Chocolate

Investment required: In order to organise successful events a Distributor will need a display kit and we supply them with a comprehensive range of products at the start of each season. The cost of this kit varies from season to season and we will be happy to advise prospective Distributors of the current investment if they contact us. It is supplied at a discounted price and is normally sold off by the end of the season to allow the Distributor to recoup their original investment.

Unlike most other similar companies we also include FREE with the starter package:

• An initial 'familiarisation' day at Hurst where you learn something about chocolate and how we work.
• Sufficient brochures to last you for a typical season
• Selected tasting samples to hand out to guests at Chocolate Parties
• Gifts for hostesses, and customers who collect brochure orders, who achieve specified sales levels
• Deliveries to your home during our two seasons
• Leads from our website
• Support and backup from our office as required.

Average number hours a week: This really depends on whether you view this as a 'hobby' or a way to earn a reasonable income. The demand for Chocolate Parties during the lead up to Christmas and Easter can be high and many of our Distributors could book parties every night if they wanted to. As a self-employed Distributor the choice is yours, if you would like to maximise the business you do then you could easily put in as many hours a week as you would by doing a full time job. If your family circumstances do not allow this then you will need to limit the Chocolate Parties that you book.

Contact details: E-mail: recruitment@chocolates-for-chocoholics.co.uk or Telephone: 01189 321043. Visit www.chocolate-parties.com to find out more about the company.

Car required: You certainly need to be able to drive and have your own vehicle to carry your display kit and make deliveries. You also need suitable storage facilities at home for the deliveries you get from us each week.

Earning Potential: This is where you set the limits. During our Winter 2007 season the average Chocolate Party our Distributors held was just over £400. Anyone who did three parties a week with that average would have sold about £1,200 a week. As we supply our Distributors with a substantial number of free brochures each season they are able to hand them out to local fundraisers, playschools and nurseries, scouts etc and these can easily produce orders worth a few hundred £’s a week.

Over the course of the ten week season this should produce sales of around £15,000.This would generate a gross profit of at least £2,250. Your main costs to come out of that would be your postage, telephone and fuel. Realistically this should leave you with a net profit of about £200 a week.

Best suited to: Amongst our current Distributors we have mums with small children, others with teenagers, and some where they have all left home. We also have some retired and semi-retired couples. The only real criteria is a desire to be successful and make lots of money!

Name: Melanie

Location: Bridgend, South Wales

Family: Leah 5 and Isabelle 2

How often do you work?
With a young family I was looking for a way of earning money that did not affect them too much. This meant that I preferred to be out in the evenings when they were in bed or during the day when they were at school/nursery. As my work is concentrated in the winter months I do not have to work at all in the summer or over school holidays.

How much time do you commit?
When I first started selling the Chocolates for Chocoholics range I did not realise just how popular it was and as I was reluctant to turn away business I probably worked more hours that I expected. In view of the fact that the work is very flexible I tended to spend most of my spare time on this but was able to stop when I needed to be with my children. It was hard work but the money I earned made it worthwhile.

Where do you carry out your work?
I am free to work wherever I want to but with a product like chocolate it is not really hard to find lots of customers close to home. I find that most of my business comes from the Chocolate Parties I book but an increasing amount also comes via brochures I distribute. In my area there are lots of places like churches, charities, playschools and nurseries, scouts and brownies, choirs, hospitals etc and they are all looking for ways to generate funds. As they can earn a commission on the sales of chocolate they make I find that they are very keen to collect lots of orders and this helps to boost my turnover.

Do you need a car?
Most definitely.

Do you advertise?
I have never had to spend any money on advertising as I get lots of contacts via personal recommendations. The only form of advertising I have ever done was to put up a small laminated poster in my car!

How did you hear about the job?
I picked up a brochure at my children's playschool and decided to buy lots of Christmas gifts for my family. I then thought that if it was good enough for me to buy then maybe there was an opportunity for me to get involved selling the range. I contacted the company and one of their team came down to Bridgend to explain how it all worked. I talked it over with my husband and we decided to give it a try and we have not looked back since.

Do you get support/training?
I visited the company's head office in the Reading area for a day to learn all about the range and then attended a presentation of the new range for Christmas 2007. I was there with Distributors from all over the country and it was interesting to meet and talk to other ladies who had been selling the range for many years and were able to offer me advice.

Are there any downsides to the role?
Other than the fact that this is very intense for a short period then no. I enjoyed the challenge and made lots of new friends from my customers.

Would you recommend this opportunity to other Mums?
If you want to increase your income and you are prepared to work to achieve that then yes. This was certainly not a soft option but well worth it.