There are a lot of factors that contribute to running a successful SU business – one where you can earn a good income and acheive big goals like Founder’s Circle or the incentive trip.  I always find it hard to answer these kinds of questions because for me anyways, there is no one answer.  It’s an approach that I take to my business, a frame of mind I suppose you could say, which then influences the activities that I follow through with to achieve my goals.

I think the biggest and most important thing is to HAVE a goal. In a post to the LNS Demo Only group, Patty Bennett said “Be true to who you are” – that is a very powerful truth.  You have to set your goal for you – it has to mean something to you, be in keeping with your values, and with where you are in life. For example, I set my goals of earning the incentive trip and Founder’s Circle 3 years ago. I earned Bermuda, but then for the next year and a half had to take a step back from my SU business when our life as a family turned upside down (new baby, moving, renovations, moving my grandparents in, my grandmother getting ill and passing away, etc.)  A whole slew of things, all one after the other.  Although it was really hard to put my SU dreams on hold, I needed to focus on my family. Once things settled down, I was able to re-focus on my business.

Once you have your goal, you then have to figure out how you are going to achieve it – you need to break it down.

Work your business consistently.  I put time into my business consistently 5 days a week. I try not to work weekends because that is a commitment I made to my husband – that weekends would be family time.

Love what you do. Don’t try to fit yourself or your business into somebody else’s mold. Just because someone says “you should be doing this for your business”  doesn’t mean you have to, if you really hate doing it.  There are many paths to a successful business – you have to find the one that works for you.

Use your business as a means for blessing others. I look at my business as my ministry. I look for ways that I can use my business to touch other’s lives.  It may be through sharing and inspiring, it may be through gifting those that are struggling or less fortunate with SU products (I often donate product to local charities and organizations), it may be through providing employment. 

Value your time and your expertise. Charge what you are worth. If you want to make money through your SU business then you need to start thinking like a business person. I see way too many demos that undervalue what they have to offer, and undercharge for their classes and events.

Make your choices in terms of what is good, better, best.  There are a lot of good things that we can do for our business, but, in reality we don’t have enough time to do everything.  So when I think about what I am going to invest my time in, I think about which of my choices will yeild the best returns for my business. 

Anyways, there is lots more, but I think these are some of the key things that I do.

In my mind the answer is an unequivocal “Yes”.  While you may personally have made the decision to only buy Stampin’ Up! products, I can tell you that chances are, many of your customers or potential customers, are not the same.  Very few avid paper crafters limit themselves to one product line or one company.  And it is those paper crafters that are passionate about their hobby that tend to spend the most money – so those are the ones that you WANT buying from you. 

How does staying on top of trends help? Simple. People love ”trendy”. When you know what the current trends are, you are then able to show your customers or your blog readers which Stampin’ Up! products are trendy, or, how to use Stampin’ Up! products to achieve the same trendy looks.

So how can you stay on top of trends?  By taking a little time to read current paper crafting magazines (such as Paper Crafts magazine or CARDS magazine) & by taking a bit of time to blog surf and see what products, colors, themes, etc. people are using over and over again.  Of course, you can always come here, because trend watching is something I LOVE to do.  In fact, as a way of helping you save time, I’ll trend watch for you. Every week, starting next week you can look forward to my Thursday Trend watch post.  I’ll post a project on my blog www.andreawalford.com and then there I’ll talk about how you can use it in your business.

Okay…I know you’ve all been waiting to hear who the winner of the 1 year subscription is…..drumroll please……

Brittany says:
October 25, 2009 at 3:07 am
Andrea,

You are the best, I have been a demo for 6 years and in the last month, I have learned more from you then I ever thought possible. You do awesome work and I spend countless hours looking at your site for inspiration. WOW if only I would have discovered you earlier I could have been having more workshops and earning more money. NOW you have given me several ideas that I AM going to be putting into good use to bring in more money.
THANK YOU SOOOOOO VERY MUCH

Brittany

Congratulations Brittany!  To claim your prize, please email me at andrea@demotodemo.com and put 1 year planner subscription winner.  In the body of the email please be sure to mention which planner you’d like to be subscribed to – either class or workshop planner.

Stay tuned to the home page of this website because starting next week I’ll be posting both creative and business content on a regular basis (no promises on how often though okay? *lol*!)