~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In a
Nutshell
Information and Tips for your
Image Consulting Business
06/02/02
Issue #2
Linda Gerloff, Editor, linda@blueflute.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
By subscription only!
Welcome to your next issue of
"In a NutShell".
You are receiving this newsletter because you
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Unsubscribe instructions are
at the end of this
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
IN THIS
ISSUE
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
=> Inventory Updates for June
=>
NutShell May Special - and June, too!
=>
‘In a NutShell’ archives
=> Feature Article - Part
2
The one thing your
business can't do without
=> Fun
Trivia
=> In my
business, how do I ...
Handle buying product
at different discounts?
=> Guest
Column
=> Getting along with your Computer -
A Virus
Hoax
=> NutShell
Tip
=>
My Life as a
Consultant -
A Story to
Share
=> Recognition Corner
=>
Party Game
=> Subscribe/Unsubscribe
information
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Inventory Updates for
June
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Your
inventory updates for June are ready. You can get them
here: http://www.blueflute.com/btyupdt1.htm
If
you lose this link, you can always download your updates
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
NutShell May - and June too! - $20
off!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The
May Special was so popular, it is back again for June!
Consultants
can get NutShell for $20 off
the regular price
in June.
Let your
consultants know that if they download NutShell
in June and purchase
the program within 10 days, they can
take $20 off the regular
price!
If, in
the first 30 days, she isn't happy with the
program, she can get a full
refund, so there is NO risk!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
‘In a NutShell’
archives
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Did
you miss the last ‘In a NutShell’ newsletter, or would
you like to review one of the articles?
You can view it
here: http://www.blueflute.com/NewsMay02.shtml
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Feature Article –
Part 2
Clients -
The one thing your business can't do
without
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Without
clients, we have no business. In the image business,
competition adds an extra challenge to
acquiring and keeping
clients,
making it necessary to find ways to stand out in
the crowd. In order to keep our
businesses healthy and
thriving,
we must give clients the Personal
Touch. This
isn’t
really a bad thing, I don’t think. When we establish
that special connection with our clients,
it is very
satisfying to know
that we are meeting an important need.
What is the need that you are meeting for
your clients?
The answer to this
question is as varied as your clients,
but in general, they need the Personal Touch. All
your
clients need to feel that you are the
best resource they
have in the image business. They want to
know that they
can turn to you
for answers to their questions, creative
ideas for their image concerns and great
products at
reasonable prices.
Last month we talked about giving
clients the Personal Touch by way of
special prices and
discounts on
products. However, for practical reasons,
this may not always be in the best
interest of your
business.
You can make your clients feel special
without it costing
you any
money. Your clients like being remembered. They
like to know that you are especially
aware of who they are
and what
products work well for them. Like every one of us,
clients are busy and unlike most of us,
they don’t know our
product line
that well. When they run out of cleanser, some
will be able to tell you that they need
cleanser for
combination skin
(for example), but many won’t. They will
say ‘I need some of that stuff I use in
the shower’ or ‘I
need some
cleanser’. If they run out of blush they probably
won’t know the name of it, they will come
to you with ‘I
need more blush’.
For you to be able to respond with ‘Sure,
I’ll get that right to you’, rather than
a game of twenty
questions will
make your client’s life infinitely simpler –
and endear her to you for life – or at
least until she needs
something
else!
You can help your client’s significant
other remember her,
too. At
appropriate times of the year, such as Valentine’s
Day, Mother’s Day, Christmas and the
client’s birthday,
contact the
special person in your client’s life and offer
to put together a gift package made of
your client’s
favorite products.
There are several advantages to this:
1)
You make a
sale
2)
Your client
feels pampered by you (and her significant
other)
3)
(this one is
really good) Your client’s hubby or
boyfriend loves you, too! You saved him
the work of
the shopping and helped him give his woman a gift she
really
loves that he could never have picked out
himself. He’ll never again groan
quite as much
when she pulls out her checkbook to buy skin care or
makeup
from you!
Now all you need to know is how to have
such a good handle
on the
products your client uses. You can get all this
information in the Beauty in a NutShell
software. Every
time you enter
an invoice for your client, you are adding
to your store of information for her. You
enter the invoice
to record the
sale and update your inventory. A side effect
is that you are updating her History. You
don’t have to do
anything
special to make this happen. Entering the invoice
does it
automatically!
You can find the History of the sales to
your client in
several places in
NutShell. The first place is the Client
History tab on the History screen. You
can get to the
History screen
from the Orders tab on the main NutShell
screen. Bring any client up on your
screen and view all
the product
you have sold to her since you started
running your business with NutShell. You
can view her past
invoices, see
her History for a selected item or view a
summary of items she has bought from you.
You can also see your
client’s product usage from the
Inventory History tab on the History
screen. When an item
goes on
sale, especially a high dollar item, use the
Inventory History screen to find out who
has bought the
item. Imagine
your client’s pleasure when you call her to
let her know she can get an item she
loves for less than
she usually
pays for it!
The second place to find your client’s
History is on the
Open Invoice
screen. If your client says she needs more
cleanser, you can start an invoice for
her and then click
the History
button on the invoice screen. You will get a
list of all the items you have sold to
her. There are
several ways to
sequence this list to help you find the
product you are looking for. Once you
find the cleanser she
has bought
in the past, click on it and it will be added to
the invoice. Voila! She has been pampered
and only a
minimal amount of
time was expended on your part. Everyone
wins!
You can build a strong business with
loyal clients by
providing them
with the Personal Touch. You can
pamper them
with special prices
and discounts as well as by remembering
their wants and needs. As long as the
cost to you is
minimal, both in
time and money, special treatment for your
client means big success in your
business. Next month, we
will
carry this theme further with still more ways to pamper
your clients with that Personal Touch!
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Fun
Trivia
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In 1500 B.C. in Egypt, a shaved head was
considered the
ultimate in
feminine beauty. Egyptian women removed every
hair from their heads with special gold
tweezers and
polished their
scalps to a high sheen with buffing cloths.
from www.absolutetrivia.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In my business, how do
I ...
Handle buying product at different
discounts?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When
you purchase product, you enter a Purchase Order
in NutShell by clicking the BUY button.
As you add items to
the order,
NutShell will automatically calculate your
totals and figure your discount based on
your career level.
So, you don't
have to worry about the discount, unless you
need to override it with a special offer
from BC.
As far as your taxes go, you will need to
know the number
of dollars you
spent on product and there is no regard to
how much discount you got - how much you
spent is all that
matters.
NutShell keeps track of what you spend based on
the info in each purchase order and logs
it in the Income
and Expense
Log. The information found in the Income and
Expense Log is what you will use to fill
in the blanks on
your tax form.
However, at times it is helpful to know,
in a broad sense,
what the value
of your inventory is. Or how much a sale
costs you in product. You can tell
NutShell how much
discount you
usually get, and it will use that figure to
give you an estimate of the value of your
inventory, as
well as an
estimate of your cost on any invoice. You can
find the estimated cost of an invoice at
the bottom of the
totals section
on the invoice screen where it says 'Total
Cost'. By default, NutShell will estimate
the value of your
inventory at
50%. If you most often buy product at 50%,
this will work fine for you. If you
usually buy at 30 or
40%, you
will want to adjust your NutShell program
accordingly. You can do this on the Setup
screen. Click on
the System tab
on the main screen to find the Setup Button.
In the field that says 'Retail A%',
change the amount from
50 to
your desired amount.
Please remember that for your taxes, the
number of dollars
you spend on
product is what matters. This information is
tracked to the penny in NutShell via
purchase orders and
the Income
and Expense Log. The estimated cost is for
informational purposes and will have no
affect on your
taxes.
*-----------Quote of the
Month-------------*
When one door of
happiness closes, another
one opens, but often we look so long at the
closed door that we do not see the one that
has been opened to us.
--Helen Keller
*------------------------------------------*
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Guest
column
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Laura
Ward from Arkansas has shared some tools that she
uses for selling skin care:
Daily Skin Care Regimen Notes Cards
and
Skin Care Regimen Business
Cards
Laura
includes the Daily Skin Care Regimen Note
Cards with
skin care
sets to help her clients understand how to use all
the parts of the skin care
system.
She gives the
Skin Care Regimen Business Cards
to each client
when she finishes
sensoring them. This away they know exactly
what they need to order.
You can download both of these forms from
here:
www.blueflute.com/SkinCareForms.htm
(They are in Adobe
format.)
Thank you, Laura, for sharing these great
ideas!
Please
let me know if you would also like to contribute an
article to this
newsletter: guestcolumn@blueflute.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Getting along with your
Computer – A Virus
Hoax
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If you get an email informing you that
you may already be
infected with
a virus and to please find a certain file on
your computer and delete it – don’t do
it! There are a
couple of email
virus hoaxes going around that give you
instructions for deleting ‘dangerous’
files that are
actually normal
Windows files. Don’t fall for this.
So far, the hoaxes that have gone around
cyberspace have
been fairly
harmless, but one may come along that will give
you instructions that do real damage to
your computer. If
you get a
warning that says ‘Most anti-virus programs won’t
detect this’, that is a good sign that it
is a hoax. Before
you follow the
instructions from these types of warnings,
go to any of the anti-virus websites to
get more info about
the supposed
virus. Even if the virus is too new to be
detected by your anti-virus software, the
anti-virus
companies will
already know about it. They find out about
them very quickly. That is their job and
their specialty!
Some good
resources for virus info are:
www.antivirus.com
www.sarc.com
www.snopes2.com - this one is not
specifically about
viruses. It
is a wonderful site about urban legends. It will
tell you which of the emails coasting
around in cyberspace
are hoaxes
or legends.
You can go to
any of these sites and search on the name of
the virus or file that you have been
‘warned’ about. Two of
the
common hoaxes are: ‘sulfnbk’ and ‘jdbgmgr’
Bottom line: Be sure you have an
anti-virus program
installed on
your computer. Be sure it is not disabled and
be sure that you update it regularly – at
least weekly.
Check out those
email warnings you get. Even the most
well-intentioned people sometimes get
misleading
information and then
pass it on.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
I discovered a website that I liked so
much, I want to tell
you about
it: http://www.Webshots.com. On this
site, you
can download
beautiful, high-quality pictures for your
desktop wallpaper and screen saver. The
software is easy
to use and you
can download 5 pictures each day for free!
If you like playing with the wallpaper on
your desktop,
check it out! I’m
having a lot of fun with mine.
*---------------A Good
Laugh--------------*
For those of us who have
teenagers:
‘I am not young
enough to know everything.’
-Oscar
Wilde
For everyone
else:
‘I'm tired of
all this nonsense about beauty
being only
skin-deep. That's deep enough.
What
do you want, an adorable pancreas?’
-Jean Kerr
*-----------------------------------------*
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
NutShell Tip –
Change your automatic shipping fee
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
On
purchase orders, NutShell will automatically fill in the
charge for shipping. In the past, the
shipping fee for
product orders
was $12.00. As you know, it has gone up to
$14.00. You can make NutShell use the new
dollar amount
automatically by
making a change on the Setup screen. You
can get to the Setup screen from the
System tab. In the
lower right
box, you will find a field called ‘PO Shipping
Fee’. Change this number to 14.00 and any
new PO’s you
create will use the new fee.
While you are on the Setup screen, you
may want to make
another change
as well. Look for the field called ‘Wk Days
per Week’ (Work Days per Week). This
figure is used to
calculate the
‘Work Days Left’ on the Goals screen. If you
find yourself constantly adjusting this
figure, the Work
Days per Week
field probably needs to be changed. It
defaults to 3 days per week. If you work
more or fewer
days, make the
change on the Setup screen. You’ll be glad
you
did!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
My Life as a consultant – A Story to
Share
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
One
of the best things about being a consultant is the
wonderful community of (mostly) women
that we are a part
of! Having
each other is a blessing we all can enjoy. What
story would you like to share?
Motivation, inspiration,
humor,
the humanity in us all – we would love to hear about
it!
If you have a story to share in an
upcoming newsletter,
please send
it to me: AstoryToShare@blueflute.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Recognition Corner
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Congratulations
to the following NutShell users who have
worked hard and
achieved success in advancing their careers!
~Executive
Director~
Margo McBee
Karen
Watson
~Senior
Director~
Judy Guerra
Susie Pratt
~Director~
Liz Palaca
~DIQ~
Karen
Fritschi
Ann Harris
Karen Haynes
Norma
Holland
De Ann
McClaran
Karen
Murphy
Marcy
Roitman-Boothe
Karen Witt
Wendi Lawson
See
~Unit VIP~
Valerie Capone
Altman
Linda
Bennett
Rita Byrd
Elizabeth
Dunne
Rita Holt
Jenna Lloyd
Fujimoto
Bridget
Psaromatis
Cathy
Rector
Kristin
Taylor
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Party Game – What’s in
your
Purse?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Have everyone
get out their purses. Tell them that you will
call out a letter. They will need to find
something in their
purse that
begins with that letter and hold it up. Give
beauty bucks to the first person that
holds the item up.
Example:
B - BIC pen, baby wipes, buttons
(You may want to let them use adjectives
that describe an
item to get
the beauty bucks, example: blue pen for "B".)
This is good to do at the beginning of
the party because
it breaks the
ice.
Give extra bucks for anyone who can find
something that
starts with “Z”.
It will take them a while to realize they
have something with a Zipper in or on
their purse!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Copyright
Information
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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Copyright 2002 Blue Flute
Software Creations,
Inc.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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Maintenance
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Linda
Gerloff
Blue Flute Software Creations
linda@blueflute.com
P.O. Box
162885
Fort Worth, TX
76161
817-439-1081
