by Karen Clark on August 26, 2009
Thanks to Lisa Wilber from The Winner in You for passing along this tip! This Business Card holder is in a set of 24 that are made from card stock (other colors are available) from Paper Direct. You can set them up on a counter or tabletop anywhere or you can keep the easel legs in and pin it to your community bulletin boards. I love this! $16.99 for 24 of them plus shipping, and this will look SO much better than pinning a few to a board, or laying them out on a table, or buying plastic holders. Think of the ways you can use this! I have a vertical card in mine but there are slots for horizontal as well. Have fun!
Item BCC110 from PaperDirect.com
by Karen Clark on August 21, 2008
Hi everyone!
I’m writing today to let you know about an amazing resource I’ve been using to improve my business. The company is called Outward Image Coaching and Training (maybe you’ve heard of them or Julie Weitz/Julie Anne Jones, the owner and trainer). They specialize in supporting direct sales professionals in creating success through booking, sales, recruiting, and leadership training.
The training I’ve experienced has been amazing and I’d like to invite you to check out their website at Outward Image.com. I can’t tell you how much I’ve learned and utilized from Outward Image. It’s definitely impacted my direct sales business in a positive way!
When you visit their home page, you can sign up for their newsletter and there’s even a f*r*e*e* 5-day e-course you can access just for visiting. Once a month she has Ask the Expert calls which are great, too! Click on this link to visit today (and be sure to check out the “Purchase Products” page to see all the amazing tools you can purchase to support your business).
Until next time,
by Karen Clark on July 21, 2008
How can you tell if your direct sales business is a hobby or really a business?
Legally the definition of a hobby vs. business is very clear from the IRS. Here are some questions you can ask yourself if you really aren’t sure:
Do you put the time and effort into your business that proves that you intend to make money doing it?
Do you INTEND to make money doing this? Some of us were at the DSWA national convention and were given a book called If How To’s were Enough We’d All Be Skinny Rich and Happy by Brian Klemmer. In this book we learned that we can only measure our intentions by our results. Sometimes direct sales consultants say they want to make money, but based on the results, that is not their true intention – if it were, they would be doing it.
I know for myself, there have been several periods in my 10 years in Story Time Felts where I would make excuses as to why I wasn’t making phone calls, or why I wasn’t booking home parties, or why I wasn’t going out to meet people. During those times, if I were to be totally honest with myself, my business was really a hobby. Maybe I just had other priorities, or maybe I just was more committed to staying comfortable and sticking with what I knew, or not stretching myself, than I was to being successful. It is common to be in that place, but when you are, be honest with yourself and accept your business for what it is – a hobby. When you are ready to turn it into the business, the “how to’s” are available for you, it’s just a matter of being clear about your intention, and doing what it takes to move forward.
Do you count on the income you make from your direct sales business?
Many times consultants join the direct selling profession because they love the products or they want the discount for personal use. When you begin to have a clear and concise reason for bringing in the income, whether it is a bill that needs to be paid, or a purchase you are going to make, it becomes a business because you are counting on that money. When you are counting on that income, and have a clear and compelling vision of what you will accomplish in your “material why,” you are more likely to do what it takes to bring in the income.
If there is an overall loss, is it due to circumstances out of your control, or is it because you chose to spend more money than you were making, or “invest” in the business in ways that would not be profitable? If you do find that the business is costing you more than you are making, do you adjust your business activities or techniques to change that around?
It is common when someone is getting started to invest a little more money in acquiring the different products or spending some extra money on event fees or supplies. That is the normal cost of starting a business. If what you spend goes beyond that, or if you have seen over time that the ways in which you are spendng money are not bringing a return on your investment, ask yourself why you are doing it? True business owners track their expenditures to discover what is effective or not, and take care to make wise choices with their business income.
Do you have the knowledge, or are you seeking the training needed, to make this a successful business?
Be sure to always be educating yourself in business skills. Most companies offer training and support through meetings or online support, but that is only the beginning. True business owners seek out other opportunities to gain knowledge and perfect their skills. Some of the most successful business owners out there still attend teleclasses and seminars and read business books. There are many free or inexpensive resources available online or at the library, and your DSWA membership is a fantastic resource, and a great bargain. In addition, true business owners take what they have learned and put it into practice as well. If this is a hobby for you, coming to the meetings and learning how to do the business will do you no good if you don’t apply the concepts in your daily business life.
Are you ready to move from hobby to business builder? Leave us a comment with your 90 day goal, and what you will do to move foward in the next 7 days. Let’s support each other on our journeys to success! I’ll start with mine!