Do you love designer purses, parties, and money? Why not turn your love of fashion into a successful business you work at home – on your own terms? A designer purse party business can be lucrative and lots of fun. Once you’ve had a few of your own, you can recruit OTHER people to host a designer purse party while you supply them with the purses. That’s when the profits start to mushroom.
I’ll tell you how to get started in the designer purse party business, how to market your purse party business, how to recruit others to sell for you and how to find sources for authentic designer purses at true wholesale prices.
Getting Started in the Designer Purse Party Business
Before you can have a designer purse party, you have to have sources for designer purses, wallets and other fun accessories to sell your eager attendees. You can buy used designer purses at garage sales, estate sales, church sales and by advertising that you buy secondhand purses on places like Craig’s list. This is a good way to test the market but you’ll soon run out of inventory. A resource you can use for sourcing new designer purses at prices you can resell at a good margin is http://www.designer-purse-party.com.
Now that you have your sources, are you ready to give your first designer purse party? Begin by picking 20-25 purses and 10-15 wallets to sell. Sometimes having fewer pocketbooks can boost sales because it sends the message you only have a certain number to sell. Your guests will realize if they like something they’ll need to buy it right away. I'll tell you how to set up your display to motivate people to buy shortly.
Decide Who Will Attend Your Party
Write down the names of 15-20 friends and family members who are fashion conscious. Who doesn't need a nice purse to carry? Plan on letting each friend or family member you include on your list to invite one other person to come with them as a guest. This gives you the potential for 30-40 people to attend, but most likely you'll have no shows, which will bring your number of attendees to around 20. If it looks like you're going to have this many people at your first show, you can add another 10 purses or so to make sure there's a good selection.
Once you have your list complete, buy a set of cards that has a purse motif on the front of it. If you can't find these cards locally, you can buy a rubber stamp with a purse on it at your local craft store and stamp each card with an image of a purse. Looks cute, doesn’t it? Once you have your list finalized, it's time to fill out your cards and mail them. An example of something you might write inside could go something like this:
Come bring a friend and join me for a night of food and fashion! This is your opportunity to see and try on a variety of beautiful designer purses and maybe even take one home. It’s your chance to see and try designer purses in the latest styles - and enjoy light desserts and coffee. It'll be a night of fun, friendship and fellowship. Please feel free to invite a friend, but limit it to one since this is an exclusive invitational event. Hope to see you there! Please RSVP within the next 7 days. Your friend and designer purse lover, xxxxxxxx
Please feel free to copy this word for word if you’d like.
Now that you have your invitations ready to go, it's time to mail them out. You’re on your way to hosting your first designer purse party.
Now that you've mailed your invitations, it's time to talk about the details of your first party. It's always a good idea to have food, although you don't have to offer something elaborate. I’ve found that offering sliced vegetables and potato chips for dipping and a simple dessert works best. Add some soft drinks and coffee and you’ll have a food and drink selection that should please most people. Once you start getting your RSVP's, you should know how much food to prepare. I recommend adding some extra food since some attendees may bring along a friend. Better to have too much food than too little.
Make Sure Everyone is Well Fed
One of the parties I hosted had almost twice the number of attendees I had expected since many people brought along a friend. I was glad to have had that extra food available! Having food is important as it puts people in a jovial, buying mood encourages them to mingle. It’s also an excellent icebreaker.
The Way You Display Adds Value to the Purses
Once you've planned your food, think about how to display your purses. I usually use two large tables that are a bit taller than your average card table so people don't have to look too far down to view the purses. I would cover the table with an attractive covering like a rich piece of black velvet. Don't skimp on this! Your display will reflect on the value of your product. If you're selling designer purses, you want your display to look elegant. Space the purses nicely on the table, so they're not crowded together. If you're selling wallets, display them interspersed among the purses in a pleasing manner.
I can’t emphasize enough the importance of having good lighting! Bring in extra lamps if you need to so people can really see the quality of the purses and wallets. It’s also important to have lots of mirrors, preferably full-length, so people can see how they look holding the purses. I don’t know about you but when I shop in a store and don’t have access to a mirror to see how it looks when I hold it against me I get frustrated and put the item back. Don’t let a lack of mirrors and good lighting cost you sales.
Add to the mood of the party, by framing photos of models carrying hip designer bags and rest them on stands on the tables holding the purses. Have a big book and pen for people to sign if they'd like to be on your mailing list or would like to host their own designer purse party. I would also have a business card holder full of your cards so people can contact you about hosting a party.
Now, let's get down to planning some of the details that will make your party even more successful.
Sell, Sell, Sell and Recruit
The object of your designer purse party is not just to sell designer purses. You want to recruit OTHERS to have designer purse parties too. To do that, you'll need to do two things:
1. Get your attendees enthused about hosting their own designer purse party. To do this, be enthusiastic about the products you’re selling and always convey this enthusiasm to your attendees. Let people touch the purses and put them on their shoulder. People are more likely to buy something when they’re able to try it. Take digital photos of attendees modeling the purses to create excitement. Once your guests see how good that purse looks on their shoulder, they’ll be ready to buy it. You can display these photos, with the permission of your guests, at your next designer purse party or post them on your website or Facebook page.
2. Get contact information from as many of your party attendees as possible.
The best way to get contact information is to have a contest and give away a smaller item such as a designer wallet.
To enter the contest, have your attendees fill out a form (which includes their contact information including email address) and check a box indicating whether they'd be interested in hosting their own designer purse party. They would place their entry into a designated box so a winner can be picked at the end of the party. You should have the wallet nicely next to the box with the entry forms so it can be easily seen.
To make your wallet give away even more desirable, buy one of those clear acrylic boxes you see in jewelry stores and place it over the wallet to give it a look of extreme value. Display it on a black velvet pedestal with the acrylic riser covering it and it'll look similar to what you see in a high end designer purse store.
To build up excitement, hold off on drawing the winning name for the wallet until the party is almost over. Be sure to hang on to all of those entry forms so you can copy each attendee's contact information down and whether or not they're interested in hosting a designer purse party.
Include a space for an email address on the form so you can keep each attendee updated about future parties.
Build a List
Over time, you’ll build up a nice list of people interested in buying designer purses and hosting designer purse parties. Try to recruit at least one person to host a purse party of their own at each gathering. Let them know they’ll get a free purse and wallet when they do.You could also offer them a portion of the sales in payment but you’d be surprised how many people are happy just getting a free purse. Let them know you’ll be there to help and do most of the work. One reason people choose not to host a party is because they think they’ll have to work too hard. Emphasize the “fun” aspects of having a party.
Making Sales
Pick up an order book at your local office supply store. Once you’ve sold the inventory you have on hand, let people know they can still order a specific designer purse. This works as long as you’re selling new designer purses from a wholesale supplier rather than used ones. Here’s a resource that shows you how to get designer purses at wholesale prices.
As you build up inventory, you can display a larger number of purses so people won’t have to order. People are more likely to buy on impulse when they can take title to the merchandise right away. To increase sales, offer a discount for purchasing more than one purse. This works really well around the holidays when people are looking for gifts for others.
Here’s a point I can’t emphasize enough. Accept as many forms of payment as possible including cash checks and credit cards. Most people don’t carry cash with them and will buy more if you give them the option to pay with credit card. These days you don’t have to have a storefront to get credit card privileges. There are a number of online vendors who will grant you that ability.
Here’s another little trick that will increase sales. Have a few “one-of-a-kind” purses available. Let your attendees know once they’re gone you won’t be able to get anymore and watch people snatch them up. Another idea is to offer a discount on a wallet when one of your guests purchases a purse. This encourages people to buy more than one item.
Promote Your Designer Purse Party Business Online Too
One way to promote your designer purse party business is to start a blog. You can start a free one using Wordpress or Blogger and begin reaching your audience right away. Since you’re selling designer purses, you may find this resource to be helpful. It fills you in on the secrets of being a successful fashion blogger.
Get involved in social media. LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter are all powerful resources for getting the word out about your home party business. Build a Facebook fan page and display photos of the designer purses you offer. Harness the power of local marketing by listing your business on Yelp and Google Places. One of the most cost-effective ways to market your purse party business is by getting the email addresses of as many party attendees as possible.
You can use an auto-responder system like this one to manage email addresses and send out mailings to people who have attended your parties. In your emails, offer fashion tips and tips for extending the life of their purse, how to clean their purse and wallets etc. Then remind them of how they can earn extra money hosting a purse party. Eventually you’ll build up a large mailing list that’ll keep you almost constantly booked with parties. Don’t neglect this important step. It’s the key to taking your business to the next level.
In Conclusion
I wish you much success with your designer purse party business. If you enjoy people and fashion, it’s the ideal way to earn extra money or even a full-time income. With this business, you’re in control. You decide when and how hard you want to work. Make money and just as importantly, have fun!