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In a Nutshell
Information and
Tips for your Image Consulting Business
4/02/04
Issue #24
Linda Gerloff, Editor, linda@blueflute.com
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By subscription
only! Welcome to your next issue of
"In a NutShell".
You are receiving this newsletter
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end of this newsletter.
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IN THIS ISSUE
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=> Inventory Updates for April
=> Blue Flute News
=> Feature Article
Perseverance Really
does Pay!
=> In my Business, how do I…
Account for using my Sales Aids
=> NutShell Tips
– For your taxes - Email
reports to your tax
preparer
- Reminder - Inventory Report for taxes
- Reminder – Income and
Expense report for taxes
=> Game –
Fuzzy Dice Ice Breaker
=> Consultant Success Story
=> Recognition Corner
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Inventory
Updates for April
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Your inventory updates for April
are ready. If you have
subscribed to this service, you can
get your updates here:
http://www.blueflute.com/btyupdt1.htm
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Blue Flute
News
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Introducing
The Blue Flute Career Builder package!
You are the first to hear
about this brand new package!
It is designed for consultants who
are building
a career of their BeautiControl
business and want to have
complete control of their books
with minimal cost in both
dollars and time.
This is what is included:
- Beauty in a NutShell software
- 2 years of monthly automated
inventory updates
- Software upgrades at no charge
– ever
- Printed, full color User’s
Guide
- Installation CD
- Lifetime Software Support
- Upgrade to Premium Software
Support
The only cost to start is the cost
of shipping the User’s
Guide and CD – just $8.00. If
the consultant changes her
mind for any reason, she can return
the User’s Guide and
CD within 30 days. If she decides
to keep it, I’ll charge
her card for 1, 2 or 3 payments, as
she chooses.
All the products and services
listed above are worth over
$400. The price of the Career
Builder Package is $265.
This package is a new concept and I
am testing it to see
if there is interest. So, during
April, it is available
for $225.
Please understand that those who
sign up for the Career
Builder package will never pay
another cent for using
and maintaining their NutShell, as
long as they
occasionally refer a consultant to
NutShell. Since this
package is designed for Career
Builders, this will not
be hard to do; in fact it will
happen almost by itself!
To give this package a try, go to
www.blueflute.com/orderpage.htm
and select the first
item – the Career Builder
Package. The cost to try it
is just $8 and you will receive
your package in just
3 – 5 business days.
Career Builder Package Upgrade
NutShell users can upgrade
to the Career Builder Package,
too! With this package, you can
eliminate virtually all
future NutShell maintenance costs.
These products and services are worth
over $245. The
upgrade price is $165.
During April, the introductory
price is $140!
To upgrade to the Career Builder
package, go to
www.blueflute.com/orderpage.htm.
Look in the ‘Other’
section for your upgrade.
Find out more -
If you are not familiar with NutShell, you
can find out more here:
http://www.blueflute.com/btynut.htmm
Download NutShell here:
http://www.blueflute.com/ordrform2.htm
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Current
‘In a NutShell’ Newsletter and Archives
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To read this month’s
newsletter in its entirety, go to
this page: http://www.blueflute.com/Newsletters.htm
Did you miss a prior ‘In a
NutShell’ newsletter, or would
you like to review one of the
articles? You can view it
here: http://www.blueflute.com/Newsletters.htm
Top
Articles:
Do you have a question that has stumped
you? Some common
questions are discussed in the
following issues of the
‘In a NutShell’
newsletter:
Backing up/Questions about
CD’s: May 2003
Handling Gift Certificates: October
2003
Selling items out of a set: June 2003
Ending the tax year:
December 2003
Gift Baskets:
February 2003
Income/Expense Reports for taxes: March
2004
To find the above issues, go to
www.blueflute.com/Newsletters.htm
and select the issue
you want.
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Feature Article –
Perseverance Really does Pay!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You know all those
“No’s” you get? When you ask for a booking
and they look at you like they are
sort of interested, but
have way too many things to do to
even think about scheduling
a spa? Or they may look at you like
they have no idea what
you are talking about!
It is said that most sales people
give up trying to make their
sale after the first or second
“No”. But the successful sales
person asks at least 9 – 12
times!
The following is a demonstration of
what a potential buyer
goes through in the process of
deciding to purchase a
product he sees advertised in the
paper. Read it and think
about how it applies to you
personally. It really is true!
We all do this!
So, when you ask for a sale,
booking or recruiting
appointment and you get a
“No”, think of this demonstration.
You will understand the
“No” isn’t as much about you or
your product as you think!
With this in mind, you will feel
free to ask over and over
again until you either get a
“Yes” or a “Don’t ask me
anymore”. Either response
tells you that you have done your
job, and done it well!
Here is the process an average
customer goes through in
response to an advertisement in the
newspaper:
1. The first time a man looks at an
advertisement, he does
not see it.
2. The second time, he does not notice
it.
3. The third time, he is conscious of its
existence.
4. The fourth time, he faintly remembers
having seen it before.
5. The fifth time, he reads it.
6. The sixth time, he turns up his nose
at it.
7. The seventh time, he reads it through
and says,
'Oh brother!'
8. The eighth time, he says, 'Here's that
confounded thing
again!'
9. The ninth time, he wonders if it
amounts to anything.
10. The tenth time, he asks his neighbor
if he has tried
it.
11. The eleventh time, he wonders how the
advertiser makes
it pay.
12. The twelfth time, he thinks it must
be a good thing.
13. The thirteenth time, he thinks
perhaps it might be worth
something.
14. The fourteenth time, he remembers
wanting such a thing
a long time.
15. The fifteenth time, he is tantalized
because he cannot
afford to buy
it.
16. The sixteenth time, he thinks he will
buy it some day.
17. The seventeenth time, he makes a
memorandum to buy it.
18. The eighteenth time, he swears at his
poverty.
19. The nineteenth time, he counts his
money carefully.
20. The twentieth time he sees the ad, he
buys what it is
offering.
Thomas Smith of London wrote this list in l885!
*-----------Quote of the Month-------------*
"Achievement seems to be connected with action.
Successful men and women keep moving. They
make mistakes, but they don't quit."
-- Conrad Hilton
*------------------------------------------*
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In my
Business, how do I… Account for using my Sales Aids?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Accounting for using your Sales
Aids is actually one of the
easiest bookkeeping tasks that you
face. All you have to do
is account for buying them. In
NutShell, that means that
once you enter your Purchase Order,
you can forget about
your Sales Aids.
Your inventory list is divided into
two major parts:
1. Retail
2. Sales Aids
You purchase retail products to
resell them. You purchase
Sales Aids to promote and grow your
business. To an
accountant, this is an important
distinction. For product
that you purchase for resale, you
must be able to account
for both buying the product
(purchase order), and selling
the product (invoices). But, with
Sales Aids, you only
have to account for buying
them. It is understood that you
will be using them in various ways
to promote your business –
and you don’t have to track
how you do that! The only
exception is that if you sell a
Sales Aid, then you have
created Income, and this, you do
have to account for! If
you sell a Sales Aid item, put it
on an invoice, just like
any other product.
So, for sales aid products that you
give as hostess gifts,
as well as literature, spatulas and
other items that are
slipping through your fingers
faster than you can keep up,
it’s OK to let them flow
right through. You accounted for
them when you bought them, so you
can do with them what
you like!
NutShell will show your inventory
of Sales Aids, just like
it shows your inventory of retail
products. This is because
you do occasionally sell Sales
Aids, and they have to be
in inventory to invoice them.
However, for sales aid
products that you know you
won’t sell, you can clear out
your counts (QOH) whenever you want
to. A good time to do
this is at the end of the year,
twice a year or even
monthly if you are so inclined.
We can’t discuss the subject
of Sales Aids without talking
about neckwraps.
Neckwraps are sold to consultants in sets
of four, but you will rarely sell
or give them to your
clients in sets of four. The June
2003 issue of the ‘In a
NutShell’ newsletter explains
how to break them out:
www.blueflute.com/Newsletters.htm
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NutShell Tip
– For your taxes - Email
reports to your tax
preparer
- Reminder - Inventory Report for taxes
- Reminder –
Income and Expense report for taxes
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For your taxes – Email reports to
your tax preparer –
You can run your tax reports, save
them to a file and then
email them to the person who will
be doing your taxes.
Here’s how:
1. Go to the appropriate screen
for your report and click
the Print
button. For taxes go to the Inventory screen
and the Income
and Expense Log screen.
2. Fill in the appropriate
options. For ‘Output To’, select
‘On-Screen’.
3. Your report will be displayed
in a small window on your
screen. Notice
in the bottom of the window, there are
several buttons.
Click on the Export button. It is the
one that looks
like a suitcase.
4. On the next screen, you will
have two options to
select. Choose
‘Excel 5.0’ for the Format option.
Choose
‘Disk File’ for the Destination option.
5. You will be asked to give the
file a name. You can
take the
default. Notice the folder where the file
will be saved.
6. Exit NutShell and start an
email to your tax preparer.
Select the
option in your email program for attaching
a file to the
email. Find the file that you saved in
step 5 above.
7. Include a note to your accountant
and click Send!
Reminder -
Inventory Report for taxes – When you run your
inventory report in preparation for
you taxes, be sure to
run the report for ‘ALL’ sections.
This will ensure that
you get a listing of all products
in your inventory,
including discontinued products.
Reminder
– Income and Expense report for taxes – In the
March newsletter, I gave you
suggestions for running your
Income/Expense reports for taxes.
If you are having trouble
following those instructions,
because you can’t find the
options that I mentioned
(‘Totals Only’, ‘Expenses Only’),
it is because you have the older
version of NutShell. Go to
this page to upgrade your software:
www.blueflute.com/upgrade260.html.
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Consultant
Success Story
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Margaret
Ward
Margaret promoted to National
Executive Director on April 1st!
She has been working hard and
staying very busy for a long
time. And she has made a difference
in many women’s lives!
Congratulations Margaret!
___________________________________________
Who are you proud of?
Please help with this part of the
newsletter. It can be
motivating to those of us who are
working hard, but
sometimes get discouraged.
Who are you proud of? (It can be
yourself!) Sing their
praises and inspire others:
mailto:SuccessStory@blueflute.com
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Game –
Fuzzy Dice Ice Breaker
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At a party or spa, if the guests
don’t know each other, it
can be difficult to break the ice
and encourage everyone to
get to know a little bit about each
other.
So, purchase a pair of fuzzy car
dice and cut them apart.
Start the process off yourself, so
everyone knows what to do.
Roll the dice on the floor. The number that comes up is the
number of things you will share about
yourself. You can
require that one of the things
shared be your name.
You can start your recruiting at
this point by including both
personal life info and information
about the opportunity.
The ladies like this game and find
it to be fun because no
one wants to roll a 6. They can't
think of that many things
to tell about themselves!
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Recognition
Corner
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Congratulations to the following
NutShell users who have
worked hard and achieved success in
advancing their careers!
~ $45,000 Achiever! ~
Blair
Billings
~ $20,000 Achiever! ~
Sue Torbit
~ $15,000 Achiever! ~
Julie Adams
Denise Newsome
Stacy Wallert
~ $10,000 Achiever! ~
Stephanie Curran
Jennifer Keathley
Leigh Ann Marshall
Judy Overbey
Dawn Petzak
~ $5,000 Achiever! ~
Sheila Chase
Karen Echele
Elsie Morris
~ Mustang Director ~
Anne Arnes
Jane Brown
Rita Byrd
Roxanne Dufort
Nedra Kanavel
Susan Ramsey
Heather Richter-Egger
Anne Teran
Beverly Williams
~ New Senior Director ~
Pam Fowler
Tania Kinzinger
Leann Mezzacapo
~ New Director ~
Christine Engelbrecht
Susan Furrow
Linda Mallog
Heather Smith
Leslie Strzelecki
Cathy Taylor
~ New DIQ ~
Sheri Baggett
Linda Bennett
Carrie Byrd
Kim Cerimele
Donna Childress
Angela Cring
Eileen Dakan
Marilyn Hillman
Lisa Meadows
Heidi McDowell
Lisa Meek
Carmen Meurer
Sandra Mozey
Shannon Munsick
Karen Murphy
Wendi Lawson See
Tanya Stiles
Judy Vanderploeg
Karen Witt
Patricia Woodward
~ New Unit Manager ~
Patricia Reyes
Tamara Smith
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Copyright
Information
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Please pass this e-zine along to your friends. Just click
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Copyright 2004 Blue Flute Software
Creations, Inc.
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Maintenance
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A note about referrals and your
email address – Being an
avid hater of email spam as much as
you are, I have
never (and will never) give, sell
or rent your email
address to anybody who could
possibly spam you! However,
I will give your email address to
consultants who list
your name as their referral. I will
give her address to
you, as well. This is so that you and
she can be ‘NutShell
partners’! If you would
rather not have your email address
given to your referrals, please let
me know:
mailto:privacy@blueflute.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Linda Gerloff
Blue Flute Software Creations
Linda@BlueFlute.com
P.O. Box
77882
Fort Worth, TX
76177
817-439-1081