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I was wonder how important is it that your upline is local to you. I want to go to meetings and be able to get some support but they say if you don't sign under that person they won't let you go to the meetings.
My upline lives over 70 miles away, and it's a real bummer.
If I had it to do all over again I would choose an upline that was close to me. I didn't have any training and was pretty much on my own to figure things out. Granted I am sure I could have called her or e-mailed her if I had questions. I am a very impatient person so I would just figure the answer out on my own or come here for the answer. I never would have made through my first year of demoing without the help of everyone here!
I think having a local upline is very important...but that's just my opinion
__________________
*Mandy* Heading to the Southern Caribbean!!
Just earned Alaska 2/27/10!!
I'm not an SU demo, but I've done Tupperware and Creative Memories, and in both cases my upline was over an hour away by car. I will NEVER do that again. DH swears if I sign up for anything else I need to be able to walk to my upline's house. ;)
Seriously, without a local upline you miss out on tons of training, ideas, and just support from being able to call someone and say "help" or have them say "great job." Yes, it IS your business, but without an upline who is there to support you, it can be very lonely. Motivation is such a huge battle when times get tough, and having an upline to help you remember why you got started in the business in the first place and make a plan of attack to get back on track can make or break you.
I was wonder how important is it that your upline is local to you. I want to go to meetings and be able to get some support but they say if you don't sign under that person they won't let you go to the meetings.
Thanks
Julie
Have you applied to be a member of the Demo Only forum?? If you are a SU demo than you can get a lot of great advice from a bunch of us SU demos and a question like this would be better suited (and probably a lot more readily answered) for that forum anyway
BTW - to apply to be a member of the deom only forum just go here: Forums at Splitcoaststampers
camsmom has the steps listed for you to apply if you are a SU demo. HTH!
Here is my take:
An upline that is local or far away can be there for you the same. What is important to *me* is if they will follow through with that support.
My upline is about 40 minutes away from me, but our "normal" contact is through e-mail. She has meetings every 2 months which are great and I love going to. She answers my e-mails within 24 hours, and when I have problems she picks up the phone to call me. She is an excellent role model for me with my own downline group.
Most of my downline are within about 30 minutes of me and I hold meetings monthly. BUT even if they were not around I use e-mail regularly and have monthly meetings to share ideas, stamp, and answer questions. We make lots of samples at my house and when one moves we have already started talking about how to make sure she is still included in our group.
I know there are uplines who live far from their downlines who are absolutely wonderful. Tracy (who with her husband) started this site has downline on both coasts (hence the name) and I know one of her priorities is keeping in contact with her group (and this site is a ginormous spin-off from that! LOL).
BUt I also know uplines that are a hop, skip, and a jump away from their downline who might as well be living with the penguins in Antarctica.
Do I think being close by is a good idea? yes
Do I think it is *the* most important element? No
What is important is what support they will give you no matter where you are. It is completely okay to "interview" your upline and find out what they offer those in their downline, as well as what support they have from people above them. While many people start out as "hobby" demos I think that if you have the inkling of taking it further then you should find someone that could support you in the endeavor without feeling pressure if that is not the direction in which you are heading.
__________________ I want people to be afraid of how much they love me-M. Scott
My upline is far away. I get tons of email messages from her and she has a website etc. just for her downline. However, I think you already answered your own question. You said you want to go to meetings etc. -- get someone local! Interview several first and ask to speak to someone in her downline to get an idea of what she really has to offer before you sign up. Good luck!
__________________ Dear Paperlicious is my blog...with a series on how I'm learning to improve my cardmaking by studying others.
I live 1/2 mile from my downline and never hear from her. Unless you are concerned about attending regular meetings, an attentive upline, no matter where she lives, is preferrable over one next door who signs you up and then has no interest.
__________________ Laura
It's official...I'm a stamping addict (second only to my "being a grandma" addiction)!
I agree with interviewing them and seeing who is going to offer what you need. I signed up under someone far away that I knew and supported for years before I moved away. I never hear from her anymore and thankfully I haven't needed much suport. I think the meetings locally would be a great motivator for your business. I know when I do Weight Watchers online it doesn't work quite as well as when I have to attend meetings.
My opinion is that having an upline close by is best. My upline is in TX and I am in IL... obviously quite a distance! I love her dearly, and she always wants to be supportive and we communicate any time. However, that being said....I feel left out. I can't attend any of the fun things they all do there. They get together once/month and have a great time! I send swaps once in a while, read the emails etc... but it's just not the same. I read one of the replies here that talked about being 30 or 40 min away from your upline... that's "local" to me! I don't know how "long distance" your upline would be... but a different state is too far, I think. I have tried to meet other SU demos here in town and get involved with them.. but they are not too receptive... unfortunately.
Just my $.02 ;)
It's really too bad that demos wouldn't take in someone else's downline. When I was with CM, I moved from CA to WA. My upline called her upline, who called her sideline, etc, until they found someone in WA with meetings I could attend. It really didn't take long. They found someone before I even moved. That woman was so supportive, and she didn't make a dime off me. I just assumed all demos/consultants were as supportive of one another. It is sad that they would only support someone they could make money off of. If that is the case, I would suggest finding someone local, as meetings can make a huge difference in the success of your business. I know I wouldn't have lasted as long as I did if not for the support of my upline and fellow consultants.
It's really too bad that demos wouldn't take in someone else's downline. When I was with CM, I moved from CA to WA. My upline called her upline, who called her sideline, etc, until they found someone in WA with meetings I could attend. It really didn't take long. They found someone before I even moved. That woman was so supportive, and she didn't make a dime off me. I just assumed all demos/consultants were as supportive of one another. It is sad that they would only support someone they could make money off of. If that is the case, I would suggest finding someone local, as meetings can make a huge difference in the success of your business. I know I wouldn't have lasted as long as I did if not for the support of my upline and fellow consultants.
Not all demos feel that way! I think you'll find plenty of SU demos who would be supportive of you regardless if you're in their downline or not. Think about how much advice is given on this website--the demos only section offers a ton of support and inspiration for all SU demonstrators! I know that my upline has adopted a couple of ladies who come to our monthly meetings. She makes no money off them, but the exchange of ideas and friendship is beneficial to all of us.
That said--I would prefer an upline who lives within easy driving distance. My upline lives about 20 minutes from me and my downline lives 30 minutes. I like being able to run to her house and pick up something I need or get together to stamp.
Not all demos feel that way! I think you'll find plenty of SU demos who would be supportive of you regardless if you're in their downline or not. Think about how much advice is given on this website--the demos only section offers a ton of support and inspiration for all SU demonstrators! I know that my upline has adopted a couple of ladies who come to our monthly meetings. She makes no money off them, but the exchange of ideas and friendship is beneficial to all of us.
I am really glad to hear that. I guess it's just the demos the OP was referring to. My demo is great and I am sure she would be wiling to take in orphaned demos. I didn't mean any disrespect towards SU, as I truly love my demo and the company in general. I just meant it was sad that the OP was told she couldn't attend meetings unless she signed under that person.
I had a demo that didn't (IMHO) challenge me enough, i.e. show me new stuff, etc. Not her fault really, I just wanted more and not necessarily to become a demo myself. I found this site and for SIX months or so, I chatted and learned, etc. from so many hear and realized THIS is what I was looking for as far as ideas and how to do stuff. I mentioned this to that demo and she remarked how she didn't like this site (BIG loss for her). During that six months, I, you could say interviewed our very own Jenn Balcer (jbalcer) and she, for NO reason was helpful to me and completely cool. She lives in San Antonio and I live in Austin. I decided to become a demo and worried about not being close to her (for classes, meetings, just general fun). It's been six months that I've been a demo under her and we've seen other 2x (hope to change that in 2006) and I do NOT regret a moment. She is ALWAYS available and ALWAYS on here (as we all know), so I feel like I talk to her everyday. Do I miss not stamping with her... yes, but in the big picture that's a personal thing rather than what I need from a business/upline perspective in my mind.
So, my suggestion is to interview people and get someone who has similar interests to you and that loves what they do (as Jenn obviously loves stamping and SCS!). It was awkward when I told demo #1 about having signed up but I'm okay with that because I don't think just because she's local that she would have supported me the way Jenn does.
I love my upline!
__________________ Geeta aka craftyengineer
My Blog
I love having my upline within a few miles, because she has saved me quite a few times with some extra supplies or stamp sets that I need until I have more inventory on hand. Just today, she helped me once again by having that one extra piece of chocolate chip cardstock that I need to finish a swap!
How important is your upline being local to you
