Why become a Stampin' Up! demonstrator?
There is certainly information available on the Stampin Up website about joining up as a demonstrator, but quite frankly I find it to be a bit generic so I thought I would set out some of the benefits here of joining my tea.
How do I do it?
First things first, what do you have to do to join? You buy your kit for $169 including postage and handling, but you choose what goes in your kit. You get to choose $235 worth of product. You need to give Stampin' Up! a bunch of details, including your contact info, date of birth and your bank account details, and an ABN. You do not collect GST or owe GST, but for some reason Stampin' Up! insists on you having one so you need to register for one. Your bank account details are for paying for orders, and receiving commission. Any time you place an order you can override the automatic bank account details and enter another one if that is where the money is at the time.
The question I get asked most often is, what happens if I stop? Well, you can choose to stop any time, and you will not be penalised. It isn't like other direct selling set ups where you have to 'earn' your kit or earn a certain amount for the company before you can stop. You could simply purchase your kit, and then during your first quarter purchase whatever else you want at 20% off, and then at the end of the quarter stop being a demonstrator. No harm, no foul.
Why would I do it?
There are a number of benefits to becoming a Stampin' Up! demonstrator including:
Being able to purchase discounted craft supplies
A risk free opportunity to try to earn some extra money, if it doesn't work you simply stop, if you decide to continue as a 'hobby' demonstrator (just buying stuff for yourself and selling to immediate family and friends) you can do that too as long as you meet the minimum requirement (which I will cover below)
It is very flexible, some people run their business from mostly hosted parties (get your friends to invite their friends to a party, like Tupperware), some run their business from mostly selling craft (cards and other items they make) and some run their business from mostly teaching craft (this is what I do through my card making workshops)
Once you are a demonstrator you have access to Stampin' Up! opportunities reserved only for demonstrators, like:
a Facebook planning ground with over 14,000 members where we share ideas
your online portal with projects, information about upcoming sales and business resources
a quarterly magazine
free catalogues
flex points based upon your sales and other goals that can be used to get more free stuff, and
access to the very helpful support line for demonstrators
Who should I do it with?
There are plenty of demonstrators who are building teams, and that is great. Some of the things that I try to do for my team include:
Monthly team meetings where we do some craft, or something girly (I don't charge at team meetings for the craft)
An email list and a Facebook group where I try to keep you up to date with specials and deals and information on our demonstrator portal (there is a lot of information)
Support (as much as I know or am able) with running your business and understanding Stampin' Up! requirements
I am Australian so I hate to 'brag', but I suppose to answer this question I need to talk a little about me. The reason that my business is based on card making workshops is you will find that I am fairly good at organising events, teaching, running events, and coordinating a team. This is because of the following background:
years of team sports as a player, coach and coordinator,
years of volunteering in the team environment that is a Church including coordinating events and sitting on committees,
degrees in Law and Accounting and
growing up with a mother who taught small business management at University and a father who owns his own business which he has managed for forty years
What do I need to do to continue being a demonstrator?
You need to sell 300 CSV a quarter. CSV means commissionable sales volume, the quarters operate from January to March and so forth, and the Stampin' Up! year finishes in September (though you earn quarterly not yearly so this won't have a big impact on you). The multiplying factor for CSV for Australia for the year starting October 2016 is 0.6613. So 300 divided by 0.6613 is $453.65 a quarter in retail sales before postage and handling, so aim at $155 a month and you will be fine.
Remember you will get a 20% discount as a bronze demonstrator, or 25% if you progress to bronze elite. So if you are a bronze 'hobby' demonstrator you need to spend $124 a month on your own personal craft supplies (before postage and handling) to maintain your demonstrator status.
