Interview with D & G Candleboys

David and Greg started their PartyLite career many years ago as hosts, they loved the products so much that they held several parties a year which were always a great success! They got engaged in 2008 still hosting parties but never once considered (seriously) that they could ever make money being a consultant instead of a host! They decided to join PartyLite as consultants and on October 30th 2010 D&G PartyLite Consultants was born.

To find out more, visit https://dg.partylite.co.uk/MySuccess

Hello D&G, thanks for taking the time to do this interview.

Can you tell me about the business you are in?

We are Independent PartyLite Consultants aka #Candleboys. PartyLite is a party plan business selling fragrance candles and accessories and is the number 1 direct seller of candles in the world and been on the go for over 40 years! There is no start up cost, no sales targets, unlimited income potential and fantastic training and incentives

How long have you been doing this?

We joined PartyLite in 2010 to help pay for our Wedding. David had his eye on a light up dance floor and there just wasn’t enough money in our budget, so PartyLite paid for the dance floor as well as lot of extras!

What are your favourite/least favourite aspects of it?

The favourite part of our job is introducing new people to world of PartyLite, meeting wonderful hostesses and party guests. We love the incentives the company puts on, the freebies, the trips and of course the fragrance candles.

Do you do your business full time and if not, do you plan to in the future?

We both have full time jobs.  Gregor works for drinks wholesale company in telesales and David is a support worker for a large charity.  PartyLite fits in perfectly with our 9-5 jobs. PartyLite is our fun time and doesn’t feel like work, We really do get paid to PARTY!!!

What other interests do you have?

We both love spending time with our family especially our nieces and nephew, who are always keeping us on our toes. David is always redecorating some part of the house. We both love to go on holiday, especially Florida (PartyLite pays for this too) and we enjoy socialising with friends and a good bottle of vino.

Have you any plans to get involved in any other businesses?

Not at the moment.

What methods do you use for promoting your business? Which are the most effective for your business?

Talking to people, at work, in the shops, at our parties and of course online, we use all media platforms, email, facebook, twitter, pinterest, instagram and we have our corporate business website dg.partylite.co.uk. The company do a great job of promoting our business on our behalf via email communication and our website and personal online shop.

How has the business benefited you?

PartyLite has changed our lives, it has given us financial freedom, the ability to treat family and friends, it pays for our holidays, cars, as well as any DIY around the house. We have also met some fantastic people on our PartyLite journey, our hostesses and party guests, our PartyLite colleagues, a lot of whom have become great friends!

Do you have any tips you would give other people starting out in business?

Set yourself a goal, either financial or material, talk about your business and don’t be scared to ask for help, always aim high.

That’s the end of the interview. Thanks for your time today!

 

 

 

 

 

5 Ways to Finance Your Business

When you make a decision to start working for yourself, it can often be difficult to find the finances to get you off the ground and this can sometimes even prevent you from following your dream. No matter what kind of business you are in, you will need some finances to get you started. If you are an artist, you’ll need materials, if you decide to write a novel, you’ll need the cash to cover the cost of living. With any business, you’ll need a website, business cards and other materials to help with marketing.

Funding and Grants

There are a lot of different types of grants and funding available for start-up businesses, including those specific for websites and other materials. An organisation like Business Gateway will be able to advise you on what is available for starting your business. Many grants are only available to businesses which have just started up, so get in quickly if you want to get some cash!

Investors

If you have an idea and need the funding to get it from paper to product, you may want to speak to investors. You will need to have a good business plan in place before they will even look at your proposal, so be prepared to conduct thorough research into your competitors and where you see your business in the future.

Loans

It can be risky to take out a loan when you first start your business, but if you are certain there is a demand for your product or service, it may be worthwhile. As long as you can afford to make the payments and won’t put yourself into a difficult situation, you may want to try this type of finance. You will need to work out your income though, as the bank or lending agent will want to be sure that you can afford to pay it back.

Deposits

If you are offering a service, you should ask for a deposit upfront. This is good practice even if you don’t need the finances, as you can never be sure that clients will pay. In my experience, I’ve known many freelancers who haven’t taken a deposit, have completed the work, only to receive no payment. Without a deposit you have nothing to fall back on and there is nothing more soul destroying than chasing payments. A good idea is to ask for half upfront and the rest when you complete the job. If you need materials to do the job, make sure you take this into account when pricing it up.

Friends and Family

It may be a more viable option to ask friends and family to support you with a loan to help get your business off the ground. You should choose wisely though, don’t ask someone who doesn’t have the cash, otherwise you are putting them in an awkward position. Only do this if you can eventually pay it back as you don’t want to wreck your personal relationships.