions, wish lists and requests in the comments section.

Alrighty…enough about me.  I’ve got some shopping & blogging to do….

How Much Does it Cost to Work? A Free Tool for Stay at Home "Wannabes"

Shortly after my daughter was born (over four years ago) I went back to work as a social worker.  I was miserable.  While I enjoyed my career, I was constantly concerned that I would miss milestones and memories with my child.

My husband was a police officer at the time so making ends on his income alone would be difficult (if not impossible).  One evening, when I’d reached my breaking point at work, I grabbed a calculator and tried to figure out what I would need to earn from home to make up for what I was earning as a full-time social worker.

I grabbed a notebook and jotted down expenses like business suits, daily coffees, lunches with co-workers, gas mileage to and from work, parking costs, daycare costs, and all of the other expenses that I’d accrued as a full-time employee.  

Then, I added an earnings column that included both my hourly wages plus benefits like healthcare and our 401K plan.  While social workers don’t make a tremendous amount of money, I was earning an above-average income for my region of the US.   I figured it would be impossible to live comfortably with the loss of my income. 

When I finished up the totals, I was stunned by the results.  When I factored in the costs of working I was actually earning the equivalent of a part-time income.  As a child-abuse investigator my career was draining and stressful.  Was the stress worth a part-time income?  Not at all.

I decided to quit my job with a plan in place to earn at least half of what I’d earned in my career from my home.  While I am not raking in the big bucks (yet) I am thankful that I took a few moments to factor in what working really cost.  I showed my husband the figures and we both decided it was time for me to begin a career from home.  

Many people assume that they could never work from home, work part-time or quit their careers entirely but they also fail to factor in the expenses we incur (like daycare and mileage) when we work.   If you are a SAHM or WAHM “Wannabe” take a moment to check out this free online calculator.  You may be shocked by the results!

Ooops…I did it again. Giving Direct Sales One More Try

If you’ve read my previous posts I’ve been less than enthusiastic about joining another party plan business.  Don’t get me wrong….I still firmly believe that direct sales is the BEST way for moms to earn a comfortable living from home. It just wasn’t *my* best way. =)

I used to be a nationally recognized Sales Director for Big Yellow Box by Crayola.  At first, I loved it.  I was taking free trips…I was swamped with business and I was making great money.  Unfortunately, I tend to be an “all-or-nothing” type person.   I wanted to be the best.  I wanted the biggest team…and I almost sacrificed my family life to get it.

I detailed my experience here so I won’t ramble on and on about it again.  In a nutshell, despite my previous success I swore I would never join another party plan business. 

Everything changed this afternoon when a friend invited me to a business brunch.  Frankly, the only reason I went was because I felt guilty for missing all of the other parties and events she’d invited me to.  Plus, I was hungry.  =)

I am so thankful I went!

I walked in with a bit of an attitude.  “Just so you know…I am NOT doing parties anymore”.

Within moments of hearing about the business…I found myself thinking about who I would invite to my launch show.  Later in the conversation, I was daydreaming about vendor fair booths and teaching a Once a Month Cooking Class.  Needless to say, I was hooked. 

If you would like to learn more about TSG, click here.  If you are interested in another party plan / direct sales opportunity - visit DirectSalesDirectory.net. 

Direct Sales Directory

Are you looking for a home-based business to join?  Would you like to connect with women (and men) who are looking for a fun business opportunity?  Visit the Direct Sales Directory and get quizzed..get connected…and get started today!

Play the Biz Quiz & become a featured business. It’s fun…and EASY!  Just answer a few questions about your company and we’ll get to read all about it right here!   E-mail Me to get listed (you can participate in the Biz Quiz for free when you purchase a $5.00 monthly business link.)

Get Linked!

Do you have a Party Plan, Direct Sales or MLM Business?  Get linked on our directory.  You’ll get linked on 2 popular WAHM & SAHM sites for $5.00. 

Be the main contact for your company…grab your spot before it is too late! 

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When Working from Home is Not Working for Your Family

I’ll never forget the day that I finally decided to work from home. I held various positions in the social services industry prior to the birth of my first child. I taught parenting classes, I worked with at-risk youth and juvenile delinquent teens and I investigated child abuse and neglect reports. In the eight years I worked in the field, I’d convinced myself that many of the social problems I’d been hired to fix were partially the result of moms that were too busy working (outside the home) to properly care for their children.

I worked in an office that was comprised of about 95% women. Most of them were young mothers. I threw the first grenade in my own “mommy war”when I proudly announced my intention to quit my job and work from home.

As I packed up my desk and said my “good-byes”, I was convinced that my co-workers were insanely jealous. Why wouldn’t they be? Nearly one-half of their paychecks were spent on someone else caring for their children. They would only be able to see their kids a few hours each day and on the weekends. They had to ask for permission to go to soccer games, school plays and lunch dates with their kids. I felt so sorry for their poor children who were probably languishing in daycare centers.

I was a twenty-nine year old, know-it-all, brand new mother of a baby girl. I had a booming direct sales business that I launched during my maternity leave. I had it all and I was not afraid to puff out my chest and discuss the horrors of child-care centers with anyone who would listen to me. I was doing the right thing. I was sacrificing financially for my new baby but she was worth it. Those other mothers probably just wanted new cars, nice clothes, a great career or a break from their kids once in awhile (heaven forbid). All I needed was a healthy baby and a few hundred dollars per month to pay the bills. I firmly believed I had everything that I needed (at least for a little while).

Continue Reading at Associated Content.com….

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So Much for Being "Boss-Free"

My new boss is a tyrant. She is bossy and demanding. While she stands less than four feet tall (including her piggy-tails) she is quite intimidating.

In a previous post, I talked about how much I enjoyed working from home because I enjoy being independent and “boss-free“. Well, I am starting to realize that I am not actually boss-less, I simply switched from one type of boss to another.

My new boss is three years old. She tells me when I should work, and when it is time to play. The other day, she even chastised me for drinking too much coffee ..”mommy, you need to drink some milk”. She was right.

Don’t get me wrong. I adore my boss and wouldn’t change careers for anything. In fact, I started my business for her. She was an infant when I started my direct sales business. “Boy, this is easy…” I thought. I simply fed her, changed her and worked while she slept. She wasn’t terribly demanding and I got a lot of work done.

Now, I find myself doing a lot of bargaining with her. “Jenna, I am going to work for an hour and then we will go to the park and play”. “If you are not going to nap, you need to have some ‘quiet-time’ so mommy can work”. My son is two and he seems to “roll with the punches” a bit more.

Continue Reading…

A Work at Home Challenge - Do You Spend More Time Working, or Searching?

If you are currently looking for home-based work, or if you are looking for additional income sources, have you ever taken the time to consider the amount of time you spend searching? Are you searching now? Did you find my blog during your home-business hunt? If so, bookmark me… and keep reading. This is just the first post in a series of home-business challenges I have for you.

In a previous post (Find Your Passion or Fake it Until You Make It?) I talked about how it may not be a bad idea to settle for a “less-than-perfect” home business in order to gain experience.

There are hundreds of websites dedicated to helping moms and dads work from home. Every day, thousands of new opportunities are posted. You’ve probably already learned that if you search often enough, you can begin to weed through the “too good too be true” jobs and find a business that may be right for you.

Obviously, searching can take a tremendous amount of time. It involves hours of web-surfing, submitting resumes and filling out forms. You’ll probably want to network with others to find out what the job is really like and if you are a candidate for a position, you may be required to interview for the position, take tests or send in additional writing samples.

I’ve been watching a thread on a message board recently regarding this topic. It was interesting to see how many people said that the searching can become addictive. Some even said that they spend time searching even though they already have a full-time job or work-at-home business.

Continue Reading…