Lance CB

Patricia Kagwiria Makhulo asked:


The party plan method is the use of social events – home parties to parade, demonstrate, show off and sample products.  The home party model of business has been used primarily to sell items whose main appeal is to women by women, such as Tupperware, Mary Kay Cosmetics, Kitchen utensils from Pampered Chef (which incidentally is owned by the richest man in the world – Warren Buffet). Also ome decor items e.g, home garden & party, jewelry e.g,. Lia Sophia, skincare e.g, Arbonne International, candles e.g, Mia Bella. Recent additions to the field include lingerie, and *** toys e.g., Passion Parties.

It is very evident that the home party plan traditional business idea is fresh once again as a new generation of sellers open their homes for direct sales. Home parties now account for approx. 30 percent of the nearly $30.8 billion in U.S. direct sales, and 15.2 million Americans bought or sold goods from home in 2007; according to the Direct Selling Association, the premier resource for all thing direct sales.  It is said that there appox. 1,500 home party business in the U.S.

With the growth of the internet, customers find that they continue to benefit from a personal and convenient way of purchasing products.  The Internet is fast becoming an essential element of home party plan business success. It gives both the home party consultant and their customer each a worldwide base.  The growing trend is to host virtual parties online.  Internet sales account for 14% of all home party sales!



The Elements Of A Successful Home Party Plan Business:



Home: As with real estate, location, location, location matters.  Let me share with you some statistics. Home parties account for roughly 70% of the 78% face to face sales made in the US.  Cozy, comfortable, social always wins out!

Party: It’s a party at your home–or better yet, at someone else’s. Customers socialize, and you make money. Need more convincing? Fun is the order of the day.



Home Party Plan Success Tip: Fundamentals are the building blocks of fun



Plan(ning): When you fail to plan, you plan to fail.  You need to plan the party elements.  You need to plan your business element i.e., marketing, business plan, training, education & development.  Your party plan



Business |?biznis| ( bus.):

noun

2 the practice of making one’s living by engaging in commerce : the world of business | whom do you do business with in Manila? | [as adj.] the business community | [with adj.] the jewelry business.

• trade considered in terms of its volume or profitability : how’s business?

You are home party plan business consultant, you are in this of course to have fun, partying in your home or that of a hostess for the express purpose of making home party sales and profits.

It boils down to, COMMUNICATION, which in humans is facilitated by three things:

i) neurons,

ii) neurotransmitters and

iii) cells. 

Our bodies communicate through chemicals (neurotransmitters) that are released by the pituitary gland and passed on to the responsive cells by neurons. The chemical substance of interest that facilitates communication that provides the positive side effects of *** is called dopamine. You can think of dopamine as the “I’ve got to have it” neuro-chemical, whatever “it” is. It’s the “craving” neuro-chemical.

The more dopamine one releases, the more your reward circuit is activated. The more “reward” you experience. A good example is food. I get a much bigger blast of dopamine eating high-calorie foods than I do low-calorie foods. It’s why I choose chocolate cake over Brussels sprouts (yuck!)

Dopamine is your major motivation, not the item or activity.  The motivation is pleasure. direct sales marketing then should be about activating the reward circuit as often as possible.  Remember neurons that fire together, wire together.



Home Party Plan Success Tip: Let your prospects associate you with all things good, all things pleasurable all things that create status.  



Why Are Home Parties  A  Serious Consideration For Tradiitional Business Owners?

There is the dopamine effect that we have highlighted.  Then there is the money and practically on the other hand.

Traditional catalogers and retailers are among the companies contributing to the home party industry’s growth. Monroe, WI-based Swiss Colony, for one, launched a direct-selling arm, Swiss Colony Occasions, in February of 2007. Direct Selling consultants/agents use a 24-page Occasions catalog to help them sell food, serving bowls, and decorative items. Bristol, PA-based women’s apparel merchant Jones Apparel Group in March introduced Million Wishes, a party-plan program that sells accessories such as jewelry, scarves, and handbags that complement the company’s other product lines.

There have been other recent big-name entrants into home-party marketing including Jockey, Crayola, Aerosoles, and Reader’s Digest’s Taste of Home division.

1.    It is an activity that both men and women can and do enjoy.  It is not uncommon to host adult home parties for couples.  Men just don’t get into candles and jewelry or kitchen knick knacks

2.    Adult toy parties at home are purely about education.  It is almost as though the advent of Viagra has given women permission to explore, ask questions, experiment and try new stuff.

3.    The other big reason home parties are a big it is that you get to sample.  We’ve all been to Costco.  We all love to try before we buy.  Trust me, the market research in try before you buy shows a fool proof method of getting repeat buyers.  Women attending a in home  show party get to try the lotions, and potions, the tingly gels and massage oils. They get to touch the various items. They get to see and smell.  Any activity that involves the 5 senses is bound to be cash cow because it doesn’t leave room for thought since the brain is so overwhelmed by sensory data!

4.    The atmosphere is one of ease, fun and calm.  Because of the weighty nature of the subject matter of money, a little jug of margaritas and some hor d’oevres go a long way to sate the nerves.  Nervous people make the worst buyers and our friends in lingerie home party plans have it all figured out.

5.    There is little or no guilt associated with the purchases.  When it comes to it buyers remorse tends to be very low.  People **** to feel pressured.  But we all know the postive effect peer pressure has on us, use it your advantage you savvy home party consultant you ?!

Shawn Chua AKA Captain Amazing asked:


Planning is the TINY secret to organizing a the perfect birthday party for your child. Here are a number of key points that you should cover when planning your party.

Choosing the Party Date & Time

Needless to say, the date of the party should be as close to the birthday child’s actual birthday as possible. If your kid’s actual birthday falls on a weekday and you can’t have a party on that day, do not fret. You can throw the party on the weekend closest to the actual day. For example if your kid’s birthday is on a Monday, you can choose to have the party on the day before, which is a Sunday. If your kid’s birthday is on a Thursday, then consider throwing the party on the coming Saturday.

However, if your child’s birthday falls during the school holidays, it may be prudent to have the party earlier as many of his/her friends and classmates may be out of town on vacation. Have your child inform all friends and classmates at school about their upcoming party and make sure that they know who can and cannot make it. Alternatively, you can contact the parents of your child’s friends directly to inform them about the party.

Next, choose a party time that would suit most kids. It is seldom possible to choose a date and time that would suit everyone perfectly. Late mornings or mid-afternoons on weekends are a great time for a party. As some children may have other extracurricular activities (e.g. swimming lessons) in the late afternoon, it is best to have the party earlier in the day, leaving the rest of the day free for your guests to enjoy other activities. Simply choose the time that would fit most guests and your entertainer, if you are hiring one.

As a general rule, set two possible dates for the party and determine the actual party day based on which day most people are able to make it.

Now that you know what you’re going to have at the party, where you’re going to have it and when it’s going to be, you can now start sending out party invitations! Send your invites out early to make sure you get as many RSVPs as possible so that you can adequately prepare for all of your guests.

To ensure a smooth program, don’t forget to indicate the expected time for the guests to arrive in your invitation cards. You can also include the program in your invites so that your guests know what to expect and will be eager to arrive on time! You can also indicate if the party is just for the kids. This means parents will drop off their kids at the party and be back at a designated time to pick them up.

Budget

The second step in planning a great birthday party is to plan your budget. You should allocate how much you can or are willing to spend on things such as food, decorations, renting a venue, hiring an entertainer and so on.

You can consult the birthday child to help you along with some of your choices, it’s their special day after all! Find out what your child wants or would like to have for their party and provide certain options so that they understand the benefits and drawbacks of each option before deciding. However, do note that you do not have to give in to every one of your kid’s demands. Consulting the birthday kid is meant to make it easier for you to decide who (guests, entertainer, etc) and what (decorations, type of food, etc) to have at the party, which can then help you plan your budget better.

Venue

Choosing the right venue for the party can play make or break a party. The choice of your venue can affect the number of guests you can comfortably hold, the party activities you want to have or whether you have to deal with the weather (for outdoor venues).

You also have to consider if the venue is easily accessible to most of your invited guests. While your child may enjoy having the party at the zoo for example, it might not necessarily be the most convenient location for some of his friends to get to.

From our experience, we have found indoor venues to be better suited for party activities or venues with both indoor and outdoor facilities. Naturally, if you are looking for a specific venue like the Zoo, Birdpark or amusement attractions, a large portion of the party will be outdoors. However, many of these venues also have indoor function rooms or restaurants that can cater for an indoor program.

If you choose to have an outdoor venue, try to secure the use of a sheltered pavilion or tentage for food and various party activities. This will also be shelter should the weather turn wet.

Here are some common and recommended party venues:

Multi-Purpose/ Function Rooms

If you are able to book your condominium’s function room or hall, it would be a perfect party venue. If you do not live in a condominium, you can try asking relatives who do to help assist you with the bookings accordingly.

You can also consider function rooms available for rent at affordable prices at your nearby community club. A typical function room has enough space, tables and chairs prepared for guests to enjoy the food and any entertainment you have planned.

Restaurants

Many restaurants have private rooms which you can use. Similar to a function room, it meets all the requirements needed in throwing a great party. In such cases, you get a 2-in-1 as you don’t have to worry about catering separately, since food would be provided by the restaurant.

A popular restaurant venue for a party is the Lion’s Den at The Hard Rock Café. Not only is it easily accessible, this private room is big enough to comfortably hold about 80-100 kids and adults.

At Home

Why go out when you can stay in? If you’ve got the space to throw a party then having the party at home has many advantages. You won’t have to source for a venue. You can comfortably prepare the food for the party if you want. Plus, when it’s party time, there’s no chance that you will forget or leave anything behind. Doesn’t that sound sweet?

The only disadvantage to having a party at home is that you have to personally clean up after everyone has left. It’s a small bummer but at least you’ll have all the convenience of home!

Food

You can hire a venue that can cater your food at the same time, or have the party at home which would save cost. Once you have decided on the number of guests, you can allocate the budget for food.

You may want to cater separately for kids and adults or simply just cater for everyone. Choose a reputable caterer for your party or you can choose to prepare your own food. Whatever you decide to do, always remember that the food at a party is one of the main things that guests will remember, so do not spare any expense in getting the best.

Decorations

Decorate your venue so it truly looks like the place for a really cool party. Get a “Happy Birthday” banner or even a customized banner with your kid’s name on it for that special touch! A great way to add color to the event is to add some balloons. Balloons are always a hit with kids and a hundred colorful helium balloons to decorate your venue should do the trick. You can get them yourself if you have the time and resources or you get them at an affordable price from professionals.

You can also use decorations to highlight a specific theme for the party. For example, some kids have specific preferences and likes such as Superman. You can then theme the party by having Superman decorations (i.e. balloons, coasters, banner, paper plates, etc) or just have a generic superhero theme. However in this case, having a generic superhero concept might be a lot more cost effective as you would not need to source for specific decorations and can instead find more economical alternatives.

Party Host/ Entertainer

A professional party host or entertainer can make a great difference to the success of a party. If you’ve decided to hire an entertainer but are unsure where or how to start, you can always search the internet or get recommendations from friends. If you have a theme for your party (i.e. Superhero), then it would be a good idea to find a suitable entertainer who can fit into the theme as well

An entertainer plays a HUGE influence on the kids as s/he will be the one who directly interacts with them at the party. While a good entertainer is one who can keep the kids entertained, s/he should also be a good role model. Choose a professional entertainer who speaks well as they are very strong influences on the kids. Also ensure the entertainer or entertainment company boasts a good track record and this will be reflected on their website, party rate sheet or promotional material. Take heed of entertainers whose marketing material contains bad English such as multiple typos, grammatical mistakes or poor sentence structure, this is usually a reflection on the quality of the entertainer. Lastly, you do get what you pay for!

Timeline

While a kid’s party is a relatively simple event to organize, you still need to allocate enough time to ensure all elements will be in place on the big day.

Purchase all party items such as prizes, gifts and party treats early. This is so that you have ample time to make sure that you’ve stocked up on everything you need and that there’s time to get more if necessary.

Book your professional party host or entertainer as early as you can! Popular ones will require at least one month’s notice to ensure an available timeslot.

Prepare your party program in advance. Decide on the time you want your invited guests to arrive, the time for the food to be served, the games to start, the time for the birthday cake cutting and so on. When planning your program, the key thing is to keep everything as organized as possible, so that the party flows smoothly.

Finally and most importantly, involve the special birthday kid in the preparations as much as possible. It is after all their birthday party!

Jayesh Bagde asked:


Party stores do the work for you. They provide any celebration with different types of accessories depending on the theme.

A party store is an ideal destination when celebrating birthdays, weddings, debuts, anniversaries, special occasions and other special occasions. Many party stores offer balloons, tableware, banners, and catering services. Listed below are some party stores that are located in the USA.

Randy Party Store: This party store holds pride in organizing all kinds of occasion such as birthday parties, wedding showers, and graduation parties. It also offers a musical environment with bands and sound systems as well as casino parties. It even has more than 40 different designs or decorations for the kid’s party alone. The Randy Party Store also offers catering services.

Cake Art Party Store: This party store has the largest choices of cake decorating supplies, baking supplies, party supplies, and candy making supplies. This party store also offers tableware, balloons for special events, toasting for Groom and Bride and a wedding album. It’s opened from Monday up to Saturday starting at 10:00am and closes at 8:00pm. This store is located at #3744 Lawrenceville Highway, USA.

PJ’s Party Store: The store offers banners, party favors, crepe streamers, balloons, noisemakers and theme birthday supplies for children and adults. Their wedding supplies are full of excellence products with lots of different styles that are fit for the Bride and Groom. It also gives 10 percent off on any wedding invitation and accessories. The PJ’s party store is situated at #159 North Avenue Skowhegan, USA.

Life Party Store: This is an attractive party store due to the orange floor with red blue screaming wall. It has huge choices of Mylar and latex balloons. It also offers caterings for all-important occasions such as birthday parties, baby showers, weddings, New Year’s Eve parties, Mardi grass, as well as St. Patrick’s Day. This cute little store is located at #6131 Mid River, USA.

Giant Party Store: It provides quality decorations and a whole range of party supplies. Giant party store offers huge selection of toys, party goods, catering supplies and party favors. This party store is open everyday from 10:00 AM up to 8:00 PM even on holidays. It is located at Minnesota, USA.

San Francisco Party Store: The store is also known as SF Party Store. This party store has a lot of celebrations to offer starting from Mother’s day, Father’s day, and Mardi grass, along with New Year’s Eve Party, Valentine’s Party, Halloween Party, Birthday Party, Casino Party, Bachelor and Bachelorette Party. If you are looking for an excellent and memorable party, contact or visit the San Francisco Party Store. It is located at #939 Post Street San Francisco, California USA.

Shindig Party Store: The Shindig party store has a quick and friendly service. It gives the customers a variety of party supplies for small get-together parties like Retirement, bridal Shower, Sweet16, Welcome home, Christmas, Halloween, and Birthday party. It is situated at #3685 Braselton Highway Suite San Francisco, California USA.

Superstore Party Store: This store has an assortment of items that consist of repackaged cutlery and paper products such as napkins and plates. This party store helps the customers celebrate any special or not-so-special event in their lives such as bridal showers, anniversaries, baby showers, weddings, birthdays, and debut parties. Superstore offers classic balloon decorations both for corporate and personal events. It has three branches around USA, which are Washington, Rutland and Susie Wilson road.

Vine American Party Store: The Vine American party store offers the largest choice of party assortment hats, horns, noisemakers, tiaras and confetti as well as balloon bouquets. There are also available champagne and martini for corporate parties, disposable paper goods, and paper cups. The party store also offers delivery service. It gives a 60% percent discount if the customer has coupons. It is situated at #5969 Melrose Avenue, Los Angeles California USA.

Williamsburg Party store: The Williamsburg party store offers anniversary themes, retirement themes, baby shower themes, wedding choices and much more. Williamsburg also has Halloween costumes, makeup, and accessories that surely the children will like. This party store is open from Monday to Friday, 10:00am up to 8:00pm. It is located at #6510 Richmond Road Williamsburg, USA.

Mandy Chagger asked:


g your corporate Christmas party can be quite a task. You may well need a large venue, catering, and more in order to make this year’s Christmas party one to remember. If your staff is quite busy, this may be just one task too many. Fortunately, you can avail yourself of the services available from professional Christmas party organizers.

There are a variety of choices when you are considering hiring Christmas party organizers. Depending upon your needs, a venue booking service may be ideal, especially since many venues can handle food, drinks and decorations. Some venue booking services are even free to the user, making them an ideal choice to save your staff time in planning the holiday Christmas party. You can simply provide these Christmas party organisers with your needs and they will create a list of possible venues and the amenities available at each for you and assist you with booking the venue for the date you desire.

You may wish to narrow down your needs before consulting with Christmas party organisers. Where would you prefer to hold your corporate Christmas party? Know how many people will be attending the Christmas party, as well as the type of venue you would prefer. Are you planning a formal event or a more casual family-friendly one? Do you need a sit down meal or a buffet style meal, or even just appetizers? Will you be serving drinks? Once you have answered these questions, you will be much better prepared to speak with Christmas party organisers.

Venue booking services that include Christmas party organisers are well versed in helping companies of all sizes plan their holiday parties. They can help you find Christmas party venues in London or elsewhere that meet both your budget and your needs. Not only can skilled Christmas party organisers help you choose a Christmas party venue, but they can also help make travel arrangements or arrange lodging if appropriate. Given that Christmas party venue booking services can even be free of charge to you, you can save your staff valuable time and energy by using Christmas party organisers.

While venue booking services are often free, some companies choose to hire professional Christmas party organisers to design their corporate Christmas party. Unlike venue booking services, this can be quite costly. Moreover, you may find that some Christmas party venues offer these sorts of services in-house for a much lower cost. High end specialist Christmas party organisers may seem like an especially good idea if you are considering a themed Christmas party; however, do consider speaking with Christmas party venues as to their capabilities. You may be surprised at the services that they are able to provide on their own for a reasonable fee. Your venue booking service may well be able to help you select Christmas party venues perfect for whatever sort of work Christmas party you might be considering, including themed Christmas party plans.

What are the best Christmas party venues? The right Christmas party venues for your work Christmas party may depend upon the size of the party, the plans for the party and more. Many companies choose Christmas party hotels for their work Christmas parties. If the guests reserve rooms at the hotel, there is no need to arrange transport home after the party if anyone has been drinking and many hotels are very well equipped with regard to space and catering. If you are planning quite a large corporate event as your work Christmas party, a venue booking service can even assist with travel arrangements for staff or clients travelling a substantial distance. Hotels are also ideal Christmas party venues in London for this sort of corporate event.

Can you plan your own work Christmas parties? Certainly, however, you will find that choosing the right Christmas party venues takes a substantial amount of time, time that could be spent on work tasks. Moreover, someone will also have to coordinate food and drinks, d?r and more with the venue. If it is a major corporate event, travel arrangements may have to be made. You can save valuable time with a venue booking service or specialist in corporate travel to assist you in choosing the right Christmas party venues.

Whether your corporate Christmas party is to be a rather small, intimate dinner or a large corporate event, choosing the right Christmas party venues is critical. Often the venue you choose will impact the quality of not only the physical space, but also the food and drink at your work Christmas parties. Be sure your Christmas party is one to remember and not one to regret by using those smart habits that have gotten you where you are today and delegating the choice of Christmas party venues to an expert venue booking service skilled in handling all sorts of corporate events and corporate travel arrangements.

Amy Carter asked:


 

Looking for a fun idea for your next party? Or looking for a reason to host your next party? Who says you need a reason or occasion to have a party? Just about anytime is a great time to plan a party. If you wait for the holidays, you’ll have to compete with lots of other parties, too. Pick a day, any day, and host a party for no reason.

Cocktail party or wine tasting

You don’t need a reason to invite friends over for a drink and some conversation. Maybe it’s been awhile since you had a chance to catch up with friends? Maybe you all need a reason to get a baby sitter and enjoy some time with the grown ups. Whatever the reason, you deserve a cocktail party. Grab some fun cocktail themed invitations, stock the bar and whip up some delicious noshes and you’ve got a great party for no reason at all. If you do have a reason to celebrate, a cocktail party can be a great way to get together and celebrate, too.

Lots of people love wine and love learning more about wines. Show off your great taste with fine wines and snacks to go with those wines. You don’t have to be an expert to enjoy a fun wine tasting party with friends. Send a clever wine and cheese party invitation to your wine-loving pals and you’ll be sipping, sampling and mingling in no time. A wine tasting party – announced with a fun wine invitation - is a great chance to get together for no reason or to celebrate the birthday of your favorite wine lover.

Spa party

At a typical party the food and beverages are usually the focus. This can be a source of some stress. Take the stress out of it with a relaxing spa party. Invite guests over for facials, manicures, pedicures, massage, etc and you’ll be able to relax and enjoy your party. Best of all, you can send out spa party invitations for the party at the spa (not your home) for added stress relief. While this is a great no-reason party, this can also be great for bridal showers, baby showers, birthday parties and much more.

Start a band

More and more people are hosting ‘Rock Band’ and ‘Guitar Hero’ parties. Most video games are kid stuff, but this game has captured the interest of kids and adults alike. When was the last time you head of adults getting together to play a video game? It is fun and it’s a great party game. Send out a rock and roll party invitation to get your friends geared up for guitar, singing and drums in your very own ‘band.’ This is a great way to get together for no reason, but can also be a great party theme for a birthday or graduation party.

Celebrating smaller and less celebrated days

While everyone celebrates the big days – 4th of July, Thanksgiving, New Years, Christmas, etc. Not everyone celebrates other fun holidays like Flag Day, President’s Day, Groundhog Day, etc. Pick a lesser celebrated holiday and center your party on that. Have your guests come as their favorite President, host a flag-themed party or just celebrate for no reason and make up your own holiday. State your holiday on your party invitations at your guests will be ready to celebrate once the party starts. This is also a great way to avoid the rush and hubbub around the more celebrated holidays.

You don’t need a reason to have a party, but you do need a fun idea or theme. Center your party on a fun activity rather than a holiday or occasion and you’ll have a great ‘no reason’ party.

Check out MyExpression.com for great party invitations. You’ll also find great themed party invitations