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media partners
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all franchises all direct selling
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Chocolates for Chocoholics
Home based Income Opportunity
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Description of Company:
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Chocolates for Chocoholics Ltd started in business in 1986 and now supplies customers all over the UK. The demand for our chocolates and gifts is traditionally much greater at Christmas and Easter so we concentrate on developing two specific collections to take advantage of those periods. We also have a range of Celebrations products and favours that are aimed at weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, retirement parties, business incentives etc. We are now able to offer gift boxes and bars of chocolate that can be personalised and are ideal as promotional gifts or for special occasions.
Most of our products are developed 'in house' by our own staff and are not available through the normal retail trade. We pride ourselves on producing products that are of premium quality, visually very attractive and offer excellent value for money. We operate out of 20,000sq ft of offices and storage and we are able to hold substantial stocks during key periods.
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Work Description:
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Our products are distributed in a number of different ways. We have a mail order department and a website with an online shop. Our products are also available through a growing number of ‘Gold Discount Customers’ and ‘Chocoholics Distributors’ who are given the opportunity to generate an income for themselves by selling our products in their own local area.
Gold Discount Customers do not organise Chocolate Parties but are free to use a small sample kit and brochures to collect orders from family, friends, work colleagues, neighbours etc. It is also a popular way for fundraisers to generate income for their ‘good cause’. Existing door to door sales agents e.g. Avon, Bettaware etc, could find this an excellent way to supplement their income by offering their customers our range as well as their existing products.
Chocoholics Distributors are usually looking to generate a higher income and tend to put in more hours. They help us market and promote our range by distributing our brochure in their local area and arranging Chocolate Parties in the lead up to Christmas and Easter. Their customer base will come from guests at Chocolate Parties, consumers who order via brochures and local businesses ordering business gifts. In addition they also work extensively with local fundraisers who use our range to generate commission. With no upper earnings limit the only constraining factor is the amount of work they are able to put in. The harder they work the more money they make!
This is the most appropriate choice for people who like the idea of selling our products but cannot commit to a Distributors role.
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Average hours per week:
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Gold Discount Customers put in as much time as they want. Their profit will depend entirely on the amount they sell.
The hours that a Chocoholics Distributor puts in will depend on them, but to be successful they will need to arrange three to four Chocolate Parties a week during the two seasons plus additional time in the day for admin, banking, order preparation, deliveries etc. Although this can be quite a commitment during our seasons the benefit is that they only effectively work for 17 weeks a year. This makes it ideal for anyone with children as they do not have to worry about the summer school holidays.
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Investment required:
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Initial Investment
Gold Discount Customers buy a small display kit at the beginning of each season worth approximately £50.00, plus carriage. This is the only outlay. The kit can be either be one we choose from a selection of our products or you can pick your own. We anticipate that as the kit contains products that are all saleable, you should be able to utilise it in the orders you take and recoup your investment by selling it after you have used it to collect orders.
In order for a Chocoholics Distributorto organise Chocolate Parties they will need a product kit to display at the parties. It is supplied at an initial discount of 22.5% and the cost price can be further reduced to 50% of its retail value if an agreed minimum number of parties are booked each season and they achieve a specified minimum level of sales. More information can be obtained by contacting us on 01189 321043.
The items in the kit are normally rotated each week so it always contains fresh products and this will then enable you to sell off all, or most, of the kit at the end of the season. This should enable you to recover all or the majority of the cost of the initial kit.
We also include FREE with the starter package:
- An initial ‘familiarisation day' where you learn something about chocolate and how we work.
- A sufficient number of brochures to last you for each season, typically several hundred copies.
- Selected tasting samples each week to hand out to guests at Chocolate Parties.
- Gifts for hostesses and customers who collect brochure orders and who achieve specified sales levels.
- Deliveries to your home via our own vans or courier during our two seasons.
- Leads from our website (where applicable).
- Support and backup from our office as required.
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Earning Potential:
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Gold Discount Customers income will depend entirely on the amount they sell, but as an example someone who collected orders worth £1000 over a ten week Christmas season would keep £150 as their profit.
Chocoholics Distributors put in a lot more time and their income will be substantially higher. During a typical Winter season the average Chocolate Party our Distributors hold is just over £400. If you were to do three parties a week with that average you would sell about £1,200 a week. As we supply our Distributors with a substantial number of free brochures each season you are able to hand them out to local fundraisers, playschools and nurseries, scouts etc and these should produce orders worth a few hundred £’s a week. Over the course of the ten-week season this could produce combined 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.
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Experience Required:
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None whatsoever, in fact sometimes we find that people who approach this from an open minded point of view are more successful than others with lots of previous experience. Amongst our current Distributors we have mums with small children, others with teenagers, and some whose children have all left home. We also have some retired and semi-retired couples. The only real criteria is a desire to be successful, be willing to work, meet lots of interesting people and make some money!
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Car Required:
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Chocoholics Distributors will certainly need to be able to drive and have their own vehicle to carry their display kit and make deliveries. Gold Discount Customers will only need transport if necessary.
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Storage Required:
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Chocoholics Distributors will need suitable storage facilities at home for their display kit and deliveries. As chocolate is a perishable food product it needs to be stored in a cool dry place, away from strong smells. During a Christmas season it is not uncommon for a new Distributor to sell £1500 to £2000 a week and you will need adequate room at home to sort and store this amount of stock. If you are well organised you should be able to sort and deliver the bulk of the stock within a day or so but it will help if you have somewhere to store excess stock or undelivered orders.
Gold Discount Customers tend to have smaller deliveries so storage space is less of a problem. They will still need suitable conditions to ensure that the chocolate stays in perfect condition.
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For more information:
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E-mail:sales@chocolates-for-chocoholics.co.uk
Telephone: 01189 321043
Website: www.chocolate-parties.com
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Testimonial: A typical Distributor’s story
Name: Debbie
Location: Gloucestershire
I first became aware of Chocoholics after buying some chocolates for my children at my local playgroup - they told me how much they had enjoyed the chocolate! So I got a brochure and bought more Christmas gifts for my family. The following Christmas I organised brochure sales amongst my friends as family as I was involved in a fundraising exercise and I got to know and talk to my local distributor. I was incredibly impressed with the price and quality of the product and also the enthusiasm of the distributor. I can remember thinking at the time that I would love to have the opportunity to do something like that. Then out of the blue I heard that my local Chocolates for Chocoholics Distributor was moving away and that there was an opportunity for a new distributor in my area. I contacted the company straightaway and one of their team came to see me in Gloucester to explain how it all worked.
I have two young children and I also work part-time, but I have always wanted to work for myself and this seemed to offer the perfect opportunity My work as a Chocoholics Distributor fits around my existing job and my family as this work is mainly done in the evening or in my spare time in the day. I worked very hard in my first season to ensure that I was successful but was happy to put in this effort for the reward I received and also because I knew that the work was seasonal and I would not be committed all year.
When I first started selling the Chocolates for Chocoholics range I discovered it was very popular and I became booked up for parties in no time at all. I did get very busy but all the while I was working I was also earning extra money. The work is very flexible so I could choose how much work I wanted to do, but turning business away can be very hard! Luckily I had the support of my family and I was still able to spend time with them when I needed to. It was hard work but it was worth it as it was extremely rewarding both personally and financially.
At first I was worried about how successful I would be as I did not feel I was a natural seller. I now realise there was no need for me to have been worried as people love to have a party and most people love chocolate too. Most of my business comes from the Chocolate Parties I book but I also distribute brochures to organisations such as playgroups, schools and charities that are looking for a way to fundraise and also to individuals who pass the brochures around their friends and family.
I have never had to spend any money on advertising as I get lots of contacts from getting out and about and meeting people and I also get leads from Chocoholics. Chocolate is one of those product that sells itself and there are plenty of returning customers.
The only downside I found was that it was very intense for a short period but I enjoyed the challenge and made lots of new friends. I would definitely recommend this business opportunity to anyone who is prepared to work hard to achieve results. Being successful is extremely motivating.
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...Get online and get your business moving...
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All rights reserved 2007-2011 Jane Hopkins
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