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Can anyone talk to me about becoming a "hobby" demonstrator? I see that term tossed around a lot on these BBs. What does that entail? I am reading some posts that refer to a "quarterly minimum" - I am assuming that is a dollar amount of orders? Can someone tell me what the minimum is? Thanks!
__________________ Liz "There is a very fine line between 'hobby' and 'mental illness'." ~ Dave Barry
If you are in the United States the quarterly minimum sales is $300. The quarters run Jan-Mar, Apr-Jun, Jul-Sep, Oct-Dec, to the best of my knowledge...
There is only one type of Stampin Up demonstrator though...a hobby demonstrator is just a label or nickname for a demonstrator that is mainly a demonstrator to support her hobby vs a demonstrator that has alot of workshops and is running the demonstratorship more like a business.
A hobby demonstrator is a stamper that decides to become a demonstrator to support her stamping hobby by receiving the demonstrator discount and other benefits. A hobby demonstrator may only have a few workshops, if any at all. A hobby demonstrator is her own best customer, so to speak
I became a demonstrator to support my hobby...but it has quickly grown to support more then my hobby and now I am running it more like a business.
I hope this helps.
__________________ Hollie Lisk ΦΜ
SCS#5115 My Humble Gallery "If God brings you to it, He'll bring you through it" My Blog
A "Hobby" demo is one who sells/orders less than $3600 a year. Your quarterly minimum is only $300, by the way is only $900 a year.
I became a hobby demo to support my scrapbooking addiction. The discount and rewards are great! With the money I make from workshops, I buy more products. I make sure that I use them to display a scrapbook page or demo at a workshop so I can write it off on my taxes.
At first I was worried about meeting my minimum, but then things just exploded! August was my one year anniversary. I now have 4 recruits; mostly because I'm moving. They plus their friends are all addicted now and need a supplier. :lol:
I am now going to go back to being a somewhat hobby demo. My focus will now be my downline, family, and my own scrapbooking.
I'd say sign up. If you or your friends spend $100 a month on stamps, inks, or scrapbooking supplies then you would meet your minimum. If you ever decide it's not for you then just stop. Stampin' Up! will not penalize you.
Hope this is clear--had surgery a couple of weeks ago--waiting for painkillers to work.
When I signed up to be a demo, I also was only planning on supporting my habit. That is one of the great things about SU is that you can do pretty much your minimum and reap all the benefits of being a demo. I now have 13 girls signed up under me and working toward making this my full time career...sure does beat punching a clock every day! Plus, I get to do what I love, sharing and caring for others and brightening their day. It's a great company to work for, no matter what your decision is. There are so many other rewards, not just financially. Good luck in your decision making! Have a great day!
I also signed up mainly as a hobby demo. I really just had a few regulars until this past year. My business has taken off and I now make enough to cover what I buy :lol: . This makes hubby much happier
Owning your own home based business is awesome, because you can run it as a hobby or as a for profit business. But, whatever you decide, I have found the most exciting part of this business is the wonderful friends I have made along the way! I love what I do and it's contagious!
__________________ StampinLady~Cindy Lieberman
Downingtown, PA 19335 [email protected]
A "Hobby" demo is one who sells/orders less than $3600 a year. Your quarterly minimum is only $300, by the way is only $900 a year.
First, out of curiosity, where did you get the $3600 figure. And second ~ 4 quarters at $300 a quarter is $1200 a year.
My understanding of the difference 1. it's a nickname, not an actual catagory, and 2. that if you have any workshops you are not considered a hobby demo. Dollar amount be darned!! Hobby = just that, no work, all play.
I agree with you Kymbers_Stampin, any workshop you do is "Work" I only have a few as my customer base is very small. (I live in the country, in a small town) but I do put a lot of thought and labor into all the workshops I do!! I "Love" my customers, and STampin'Up, they are both Awesome!! :lol:
Well, if you want to be totally accurate, in order to make the minimum of $300/quarter, a demo is only putting out 960 a year when you factor in the 20% instant income (discount).
I'm right up there with Lisa. I'm at $1173 with tax shipping and handling and when in my life have I been able to order exactly $300? I always go over be even a little. You can't just count the price - 20% because you have to pay tax and you have to pay shipping and handling. For me that's over 17% per order.
Can anyone talk to me about becoming a "hobby" demonstrator? What does that entail? I am reading some posts that refer to a "monthly minimum" - I am assuming that is a dollar amount of orders? Can someone tell me what the minimum is? Thanks!
The best advice I could give you would be to contact your demonstrator and request a recruit packet. It has EVERYTHING you need to know in it, as well as precise/accurate information direct from SU!
Often times, posing such questions on a BB, can result in multiple answers, by some who do know the facts and others who are possibly not as clear. This can lead to confusion, even tho folks are just trying to help you!
If you don't have a demo'r, go to www.stampinup.com and use the demo'r locator system to find one near you. If you don't care if your recruiter is long distance, there are many here on this BB that you could contact privately, via email or pm system here at SCS.
But, I really think you need to have the printed materials in front of you so you can make a better assessment of what you want to do and whether or not to proceed at this time.
__________________ Julie Ebersole (JulieHRR once upon a time . . . )julieebersole.com"So shines a good deed in a weary world." -Willy Wonka
I am new to this company (SU) and this hobby - and I just love both. I didn't want to ask my demo this question because I didn't want to feel pressured to do it if it turned out it would be too much finanical responsibility for me (had a bad experience with a demo from another crafting company that shall remain nameless - and I wasn't even interested in becoming one! ). Thanks to all of you for replying to me... I plan on making my decision soon. This is a great site and a great community of creators - thanks for being so generous with your time and your thoughts!
__________________ Liz "There is a very fine line between 'hobby' and 'mental illness'." ~ Dave Barry
I just got my packet to fill out to be come a demo - mainly like others to support my own hobbies. I spent alot on a monthly basis on scrapbook kits so I figure cut back a couple of those and get stamps. I work at a big company and plan on selling there also.
I have a question about the volume discount on one of the sheets in my packet. Is that 20% plus ? Kinda confusing there. So discount starts at 20% and it goes up by how much you spent in a certain time frame or somethiing ?
I recently joined the Stampin Up! family (September). I had been teaching and took off to enjoy my third (and hopefully final) child. I had never been interested in selling ANY kind of product- even when I was so passionate about scrapping. At first I joined to get all the products in the starter kit and to receive the 20% discount.
I now have about 3-4 workshops a month and a stamp camp every now and then and I usually spend whatever my instant income is on stamps, etc. It has been a TOTALLY worthwhile venture. I love planning projects and demonstrating for my customers. My favorite part is watching others fall in love with it the way I have! I say GO FOR IT! If you decide it's not for you there's not much to lose. You'll probably find that making the $300 quarter minimum is a piece of cake and you'll look forward to challenging yourself to do a little better each month.
__________________ smile, it makes people wonder what you're up to!
I was confused at first about the 20% discount. It is actually your instant income. For example, You place an order of $100 - You only send in 80% of that, $80. You received a 20% discount because you didn't have to send in the full $100 (minus s/h + tax). But, the full $100 is credited to you.
I often order whatever my instant income would be on a hostesses order from workshops. For example if she had a $500 workshop then I might order up to $100. That then boosts the net workshop to $600 (of course this is purely an example). My instant income is then $120 but I did spend $100 of it so I get $20 and I got $100 in basically free stuff!
Does this make sense? :?
__________________ smile, it makes people wonder what you're up to!
I was confused at first about the 20% discount. It is actually your instant income. For example, You place an order of $100 - You only send in 80% of that, $80. You received a 20% discount because you didn't have to send in the full $100 (minus s/h + tax). But, the full $100 is credited to you.
I often order whatever my instant income would be on a hostesses order from workshops. For example if she had a $500 workshop then I might order up to $100. That then boosts the net workshop to $600 (of course this is purely an example). My instant income is then $120 but I did spend $100 of it so I get $20 and I got $100 in basically free stuff!
Does this make sense? :?
This is exactly an issue Julie was trying to address. See, you don't send in $80 on a $100. You also send in tax and shipping and that total could be in excess of 17%. It is a good gage to think on a $100 order I will send in $100. Or another way to look at it would be that a $100 order is actually a $117 order with tax and shippping.
I am new to this company (SU) and this hobby - and I just love both. I didn't want to ask my demo this question because I didn't want to feel pressured to do it if it turned out it would be too much finanical responsibility for me (had a bad experience with a demo from another crafting company that shall remain nameless - and I wasn't even interested in becoming one! ).
I can understand you hesitation. You are under NO obligation to sign up with the individual that gives you the information; that is a risk they take.
There are plenty of low-key demonstrators out there who will not "pressure" you and I sincerely hope you find one to help you in your endeavors. I must admit, I'm one of those that neglects to "follow-up" as I'm afraid of it being perceived as "high pressure", when actually, I just want to make sure they received the info, and if they have any questions, to feel comfortable asking about anything they wish.
I can see the difficulty on your end, as you need the info to help in your decision, and yet, you don't want to disappoint the potential recruiter, should you go with someone else, or not sign up at all.
But, perhaps if you explained your hesitation about committing, and offered to return the materials, if you decided not to sign up at this point, I think a local demonstrator would be glad to share the docs with you?
__________________ Julie Ebersole (JulieHRR once upon a time . . . )julieebersole.com"So shines a good deed in a weary world." -Willy Wonka
Becoming a SU Demo
