Directly Selling to you…

(c) 2016 P. Lynne Designs

In continuing with the whole making money theme, today, I am focusing on direct selling.  My disclaimer for today is, there may be some affiliate links in this article, in particularly with a company I am a consultant for, however, they did not pay me to write this article.  I am doing this on my own as part of this blog. I will also give you the pros and cons of this business, so, if you want to be a part of this type of business, either through the company I represent, or another company (5,000+ strong) you can make this decision yourself.

In case you did not catch my previous article (which I highly recommend you read), I am an Independent Home Consultant for The Longaberger Company or Longaberger for short. I will not go too much into the company itself, but it started in 1973, in a little town, about an 11/2-hour drive from where I currently live in Columbus, Ohio called Dresden, Ohio, by a man named Dave Longaberger.  Longaberger makes and sells baskets and pottery, along with other accessories for the baskets and pottery.  I got started selling them in 2001 and have seen many changes in the company in terms of the products being sold, and ownership.  Dave’s daughter, Tami Longaberger took over the company when he died in 1996, and sold the company in 2013 to JRJR Enterprises (formerly called CVSL), the only thing that stayed constant was the making and selling of baskets. (Pottery actually was added to the line in 1993).

What is Direct Selling?

My take on what direct selling is “the art of marketing and selling of products to the customer in a comfortable environment through parties.”  It is a little different from what I said in the previous article, which was, “the art of selling exclusive products to a customer in hopes of developing a life-long relationship (buying of product).”  Both are correct, except there are other ways that a person can buy direct.  To me, infomercials is another, but, the problem is the marketing form is through television, not an actual person selling to you face to face.  If you do not feel comfortable with the product being sold on the television, you change the channel, right? 

Direct selling, before the home party movement, was mostly made up of the door to door salesman (think Fuller Brush man or the insurance person making house calls).  Today, a person asks you if you want to have a party, you say yes, set a date, invite a few of your closest friends to view the product, have them bring a friend who is interested, and they eat and mingle, while the consultant presents a few of the latest products. The guests make an order, and cha-ching, it is money in the bank.

OK, it easy to do, right?

I did not say that it will be easy to ask for the sale (getting someone to host a party or make a purchase).  Sometimes the hardest part about earning commission is hosting a party, but it is.  I cannot speak on behalf of all the consultants out there, even from my own company.  Everyone has different experiences as a consultant, but if you stick with it, you can even make leadership. 

Let me get this off my chest for a moment:  I have never made leadership with Longaberger or with the other 2 companies I was briefly a consultant with (4 years with Tastefully Simple; 1 year with Your Inspiration at Home).  I had a team that I inherited in the almost 15 years I have been with Longaberger. Personally, I think the person I inherited the team from, cheated, because when I called up my team members, many did not know that they were consultants, they just wanted to buy from her.  That is a big no-no, because, you can lose a lot of friends that way, not to mention, problems down the road when you leave the company, and your team gets inherited by your upper manager.  Because of this, I am slowly rebuilding a team, and I have had a lot of people who have said they want to sell Longaberger, but end up not making the commitment it takes to be a consultant.  So, in this business, it takes time, and commitment, because you are building a business.  You are building a team of people who have that same drive to work the business as you do.  You start off small, and in time, you will have a viable business.

What this business is not:

While you can make money off this business, it is not a 6-figure business, directly.  There are ways to doing it, but I have not been able to do it, so in this article, I will not steer you towards that goal.  The way that some people have made 6-figures, has turned me off to not even try to cheat my way into it. 

What can I get from this?

If you are seeking for a way to get in front of people, this is the business to do just that, but be aware that not too many people will buy from you at first. You have to learn how to promote your business and promoted it well. This is the only way you can gain customers without depending on your friends and family.

You can, however, ask your friends and family to help support and start your business, but the best way to earn more commission, is to have an open house or tag along with your upper manager to one of her parties. If you have an open house, be sure to ask your upper manager to come to your first open house, that way, she can give you pointers on how to make your parties better. If he or she comes, be sure to take notes, and apply them to your next party.

Most party planning direct selling businesses allow you to at least a 25% or higher commission. You also will get incentives for earning certain levels. You can also earn a percentage of the earnings from the people who are under you. Be sure to check with the company decide to sign up with.

There is much more where that came from.

That is all I have for you today. If you have general questions about joining a direct selling company or have specific questions about joining Longaberger, please comment or ask below. If it’s something that you have to ask personally, you may send an email to me at plogan721@att.net. You may also send me a message at my Facebook page, Tricia’s baskets – Longaberger, my Twitter account @Tricia721.

Next week, I will have an article about handmade businesses. Until then, I hope you would at least give this a try if this is something you are looking to do. Remember, there are startup costs when going into a direct selling company, but you will make up your money in no time after a few parties. Also, let me know if you want to see more of this type of article. Be well.

Day 17: Making money

(c) 2015 P. Lynne Designs

Hello, and merry Blogmas 2015.

Today’s subject is a little on the “what can I do to make money on the side or a new career” type of blog post.  I used to do these all the time, and I felt like I was one of those scam artists.  Do not get me wrong, some of these methods do work, if you have the time and money to invest into it, but it was the way I presented it, and if I was uncomfortable with the posts, I knew in my heart my readers were uncomfortable reading them.

Showing people affiliate links to get started was one of the main basis of this blog when it was named My Blessed Life, and I had that type of blog post for a whole month, before I asked myself, “What the heck am I doing?” This was not me in a nutshell, and I did not want to come off that way.  I still think that you can make extra money by having affiliate links, but you have to do the research and be dedicated to finding that perfect product for the subject you are talking about in your blogs.  You cannot let yourself be suckered into every Tom, Dick, or Henrietta that comes your way.   You have to learn to say no if it does not fit you and your readers.

With that being said, I want to talk to you about You Tube for a moment.  There is an article on Fusion.com that I read last night, and in the article, the author talks about why you should not use You Tube to make videos and make money.   The article is called “Famous and broke on You Tube.”  I got angry and basically blow it off, because that was her opinion, and I do not value it.   Then, today, I tuned into one of my favorite YT Channels, The Nive Nulls, and Austin Null was talking about the same article, but because he has a working successful YT channel, his approach was very different from the author’s.  Now that the rat got loss in the cheese factory, here is my take on YT and making money there or anywhere on the Interwebs.

When I first got started on doing anything on the Internet, I was not thinking about the money aspect of it all.  I wanted people to know that I am here, in my own little corner of the world, and I have something to say.   This is how I got started with my first blog, MDN Creates (now P. Lynne Designs), and I moved on from there.   I knew about You Tube, I had been a subscriber since 2007, but I never thought about doing video at all.   I made my first video 5 years ago, showing the first mini book I made.  I never thought about hitting the monetarize button a vlogger can push to make money of their videos.  I was not even thinking about the views either.  (I still have only 85 followers).  The point was I am not on YT to make money, even though I did push the button.  I am not looking for sponsorship for the moment, at least not the way this author was putting it. 

If your goal is always money, you may not achieve that at first.  Your channel first of all has to be likable.  How do you do that?  First have something that draws a person to that channel.  A catchy title (such as The Nive Nulls, Gabe and Babe TV, and so on).  My channel just has my name for the moment, because I want people to know who is making the vlogs. Next, have a subject.  Some of the people I watch have daily vlogs where they vlog about 15 mins of their life, which is usually spread through the day.  Others have hobby vlogs, such as scrapbooking or skateboarding.  For those vlogs, the video usually contains a tutorial, anywhere from 15 mins to an hour, depending on the type of project being made, or technic.  Brands like Disney, for example, has vlogs on YT talking about parks, the movies, and almost all things Disney.  There are also the food vlogs and the stupid vlogs.  Do what make you happy on your channel.

If you want sponsorship, make the sponsors come to you, not the other way around.  Give them something that makes them say, “I want my product to be on that video, their viewers will come to us, and that will give them more brand awareness to that product.  Coming to the sponsor sounds like you are needy and desperate.  It takes time and patience before a sponsor will notice your channel in order for them to even contact you.  Same with subscribers.  Now it is ok to say, “if you want to see more, like, comment, and subscribe”.  This is how you get more readership (viewers).  It shows appreciation for the viewers who do watch you and brings in more.

Lastly, do not concentrate on numbers.  A channel has to be view so many times before you can get a million subscribers or views, and yes, YT does rewards you with plaques and invitations to workshops that help you to get even more views. One way is a Vlogger’s Fair held annually the last part of July.  If you are famous enough, you get to have meet-ups, and invited to be on a panel or two.  Gabe Flowers-Raider of Gabe and Babe TV told me once in a Google Hangout to stay consistent with your videos.  If you are going to make and upload twice a week, for example, try to make and upload videos twice a week.  Stick with the schedule for a while, then when you are ready to increase your videos, make an announcement that you are changing your schedule so your viewers can be in the loop.

Again, don’t worry about this, for the numbers will come.  Do not concentrate on the money either.  The more views, the more money, but it depends on how many clicks you get and who you attract to your channel or blog.  My top video has only 436 views.  My blogs have way more pageviews, but I will cover that at another time.  I will get more, when I make and upload more.   That is one of the goals of 2016.  The summary of all of this is, you will only get what you put forth in both your videos and your blogs.  Do not let the article steer you into thinking that you will never make on You Tube. 

The purpose of this post was not to discourage you if you are thinking about making money this way, but to encourage you to start if that is what you want to do, but be realistic if the money is not coming within the first year.  Not everyone is cut out for YT.  Remember, it does takes time and practice, but at the same time, make it only part time to start, and when the money is right, go full throttle.  Good luck. 

SMART WAYS TO SAVE MONEY ON SHOPPING

The truth here is everyone loves shopping. People hunt for different apparels and search for branded items. This makes half the amount to go in vain. But, one should know the sneaky ways to save money. Shop for items you need but never waste money on un-wanted things. Here are few smart ways to save money on shopping.

Ø  Plan: Make a list of items which you wanted to purchase. This will allow you not to buy anything useless. So, plan before you run your errands which help to keep your spending minimum.

Ø  Organize: Systematize yourself what to buy and then start shopping. The things which you buy un-seasonally will wet your pockets. Make a note of all the shopping goods accordingly and then buy them in an order.

Ø  Comparison: At times, groceries at one shop may vary in cost with other. Even the apparels of the same brand will cost different. So compare goods and then purchase. Never invest lot of money for goods which are not worth. Do a window shopping a day before purchasing.

Ø  Search for discounts: Often now-a-days there are many discounts in the market. Even the mobile phones come at lesser cost with rebates. Unless it is urgent, wait for the discount sale and then purchase things. Few of the malls give 25percent off on all purchases. Such conditions will save money and also give you more choices.

Ø  Season sales: For every season there are sale of garments, furniture, groceries and many more. Dealers expect more sales during festival time and they try earning profits. Much of the basic clothes will be better in such sales.

Ø  Never shop when you are bored: Silly purchases on road side will not meet your requirements but just give a satisfaction. If you are bored, you should not shop. You may wander the whole mall and purchase any interesting item. Wandering with friends and getting inspired by them will empty your pockets.

Ø  Buy limited: Shop wisely. Procure things which are useful to you. Though there is any discount sale, never buy them in bulk. Limited goods are always good for the budget. For more discounts, check for the stock. Buying damaged goods for less cost will not make any sense.

Ø  Save the bills: Some of the stores accept exchange and also give warranty for the purchased items. So, the bills should be preserved. If any of the purchases are not liked by you, exchange offer can work better for it.

Ø  Use coupons: Many of the professional organisations give discount coupons for employees which can be useful for nay conditions. Such vouchers can save little money from your pocket.

Ø  Put some effort on old clothes: As the fashion cycle rotates, the clothes inside the wardrobe will come in use. Such apparels will be useful for any parties or evenings. So this can save a little money. Leftovers should be checked and then purchasing should be done.

So opt for sales in buying groceries, wait for season discount for purchasing garments than boutiques. Such steps should be taken for buying all the accessories sand goods. These are the best and smart ways of saving money.  

About the Author:

The guest post was contributed by Leo, financial guest blogger from Manchester, UK. Apart from blogging, she does research on PPI Claims. Find out more about her finance related blogs at financeport