How to start a party plan business

Party plans are back in the spotlight and women are embracing them as an easy way to shop – and earn.

Inspired by a disastrous shopping trip with her new baby, Chloe, 30-year-old Sheridan Buchanan decided to launch a new career, working from home as a party planner. Frustrated by the shortage of funky gear for bubs, she established Chlöe’s Closet – a shop-at-home party business offering the kind of unique baby goods that she’d like to buy herself. Identifying this shortage has led to a great opportunity for Sheridan to sell – Chlöe’s Closet launched in January this year, and Sheridan has since discovered that her gift hampers, starting at $29.95 plus delivery, have been very popular.

“It started off blindly and, really, I didn’t know what I was doing,” she admits. “Never in my wildest dreams did I think it would take off so fast. But it all comes down to the fact that new mothers just don’t have time to visit shopping centres.”

It was a trip to her local shopping centre one Saturday morning that inspired Sheridan’s business idea. “The mother’s room was dirty and I couldn’t get the pram into the children’s clothing shop. It was a nightmare heaving the pram out of the car, bumping into other shoppers, then nipping out for breastfeeds. And I went through all that only to find boring, low-quality clothes and accessories,” says Sheridan. “I came home exhausted and thought, ‘Why not do something simple?’

“One evening when Chloe was asleep, I started contacting wholesalers via email and searching the internet for other mums selling great baby goods,” she says. What Sheridan found was an untapped resource of talent creating original products and clothing for toddlers and babies, such as Oobi, Mother Hen and Amanda Dark Designs.

In a serendipitous move, Sheridan emailed a company based in New York (mistakenly thinking it was Australian), which immediately telephoned her, keen to jump on board and provide designer threads for her fledgling business. Having secured her first international supplier, she also found the Victorian-based company MeMeMe, which boasts a celebrity following. MeMeMe’s signature dog tags for mums and dads are tailor made to feature their child’s name and birth date. These one-off pieces adorn the necks of stars such as Courtney Cox, Kate Ceberano and Gwyneth Paltrow, and as each piece is handmade, there’s a two month wait.

Sheridan now does four to six parties a week and, as well as playing host, she’s also found herself taking on the role of mediator. At one party, two mothers began to argue over a set of MeMeMe tags. It just so happened that their babies shared the same name and birth date – and both mums were intent on making the tag theirs. “I had to mediate. In the end, one woman agreed to order a daddy tag and the other got a mummy tag,” Sheridan recalls. “Sometimes people are really nervous when they come to one of my events, but having a baby throw up generally breaks the ice,” she laughs.

In addition to running her own parties, Sheridan consults on other jobs to keep the mortgage money flowing. She now works about 30 hours a week, but maintains that it’s achievable with a baby, given the flexibility that her business allows.

“I’ve still got a fair way to go with my mortgage, but I do come out with at least $300 to $500 profit each week,” she says. “I have my samples and a two week turnaround in orders. The women pay on the spot, so my suppliers are paid upfront.” Sheridan says her costs are minimal. “I rely on free advertising, and baby fairs and expos are another way to market,” she adds. “We get permission from the organisers to go off property and give out flyers. I also give hostesses free shopping dollars redeemable for items from our range.”

Chlöe’s Closet has enjoyed great word-of-mouth success, and Sheridan makes a point to wear her MeMeMe tags and dress Chloe in her products, which often leads to enquiries on the street.

Sheridan has also developed a CD-ROM catalogue to reach a greater market and, armed with a bright idea, her business will continue to grow. “My next step is to recruit mothers to sell in other Australian states,” she says.

 

The essentials

• For ideas and tips, see Party Plan Australia (www.partyplan.com.au) and the Business Mums Network (www.businessmums.com).
• Research the company with products you are interested in and check its catalogue. Talk to other consultants. If you can’t find anyone on networking sites such as Party Plan Australia or the Business Mums Network who knows about the company, then it may be too new. Contact the Direct Selling Association of Australia for accredited members, call (02) 9567 8566 or visit www.dsaa.asn.au.
• You’re running a business with income, so you will need an Australian Business Number (ABN) to prevent payers withholding tax of 48.5 per cent and to possibly claim GST. Registering online is quick and easy, visit the Australian Business Register at www.abr.gov.au.
• Examine start-up costs and check for unstated costs.
• You will need some tools of business – a car, a mobile phone, internet connection and basic home-office equipment such as a computer and possibly a facsimile machine.
• Work your network, then move on.
• Don’t be disheartened by a bad party. Move forward.
• Research your products. Finding a variety of uses for your products will help sales.

What is a party plan?

Party plan consultants visit other people’s homes to demonstrate merchandise such as clothing, jewellery, cosmetics and cleaning products to a group of guests with the aim of securing orders.

Consultants are usually associated with a larger company – such as Tupperware, Avon and Nutrimetics – and earn a commission based on sales. High achievers are often eligible for gifts, holidays or other bonus incentives.

Party plan hosts provide the venue, any refreshments and snacks, and invite their circle of friends and contacts to their home to view the items on offer. In return, the host often receives gifts and discounts on products. Some hosts graduate to party plan consultants.
If you have an original idea for a party-plan business, you may decide to start your own company – it’s a convenient and low-cost way to distribute and sell your product.

Another clever streak

Anne Maybus, a former training manager with 15 years experience as a human resources professional, developed her business idea after taking a five-year career break to raise her children. Anne wanted to return to work, but what she encountered really shook her up. Faced with new technology and people, and a different work culture, Anne found things had changed and she had too – her weight had gone up and her self-esteem was down. Despite her qualifications, she could barely muster the enthusiasm and confidence she needed. Anne felt out of date, and decided to act.

Firstly, she enrolled in a course on colour and style analysis but found it confronting. “It was a struggle for me to admit that I needed help, but I could see the value of the course,” she says, “I felt like a victim in Trinny and Susannah’s ‘What not to Wear’.” Anne then spent some time thinking about what would really help women get back to work, and devised a three-pronged approach. Her company, Clever Streak (www.cleverstreak.com.au), aims to build confidence in women via one-on-one and party plan workshops on fashion, presentation, resumes and interview skills. Her second service, Beauty Banquet (www.beautybanquet.com.au), provides a way for women to get back to work with little or no outlay via party planning – selling make-up, jewellery and accessories. Personalised help is available to newcomers, such as business planning, sales help and product knowledge, and Beauty Banquet’s clients are given the option of developing their own business or becoming a consultant. Finally, Anne established The Business Women’s Network, currently localised to her area. Designed to support women once they’re back to work through providing mentors and likeminded people, Anne says the network moves women towards complete independence as a business owner. “It is a complete process,” she explains, “not one which addresses only part of the need.”

As a symbol of her goal to help women achieve their full potential, Anne chose the poppy flower as Clever Streak’s company logo. “I picked the poppy symbol because if women don’t have high-powered backgrounds, they’re behind the eight ball,” she says. “So, my motto is ‘at least once in your life, be a tall poppy’.”

“I found that women wanting to change will do it,” Anne says of her clients. “Often they want to know what to do with their lives – sometimes, they just need someone to ask the right questions. But often women want to do it in private, so a party plan is a good way to go.” The greatest reward for Anne is bumping into former clients who show her their new colours or their new hairstyle. “It’s quite gratifying to see them happy,” she says.

The business costs for Anne Maybus are quite low, and show that you don’t have to start with much behind you. Her outlay included business registration of $70 and training costs of $4,000, plus payments for web hosting, which comes to approximately $40 per annum. Anne saved web design fees by utilising a free design service (www.freesite.com/designer), and her set up costs for business cards, paperwork and other supplies were minimal. Anne’s additional expenses include a yearly membership fee of $250 to her training company, The Australian Image Company. As a recognisable industry association, her membership is beneficial, as she receives a listing for her business on the Australian Image Company’s website and has access to ongoing professional development.

“I had no money to start with, as I had been off work for five years staying home with my babies. The training costs were all I really had to cope with, but if you plan out how you will use the training then you will know whether or not you can recoup the money,” she says. “There is always a way to do something that doesn't cost a lot and you can upgrade as the money comes in,” she adds. “There’s no point in starting off in a lot of debt in case you can't get out again.”

Anne says that she makes a living from her business, and probably could make more if she put more time into it, but is happy to maintain a balanced lifestyle.

Hostess with the mostest

Serial party hostess Melissa Khalinsky, 28, is the woman behind www.mumsprefer.com, a website featuring product reviews by mums, for mums. She also runs www.businessmums.com, a networking site for women who operate their own business – 50 per cent of whom are party plan consultants.

Melissa’s first brush with party plans was through a scrapbooking group not long after she had her first baby and was suffering from post-natal depression. Desperate for a night out, she attended a Creative Memories scrapbook party and had a ball. “I bought an album then and there, and made one for my husband about his first year as a dad,” Melissa recalls. “I never saw myself as creative, but Creative Memories showed me I could do it – and it started from there!”

Having hosted many parties, Melissa says the rewards can be “brilliant -- if you find a good consultant”. Hosts are generally rewarded for any spend-ups with a freebie or major discounts, depending on the amount of sales generated. Melissa’s personal favourites are Chocoholics Anonymous (hostesses get vouchers to redeem at another party); Emma Page Jewellery (she paid $50 for $300 worth of jewellery); Postie Fashions (as a hostess she received free garments); Exotix jewellery; UndercoverWear; Nutrimetics; and Tupperware.

“When starting out in party planning, women mainly want to know about how to get leads and how to make their parties special,” says Melissa. “But often, they will do a textbook party rather than make it stand out. For example, my Nutrimetics consultant does a foot spa party and brings her own basins, towels and marbles to roll your feet over. She creates an experience, and while she may only work 15 hours a week, she makes a full-time income.”

Party plans can work especially well for mothers, and as Melissa says, “The good thing is that you can do anything with a party plan and still have your friends and kids around. You’re not dependent on babysitters.”

 

Words: Julianne Dowling reports. Photography: Scott Hawkins. Hair & makeup: Jay Jay Rauwenhoff. Styling: Nicholas Sholl.