Direct Selling Home Decor Business Review

Last month I wrote an article on "Questions You Should Ask an MLM Company Before You Join". The same kinds of questions apply if your thinking of starting up your own business in direct selling. I recently had the opportunity to review several companies all with similar products. All of the companies I reviewed are all MLM companies but are all structured differently. With this review I have listed the companies that are the best to work with, all others that I didn't care for I left off this list. They were graded on several factors; Cost of startup, Consultant Benefits, Customer Service, Ease of Selling, Quality of Products, Tech Support and Training.

Home Decor Direct / Cuadros Y Cosas A+
Startup Cost - $0 if you sell $150 (supplies are free with this method) or $59 for products and a supply kit ($150 value). A
Consultant Benefits - The very best income opportunity over any other company I reviewed plus you are rewarded for everyone you recruit and get cash bonuses for extra sales. A
Quality of Products - Excellent quality, most products are hand crafted in the USA and reasonably priced. A+
Ease of Selling - I signed up with $0 and got $268 in orders my first month. A
Customer Service - Most items are received within 1-2 weeks after you place your order. Customer service is excellent. A
Tech Support and Training - I had the opportunity to attend two training seminars before I started, with excellent one on one support. I was able to meet personally with the Vice President of the company. A

Southern Living At Home B+
Startup Cost - $199 for a $400+ value of products and supply kit A-
Consultant Benefits - Consultants get discounts one item one time per year and 25% commission, plus you are rewarded for every recruit. B+
Quality of Products - Excellent quality, not a big variety of home decor items, lots of dishes. A-
Ease of Selling - Not too hard to sell, but some items are pricey. B+
Customer Service - Can't contact customer service via phone, email took 4-5 days to respond. Items shipped slow, took more than 2 weeks. B
Tech Support and Training - Training was over the phone and audio CD's. B+

Celebrating Home / Home & Garden Party B-
Startup Cost - $99 for $200 in product or $149 for $300 in product. B+
Consultant Benefits - Consultants get 30% commission, plus you are rewarded for every recruit. A-
Quality of Products - Some items are not very high quality. Products range from reasonably priced to pricey. B-
Ease of Selling - Good variety of products, some quality issues. B
Customer Service - Can't contact customer service via phone, email took over a week to respond. Most items received within 2 weeks. C+
Tech Support and Training - No one offered any one on one support, I did find some videos on You Tube. C

For your convenience links to company websites have been posted in this blog.

Questions You Should Ask an MLM Company Before You Join.

How many people out there signed up for an MLM company with big expectations of making money then find out later that it’s a very hard way to succeed. There have been many times I have been sucked in the pretty picture they paint. I hate when some of the people working with these companies lie to you just to get as many people as they can underneath their organization, then offer you no help once you join. The majority of MLM companies make it sound easy and say “anyone can be successful”. I don’t want to knock all MLM companies out there. There are some good ones that are legitimate. There are details you should look at with every company before you spend the money to invest. One of the most important things you should do is research. You will need to find out how stable each company is are and compare them to their competition.

1. What is the start-up cost and what does it include? Beware of huge upfront fees, the risk is usually much greater and make sure you are getting a good value for the money.
2. What kind of training do I get once I start? Make sure if you sign up that you sign up with someone that has proven to be successful and is willing to spend the time with you to properly train you.
3. What type of service or product will I be selling? Is this something you can truly believe in and feel good about selling?
4. Will I be expected to put in a minimum order every month or every quarter? Make sure you can sell more than the minimum amount required each month or quarter.
5. Will I be expected to recruit a minimum amount of people? Many MLM’s require you to recruit a specified number of people in order to make money in your downline.
6. How much commission will I make?
7. If I want to purchase something do I get a special discount off the retail price?
8. Is shipping & handling additional or does it come out of my commission?
9. How long do items typically take to ship to my customer?
10. What kind of Guarantee or Warranty does the company have on their products?
11. Will I need to purchase supplies such as Catalogs, order forms, etc.?
12. What other company benefits or incentives does this company have and how easy is it to achieve those goals?