Crayola Enters Home Based Business Market With Big Yellow Box

Several days before Christmas, former school teacher Alison Saeger Panik demonstrated Big Yellow Box products to eight women and their 13 daughters. For nearly two hours, Panik of Emmaus answered questions and described how to make projects from the kit, which is filled with products made by Binney & Smith of Forks Township. As the girls and their moms sat in a semicircle, Panik described each of the objects in the Big Yellow Box. It seemed to mesmerize nearly everyone. Afterward, two girls, who attend Upper Perkiomen Middle School, shared their impressions. 'I liked the soccer ball,' said Lauren Gibbs, 11. 'I thought it was pretty cool how it could be painted.''I made sure I brought my mom for the money,' joked Lindsay Brust, 12.

Such comments have convinced Binney officials that there's big potential in the Big Yellow Box, the Crayola-maker's direct marketing program.

It's essentially a Tupperware party for crafts. Big Yellow Box consultants show off Binney craft projects at in-home parties. Prices range from $14.95 for a Starburst Pillow to $49.95 for Dream Piglets (three piggie banks to decorate).

Binney doesn't release sales figures, but says the program, named after the company's yellow box of crayons, is growing. The company will add 24 items this year, after starting with 15 in 2002. The products are not sold in stores.

Fitness Parties: Get In Shape And Make Money

Fitness can be intimidating, but Brian and Heidi Wiefering have developed a way to help women out. Their company, Fit Parties, started in December of 2005, tries to help women get comfortable with fitness and health topics by bringing it into their own home.

"A lot of women can feel intimidated going into a gym," Heidi said. Combined with her experience selling candles in the past and Brian's fitness expertise, the couple created a company that sells its products in-home.

Fit Parties are similar to Pampered Chef parties, Brian said. One woman serves as a host to her friends. Women can then learn about the products Fit Parties sells and get many of their health-related questions answered.

"Women can come and learn about anything the need to know," Brian said. "They can get all their questions answered in one place."

Stay At Home Moms Get Paid

After working at their chosen professions for a few years, many new moms find themselves face-to-face with their biggest career hurdle: Juggling employment and motherood. Bringing in that all-important second paycheck and finding adequate child care, while wondering whether they're missing out on a special part of their children's lives.

Instead of hiring baby-sitters and checking out nannies, a number of career-minded new mothers are finding a way to have it all: Working from home. The majority of people that go into this business are stay-at-home moms, said Christine Zall, of Annadale, an independent sales director of The Pampered Chef products, and mother of Jacob, 8, and Gabriel, 5. The Pampered Chef is a premier direct seller of essential cooking tools. Mary Kay Cosmetics Inc., another popular business for stay-at-home-moms, has grown from a storefront operation started in 1963 in Dallas, Texas, by divorced, single mom Mary Kay Ash, to a company that today employs 1.3 million independent beauty consultants worldwide, who do home beauty presentations and keep their clients stocked with Mary Kay products.

Mary Kay Advertising On Oprah - Targeting Cosmopolitan Set

When Debi Moore started selling Mary Kay cosmetics nearly three decades ago, she lugged around bags full of skin-care products into the living rooms of stay-at-home moms.

Now, her daughter, Taylor, wants to sell those products in Europe.

"I'm passionate about helping women feel great," said Taylor, 23, at a recent women's networking event Thursday night in Mooresville, N.C., where her mother, one of Mary Kay's top saleswomen in the nation, gave a speech. "Our generation has taken it by storm. We're starting a new image of Mary Kay."

Once famous for its pink-clad sales army, the Dallas company is trying to update its appearance -- and attract new customers at home and in foreign markets.

Mary Kay recently launched a multimillion-dollar ad campaign on Oprah Winfrey's talk show, targeting the young, cosmopolitan set.

Tomboy Tools makes a splash in the tool industry

Now women can have tools of thier own. "Tomboy Tools" has hit the market and the new, so called "smarter" tools are being marketed just to women.

They are typical handyman tools you would find in any tool box. But, what makes these items unique are the special added features that make them easier for women to use. "They are just more comfortable to use," says Kim Barnett, who tried Tomboy Tools for the first time. "It's surprising that you can say that but they really do, they feel different then the regular tools you pick up out of the tool box."

One of the most unique things about "Tomboy Tools" is how they are sold. They are sold at parties similar to Tupperware or Pampered Chef. Groups of friends get together and a "Tool Consultant" shows them the tools and also teaches them a skill. The host picks the featured skill. You can learn: drywall and plaster repair, painting tips, leaky faucet or toilet repair, trim molding, tiling, and even how to change a tire.

Home parties are a social outlet that put's money in your pocket

When Wendy McGrady needed money for a new car and Judy Baldwin was buffeted by her daughter's college expenses, they both came up with the same solution for their financial squeeze: shopping.

Home shopping parties, that is - a multibillion-dollar retail juggernaut that combines three activities dear to the hearts of women in particular: shopping, eating, and gabbing with girlfriends. Fun for guests and potentially lucrative for salespeople, the field has exploded beyond cosmetics, baskets, and plastic food-storage containers and now includes jewelry, purses, pet supplies, tools, food, candles, lotions, toys, cookware, home decor, scrap-booking supplies, and more.

Mrs. McGrady, an Oregon mother of two young children and a full-time schoolteacher at an elementary, said her income as a consultant for Tastefully Simple gourmet foods got her that new car and more. "It allowed me to help pay for my last year and a half of college. I didn't have to take out a student loan."

And Ms. Baldwin, who ran her first party as an independent consultant for Premier Designs jewelry in August, already has recouped her relatively steep start-up costs of about $1,200 and is building college funds for her two children.

China's new rules open door to Amway, Avon, others

The Amway way is outlawed in China no more. The Avon lady is legal. Mary Kay can spread her pink gospel door-to-door in the world's biggest consumer market.

The Chinese government today lifts a seven-year ban on direct-sales businesses - but does so with a twist.

Since the late 1990s, Amway, Avon, Mary Kay and a small group of other companies operating in China have been forced to sell their products through retail outlets, rather than relying purely on armies of independent sales agents as they do in the USA. China's new regulations will allow them to recruit sales agents to sell cosmetics, stain remover and vitamins from home or work - and to sell those items directly to their agents.

Crayola Offers Home Based Business

Big Yellow Box, a direct selling company owned by Crayola, brings home the opportunity for family creative development by promoting togetherness, creativity and fun. The craft kits are designed to inspire creativity in kids and kids-at-heart.

At consultant Joyce Smith's first home party, the regional director asked people what they remember most fondly about the Christmas holidays. Smith said a lot of people didn't talk about what they received, but instead talked about what families did together.

That's the concept of the Big Yellow Box, Smith added, providing wholesome entertainment for families.

The Big Yellow Box provides crafts for people from age 3 to 93, Smith said. They also are relatively inexpensive. Smith pointed out a number of craft items sell for $14.95, with the most expensive items selling for $40.

Tasting Parties Make Wine Selection Fun

The whole wine thing can be very intimidating: whites, reds, light, heavy, dry, sweet. When you're new to wines, it can be especially hard. The good news is choosing your wines can now be as easy as going to a Tupperware party.

The Traveling Vineyard, whose parent company is Geerlings and Wade, a mail-order business based in Massachusetts, was created in 2003. To date, they have 1,500 wine consultants in 21 states, 90 of which are here in Florida.

Rick Libby, president, tells how he came up with the concept. "I was always buying the same wines to drink on the weekends but wasn't sure how to venture out and try new wines. I thought it would be great if I could get together with a group of friends and try some different wines to see what was out there that we liked."

Libby had the first test party in 2001 in Florida. "It was a great success. We then had to develop how it would work as a business."

Shopping At Home Time Saving Alternative For Many Women

Lillian Vernon is among a growing number of companies that are embracing direct selling, targeting female shoppers - particularly time-starved young mothers - who are growing dissatisfied with service at stores. These companies see big opportunities to grab new and younger customers and get existing ones to spend more in a more relaxed environment.

Products "come to life when a consultant romances the product samples they bring," said Kevin Green, chief marketing officer at Lillian Vernon, a purveyor of monogrammed clothing and accessories. The direct selling business, started only a year ago, could be bigger than its Internet or catalog businesses, Green said.

Hand Made Shoes Home Business

Margaux Jordon's life changed the day she admired the shoes a female acquaintance was wearing.

"My brother made them," the woman said.

Jordon thought, "Women in the United States would go crazy if they could get handmade shoes." From that idea has emerged Footprints International, based in her home in Orange, Calif.

Jordon's sales representatives are independent contractors who operate based on her methods. She had to write a manual to guide every step from buying a startup kit, to networking, to selling, to serving customers.

"I am training my first sales rep and plan to have eight by the end of the year," Jordon said. "I think all the preparation I have done to develop the system will make expansion easier."

Pure Romance To Start Selling Lingerie

Pure Romance, the company that sells sex accessories through home parties, has acquired Massachusetts lingerie retailer Petra Fashions.

"Pure Romance now offers a triple treat of spa merchandise, relationship enhancement products and intimate fashions," said President Chris Cicchinelli said.

With the addition of Petra Fashions, Pure Romance expects to post about $73 million in sales in 2005. It also expects to nearly double the size of its 10,000-person consulting force by year-end.

Herbalife Profits Soar In Q3

Herbalife, a producer of weight management products and nutritional supplements that are sold through independent consultants, has reported a 135% increase in third-quarter net income following the successful implementation of numerous strategic initiatives.

Herbalife made progress executing its key strategies during the quarter. Branding efforts continued to gain traction, with numerous event and athlete sponsorships in the US successfully enhancing the firm's brand and providing its distributors access to events where they were able to promote various products.

Home Shopping Parties All The Rage

The number of people engaged in direct sales -- through home parties and traditional door-to-door sales -- more than doubled between 1994 and 2003 to an estimated 13.3 million people nationwide, according to the Direct Selling Association in Washington. Home sales parties reaped an estimated $7.4 billion in 2003.

A decade ago, home sales parties were used almost exclusively by manufacturers and wholesalers, such as Amway and Tupperware. The companies relied on armies of salespeople -- primarily women -- to distribute their products. The industry also attracted shady operators who required new recruits to buy large stocks of inventory or forced them to spend much of their time recruiting.

Now, the sales technique has become so popular that even large retail chains are getting into the business. The Body Shop, which sells skin-care products through more than 2,000 stores worldwide, started a home-based business three years ago and now boasts an estimated 15,000 salespeople. Aerosoles, a footwear chain, expects each of its 125 stores to hold at least one home sales party a month.

Mary Kay Rep Awarded Pontiac Grand Prix

Mary Kay Independent Sales Director Heather Doughty earned the use of the Mary Kay Signature platinum Pontiac Grand Prix for her outstanding personal sales and team building.

The Pontiac grand prix, featuring the hot pink MK Signature logo, is one of three cars available in the Career Car Program. In addition to the MK Signature platinum Pontiac Grand Prix, Mary Kay Inc. also offers the independent sales force the opportunity to earn the use of a Pontiac Vibe and the exclusive pearlized pink Cadillac as part of its notable Career Car Program. Currently, approximately 12,000 independent sales force members in the U.S. have qualified to earn the use of a career car.

Jones Apparel Group Launches Million Wishes Home Based Business

Leading fashion apparel and accessory company Jones Apparel Group launched a national party plan program this week called Million Wishes.

Million Wishes will sell jewelry, handbags, belts, scarves and other key accessories for a particular season while educating women on the latest fashion trends - all in the comfort of a hostess's home, like Tupperware, Longaberger, Lillian Vernon's Celebrations and Mary Kay do.

Jones is a designer, marketer and wholesaler of apparel, footwear and accessories under brand names such as Nine West, Jones New York, Anne Klein and Kasper. Its traditional channels of distribution included major department stores and its own specialty retail stores.

The New York company believes direct selling can be a profitable business and expects to have 9,000 consultants in 3 years.

USANA Offers $1 Million Guarantee To Athletes

USANA Health Sciences is offering a one million dollar guarantee to any Canadian pro athlete who uses its nutritional supplements and comes up with a positive test for performance-enhancing drugs.

Several of the USANA supplements are also listed on www.consumerlabs.com, an independent lab, as having been tested and found free of 75 banned substances including stimulants, narcotics, anabolic agents, diuretics, masking agents and beta-blockers.

The Utah-based company, which is publicly traded under the symbol USNA, is talking to the Seattle Mariners about providing supplements for the team with a blanket million-dollar guarantee. The ball club, stung with the most positive drug tests of any team in baseball, has recently completed an internal investigation into steroids and supplements, how their players learned about them and what they're taking.

"We don't pay anyone to endorse our products," a USANA representative said. "Once someone takes them, they'll know the difference."

Pampered Chef CEO Doris Christopher Shares Success Secrets

The phenomenally successful home based business Pampered Chef was started in a Chicago basement back in 1980. The company is now owned by Warren Buffett and has 70,000 independent consultants who conduct 1 million shows for 12 million customers each year.
The founder and CEO shares her recipe for success.

College Students Have Success With Prepaid Legal

Students from Howard University are becoming instant entrepreneurs through a program called Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc.

"I saw people who were earning six figure incomes in just five years and I was skeptical at first because I didn't know if they really did what they said they did," said one student.

However, after using the service to help himself in a legal matter, he said that he found Pre-Paid Legal to be just what it said it was.

"Within four days I made over $500. It was incredible that I doubled the money I had gotten from someone else just in four days, he said, " I retired from corporate America at the age of 22".

Sell Some Tea In Your Home Based Businesss

Party sales popularity has spurred one company to plan a national expansion. Tealightful Treasures has been doing market research and building its 26-agent sales force. In a month, if all goes well, the push for more agents in more cities will begin.

Tealightful Treasures sells a variety of loose teas. The home party setup includes scones, and everything is served on bone china. Founder and Chief Executive Charlene Phillips blends teas and makes the scone mix, which can be purchased separately.

"We focus on your sense of smell and the experience of the essential oils and aromas of the tea and how they affect your relaxation," Phillips says.

Mary Kay Rep Awarded Pink Cadillac

The thought of cruising down the street in a pink Cadillac has long conjured images of pleasure and success. But for Mary Kay Sales Director Ronda Shannon her new ride is a symbol of the company created by a woman specifically for women who want to be successful and beautiful, while keeping their priorities in order.

"That's what this business is about, helping women reach their God-given potential," Shannon said she picked up her 2006 pink Cadillac with her sales associates standing by to offer congratulations. "All of these ladies have their own businesses and help women look and feel good. It's much more than sales."

Shannon was awarded the Cadillac, with a two-year lease paid for by the company, after her unit of Mary Kay saleswomen reached $192,000 in retail sales during a six-month period.

Partying For Profits

Kristy VanWyhe carefully slices the beer bread and chops it into cubes. Almond pound cake gets sliced and both are soon ready for dipping into a variety of savory sauces.

The Tastefully Simple saleswoman works with her Hudsonville hostess, Leah Pettijohn, to make chai tea, and at the same time pour salsa and a caramelized-onion sauce into small containers for sampling.

These women are ready to party. And VanWyhe is ready to sell mixes, sauces and spices.
The 36-year-old Grandville woman has joined a growing army of independent business people who make their living selling everything from soup to crayons, lingerie to dog dishes in other people's living rooms.

Women Makes Money From Her Joy Of Cooking With Pampered Chef

April Campbell always loved spending time in the kitchen fiddling around with recipes. But as her career blossomed - she eventually started teaching her trade at Blaine Beauty School - she had less spare time to devote to her culinary skills.

And then the a friend invited her to attend a Pampered Chef party.

At each show, the Independent Kitchen Consultant will prepare a dish - this past weekend, Campbell whipped up an order of Chinese dumplings for a "Dim Sum and Then Some" party - using the various products The Pampered Chef sells.

"It's fun. You go to a party for your job," said Campbell. "And I'm still teaching. I'm teaching people how to cook. It's a little teaching and a little partying."

How Moms Are Making Money At Home

Today's direct selling business is not just limited to Tupperware, Avon or Mary Kay cosmetics. The list is growing to include Longaberber Company (baskets), Creative Memories (scrapbooking), Southern Living At Home (home decor) and The Pampered Chef (kitchen cookware).

"The biggest benefit is that as a host you never pay full price for any product," says Bow. "As a consultant, I am basically a direct sales person. I make a certain percentage in dollars for items sold at a party. It's a sliding scale from 20 to 27 percent depending on where you are in the company."

Depending on the company, the salespeople may be called distributors, representatives, consultants or various other titles.

Body Shop Turns To House Parties

Sara Robeson invited 10 girlfriends to her house last month to kick off their shoes, sip wine and douse their feet in tubs of Spa Wisdom Dreamboat Milk Bath from Body Shop International Group Plc. By the end of the night, the women had bought $400 of the company's merchandise.

Body Shop Chief Executive Officer Peter Saunders is using an old-fashioned sales technique -- parties such as the one at Robeson's cabin in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho -- to revive sales that had been sapped by competition from discount retailers. The Littlehampton, England-based company is also making over its dark green stores with bright glass displays to attract customers.

Women Take Control Of Careers With Home Based Businesses

Parties, shows and classes are just a few of the terms independent sellers across the country use to describe the events in which they display products and attempt to make a sale. And there is one characteristic of the person who is most likely to be selling from cookware to gardening tools to Christmas decorations: She is a woman.

According to the Washington, D.C.-based Direct Selling Association, more than 13 million people were involved in direct selling in 2003, and almost 80 percent of these were women.

Direct selling is not a new concept, but surveys reveal the industry keeps growing at a constant pace as consumers seek to enhance their shopping experience with personal service. The national trade association reports that sales in the United States doubled in the last decade to nearly $25 billion.

Mary Kay Rep Earns $600,000 A Year

When Lisa Madson started selling Mary Kay cosmetics 19 years ago, she hoped to make $70 a week to buy Christmas presents for her family. In 2004, as a national sales director with the company, she earned just over $600,000 in commissions and prizes working 40 hours a week out of her home.

"When you love what you do, you'll never work another day as long as you live," she said. "I love to have fun, and this business is fun."

Have A Drink With This Home Based Business

Julia Richard is an independent consultant for The Traveling Vineyard, a national company that hosts wine tastings in homes to market hard-to-get varieties. The Traveling Vineyard's niche is value wine; most bottles cost $10-$20. The company sends representatives to small vineyards, whose bottles aren't usually sold in grocery stores, to select wines for the independent consultants to market. The tasting is blind so as not to favor a particular vineyard. The company's selling point is that it brings the vineyard to your home.

"When you do go to a vineyard, you get to sample the wine to see what you like before you purchase it. When you go to the grocery store, or even a lovely wine shop, you end up picking a bottle based on what the label looks like. You can't truly know until you taste it," said Richard.

It's Time To Party With Your Home Based Business

Home parties are swinging again with an eclectic range of products from home decor to to crayons. Customers are flocking to these gatherings for the personal touch and service they afford. Direct sellers see each party as a way of cementing loyalty to their brands.

"Today, we're more removed from people - we pay at the pump, go through express lines at fast - food restaurants and shop online. So what they value about direct selling is the one-to-one service in a party environment," says Jill Blashack, founder of home taste-testing direct seller Tastefully Simple. "It's the relationship piece of this that makes the business grow."

House Party Sales Are Popular Home Based Business Option

This retro way of selling, best typified by Tupperware house parties in the 1950s and '60s, is being reinvigorated with an array of mainstream companies embracing face-to-face sales through "product parties," said Amy Robinson, spokeswoman for the Washington, D.C.-based Direct Selling Association.

Among the traditional retail companies jumping into the house-party selling mode are The Body Shop, Jockey for Her, Lillian Vernon and Crayola.

"Well-established companies are looking into other methods of distributing their products," said Robinson. "A lot of companies find that direct sales are a vibrant way to sell. Unlike any other market, the (sales reps) know the products inside and out."

Hobby Can Be Turned Into Home Based Business

If you're looking to start a home based you may not have to look any further than a hobby or favorite interest Today, there are a wide range of products and services to sell through direct selling.

"There are all kinds of products that are being marketed via direct sales," said Amy Robinson, spokesman for the Direct Selling Association in Washington. "That's one of the major trends in the business right now."

Once dominated by "lotions and potions" - cosmetics and nutrition products - the direct-sales business now includes product lines ranging from scrapbook supplies (Creative Memories), cooking products (Pampered Chef), in-home photo portraits (Cooksey Keepsakes) and even golf supplies.

Tomboy Tools: Home Based Tool Business For Women

Tomboy Tools sells ergonomically-designed tools to women in the comfort of their living rooms which allows them to test them and increase their confidence before purchasing them.

"We don't just sell tools -- we sell empowerment," says Brenda Shovlin, a Tomboy Tools representative. "Women get a feel for the product by learning how to fix leaky faucets or by building a planter box at the home demonstrations. Many of my customers are single women purchasing their first home, or widows whose sons have taken dad's old tools," say Shovlin.

Pure Romance Home Based Business Not Your Typical Sales Job

Pure Romance consultant Maggie Laliberte packs her bag and heads off for another day of work - except, her bag doesn't contain file folders and documents but massage oils, flavored lotions and sex toys instead. Laliberte attends all-female, in-home parties where she answers questions about sex while showing company products.

Women between 18 and 28 years old are a growing part of her clientele. Laliberte said she does a lot of "girl's nights" and bachelorette parties. The parties offer the privacy of someone's home, so women don't have to go to a sex store. Party attendees can smell, touch, taste or turn on products, something Laliberte said people certainly can't do in a store.

Scrapbooking: From Hobby To Home Based Business

Deb Ritz, a Creative Memories representative, decided to become a scrapbook industry consultant last year. She and partner Susan Childs decided to be a vendor at a local convention.

"I love scrapbooking and became a consultant," Ritz said. "People are trying to preserve family stories and there is a resurgence in family values. Creative Memories' mission this year is to put a scrapbook in the hand of every child."

Tupperware Expands Home Based Business Offerings

Tupperware, known for selling plastic food-storage containers through home parties, is now taking a trendier approach to its'products. In an effort to generate buzz, the 59-year-old company is throwing high-profile Tupperware parties with stars like Naomi Watts and actor-rapper Ice-T on the guest lists.

Over the past year, the company has been quietly rolling out edgier products. Consumers now can buy a Tupperware ice-cream scoop with a stainless-steel head, a $25 Lil' Chopper, which chops small amounts of food, and the Heartbreaker, a utensil that cracks shells and removes pits. In November, it plans to start selling wine glasses made of its trademark plastic.

The classic Tupperware storage containers also are getting a makeover, turning up in colors like amethyst and ruby and in accordion-like versions that can be flattened out for easy storage.

Home Based Businesses Offer Women Flexibility, Fun

Whether the motivation is to stay home with children, an excuse to socialize or to have a positive influence, home-based businesses offer flexibility, potential income and direction.

Melanie Heseman left her full-time job in special education to be a Mary Kay consultant full time. The salary from her home based business eventually exceeded her old job's salary. More money and a chance to stay home with her daughter during the toddler years was reason enough. But what she found was a new self. The company helped her rediscover and prioritize what she always had valued -- God first, family second and career third. "It's not just about selling lipstick," Heseman said. "I don't like selling, I'm not in it for sales. I saw how it was directly touching other women's lives."

When Shirley Tripenzi decided to home-school her autistic teenager, she found Discovery Toys opened a curiousity for him that other outlets had not. Tripenzi basement soon filled with the playful and educational toys, which she sells at craft shows and by sharing catalogs with friends.

Cindy Thompson operated child care out of her home for ten years. She found Tastefully Simple provided a social outlet for her. "I enjoy going to people's homes," Thompson said. "I share the product while getting to meet new people. At each party I see how much people like the taste". "That's why I decided to become a consultant. Once my friends and family found out; I booked quite a few parties at the start." Thompson said she had been concerned about the start-up costs. However, in just four months and 16 shows, she has recovered her investment plus some.

Home Based Business Industry Growing

Home based businesses are growing through direct selling. Direct selling is the sale of a consumer product or service, person-to-person, away from a fixed retail location. These products and services are marketed to customers by independent salespeople.

Patrons gather, usually with friends, hear a sales pitch, nibble on finger foods and sample a product or two. The goal is, of course, to sell some bottles of moisturizer or a few plastic bowls - whatever the featured products might be.

According to the Direct Selling Association the industry had about $29.55 billion a year in sales in 2003. "We trust our friends more than we trust strangers," said Jim Murrow, associate professor of marketing at Drury University.

Man Sells Internet Services Through Home Based Business

While in Las Vegas Dan Weiss learned of the company VM Direct. They sell cutting edge internet communication tools. "It's basically taking the power of TV and putting it on your own Web site," says Weiss. VM Direct allows customers to easily stream live video to thousands of viewers.

Mr. Weiss is now an independent distributor of VM Direct. He receives a 20-percent commission on all new accounts he signs up. "The benefit [of VM Direct] is to any individual in business that needs to hold sales meetings and introduce products. There are end-less applications for Realtors," Weiss said.

Home Based Business Selling Wine

Tracy Simons-Alerich, a mother, was looking for a litte extra income and wanted to find a part-time job where she could work at nights and take care of her daughter during the day. Since she enjoyed the subject of wine she decided to join the business opportunity offered by Massachusetts-based Traveling Vineyard.

She is now an independent wine consultant. She travels to homes brings samples of five different wines for 15 or more assembled guests. Simons-Alerich never brings a catalog. "I don't believe in high-pressure sales," she said. "'I never go by the catalog." She hosts about three wine-tasting parties per month.