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A Top-Rated Home Business For Mom!
This article rates a home business opportunity using my "New
Approach for Rating Home Business Opportunities," of 11 major
and 7 minor attributes. Each major attribute can be worth 7
points, while each minor attribute can be worth 3 points, with
98 points as a perfect score. Of course, there are no perfect
scores for home business opportunities. The 11 major attributes
are-
* Product or service * Product price and market competition *
Company * Proven business system * Available Support system *
Available training and resources * Compensation system *
Profitability - has good profit margins * Costs involved - both
startup and recurring costs * Will I have full control over my
business? * Can I work this business at my own pace?
The 7 minor attributes are-
* How is the product delivered to the customer? * Does the
product/service have an automated delivery capability? * Is the
Company "On the Net" and E-Commerce enabled? * Are you supplied
with business tools to make your life easier? * What level of
administration is required? * Consider whether you will be ahead
of or behind the trends? * How great is the potential to make
money in this business?
The Company is Sensaria, a Washington state private company that
sells Natural Body Care products. The product line includes Skin
Care, Body Care, Sun Care, Home Care, and Hair Care products,
all of which are sold by individual representatives. There are
about 3,600 representatives. The Skin Care and Hair Care
products (not makeup) are naturally based with no chemicals,
which many people prefer, are consumable and representatives
have personal web sites which customers may go to for repeat
product purchases. Sensaria is a member of the Direct Selling
Organization, which is a significant consideration. The company
is about 20 years old, but has been using direct sales for the
last five years.
Representatives schedule and hold Spa Parties where products are
sampled and introduced, used and sold. The parties are fun
events for women and those in attendance have a good time.
Representatives plan for product sales, to book additional
parties with those in attendance, and to recruit new
representatives for the company, with individuals seeking to
earn additional income. The cost to become a representative is
$180, and another $50 for items that representatives use at Spa
parties and for office supplies. Even though each representative
has a personal web site for product re-orders, this business
opportunity is an offline opportunity, as compared to an online
internet business opportunity.
Eleven Major Attributes
* Products are very well received. Women love these products and
purchase them eagerly. Samples used at the Spa parties are very
effective in producing product sales. This major attribute is
the crucially important one for this home-based opportunity.
Because the products are consumable, this is a very favorable
situation for a representative. This attribute gets a 7 rating.
* Product pricing is competitive in the market place and market
competition is moderate. In this instance, a 5 is awarded for
this attribute. * The company is well respected, stable, and can
be counted on to deliver on promises made. So this consideration
gets a 7 rating. * Proven business system. Sensaria has a very
effective business system for beginning reps that includes
getting Spa parties scheduled, presentations for the party,
securing bookings for additional parties at each party, and
prospecting for potential new representatives. Free products
provide good motivation for individuals agreeing to host a
party. After a Spa party, each rep has a business suite
installed on their personal computer which allows the rep to
transmit the orders to the company for efficient order
processing. This consideration gets a 7 rating. * The available
support system is generally good, as each new rep has an upline
person for questions and problems that may arise. This
consideration gets a 5 rating. * Available training and support
is good for this company. New reps attend teleclasses to learn
the ropes as beginning home-business entrepreneurs. Teleclasses
are one hour in length and about 50 individuals may be involved
in each call. More experienced representatives conduct these
teleclasses. This consideration gets a 6 rating. * The
Compensation system is a good one. Each rep earns 30% of the
product sales value for each party, and has the chance for bonus
amounts each month based on their total product sales. These
bonus amounts vary from 6% to 9% of product sales for the month.
In addition, a rep earns a 5% override for any reps they have
recruited. After 3 recruits, the overrides go four levels deep.
For any checks received at the parties, the rep deposits them to
her bank account, and remits 70% of the sales value to the
company via credit card payments. So rep earnings accumulate
quickly during each month, and are available immediately. This
consideration gets a 6 rating. * Costs involved are $180 for the
beginning product kit, and approximately $50 for supplies, most
of which can be purchased at low-cost at Wal-Mart. The rep will
have travel costs to and from each Spa party, and office
supplies will be needed for record keeping purchases. * Will I
have full control over my business? The answer here is an
unequivocal yes. There are no monthly sales quotas, but
purchases of $75 wholesale are necessary to remain active. A rep
can go inactive periodically without penalties. This attribute
gets a 6 rating. * Can I work this business at my own pace? The
answer is yes, and this attribute gets a 6 rating.
Seven Minor Attributes
* How is the product delivered? The products sold at a Spa party
are shipped to the hostess for that party and she delivers the
products to customers who purchased. This consideration gets a 2
rating. * Does the product/service have an automated delivery
capability? Not in the sense that e-Books and software can be
delivered immediately as downloads after purchase. Each rep has
a web site for customer re-orders and they are shipped to their
home address. This consideration gets a 2 rating. * Is the
company "On the Net" and E-Commerce enabled? Yes, this
consideration gets a 3 rating. * Are you supplied with business
tools to make your life easier? Yes, each rep gets a business
suite for submitting orders and other tools as well. This
attribute gets a 2 rating. * What level of administration is
required? Keeping customer records, party records, contact
records are required for a rep to be effective, and to earn as
much as possible. This attribute gets a 2. * Consider whether
you will be ahead of or behind the trends. I don't know the
answer for this one, so I am not assigning any number for this
consideration. * How great is the potential to make money in
this business? It has very good potential, a new rep can earn
from $800 to $1,000 in their first month. Downlines can be
willed to family heirs. This attribute gets a 3 rating.
Total Score
The Company has scored a total of 66 points on the 11 major
attributes, and 14 points for the 7 minor attributes, yielding a
grand total score of 80. This rating approach requires a 90+ for
an Excellent rating, 70+ for a Good rating, 50+ for an Average
rating, 30+ for a Poor rating, with zip for an opportunity
considered to be a scam. Based on this approach, this is a GOOD
home business opportunity.
About the author:
Roger Staubus CPA http://www.goodhomebizopp.info/index.html
Author of the Free e-Book "Looking for a Good Home Biz?" and of
a previous published article, "New Approach for Rating Home Biz
Opportunities."