Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Your Turn
Showing Mary Kay's house earlier got me to thinking about all the sty at home businesses like Amway and Avon and I am wondering how many of you have tried a home based business like that and if you were successful. Did you sell a lot of water purifiers? I never seem to run into anyone who actually has made a living doing it but there must be one or two of you at least who have made money or did all of us crash and burn? Oh yeah, I tried to sell water purifiers back in college. Not a big demand on campus. Now, make your own beer? Big seller.
I haven't, but my brother in law and sister in law are in Amway, and it is as big a cult as the Scientologists. Those people are SCARY.
ReplyDeleteI used to work in an office. The 9 to 5 wasn't for me. I now work at home and I love it.
ReplyDeleteI do Pampered Chef. Love it and I do make money.. it kinda sells itself.
ReplyDeleteI tried to sell Arbonne Products a few years ago...the more I did it though, the more I realized it was a losing battle. My initial investment was far too much and the products are waaaaaay overpriced! Just say no to Arbonne!
ReplyDeleteI had a friend who sold Party Lite candles and did pretty well. They seemed pretty generous to the sale people. She quit the business when she moved out of state.
ReplyDeleteI have another friend who sells Pampered Chef. She has done it for over 10 years and that's how I came to know her.
I was never successful. It takes a certain personality, I think.
ReplyDeleteI went to an Arbonne party, @Sparklynan, and was really surprised at how much it cost! I felt kinda bad, but didn't buy anything.
ReplyDeleteThe FUNNEST such party I've ever intended was for sex toys. Now there's a product that I'd think would sell itself.
I was never successful. It takes a certain personality, I think.
ReplyDeleteI work from home - I run a piano studio. And it is awesome. But I am a great self motivator (as evidenced by the time I waste away on CDAN) and I love, I mean really really love, my students and teaching them music. I make enough money and it gives me plenty of time with my baby. I worked in the world of newspapers for a really long time, and the grind of it all just sucked!!
ReplyDeleteI think very savvy people can make lots of money hawking the Pampered Chef, Avon, etc. It seems like a few years ago I was getting invited to those kinds of parties all the time. I do think there is a market for it in the housewife set because every lady needs to get out of the house, booze it up with friends and buy shit.
I do veterinary consulting for a pet insurance company part time (from home or the pool) in addition to clinical work. I would MUCH rather work from home but it's so damn hard to motivate myself. Esp when they are such great distractions such as CDAN ;)
ReplyDeleteMy sister in law is very successful with Pampered Chef.
ReplyDeleteI tried a few of them when I was young, but didn't have the motivation for it.
I have been toying with the idea of selling Aloette. Love the product.
ReplyDeleteI did work as an artist for awhile but I came to the realization that I am not very good. Kinda killed my motivation after that. LOL
A close friend of my mother has been doing Mary Kay for decades and is basically supporting her whole family. She is one of the region's top sellers, has the pink car, and loads of sellers working under her. Certainly works for her.
ReplyDeleteI sell Mary Kay and yes, you can make a lot of money off it. It's a stay at home business but you're still busting your butt 8 hours a day (if you want to be a director).
ReplyDeleteThere is a lot of money to be made if you're willing to do the work.
Not quite what you are talking about but I did become a licensed AFLAC agent a few years back. It took me about 2 months and cost me just under $300 to get my license but I wasn't getting any other job offers & I liked that I wasn't stuck in an office. Well I didn't sell a dime of insurance & quit after a few months but I did learn that if you have no shame & no problem saying ANYTHING to anybody.. you could probably make a very decent living selling the stuff.
ReplyDeleteTotally just got my new home brewing kit in the mail the other day too. :0] That's all for me & my friends though!
I would like to do something like this, but I'm not a great salesperson. Wrong personality for it. But I think would excel at another at-home business.
ReplyDeletesparklynan - I have a bottle of Arbonne face primer that I am afarid of using because it was so expensive - a friend was selling it for a while and I guess I wanted to support her.
ReplyDeleteWanna know what the best face primer is? MONISTAT ANTI CHAFING CREAM. Less than 5 dollars, but it's basically the same thing.
And no, I have never tried my hand at a home based business...I kind of need the structure of an office job...*L*
I did a few home businesses just because I wanted the kits but not to sell. Then I started with Passion Parties so we could actually feed our kids 8 years ago. I was only going to until our youngest started school. 8 years later I love what I do, I love learning about and educating other women about their sexuality. It is AMAZING how little some people know. Just last weekend I had someone in their mid 30's with two kids tell me she has never had an orgasm. How sad is that? Whats even sadder is she is not alone. Anyways, if anyone is interested in checking out my website it is www.poshpassion.com
ReplyDeleteOh and I was never a 'salesperson' type, I am still not, I don't use high pressure tactics because that turns me off when someone does it to me. I'm just open and honest about the products and try to make people feel comfortable.
Oh and I am Vancouver based if any local CDAN readers want to have a fun girls night in or couples party :)
ReplyDeleteI hear the Stella & Dot thing can be pretty successful but I don't do it.
ReplyDeleteIt's like Tupperware parties but for handbags & jewelry...
I work from home but it's for a company. We almost closed down and it was easier for me to work at home...4 years later, here I still am. I sold products when I was under 18 years old via telemarketing. I am not a sale type person. I knew people who did Amway though.
ReplyDeleteI do body wraps. Been successful so far. Hoping to quit my full time job soon. Www.ieskinnywrap.com. I LOVE the products. :)
ReplyDeleteMy friend sells Scentsy (like candles without the flame...basically a light bulb and scented wax warmer). She makes more at Scentsy than she does as a surgical assistant. But I think she works very hard at at.
ReplyDeleteThe whole "party" thing is an instant turnoff for me. If I get invited to one, I will actually refuse to go.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I had a customer a few years ago who was selling Arbonne, and Jesus, talk about a pain in the ass. She kept calling me and calling me and calling me and calling me just to talk to me about my skin even though I didn't have the slightest interest in talking to her about it. Her whole method of getting into contact with me totally turned me off to her and the entire product line too.
I will never deal with that again.
I don't get the scentsy thing. Isn't it basically little tiny Yankee Candle tarts that you can buy at Hallmark?
ReplyDelete@Unknown....I LOVE Pampered Chef! They make the best knives!
ReplyDeleteI have a vintage Etsy shop for fun, and sometimes sell non-vintage on eBay, but not enough to make a living off of it. I think I do pretty well considering I don't advertise or have a ton of stuff listed. I did get $165 once for a dish I bought for $1, and $200 for a scarf I bought for $5.99. It's mostly a hobby - I'm opening up a mosaic shop on Etsy as well, but just need to make some more product. Never tried any other type of home business, though.
ReplyDeleteAfter working for over 30 years in an office, I couldn't take it anymore and quit. I started selling on eBay until they instituted all the policies to drive out small sellers. I opened a store on eCrater (totally free site for sellers), and though I don't sell a ton of stuff, it keeps me busy and I can work on my store while watching TV.
ReplyDeleteOh goodness, I've tried MLM/home-based whatever about six different times. It was usually just to get my stuff for free, because I'm a lousy salesperson. I still love a lot of those companies, namely PC, Avon, and MK. (MK mascara = awesome.)
ReplyDeleteArbonne stuff IS expensive, but I am totally hooked on their vanilla protein powder. It's the best one I've ever tried, and no, I don't sell it. ;-)
I've been to a couple of "passion parties". They are so fucking awkward *L*.
ReplyDeletei sell vintage clothes on my website http://vintageclothesretro.com . it is fun, exciting, & pays the bills. i could never work for anyone else, i dont have the personality for that. i love what i do & it shows
ReplyDeleteAm I the only one who noticed the first line? "...all the sty at home businesses like Amway and Avon...?" Sounds like neglected housework to me!
ReplyDelete@RenoBlondee Scentsy is basically an electric container that melts scented wax. The heat comes from a very small lightbulb, so it's safer than lit candles. There's an endless supply (it seems) of different holders/candles and scented wax. I have one but the scent always seems so strong with the melted wax, even when I only use a few squares. To each his own! The holders are very pretty.
ReplyDeleteI WISH I could work from home or have a job where you are out and about most of the day.
ReplyDeleteI have no idea where to get started! I even have some money to invest.
I'm young so not too worried about it but I'm only 24 and I'm already getting burned out working for assholes Monday through Friday 9-5.
The Traveling Vineyard in home wine tastings! Or order from my online site http://www.myttv.com/20193/
ReplyDeleteThank you @L'auteur. I have had a bulb melting holder for Yankee tarts for years though, so basically the same thing. I do love how it makes the whole house smell great.
ReplyDeleteI tried Avon, and was given a territory. Turns out someone in that territory was going around selling products for another person in another territory (which is supposed to be against policy). In the four months I tried to sell (and I did try - even did introductory cards and put them in the books), I got two sales.
ReplyDeleteA few years later I tried Mary Kay (did much better at that). I explained that I wanted to do it only as a secondary income and on *my* terms (i.e. word of mouth, no cold calls). I went to the meetings. During one meeting, the director wanted us to give her 10 names and their phone numbers right then and there so she could cold call them the next day. I didn't feel right about that, and it turned me off.
I would still buy their facial care products, though. Especially the night one with the little beads in it.
My advice is if you're going to do an at-home business like that, find out how many other sellers are in your area or workplace.
btw Ent, my husband did the water purifier thing many, many years ago. He sold one.
When I was in college (shortly after the earth cooled...), I used to type papers for people at $1/page, which wasn't too bad back then. They actually got even more for their money, because I'd fix misspelled words and edit them ever so slightly just to make them scan a bit better. I also typed a fair amount of a textbook on developmental psychology on my own time while working at the University of GA psych dept., but now everyone just types their own stuff...
ReplyDeleteWhen I was growing up, my parents used to sell tomatoes off a roadside stand in our garage, and my job was to sit in the front yard & keep an eye out for anyone who pulled in the driveway. Dad would also sell boxes of "canners" (the not-so-pretty tomatoes) for people who made preserves & sauce, and now that he's retired, he has his own small greenhouse & sells hanging baskets of flowering plants (called "waves", although I think they look like petunias). I still hate tomatoes to this day, but it paid for our new school clothes every year.
(I couldn't understand why my folks wouldn't put the "nosy" tomatoes--that is, the ones with, erm, appendages--out on the stand, because I thought they were cute...so I got a whole bunch together and put them on the stand w/a note saying "Buy me please! I'm lonely!" Mom didn't know I'd done it until the customers started laughing their asses off...sometimes I wonder how my parents managed to let me live over the years... ;-)
Healthy People it works! ask me how!
ReplyDeleteAt one point just about everyone I knew was selling something from their home. When I started getting calls from strangers inviting me to parties because "so and so said I would buy anything" I said I was done supporting everyone. I have boxes of crap I didn't need because I felt obligated to buy every time I went to someone's house.
ReplyDeleteI did make a few thousand dollars on ebay a few years ago. I was cleaning out my kid's closets and found a huge amount of clothes that still had tags. I guess it was pretty desirable stuff because I was shipping everywhere from Poland to Japan to Australia...literally any place you could think of. Then I spent the money as fast as it showed up in my paypal account. It was fun while it lasted.
@MadLyb - Would you mind emailing me a link to your stuff? I may have an unhealthy obsession with vintage *things*. sirdixiethenoble@gmail.com
ReplyDeleteI never tried any of these myself, but I have certainly supported NUMEROUS family and friends who have made attempts to make a living off these ventures. :) I haven't heard of anyone making a killing. Mostly, it's SAHM's that needed some extra income.
ReplyDeleteI do love Pampered Chef. And I've enjoyed foods from Tastefully Simple & Biltmore Inspirations.
We have our own business and our office/warehouse is based out of our home until we grow too big for it. Our website are www.sparklelites.com and www.partydotsonline.com We have a few salespeople but mostly import and sell ourselves to retail stores, wholesalers, and online.... We are actually hiring commission based salespeople right now if anyone is looking to work from home :-) If you are interested you can send us an email or livechat through our website. This is not MLM or home parties (although I did sell Arbonne 15 years ago! LOL)but outside sales to organizations, local party stores, shops, florists, wholesalers, etc...
ReplyDeleteMy wife worked a temp job at Mary Kay's HQ. Oddly, they don't allow the hiring of salepeople within the corproate structure.
ReplyDeleteAlissa, those sparkly ribbons are AMAZING. I could watch them all day LOL
ReplyDelete