# Avon & Scentsy & more? (How much is too much ??)



## TinysMom (Oct 25, 2010)

I'm sitting here struggling to figure out how to word what I want to say....without sounding like I'm advertising (I'm really not) - and I really have a few decisions I'm trying to make and I'd like to have some input.

As some of you may know - I gave up merchandising (well - I got laid off due to a reduction in force) and am now selling Avon.

I've had a very very small customer base until this weekend. I just had a booth at a craft fair and did about $300 in sales - but received 75 or so leads from people who would like to either buy Avon or get email updates on specials. That is really awesome and I'm so excited because I know once I get my customer base set up - I can do very well and give great customer service.

But while I love Avon (and I do) - I would like to do "more" with my life and work. What I mean by that is - if I have this customer base - why not add a second (and even third?) company where I believe in the products and love them and can provide them to people?

You see - I live in a town of about 36,000 people. We're right on the Mexican border and we don't have a lot here for stores - we have a mall and a Walmart. Folks frequently have to travel to San Antonio (150 miles) to shop for items they can't get here.

One product I love is the Scentsy flameless candles. Robin bought me one for my birthday (a small one with three things of the various scented waxes). All three of us love it - and today I bought three more packages of the scents (had to get another one of mint since I'm almost out). 

I was talking to the Scentsy lady - who drove 70 miles to come and do the show because apparently there is no one here who sells Scentsy (actually - there is - and that is another story). She sold over $500 yesterday - and today she sold around $500 again. Mind you - her items were more expensive than mine and more of a "luxury" item.

But people can't find a rep here who will give them good service - the one gal who is on base here - tells folks to go to her website and order directly that way. In other words - she doesn't place orders regularly and take orders or do parties, etc.

In addition - I came in contact with another company where I fell in love with their products. They're called "Thirty-One Gifts" and they sell purses, tote bags, diaper bags, etc. etc. etc. I loved the quality of their bags (you can even get them personalized). The prices might be a bit high to some folks - but still yet - they are different enough that I think they could do well. There are currently three consultants here in town - but two are moving in the next year (military spouses). 

By the way - in case you want to see the products - the websites are www.scentsy.com and www.thirtyonegifts.com . The name for Thirty-One came from Proverbs 31 in the Bible - I won't go into all that though.

The final company I'm looking at is Celebrating Home. They used to be known as "Home Interiors" - a company I LOVED and shopped from for years. I'm waiting to get more details on their start-up kit and costs, etc.

I have looked at other companies (in case others suggest them - ie, Longeburger baskets (sp?), Willow House, Mia Bella, etc).

But basically - I want somewhere between two and four NON-COMPETING companies that I'm working with to provide products and services to my customers.

So here was my plan...


Avon would still be my main business and the one I am "recruiting" in to be a team leader, etc. I love Avon - I love their money-back guarantee and I love their products. Every two weeks my customers will be getting new catalogs as we have new sales (about 1500 items in a book) every two weeks.
My other businesses only have "new" catalogs once every 6 months - so my main catalog expense would be a twice a year thing. I would then let my customers know that I offer the following things:
Orders placed on the 1st and or 15th of the month on a regular basis
Book parties and online parties available so they can earn free products
I would be willing to do parties IF they wanted - but that would not be the main focus of my business. The main focus would be on making sure my customers could get items on a monthly basis without having to hunt someone down.
Another upside is that each company would allow me to have my own website - some cost a little bit - others are free. This way facebook friends, etc. could order stuff too if they didn't have someone in their area.
Each company also has their own fundraising program - so I would have several options to offer organizations that want to do fundraisers.

The start up cost for both Scentsy & Thirty-One Gifts is $99 each. For Scentsy I mainly get the scent samples so people can try them (trust me - I watched both yesterday and today - people will order them to get the scents they want). I'd also get a couple of warmers to show how they work.

For Thirty-One Gifts I get twelve items I could show to others (tote bags, etc). The kit is definitely very nice....I'd love it even for myself.

For Scentsy - to stay active - I need to sell $150 every three months.

For Thirty-One I need to sell $200 every three months. If I miss it - I can sell $300 the following month and be reactivated for free. (oh - and when the season switches over - I can buy the "new rep starter kit" with the new fabrics, etc. for $40 instead of $99).

*Here come the questions...

*
If you were in a small town....would this be something you'd be interested in? (What products or companies do you like?)
Would you like knowing you could order either once or twice a month? (Each company has different specials every month too if I remember right)
Would you have less respect for the representative if you knew they sold more for more than one company? Or would that matter at all...especially if they knew their products?
Finally - am I crazy for wanting to do this? I figure if I have a client base of 100 - 200 customers (which is what I'm aiming for) - why not try to use that same client base for three or four companies instead of one company?

Thanks in advance for reading this VERY LONG post.


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## Momto3boys (Oct 25, 2010)

Avon has awesome stuff, I LOVE it...and I love how they're always adding new products.

As for the others, I say go for it. There's a girl here who sells Gold Canyon Candles and does amazing with it. Of course she has alot of people under her now which helps.

I think you should go for it, you'll never know if you don't try...it's not like it will cost you much, just your start up fee and I would sell sell sell until I made my start up fee back then go from there.

GO FOR IT...you can do anything you want with motivation!


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## hartleybun (Oct 25, 2010)

the bags are wonderful! but im getting sidetracked..

im not sure of the demographic in your area - the products of the thirtyone company are not something that one would buy on a regular basis. by it's nature, scentsy would generate repeat sales, as well as word of mouth ones.

it wouldnt bother me if the rep sold for more than one company either - product knowledge and customer service are more important imho. 

the website sounds a good idea - im sure many in your area shop on line. they do around here and we are rural.

good luck


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## TinysMom (Oct 25, 2010)

Thanks so much for the encouragement both of you - I appreciate it.

I am trying to think about the demographics of the area - but we have such a mixture. We have a lot of people here who are Mexican - we have a mixture of people on the base - we have the folks who live in the rural areas - and we have border patrol folks who are stationed here.

We have many different income brackets represented also. 

Here is a list of our major employers in town:

http://www.drchamber.com/live_work/employers.html

The more I think about it - especially as I'm building my customer base - the more I lean towards doing it - IF I can get everything organized or at least half-organized.

I'm thinking Scentsy would do great at the craft fairs (not that Avon didn't). I could get side by side booths and have Robin running one and I would run the other one and we could go back and forth. 

I guess the reason I want to do Thirty-One is because I want the totes and items that are in the starter kit and I want to be able to buy the updates every 6 months for $40....and I'm thinking that if folks had the catalog and knew an order would go in once a month - I could get the $200 in business every three months pretty easy. The fact that the fabrics change every 6 months helps and also the fact that every month they have different specials. (This month - and I bought two bags myself to do this - they have for $5 the organizer tote when you buy $31 in products. The organizer tote is great for my AVON samples...so I got it - along with two other bags that are great for organization. I forget what next month's special was - but when I saw this months - it was one of those "I really want to order this month to get that...".

Anyway - lots to think about and pray about and talk to Art and Robin about.


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## Momto3boys (Oct 25, 2010)

The bags are really cool and I would definately order some of them if I lived in the States, LOL

I wonder if they sell them in Canada.
There is ALOT of purse/bagaholics out there, you probably wouldn't do as well as the Avon and Scentsy but I would think it would do decent.

I really want one of those purses though, they are too cute!


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## TinysMom (Oct 25, 2010)

Just got off the phone w/ customer service. Thirty-One does not ship to Canada....(but that doesn't mean that I won't once I become a rep).


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## Momto3boys (Oct 25, 2010)

That sucks 

I still think you should become a rep  You'll have to get them to make some bunny print bags!!


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## hartleybun (Oct 25, 2010)

interesting demographic! i can see where you are coming from with the totes! at the same time, scentsy would appeal to all - they are an affordable luxury. i think the totes may be more appealing to an older customer, whilst the candles etc appeal to all ages (obviously not young children!) candles are always popular at the craft fairs i've been to as well.

ray:keeping you in my prayers


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## TinysMom (Oct 25, 2010)

Just gotta share...I emailed Frank (the Welcome Wagon guy).

I was already going to do my Avon with him for $50 per month (try it at least to see if it works well). He thinks its a great idea - he would normally charge $100 per month for a second business but he'd include both of the other businesses for a total of $75 per month and be handing out all 3 catalogs for me. 

Here were his comments to me:

I think your products are well needed in the Del Rio area, and that helps everyone...


Now I'm starting to get psyched.

As soon as I put the money on my debit card...I'm signing up for Scentsy for sure.

A big thanks to Ali for the chat on the phone - and to Zin for her encouragement via. a facebook message.

Now to decide on whether or not to include a third company at some point in time....I really LOVE the totes from Thirty-One Gifts.

Oh well - off to get stuff done.


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## Momto3boys (Oct 25, 2010)

That's all so encouraging, I'm psyched for you!

That's cool that Frank is giving you a break and hopefully you get lots of customers by doing it


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## hartleybun (Oct 25, 2010)

TinysMom wrote:


> Just gotta share...I emailed Frank (the Welcome Wagon guy).
> Here were his comments to me:
> 
> I think your products are well needed in the Del Rio area, and that helps everyone...
> ...



oh go for the totes!!! someone is putting opportunities your way! and you would certainly be covering all customer bases.
what an exciting time for you! good luck


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## TinysMom (Oct 25, 2010)

My new website

It is so new I haven't even had time yet to access it to put in "my story" or anything else...as in - it is less than 10 minutes old...


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## Nela (Oct 26, 2010)

I'm not sure about how it works but maybe later on you could maybe host or attend those like um tupperware type parties? Usually a group of women getting together one evening and then a rep shows products and has demos for people to try etc. Would that work? You could probably get a good client base with those and I guess meeting people and such can be enjoyable as well?


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## Momto3boys (Oct 26, 2010)

Your website looks great!!!


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## hartleybun (Oct 26, 2010)

what a great site


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## TinysMom (Oct 26, 2010)

*Nela wrote: *


> I'm not sure about how it works but maybe later on you could maybe host or attend those like um tupperware type parties? Usually a group of women getting together one evening and then a rep shows products and has demos for people to try etc. Would that work? You could probably get a good client base with those and I guess meeting people and such can be enjoyable as well?


Great idea! I don't even know if Tupperware is still around (it must be - I just haven't seen products in years).

I will go look that up now.


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## TinysMom (Oct 26, 2010)

The nearest Tupperware person is 50+ miles away.

WOW - thanks Nela....


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## JadeIcing (Oct 26, 2010)




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## PepnFluff (Oct 27, 2010)

Just looked on your website, looks great  If scentsy was here I would most likely get hooked haha. I think especially as you live in smallish town, which is about the size of my "city" haha. But when people don't have access to a wide variety of stuff mail order is often the way to go, because people still get that personal experience and your able to advise them etc on products where as internet is a more risky process, which I personally would love! Yeah Tupperware is crazy cool, expensive but it lasts a life time, literally. We have items of my great Grandmas which are still like new. I wish you the best and hope it takes off for you Peg!


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## naturestee (Oct 27, 2010)

If you're looking for another thing to try, my cousin does Send Out Cards. I have a kit from it and it's pretty neat. You choose your cards, write in them, etc. online and the company mails out the cards for you. It's cheaper than getting them from a store and worth it for people that regularly send out cards. They also sell to business.

Pampered Chef is also popular. I got stuff from that company as wedding gifts.

Best of luck! I've never been interested in any of the home selling stuff, but my cousin and her sisters are each very much into several different ones.


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## tonyshuman (Oct 28, 2010)

Here is the thing: all of these home-based businesses depend a lot on you to devote a lot of time and effort into doing them. Also, the way they communicate with their representatives makes it sound like it is the rep's fault if they're not selling enough, which may not always be the case. I don't want you to get depressed and feel down on yourself if the market just isn't there and you don't have a ton of success, you know what I mean? Also, these companies can make you into feeling like all you can talk about is their product--you become defined by your job because you feel that if you're not talking about other stuff you're not working hard enough. That's just my take on the situation. If you can do it, find balance and not be working for them 24/7, and make as much as you want to, then go for it.


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## TinysMom (Oct 28, 2010)

*tonyshuman wrote: *


> Here is the thing: all of these home-based businesses depend a lot on you to devote a lot of time and effort into doing them. Also, the way they communicate with their representatives makes it sound like it is the rep's fault if they're not selling enough, which may not always be the case. I don't want you to get depressed and feel down on yourself if the market just isn't there and you don't have a ton of success, you know what I mean? Also, these companies can make you into feeling like all you can talk about is their product--you become defined by your job because you feel that if you're not talking about other stuff you're not working hard enough. That's just my take on the situation. If you can do it, find balance and not be working for them 24/7, and make as much as you want to, then go for it.


Thanks for your input Claire - I appreciate it.

I've done some direct selling with other in-home companies over the years and other than one company - I've never ever felt the way you've mentioned. I sold Usborne books for a couple of years - loved it and did fairly well at it. I sold Creative Circle Needlecrafts twice (once pre-kids and once after kids) and really enjoyed that also.

I've never found that anyone has made me feel like if I'm not talking about their stuff I'm not working hard enough. (Then again - if I like what I'm doing - I like to talk about it too!).

What I'm trying to do is align myself with companies where I like the products myself - and I would be willing to pay those prices for those products.

I looked at a couple of companies and went "nope - not for me". One was Longaberger (sp?) Baskets...nice products I'm sure. But I couldn't pay those prices (and I could join that for free and just get the paperwork and catalogs and stuff for the free kit).

I looked at Willow House - another nice company (they used to be Southern Living). Again - great products - but not my price range.

I am looking at Celebrating Home (they used to be Home Interiors) - very interested in it - but trying to decide if it would be a conflict of interest with Scentsy since they do sell candles also. 

One company that I worked with - TWICE - would push new consultants to buy inventory - usually a minimum of $600. They talked about how you can't sell out of an empty basket - or something like that. 

That isn't what I'm looking for - I'm looking for things where I have a reasonable minimum sales requirement - and where I'm not required to keep inventory. While I do currently have some inventory in Avon to do craft fairs, etc. - its stuff I chose to buy and I am totally in charge of how much I carry. (Same with Scentsy).

One of the things that really impressed me this week - was taking a couple of the online classes with Scentsy. In Avon - the classes deal with your business - how to handle your money so you know how much is yours vs. Avon's, learning about the products, learning about the website, meeting and talking to customers, etc. There are probably about 50 courses there for Avon reps to take.

Scentsy also has courses - but one was on how to organize your office so that it functions well for you. Another one was on how to balance your personal life with your business so you can have the life you want. (I was listening to it and doing it and going, "This reminds me of Stephen Covey" - and sure enough...that's what itw as based on - much of his writings). It was based upon setting priorities so you can live the life you want - both personal - and business - because you're doing what matters most to you.

I already know that my third company will be Thirty-One Gifts because I like their products a lot. 

I guess I have a different perspective on these than most folks because the way I see it - I'm mainly letting folks know that I order once or twice a month - versus getting out there and seeking customers and business (like I am with Avon). 

Anyway - thanks for your input Claire - it does mean a lot to me that someone would come in here and share that side of things!

:biggrin:


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## stephiemarie78 (Nov 5, 2010)

I sold Avon for over a year, if u need any tips let me know =)


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## TinysMom (Nov 6, 2010)

Just wanted to say I added my third company today.

Because I am (and always will be) - a kid at heart....

DISCOVERY TOYS!

Long story - I may add more later...


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## JadeIcing (Nov 7, 2010)

Yes that is the one I wanted.


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## Onlinecandlestore1 (Jun 22, 2012)

Not quite sure if you are still interested in joining Scentsy or want to host a party and earn free product I would love to share more information with you. Itâs a great way to earn extra income and fun incentive trips and support their families doing what they love. Scentsy is a fun, safe, great product and it sells itself. I hope you join the Scentsy team and see what it's all about. Contact me to learn more. 

If you would like to know more information please feel free to email me. I would love to have you on my Scentsy team!

Thanks in advance for reading this VERY LONG email. 

V/r,
Carol M Vanderhorst
[email protected]
Visit my website for details: https://illumingscent.scentsy.us or https://selfindulgencefonduedip.velata.us


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## fuzz16 (Jun 22, 2012)




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