I'm alone.

I'm writing to myself.  It helps, but sometimes... I wish I wasn't so alone.  As soon as I decided it's best to resign, of course, I'm called with a couple of orders and someone wants to join AtHome America.  What do you do?  


On one hand, I do have plenty of things - important things, like Ricky Lenn Dyer, Jr. - to do. On the other, I love AHA for ME.  On the other, I really do not understand how a business in company for so many years can first of all, not offer direct shipping period.  May, they will.  Great.  But why does it cost more to send it to so-and-so on River Avenue in West Virginia than to so-and-so on Mountain Street in Nevada?  And let's say they claim it's because they need extra boxes.  Well... what if you lose the sale?  Isn't that sale, with the profit worth it?  Isn't boosting sales even 10% by catering to your market worth a little?


It's not even like they're charging by WEIGHT, they're charging by PRICE.  If something weighs three ounces but costs more than the cheap ten pound item... I don't get it.  I just don't get it. Now, that's something MANY companies do. I"ve seen it many, many times, in fact, the majority of time.  Okay. I can handle that and even come up with clever reasons - like items change too often and it's hard to keep up and change with weight and shipping and boxes, etc.


But to charge EXTRA because you are sending to a different address?  Most companies do NOT do that.  Even Amazon asks, do you want to ship all or part of your order to another address?


It's a home business in party sales.  You want your hostess to invite every single person she can think of, not only for sales, but to encourage them to host a party or to become a consultant, right? 


Until May 2, we have to say, by the way, don't invite anyone who you cannot personally deliver their product to, because you'll have to mail it again, yourself, after you repack it and it will not be free.


In that case, um, it's easier to just go to Wal-Mart. I love my friends, I want to help, but in this economy?  Not at the expense of my kids eating.  Seriously!  Yes, there are beautiful exclusive gifts and HomeWares at AtHome America... but it's not enough to justify ordering from my friend and paying shipping and handling, then having her repack it to ship it to me, there are exclusives everywhere.


What do I always advise in business and life in general? If something isn't working, do what you can to fix it or go elsewhere. I did.  I wrote letter after letter and called to give solutions on how to change this AND why it's good not only for the customer and the independent seller, but also for the business.  It worked; they announced recently that May 2, there's to be direct shipping. Now, you can all invite whomever you want - an aside, those of us in the military are often stuck overseas for YEARS and our friends and family are not only NOT with us, but they are generally scattered, too, so we DEPEND on direct shipping!


But, I found out yesterday, it will be an additional cost. Over and beyond what you ALREADY pay to have it shipped and handled.


And they had the nerve to say this as if it was a favor to my customer and myself!  Even WalMart has direct shipping.  Even World Market.  Even Pier One Imports. Even Pampered Chef.  Even Creative Memories.  Even that place that makes vinyls for your wall!  I've used them all.  I've bought gifts for others, and every single one, charged my shipping like normal and sent it where I needed it to go AND credited, when applicable, the hostess of whatever party it is I ordered from.


Yeah, I'm against an additional cost to ship HomeWares to a customer already paying ample shipping and handling.  I don't know what to do.

Email: Blessing and Curse

When you can't meet a client or hostess in person, and you are unable to contact them by telephone, the next best thing is email.  Email can be instantaneous, however, due to that nature, the wait can often drive you mad or, at worst, it can be paralyzing.


Questions creep into your brain: "Did the email bounce into the SPAM box?"  "Does the client or hostess not want to be contacted?"  "Did the client or hostess change his mind?"  "How soon is too soon to contact him again?  What if..."


To validate your questions, but not your obsessive fear, reread your SENT email and make sure you included your name, telephone number, email address (even though you've sent it via email, you need to include it again in the body of the letter), and physical address if applicable (if it turns out you forget to give contact information, send a follow-up email with a very short message and the information).  If you included contact information, just wait.  Three days for a follow up email (unless time is of the essence), but you can call the following day.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

SAMPLE EMAIL

for a home-party-based-business to an online Lead
Thank you, Michelle, for sharing your letter!

Dear [Insert Lead's Name Here];


Thank you for contacting us; it's an exciting time to inquire about AtHome America, to host a party and earn free HomeWares or to become a HomeStyle Specialist.


The company is sending you a packet of information, including our latest catalog, and you can also view the catalog online at http://AtHome.com/Teraisa.


April and May have fabulous hostess and customer specials, including HomeWares to share on Mother's Day, which you can have free when you host a qualified home, catalog, or online party or by becoming a HomeStyle Specialist (HSS) yourself.


Whether you are looking to supplement your income, schedule your work hours around your family, travel for FREE, decorate your house, meet new women, or just need to get out of the house, AtHome America (AHA) is the right place to be.  AHA offers the flexibility and the income to do all of these things. Be the first in your area to begin an AHA business with a brand new product line that is sure to please everyone who attends one of your shows.


For starters, you can begin your business for only $49 (INCLUDES tax and shipping and handling) - this means you receive more than $425 worth of products and business supplies similar to those on the attached flyer [be sure to attach any pertinent information].  You KEEP the $49 HomeStudio by submitting $900 in home party sales within 35 days of your HomeStudio being shipped out; you can earn this easily by hosting your own Grand Opening and two other parties ($300 in sales or more each). Talk about parttime!


These three parties not only earn you the HomeStudio, but you'll also receive commission ($225), you'll be on your way to earning a Jeep Patriot (we'll talk!), and you will have earned MORE FREE HomeWares if you hosted your Grand Opening. Don't worry about learning the ropes, once you sign up, you'll have access to training videos and guides, and you can always call, text, or email me (123-456-7890 AHA.Home.Decor@gmail.com) - you may own your business, but you won't be in business alone.


I have been selling AHA since last November and I've enjoyed every minute of it. I can't wait to see what's in store for my team this year. The sky truly is the limit.


If you'd like to host a party, let's get you set up (I'm attaching our hostess and product specials' flyer) [don't forget to attach flyer!] with a date and invitatons your guests.  If you want to join AHA, choose a date to host your grand opening (two weeks from now is perfect) and five friends who will help you practice by hosting your first parties and keep you on track to all AHA has to offer. I'll send you the online application.  Together, we CAN do this!


Teraisa J. Rogers, Hawaii
123-456-7890
AHA.Home.Decor@gmail.com

Getting Better at Last, so Why Does it Hurt?

Tonight I want to let you know I'm doing better and by next week, I'll be back to my old tricks.  But tomorrow marks the end of a level I was trying to attain in my new home business, At Home America.  From bed, I literally created ads and distributed them, booked a couple of parties, took online orders, and served a few customers I'll never get to meet.  Yet, I'm down by $350. A hundred of it is a mix up, where my hostess who first offered a party and ended up canceling, waited to order for herself when our free shipping offer came up. Which started today, BTW.

At the stroke of midnight, she made her order and paid for it.  Hours later, it never came up to me, letting me know someone ordered from me. No stress, no worries, sometimes things take a while. Turns out she ordered from the main site rather than from my site.  We're trying to work on it, but that's another order I anticipated. And somehow I'm not understanding how to close a party held for me thousands of miles away. Due to the time zone difference, she went to bed and we're hoping we'll resolved it when she's home from her job... probably after my time for this level is up.

You know, with all that's happened, I realize, how amazing it is that so many businesses run smoothly or stay in business. I mean, gosh, it can't be any easier than I have it now; the business is created, maintained, and ran by someone nearly anonymously to me.  All I have to do is bring it to the customers, offer free gifts, and fill out some paperwork.  Let's not forget there's a few nights I might go out, talk to some great women (no men so far) and enjoy some laughter outside my home, but still... how hard can it be?

So maybe this is disappointing (no maybe, it is), but it's not the end by a long shot. Imagine if Ray Kroc hadn't convinced the McDonald brothers to try his shake machine and then to sell him the business? Imagine if he gave up when his profits were below his expectations no matter how hard he tried?

Check out At Home America's fabulous 

FREE SHIPPING offer November 23 - 30th ONLY.

Still Sick; I Reflect...

Before I even knew I was going into direct sales, I attended a few home parties for people I recently met (we moved into our home-thousands of miles from our last home-two months ago) and always, I found something I could purchase for myself or a gift, and often, if you search hard enough, you can even find something very affordable. If shipping's the problem (maybe it cost more than the item), I let the hostess know I want to place an order but I cannot justify the shipping. She can either add it to her own order or another guest who lives nearby.  I simply write them a check or hand over cash. I always include an extra dollar or two for their help. Why not?

Why is it that people today aren't willing to help their own? Why is it that people are so quick to say, "Me, me, me!"  Do you know, not that I was allowed to assume they would, but I sure hoped... ONLY ONE PERSON WHO I HELPED OUT with sales helped me out in my new business.  One.

You have to say it's like Christmas, we give gifts and pretend we only like to give, and don't mind not getting.

Before I go on, let me say this: if we truly only like to give and not receive, then why are we giving gifts in the first place? If no one likes to receive, aren't we making an awful lot of people uncomfortable? We give because we want to. We like to give. We give because it's expected and we have also taught others to expect it (many of us).  We like the community. We. Also. Love. To. Receive. Yes! I said it!

We like to receive. Thou doth protest too much!  We do. I love knowing someone is thinking about me when I'm not around (feel better now that I changed it from "WE" to "I" and "ME?")!

I like that someone cares so much about me, they know I love the 49er's and all the colors that go with them. I love that they know I'm not into twangy country music, but I love 80's metal.  I love that someone cares enough to know I am not in love with chocolate, but I like sunflower seeds (stocking stuffers).  One year, I got a DVD most people would say to themselves,  "What was the giver thinking; it's her 40th birthday?!?!" But actually, this person knows I LOVE the Lizzie McGuire Movie!  And you know what? I like to receive.

And so do other people, otherwise, giving becomes selfish and ends up being all about YOU.

So here I am, surrounded by the quite-a-few-home-parties I attended and also the only people I know... can't they help out a little?  Can't they say, hey, I can't afford this right now (after all, I know how much they earn, we earn the same thing!), but is there anything I can do in another way?

Can't they help out a little?  I want them to succeed, and they know it by my actions (I am helping FREE people FREE learn FREE how FREE to manage FREE businesses FREE and taxes NOT SO FREE! when on a Hawaiian military installation - and yes, it matters).

Here are ways you can help - purchase something affordable, aren't you buying Christmas gifts anyway?  Let the hostess know you can't help this time, you don't even have to give a reason, and maybe take the catalog you know you are taking anyway, which costs money, and share it with someone who can afford it.  Maybe you heard someone say they need something that the party person can supply- for instance, I told everyone who may have stood a few feet from me that I need wall hangings -you can show them the catalog or even suggest they host a party in order to get it free; don't forget to tell them you'll attend.

There is so much you can do to help. I'm not saying go to every party you are invited to, I'm not saying purchase from every party or everyone will hate you. I'm saying, hey, I just started this new business AFTER I HELPED YOU OUT, can you just give me a REAL MINUTE OF YOUR TIME?

You Gotta Love It!

My favorite part of owning a home business?  Every moment is a moment of its own.  You can be depressed or devastated easily, for many reasons, yet it takes so little to turn that frown upside down.

A lead. A sale. An offer to host a home party.  ~At Home America specialist

Someone asks. Someone listens. Someone changes.  ~Victims Advocate

A story informs. A story persuades. A story entertains.  ~Writer

A hug. A kiss. Both.  ~Mother

A thank you. A "let me do that for you."  An I love you.  ~Wife

An ear when I pray.  ~That's all God

Home Party Business: Things I'd Like to See

If we learn nothing from this blog; it's not done it's job. This series of Things I'd Like to See (At Home America) has two purposes - one is to make a note of ideas and to be able to recall if necessary, the other is to look back and see if the needs I perceive then have been met in some way or if I've changed my needs (why and how).

You can skip over these, they're really more for personal, but you are welcome to include your own and more than welcome to show me why the idea is already implemented or not needed. Okay?

In the Hostess Communication Station, I'd like to be able to personalize invitations (home shows and/or e-shows) as a group or separately. So far, it's not an option. I do not want anymore space than a short paragraph, perhaps 100 words. There's a way to include it into the invitation as it is now, which looks great and feels personal, even though it's the standard for all. Perhaps I know a customer is looking for all red homeware, I can direct her to some fantastic pieces. As the hostess, I might want to encourage my friends to book a party and remind them that I'll be there and I'll bring a friend (after all, starting with two people makes it easier to say "YES!").

This is one I'll probably make on my own - I'd love to see a Powerpoint of everything available to learn (the reproducibles), and have it updated at least monthly. It's just easier and less overwhelming to the new consultant!

Direct shipping available to all customers, if they want or need it. At a home party, I think charging an extra $2 would be as high as you could go (assuming they may be penalized for wanting it delivered to their home) and NOTHING EXTRA for any online order, whether through an e-show, and add-on for a home show, or a regular web order (again, nothing EXTRA, not free!).

That's it for now. I'm new, this list will grow, but so will all the wonderful things I'm learning and sharing. I LOVE IT!