Why I joined Stampin' Up

It's nearly time to go off to the annual Stampin' Up convention and while I would love to say I am totally organised and have everything ready to go...

Oops! So instead of a project today, I thought you might like to hear my Stampin' Up story.

JUST WHY DID I BECOME A STAMPIN' UP DEMONSTRATOR?!
I had chosen to stop working to focus on bringing up my young family but, as they grew older and our circumstances changed, it was time to go back to work.

I didn't want anything full-time as it was important for me to be there when the children weren't at school so I looked for local, part-time work. It was a pretty depressing couple of months. There was a lot of competition for the jobs I did find and they all offered little money and were pretty inflexible about hours. I was reluctant to turn into a drudge with no control over my life.

But then, I had a light bulb moment!

TURNING A HOBBY INTO A BUSINESS
I loved crafting and remembered that Stampin' Up offered a business opportunity, so I contacted my demonstrator and set about joining. I felt nervous as I'd never done anything like this before but the starter kit didn't cost the earth so I didn't feel like it was a huge risk. I didn't know whether I'd be able to make it work - but I was darned well going to give it a go!

Where it all began - a display from my first Open House event in 2010

My excitement when my starter kit arrived was off the scale but once I'd calmed down (!) I set about building my business. It took time and hard work but I loved it, and something else happened that I wasn't expecting: people started to thank me for helping them discover their creative side. So as well as doing something I loved, I felt that I was doing something worthwhile too.

Once I had begun to build a loyal customer base, people started wanting to join Stampin' Up as part of my team. I found it really rewarding to share what I'd learned with others and help them with their businesses if they wanted me to.

I made loads of mistakes and had some set backs but gradually I began to reap the benefits of my hard work.

MAKING STAMPIN' UP WORK
Stampin' Up has a clear career plan with training, goals, incentives and rewards and that makes it easy to progress. The company has other ways to reward us too and one of the highlights of my Stampin' Up career has been winning a place as the UK representative on the Stampin' Up Artisan Design Team!

Earn awards, free products and all-expenses-paid holidays with Stampin' Up!

One of the things I love about the company is its 'do it your way' approach. You decide when you work and how you work to fit in with whatever else is going on in your life. There is definitely no single way to run a Stampin' Up business and I have seen demonstrators achieve success in many different ways.

YOU'LL NEVER WALK ALONE!
Stampin' Up offers a strong support system. I always have the Demonstrator Support team and my upline to help me directly as well as a great big extended family of team members.

A lovely bunch of Pinkies having fun at Stampin' Up's annual convention 2013

I work with some fabulous people - and they ALL share my passion for crafting!

IS JOINING STAMPIN' UP A GOOD IDEA?
I'd say a resounding yes! Whether you want to be a hobby demonstrator or a business demonstrator or somewhere in between, there's a you-shaped place in Stampin' Up! It's a low-cost business to start and there are no catches - if you try it and don't feel it's right for you, then you simply stop. There's nothing to pay back and you get to keep your starter kit.

There are lots of happy, successful demonstrators operating in different ways and at different levels. Me? I'm happy running my business around my family, doing something I'm passionate about and sharing it with others - what could be better?!

I'm very happy to answer any questions you may have about joining Stampin' Up yourself. If you'd like an informal chat just give me a call on 01280 820593 or click here to send me an email.

• There's a fantastic offer on at the moment if you're inspired to join! Click here for details.

I'll be back tomorrow with my latest project for the fabulous Artisan Design Team blog hop. There is always HEAPS of inspiration on blog hop day so don't miss it!

Hugs,