Hi Hulan,
I?m one of the aforementioned party planners - but not Pampered chef or Usbourne books ? I sell Mini-IQ products. In principle they all work the same way you just choose the one whose product you are excited by!
For pretty much all direct sales, (as long as you choose a reputable company) you will buy a ?starter kit? up front which will give you products to display and a set of marketing materials ? (catalogues, order forms etc) . cost depends on the company and in some (Ann summers I think) you don?t pay an up front fee, but rent the kit until you have sold x amount.
How successful it is for you depends on how much you want to earn ? up to a couple of £100 per month relatively easily just on personal sales by getting enough people to hold parties, go to events or toddler groups or event etc.
If you want to consistently earn more than this you?ll probably need to be fairly busy on personal sales or you can build a team to get ?team-builder bonuses? where you earn a commission based on your team sales . Some people like this side of it and some don?t ? but , again depending on the company you don?t have to do it. I compare it more to a management position where your effort is best placed in supporting , training and motivating your team to so well .
I suspect most people who join aren?t really prepared for what ?working for yourself ? really means ? ie it is up to you to generate the sales and contacts ? will good support from your team leader and Head Office, but you have to do it.
Saying that, if you are prepared and up for it ? and can see the bigger picture and what you want to achieve there?s no reason why it can?t be very successful ? I know people in Mini-IQ doing very well ( and I?m getting there!)
If you fancy direct sales, choose your company and your team leader well ? make sure you love the products and can see a market for them (Educational stuff and books ime always do well ) .
Best to get a local team leader if you will need support in the early days ? you can?t beat face to face conversations and a hand to help you do events, lend stock etc.
It?s worth looking on either the DSA website of somewhere like www.Mumandworking.co.uk to get a feel for the companies out there.
If you don?t fancy direct sales, how about ironing for others, cleaning etc? seems like actual ?work form home? jobs where you are employed by a company are fairly thin on the ground. ,