Your suggestions please re. selling job

#1

Hi,

Well, I’m only here alot lately because I’m not working :sad:.

So, this is what I thought:

Selling plastic boxes (can I say the brand name?) I can do it part time while meeting people and earning reasonable money.

There are very little part time morning jobs in my area and, though I’m not mad on selling, it might be the only option.

I’v never done this thing before and was wondering if there are any of you here who do it and can tell me the pros and cons. (I also want to have more time to knit.)

In a way I’ve always wanted to be my own boss, but I’m affraid it might be too challenging, complicated, time consuming, etc.

Thanks for you suggestions.
Tamar

#2

After many years of doing other things, I finally chose to work for myself (small business owner.) As with everything, there are pros and cons.

Pros:
YOU choose your schedule
YOU choose WHAT you do, WHERE you do it, HOW you do it, etc.
YOU take control of your own life

Cons:
YOU are responsible for EVERYTHING.
YOU pay the bills
YOU do all the dirty work

If you can get past all the cons, the pros are pretty good.

I had multiple factors working together to make my decision. I was overcoming a major loss in my life and was not emotionally healthy enough to work outside of my home. I lack transportation making it difficult to work outside of my home. And I just needed a change.

I decided that I wanted an internet business of a consumable item that I could feel good about promoting. I chose to sell tea; not just any tea, but premium, gourmet tea, the best quality I could find.

The only complication was that the economy collapsed about 4 months into my new business, and my sales are extremely slow. I may have to go back to work in order to support myself (I don’t want to, but I may have to.) The thing is, even if I do, I still have this. It’s mine.

It never makes any sense to work for someone else and let them have all the control. Why should I run someone else’s business when I could just as easily run my own. Why should someone else be getting rich off my labor and my intelligence? I can just as easily make myself rich! (okay, not yet, but eventually!) You should always be doing SOMETHING for yourself - even if it’s just a little. The pride of ownership is just unbelievable.

And one more thing: Afraid it would be too challenging? ARE YOU KIDDING? It’s the challenge that gets your blood pumping! RISE TO THE OCCASSION! You’ll feel like a lion! Like you can conquer the world. Like, if you can do this, you can do anything!

I never have to worry about low self esteem again. I can look anyone in the eye and say, I own my own company. What are you doing?

#3

Are you talking about doing one of those franchise things where ou go out and sell the product to people, then place the order with parent company and then deliver the product to the customers?

If so i would be wary. Both I and my father have done this and found it to have a few hidden problems.

The main problem we found was that your income is based on how much you sell. If you dont sell enough you only just cover the costs (sometimes not even that) and are left with only a little money in your pocket. Other weeks you may do great and come away with a nice wad of cash. The inconsistancy can be infuriating and difficult to manage as well as potentially costing you money, when overheads still need to be paid regardless of what you sell.

Secondly we both found that it took a lot more time out of our scheduals than we anticipated, or than the initial set up would have us think. this was occasionally disproportionate to the money we were making and ate into are other time (he was doing it as a second job and i was doing it whilst a full time student).

There is potentially a lot of money to be made, especially if you are good at sales, and it can be enjoyable. I liked being in control of things and i liked the contact i had with people. Just make sure you understand fully how the system works, what costs their are, whent hese must be paid and how stock is aquired. Also find out how many hourse you are expected to put in each week.

#4

Sales can be a great way to make a living. You do have to be a self starter and be willing to put in a lot of hours upfront to get a customer base and build up loyalty.
I ran my own perennial nursery for 12 years and had a great time meeting people with like interests. It wasn’t profitable at first as I put all the money back into the business to build infrastructure and inventory, but I did well for quite a while.
Being a sales rep is a good money maker for those who are driven to succeed. It can also be a money sink for those not cut out to sell.

#5

Thanks everyone.

I’m going to give a try anyway because I don’t really have any other choice since I’m adamant about working part-time and locally.

I have a demonstration/party to go to Wednesday evening and then one to set up for next Wed. Then, if I’m interested, I’m required to make a small one-off purchase as a sign of my commitment. Then I can start getting my contacts to set up more parties for ME to do the demonstrations.

I suppose I just have to try and see.

I’ll keep you posted
Tamar