| Scarlette
New to WAHM.com posted July 18, 2002 02:39 PM -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hi everyone! I've recently been given a Mary Kay biz talk, and am thinking of trying it out. But I was wondering if any of you have either sold both Avon and Mary Kay products, or maybe just know someone else who sold them. What's the benefits of Avon compared to Mary Kay? What's the disadvantages? Which do you personally like better? Quality of products, time taken selling, parties vs. brochures??? Anything you want to comment on. Just curious, I came here to find Mary Kay boards, but didn't find any so I've been reading about Avon instead. Sounds interesting. Thanks for the info in advance! Scarlette IP: Logged candlestar WAHM.com regular posted July 18, 2002 08:48 PM -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Scarlette, I have never sold mary Kay, but I currently sell & reviously sold Avon. ~Mary Kay has a huge start up fee ($500 I think) vs. Avon is $10 ~Mary Kay products are expensive vs. Avon comparable to store products ~You do not have to do parties for Avon ~Selling is not bad for Avon. I put my orders in by Monday & I receive them by Thursday. ~You can set up an Avon website thta people lond distance can order from & Avon will deliver it to them as well. I don't know a whole lot about Mary Kay. I hope my answers helped. ------------------ Jenni Do you love candles? [email protected] <~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~> Avon ~ ~ $10 to start ~ [email protected] <~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~> Tupperware ~ Buy or sell. ~ [email protected] <~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~> Free business cards <~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~> Visit My Online Store ~ Party Supplies For All Occasions IP: Logged fufu WAHM.com regular posted July 19, 2002 08:01 AM -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hi, I am new to mary kay, but just thought I would share something with you. Also the start up fee for Mary Kay is $100.00 NOT $500.00 (but it IS a $500.00 VALUIE!@!) Feel free to E-mail me if you have any question or what some advice. Lisa Fayad How does Avon compare to Mary Kay Here are some Avon facts to share: 1. You MUST place an order EVERY 2 weeks. When you miss three consecutive campaigns (6 weeks), you are removed by the company. 2. In order to earn 50%, your order must be approximately $1,300 retail (every 2 weeks!) If an order falls below a certain amount you'll earn 0%. 3. The catalogs change every campaign so you need to purchase new books every 2 weeks or you are "out of business". Depending on your customer base, this could run you quite a bit of money. If I remember correctly, 10 books cost about $4 and in order to sell $1200, you'd need to see about 100 folks to sell an average of $25 to 50 people (every 2 weeks!) YIKES!!!. 4. Since the products change every 2 weeks, you need to purchase "demos" of the new items in order to show them to your customers. These usually are discounted but it's still an expensive proposition. 5. Avon representatives are not taught to hold classes. People usually order from the catalog or after seeing a "demo". Many sales are impulse purchases so brand loyalty is hard to cultivate. 6. Avon is now selling in JC Penney stores where a customer can see all of the merchandise first hand and purchase on the spot while Avon representatives must wait almost a week to receive their products, (keep in mind that it would be impossible to maintain an inventory when new goods are introduced twice a month!) then arrange to meet up with their customers again to deliver the goods and collect payment. IP: Logged JenniK WAHM.com regular posted July 19, 2002 02:25 PM -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I started selling AVON a few months ago and love it!! Just to clear up a couple things. (As always IMHO) 1. If you don't sell anything for 3 campaigns (6 weeks)you are considered inactive but not dropped. All you have to do is take more orders and you're back in. Plus In my experience it's almost impossible not to sell after you've done a couple orders. People ask for the next book! 2. To earn 0% you have to sell undera whopping $25. I buy that much for myself. To earn 50% you do have to sell $1,500 which is alot however not impossible. But consider if you just have $25 worth of sales you get 20% which I think is pretty good. Plus, even if you only sell to people you know you can easily do $250- $300 and get 35%. 3. As for books, go in with a few people. The more you buy the less they cost. I buy mine with a couple other ladies, and it only costs me about $1.25/10 books. I order 40 books/ campaign and spend about $5.00. YIKES?!? Nah. Plus coming out every two weeks is a good thing. It keeps changing and is never boring. There's always sales going on and, at least my customers, love seeing new stuff every two weeks. 4. I'll let you in on a little secret. Demos don't cost that much, and the ones you buy are probably going to be in the catalog for a good while. I usually buy a piece of jewelry and maybe a cool new product or perfume and spend about $10-$15/campaign. But sell about 5 of the pieces of jewelry (just by wearing it around) and 5-10 of the new products I show around. So it definatly pays for itself and all you have to do is wear it to sell it. What could be better?? 5. Most of my customers are very loyal to these products and will usually buy one of something, say lipstick, then come back two weeks later and buy 3 more of that kind in different colors. And, I don't want to bash Mary Kay or anything. They have okay products. I don't know if everythings on the website but I saw the website and saw one kind of lipstick. AVON has 5 different kinds in 133 different shades ranging from $3.00- $8.00 and that does not include the colored lip glosses. My point is anybody can find what they're looking for in an AVON book and it wont cost them an arm or a leg. 6. AVON products do not necessarily change every 2 weeks. They do introduce new stuff, and put things on sale, but they don't change them. I haven't heard anything about JCPenney selling AVON but I seriously doubt it would last. JCPenney's products are expensive. AVON's aren't. It just doesn't sound like a smart business move to me. Can you see JCPenney Beauty Advisors saying "Buy this great lipstick! $3.00!" lol And yes, you are right. It is almost impossible to keep an inventory so why would JCP try? I love not having an inventory. You only need a few things if you were to have parties. (which you can and I have) and you certainly wouldn't need "inventory" for it. It only takes a few days to get the stuff in. We order online on Monday, and get the stuff on Thursday. Wow!! That's a terrible amount of time to wait! Plus the 50 cent S&H per order. Shew!! Thats dreadful!! Anyway, I don't mean to bash Mary Kay. I'm sure they're great to work for if you have the $100 to start and know people that have alot of money to spend on cosmetics. (sorry, I love my AVON!!) Well, thats my opinion. Jenny [This message has been edited by JenniK (edited July 19, 2002).] IP: Logged candlestar WAHM.com regular posted July 19, 2002 08:45 PM -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jenny...Great answers. You pointed out somethings I missed. My friend signed up with Mary Kay at the beinging of the year & it cost her $500. ------------------ Jenni Do you love candles? [email protected] <~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~> Avon ~ ~ $10 to start ~ [email protected] <~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~> Tupperware ~ Buy or sell. ~ [email protected] <~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~> Free business cards <~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~> Visit My Online Store ~ Party Supplies For All Occasions IP: Logged JenniK WAHM.com regular posted July 19, 2002 10:47 PM -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thank ya! I don't mean to make anyone mad, but I just hate it when someone posts something (especially on the actual AVON board) and bash it without saying why Mary Kay is better just that AVON is bad. Plus not even saying where you got this information. Did you sell it once upon a time? Know someone who did? or are just making it up? You just don't mess with me and AVON!! lol Jenny [This message has been edited by JenniK (edited July 19, 2002).] IP: Logged fufu WAHM.com regular posted July 20, 2002 09:05 AM -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hi Jenni, I am sorry if I insulted you and Avon. Scarlette just asked for an benefits of Avon compared to Mary Kay and the disadvantages. So I gave my option based on facts. No I have never worked with Avon but my sister did for 5 years. What I said was based on facts and I did not make it up. Again I am sorry and I think in this world there is something for everyone. Avon is for you and that is great. If everybody liked and wanted to do the same thing, there would not be enough business for eveyone. As I said before I only recently started with Mary Kay and I only spent $100.00 for my starter kit plus shipping and handling, plus tax. The total came up to $106.00. Mary Kay offers our customer 39 different shades of lipsick....not 1! (Avon you said 133? You have a HUGE advantage there) We are two different companies and I only came into Avon message board to see what you guys talked about since I could not find one for Mary Kay. I read Scarlette's message and decided to respond, but guess did without thinking. Again I am sorry if I offened anyone. My sister as I said was with Avon for 5 years and was quite happy with them. Competetion is what makes business! And different options and tastes makes each different business susceessful. Believe me I WILL NEVER MESS with you and AVON!! And promise to leave your message board alone from now on. Good luck in your business and for Scarlette, all the best to you in whatever you do, be it Avon, Mary Kay or something entirely different. Go for what you want, because I believe that each person can be sucessful in whatever she/he does if they put their mind to it. What wokrs for one might not work for another. Goodbye Avon room. And Jenni good luck in the future and keep the postive attitude for Avon! They have a winner on their hands! Lisa IP: Logged hometostay New to WAHM.com posted July 20, 2002 11:08 AM -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Please note I am here for honest opinion only. I signed up with Mary Kay for a very short time. I am from Canada so all the prices are Canadian. They have a half price kit promo so I dove in. Not studying enough, in a town of 15,000, it was saturated!!! Everyone had enough parties and the word SIGN UP was a no no! I love the value and the history of the company. Mary Kay touched many womens lives but I feel that the way that the consutants are trained to market is based on compassion. This is a very good thing!!!! After reading the manual, I noticed that all the compassionate things that touched me were noted in the manual! I know we all need ideas and training in anything we do, but that made me become a watcher for a couple of weeks. Fantastic, honest women, great products that I faithfully use, and an honest business! One thing, they never push you to buy inventory, but they teach you that that is the way to get your business going faster. This is where the cost comes in. If you are not 100% confident with the business or the company, dont do inventory. Now sure you can send all back and get 90% buy back, but you are not allowed back in. I paid $75 for my kit. That you do not get back. You get back on inventory which is very good (more than I can say about other companies). I think Mary Kay is awesome. I just think you need to make a clear decision before you go into it. Meaning, can you market, can you get shows and can you be out almost every night. You may make 50% on sales but you buy the hostess gift, and I seen alot of women giving out extras for bookings and so on. You definately do not make 50%. Again, something to know if you can be creative. I found out alot with the company and leaned that I am able to do something like this with my life if I put my mind to it. I neede that!!! But I do not want to sign up people by ways of touching their soft, needy spots. That is what I did. I think if you get customers who get good results, you will have them forever. With Avon, I believe that the majority can get the same results,(more apt to have reactions maybe?)(do not know, but looking into it), not commit to a booking, and save a dollar. There is alot of women who enjoy the shows but alot that could not be bothered. I had a M.K. site but I think that they should be able to order directly on it. Order came in on e-mail . Nice site though! The wellness industry is hitting the nation and M.K. has daily vitamins. This is good. I do not know alot about Avon, but I do plan to look into it more. I may want it on the side of what I am doing. The older, wiser companies are all making come backs. Good ones. We all have to put alot of effort into it. There is something out there for everyone! There is a market for everyone. I personnaly think for me, it might be Avon for a little extra. Well gotta go. Sorry for the babbling on IP: Logged Scarlette New to WAHM.com posted July 20, 2002 12:27 PM -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- HI girls! Thanks for all the great information!! It was exactly what I was looking for. (Sorry if I hit a soft spot for the Avons girls) But this is what message boards are all about; getting information! I thought this discussion was really helpful, and will be for other girls going into cosmetics. I think finding out the differences between the two are really important to look at before making a final decision. Both sound like great opportunities depending on your lifestyle and start-up resources. Thank you for your answers, please feel free to keep discussing, any other opinions added will be interesting! I know I'll keep checking up on it. Thanks again!! Scarlette IP: Logged JenniK WAHM.com regular posted July 20, 2002 01:34 PM -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- fufu, Sorry, I did not mean to offend you. I guess I get a little defensive sometimes without meaning to. Plus it's easy to confuse someone just giving their opinion with someone being a B****. (which I was probably a little of both) But again no offense toward you or Mary Kay. Im sure Mary Kay products and the business are great. Friends again? Jenny IP: Logged candlestar WAHM.com regular posted July 20, 2002 04:42 PM -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- fufu, your post was not offensive. I was too trying to make points about Avon. I have never sold Mary Kay. The start up cost for me is too expensive. Please join us again on the Avon boards. Sometimes words don't come out right when typed. Forgiven??? ------------------ Jenni Do you love candles? [email protected] <~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~> Avon ~ ~ $10 to start ~ [email protected] <~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~> Tupperware ~ Buy or sell. ~ [email protected] <~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~> Free business cards <~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~> Visit My Online Store ~ Party Supplies For All Occasions IP: Logged fufu WAHM.com regular posted July 23, 2002 04:24 PM -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hi all, Again sorry if I offened anyone. Maybe if someone had approached me about Avon before Mary Kay I might of signed up with Avon. I am new to the States so all these businesses are VERY new to me so I just jumped into the first one that came to me. Guess I should of asked my sister first? LOL......however she is no longer with them so I did not even think of it. I am very excited about starting my business with Mary Kay and think cosmetics is an exciting business to get into. I love makeup myself. I would love advice about the cosmetic world and being in your own business from home, be it Avon, Mary Kay or any other business. All kinda of the same and linked in some way. Thank you Jenni and Jenny (2 jenni/ys..how cute) for the welcome into your room. Feel free to e-mail me anyone with advice on a work at home business. I am all ears. Great to meet some new friends and look forward to hearing from all of you. By the way, I am a mother of 3 and married 11 years. I am now living in Florida for 8 months after living and growing up in the Caribbean my whole life. (see..I need friends...lol) Thanks again. Lisa. ------------------ Lisa Fayad [email protected] http://www.marykay.com/lisafayad IP: Logged BusyWebMom WAHM.com regular posted July 25, 2002 10:14 PM -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- OK, I have to put in my 2 cents, hope no one minds. I LOVE Avon! It's the closest thing I found to a guaranteed paycheck! You don't have to do or buy anything you don't want. This is my business. I do what I feel is best for me and my goals. The demos are awesome! But you don't have to buy them if you don't want to. I sell tons of products without showing a demo. I do buy them when I can though, because they are a tax write off! Can't beat that. Brochures are incredibly inexpensive. They are your advertising. Where else can you get advertising like this for under 18 cents a customer? I can target a new neighborhood of 100 homes for under $18. I make that up with the orders I get from those new customers! And I love having a beautiful new brochure every 2 weeks. They inspire my customers to make a purchase EVERY 2 WEEKS! That's my guaranteed paycheck! And all I had to do was hand out a brochure. Piece of cake! It takes very little time to do that. And I have seen Avon in some malls. That's not a problem for me! I offer unbeatable customer service. They don't have to fight traffic, mess with finding a parking space and everything else they have to do to get there. They shop comfortably in their home, make a simple phone call and I will deliver it as soon as they need it. I also offer express service for only $2.50 extra so if they can't wait for the scheduled delivery date, I order it right away. They love it! I also remind my customers when they are probably running low on their favorite items or when they are on sale so they can stock up. And my customers are my friends. I know about THEM. What they like and don't like. I customize their shopping to fit their needs and wants. Hard to find that kind of service in the mall. I have never sold Mary Kay, so I can't compare, but having done other opportunities, I can say that this one is well worth EVERY penny of the $10 investment! It's worth checking out. Good luck with your decision and let us know! ------------------ BusyWebMom ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Busy Parents Online - Ideas, advice and support for today's busy parent. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Avon- Look Great - Feel Fantastic! Only $10 to start! How can you go wrong? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ** Chai Me! ** Have you tried Chai? What are you waiting for? Coffee Cravings - When you just gotta have it! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Win a $50 shopping spree at Usborne books! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Organize your kitchen and your life with Tupperware! [This message has been edited by BusyWebMom (edited July 25, 2002).] IP: Logged AvonisGreat WAHM.com regular posted July 28, 2002 11:46 PM -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hi I'm Jody... I love Avon! I've been doing it for about 3 months now. I'm also an erep and have a great deal of success online. I have instant messengers if anyone wants to chat email me for that info. Jody ------------------ Avon!!! Your invited to my Avon Online Party Tues. July 30th 8-11pm Games! Prizes! Free Shipping! Mystery Hostess gets 20% off and Prize! Come to: http://pages.ivillage.com/avonjodys Avon has Gifts, Skincare, Haircare, Bug Guard, Clothing, Accessories, Jewlery, Vitamins, Supplements, Work out Equipment, Weight Loss Products and much more. $10 to start your own biz. http://www.youravon.com/jsnowberger Click order, Customer, enter your info then enter my Passcode: 5639 Email [email protected] IP: Logged MommyKaren WAHM.com regular posted July 31, 2002 09:19 AM -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I am with Avon right now.. have been for a year.. and I've lost money!! The brochures do add up! If you don't keep pushing the items, it's hard to stay on top! I'm just keeping the few customers I have happy until I can get them to switch! I am now moving into Artistry... great makeup!!! Excellent earnings opportunity!! Email me if you want more info!! Karen IP: Logged TanyaF WAHM.com regular posted July 31, 2002 02:05 PM -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hello Karen, Can you tell me more about Artistry? Thanks, Tanya IP: Logged BusyWebMom WAHM.com regular posted August 03, 2002 05:22 PM -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Karen, Sorry you've lost money. :/ I have never had to 'push' stuff on my customers. They come to me constantly - looking to buy more! I have people track me down when they find out I sell Avon. It's great! My DM and I go out on customer searches in parking lots and the women we meet get soooo excited when they meet us saying they have been looking for a rep. We don't have to pressure anyone into making a sale. They WANT to buy!!! Just curious, you think brochures get expensive, but how do you advertise your new biz? I have never heard of Artistry and know nothing about them. I think it would be a hard sell if you don't have some type of catalog to look at, unless you have to invest a lot in demo products to show. Just trying to figure out how it works. ------------------ BusyWebMom ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Busy Parents Online - Ideas, advice and support for today's busy parent. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Avon- Look Great - Feel Fantastic! Only $10 to start! How can you go wrong? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ** Chai Me! ** Have you tried Chai? What are you waiting for? Coffee Cravings - When you just gotta have it! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Win a $50 shopping spree at Usborne books! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Organize your kitchen and your life with Tupperware! IP: Logged Momma2KaisnKam WAHM.com regular posted August 17, 2002 10:19 PM -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I cant stand it I must add my two cents to. I have been selling Avon for 5 months and I love it too. I pass out about 50 brochures each campaign(plan on more later) and the response is great. It is the easiest thing I have ever done. People know Avon and Love Avon. I mean I remember Momma buying Avon when I was a little girl.( I am 30 now ) Fufu you are lucky to have signed up with $100 dollars because I live in Hampton SC and I have a friend who was going to start Mary Kay but did not because she was going to have to spend $600 to get started and my sister's best friend signed up with MK a week after I signed with Avon and guess what? I paid $10.00 to start and Anna was conned into paying $2300.00 for her start up a planner and inventory. Today I am happy to say that I am still selling Avon and making money with no inventory to worry about other than samples that take up no space. But dear sweet Anna has quit MK and she has over $2000.00 worth of MK products in her spare bedroom. I feel so bad for her. I guess it is all in who your sponsor is... Nette Independent Avon Rep www.Mommysatwork.homestead.com IP: Logged telecomrae WAHM.com regular posted August 24, 2002 11:51 AM -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ok, I am going to add my two cents in here. I have both good and bad to say about Avon. I was a rep for close to two years. The first year I was the number one new rep in my district and remained a top seller. I was a Certified Beauty Advisor, eRep and Unit Leader and received recruiting awards both years. I had over 200 customers when I left and had never earned less than 40% in my entire time with Avon. So, that said ... here are my opinions: First to the Mary Kay Rep who made some observations: 1. Yes, the campaigns run every two weeks, but you do NOT have to place an order every two weeks. If you run three consecutive campaigns without a single order, you go on inactive status. However, you still have six more weeks in which you can place an order and be reactivated at nost cost. So, in actuality, you must place an order once every three months to keep your Avon business without having to pay a new fee. 2. As Jenni said, any order over 25 dollars earns commission and the mark for 50% is 1500. Again, I was only a rep for two years, never fell below the 40% mark, was usuaully at 45% and was at 50% during the Christmas campaigns. Hitting that 1500 mark is definitely possible and 40% is easily attainable. 3. Your right, ten books do cost about 4.00. However, the books get cheaper the more you order. In your example, you referenced needing to give out 100 books - but you would only pay 18.60 for those 100 books and NOT 40.00, because you get a price break the more you order. After 100 books, each pack of ten books is only 1.25. LOTS of reps go in together on getting the books and a lot of upline will sell books to those who don't need as many for a reduced rate. Serious sellers go through hundreds of books a campaign, so they do NOT pay 4.00 per pack of ten, LOL. 4. You do not NEED to purchase demos. This is not a requirement to have any inventory or demos. In my two years I never ONCE purchased a demo. I don't believe in them. Those who do parties may need them, but traditional Avon sellers do not. Demos are a personal choice and again, not a requirement. 5. Avon has brand loyalty, LOL. Just as I am sure Mary Kay does. And actually, Avon DOES now have a program where you are taught to make-overs for a paid training fee. 6. The Avon being sold in JCPenny's is a higher end line of Avon called beComing. It is higher priced and in different packaging. It was made to compete with the Estee Lauder comparable brands. Also, the agreement was originally supposed to be with sears and JCP and Sears backed out. The line is currently in less than 25% of Penny's stores nationwide and from what my former upline tells me, it isn't doing as well as they hoped. So I really don't think that is an avenue to worry about. Now, it seems that you clearly pointed out what you thought to be disadvantages with Avon, but no mention of Mary Kay's differences. Like needing to keep inventory, I know back in the day you had to submit a minimum order in order to earn any commission (not up on current ordering requirements), and that Mary Kay has much stricter online advertising policies than Avon. Of course, Mary Kay has a lot of good to offer I am sure too, just as Avon has both good and bad. Now, that said and facts cleared up, I left Avon and have never looked back. I walked out as a top representative and handed my 200+ customer base and my entire downline to my former upline. The following are my opinions, but: In order to make any money with Avon, you NEED to be selling at 40%. Selling at that level is a LOT of work and frankly wasn't worth the money I was making. I think the recruiting program can be successful, if you have the time to make Avon your life and work the recruiting aspect heavily. If you are looking to recruit when someone comes along, you'll never make anything work being excited about from your recruits. At the end of a 20,000+ sales year, I had to claim a loss... between my gas, wear on my car, the time of seperating a 1400 dollar order and then making 50 deliveries, my catalogs, my bags, my samples, the phone ringing at all hours, recruiting ads, etc. I clamed a loss that was in the four figure arena. Regardless of not keeping inventory, my house was COVERED in Avon... books, orders to be delivered, paperwork and the like. You have to remember, when you reach the big levels of selling, you are ordering 400-800 books every two weeks and have 50+ orders sitting around waiting to be delivered. I was completely miserable by the time I left and thus my reason for simply walking away. Can you be successful in Avon... HECK YES! Was I? Outwardly so... but all of my awards and honors never made me any money. So, that was MY experience with Avon, but I also know women in Avon who do make money and GOOD money. ------------------ Rae Long Distance and Toll Free Service as low as 3.9 cents a minute! http://www.discountlongdistancerates.com FREE Business Opportunity: http://www.wahmtelecom.com Come and discuss financial issues, tips and more! [This message has been edited by telecomrae (edited August 24, 2002).] IP: Logged mk4life WAHM.com regular posted August 26, 2002 12:27 AM -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Wow! Some heated discussion here. I am an Independent Beauty Consultant with Mary Kay. I do have a few questions about Avon? What is the career progression? I have only heard about the sales aspect, and am curious after hearing all of the talk here. For me, the thing that I like most about Mary Kay is not at all related to the products or the sales. It is the fact that I get to introduce women to a wonderful career where they can place their faith first, family second, and career third. My business is about building women. The cosmetic products are just the tool. If you are a good enough sales person, you can earn great money selling anything. This is much more than the money for me. It is a fantastic way of life. ------------------ Nicole Safley Independent Beauty Consultant marykay.com/nicolesafley IP: Logged BusyWebMom WAHM.com regular posted August 27, 2002 04:48 PM -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rae, I have learned a lot from you, from the things that made you quit. So I have to thank you for that. I have read in previous posts how Avon literally took over your life and it wasn't worth it any more. I can definitely see how that can happen. It's because of your posts that I read when I first started that I have carefully planned my biz so that things like that don't happen. I have my game plan in place and it's been working great. All biz calls are made to my cell phone which gets turned off after 6:00 pm and on weekends, though I do check for messages and take care of ones that I feel are urgent. My customers understand that. They know they are always welcome to leave a message and that I will return their call first thing in the morning. It has never been a problem. I also have my own personal territory (there are no real territories in my area, just my own personal driving limit.) I focus on this area. When I do get requests from a new customer who is out of my area, I pass them to one of my downline (which of course helps both of us since I will make commission on their sales) or I will serve them until I recruit a rep in that area, which helps me be able to recruit when my prospect knows they will already have a customer or two waiting for them! I don't have nearly the customers you do Rae, only about 50, but when my orders come in, I have my receipts preprinted, then I check the orders in and bag them in less than 2 hours, and I'm done. I use the boxes they were delivered in to keep them all together and out of the way until they are all delivered to my customers. I get my orders in Friday afternoon and after they are checked in and bagged, I take the weekend off. I schedule my deliveries for Monday and Tuesday the following week. I do run into the problem of having a few customers who take up to 2 weeks to schedule a time for me to deliver, but that's really about the only problem. I seriously only spend between 15-20 hours a week on my business to maintain it. I put in more hours when I want to find new customers or recruits. I don't have many recruits in my downline yet, and I know when I do, I will have to put in much more time. When that time comes, I may need to decide if I prefer to have more customers and make most of my commission from them and just maintain a steady number of recruits, or if I want to become a recruiting fanatic and just maintain my current customer base. I don't know if I can handle a large number of both and still have enough time to be mom to my 2 small girls. Once my kids are older, anything is possible! Oh, and the money - I am not making a fortune, but I do make more money per hour than I did when I worked in an office. And I get to write off a ton of expenses at the end of the year, things I couldn't write off at my office job. My gas, my cell phone, my computer, printer, jewelry, clothing and accessories that I buy as demos, etc. Plus I SAVE a lot by being able to purchase my usual necessities like cosmetics, skincare, shampoos and bath things, vitamins, birthday and holiday gifts, etc, that I would have been buying at Walmart or somewhere else. So for me, this works out great! ------------------ BusyWebMom PS. Are you paying too much for long distance? Click here to find the best rates! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Busy Parents Online - Ideas, advice and support for today's busy parent. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Avon- Did you know it's only $10 to start your own Avon biz? How can you go wrong? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ** Summer at Coffee Cravings!** Cool off with cold drinks! Coffee Cravings - When you just gotta have it! [This message has been edited by BusyWebMom (edited August 27, 2002).] IP: Logged BusyWebMom WAHM.com regular posted August 27, 2002 05:26 PM -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Nicole, You are right, if you are a good sales person, you can sell just about anything. But not everyone likes building a team, they don't want that responsibility, but if you do, Avon has that option available to you. Avon is set up to help you become as successful as you desire. There is no limit to the amount of money you can make. You set your business to run as you feel works best for you. No one tells you that you MUST do it this way or that way. I have 2 little girls and they are a big part of my business. They help with everything. This is how I choose to run it. And I get to choose my success and how much of it I can handle There are many business opportunities available. You can be strictly the classic Avon rep and be very successful at that. There is a lady in my district whose sales average $2000 EVERY 2 weeks. She makes 50% on those sales. Of course, she has expenses to be taken out of that. You can also become a certified beauty advisor and specialize in doing makeup for weddings or other special events. Or team up with a local photographer and do the makeup for his customers, sort of like a Glamour Shots kind of thing. There are some reps in my district who will be doing the makeup for models in a local fashion show in September. You can get into leadership and build your own team of successful women (or men for that matter) and earn $100,000+ a year. There are different levels of leadership and a commission structure to help you earn the 6 digit income. You can become a fundraising specialist and help various organizations in your local community raise money for their needs. You can set yourself apart and get creative by setting up a shopping or gift service business for retirement communities or busy office buildings in your area. You could also go the route of District Manager or higher, but doing that you are no longer in your own business working for yourself. You are working for Avon. You then have lots of requirements and goals you HAVE to achieve or else you lose your 'job'. There really is no limit to how successful you can be with Avon. It's up to you. The opportunity is there, you just need to run with it! ------------------ BusyWebMom PS. Are you paying too much for long distance? Click here to find the best rates! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Busy Parents Online - Ideas, advice and support for today's busy parent. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Avon- Did you know it's only $10 to start your own Avon biz? How can you go wrong? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ** Summer at Coffee Cravings!** Cool off with cold drinks! Coffee Cravings - When you just gotta have it! [This message has been edited by BusyWebMom (edited August 27, 2002).] [This message has been edited by BusyWebMom (edited August 27, 2002).] IP: Logged telecomrae WAHM.com regular posted August 28, 2002 12:11 PM -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Oh, I agree... if I could go back to when I started knowing the things I know now, I would have done a LOT of things differently, LOL. I wasn't able to preprint my receipts, because, when you get a 1200 dollar order, there is BOUND to be stuff missing, LOL. So I would have to print my master order sheet and then redo receipts as neccessary. Run properly and with boundaries from the get go, Avon can be great. I was just so burnt by the time I realized what I should have done differently that I just wanted out. Thus why I said there are people making good money in Avon... but even with all my awards and honors, I wasn't one of them. LOL. ------------------ Rae Long Distance and Toll Free Service as low as 3.9 cents a minute! http://www.discountlongdistancerates.com FREE Business Opportunity: http://www.wahmtelecom.com Come and discuss financial issues, tips and more! IP: Logged BusyWebMom WAHM.com regular posted August 28, 2002 09:25 PM -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Oooopps, missing items would cause a huge disaster with preprinted receipts!!! Yikes, I have to consider that one. I have only had one item missing so far since I started -knock on wood! So that's why I didn't think of it. Rae, I have learned a lot from your posts about Avon. Thank you so much. I am sorry it didn't work out for you, but it seems like you learned a lot too and that knowledge can be applied to almost any business. It seems like you are doing quite well with your telecommunications biz. I just hope my hubby gets off his butt and starts doing something with his. As interesting as I find it, I don't want to take on another opportunity. ------------------ BusyWebMom PS. Are you paying too much for long distance? Click here to find the best rates! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Busy Parents Online - Ideas, advice and support for today's busy parent. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Avon- Did you know it's only $10 to start your own Avon biz? How can you go wrong? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ** Summer at Coffee Cravings!** Cool off with cold drinks! Coffee Cravings - When you just gotta have it! IP: Logged mvp4262 New to WAHM.com posted February 14, 2007 10:17 AM -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I have done both!!!! with MK you have to have an inventory! and its costly!!! you also have to order a certain amount every month to 3 months, if you dont you go inactive. Avon is a more relaxed type of selling. tha brochures are very inexpensive. people love to get them. you can sale just by leaving a brochure anywhere. i do not feel as pressure to sale. the MK weekly meetings can be a morale issue if you do not sale a certain amount. i do not like to be single out or be told that my full time job is a waste of time. 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| Excerpt of Conversation AVON VS MARY KAY |