Hi, my name is Teresa Burnside. My family and I live in McKinnon, WY. After living in Mesquite, NV, for 13 years, my husband and I decided it was time to come home to the cold and the snow to raise our family. We have lived here for almost eight years now. We have four terrific kids, who we enjoy spending all of our time with. Our family is very active and involved with basketball and rodeo competition year round.
I became involved with Alison’s Pantry six years ago when my parents took over from a previous representative. After two years they turned the business over to me when they left to serve an LDS Mission.
There are so many products that I enjoy from Alison’s Pantry, but living where we do 45 miles away from the nearest grocery store, it is hard to keep fresh produce on hand. So, I really enjoy the great selection of fruits and vegetables that Alison’s Pantry has to offer.
I have found in order to maintain great sales I have to create the habit in people of ordering, to create this habit and keep it alive I do the following:
The week that orders are due:
Send out an email with a newsletter and deals reminding customers that orders will be due soon.
Send out a text to all customers about two days before the order is due as another reminder.
The day that orders are due:
I personally call, or text any customers that have not ordered for the final reminder. I call as a simple courtesy because everyone is so busy and it is easy to forget.
These three simple steps get me a repeat order from customers 90% of the time.
I look forward to the new changes that are happening with Alison’s Pantry. Once again living where I do, the mailing of catalogs has helped me connect with customers that I wasn’t always able to get a catalog to.
I am grateful to have the opportunity to be a Rep. for Alison’s Pantry. They are an honest and great company to represent and they provide some of the best product around, which makes it easy to sell.
Tax Season is always a stressful time of year. How can you make filing taxes for a home based business easier? Document, document, document! This can’t be stressed enough. Accurate and up to date files must be maintained in order to be allowed as deductions for a home based business. If you don’t feel qualified to do your own taxes, then you would be wise to use a tax preparer. There is great tax preparing software available that will easily walk you through the steps and forms. Either option you choose you can deduct the cost of the software or the preparer.
First of all, besides documentation, one of the easiest ways to simplify taxes is by using a worksheet to help remember and organize the items that can be deducted. A worksheet will be available in google docs to you with the link at the end of this post. You can modify it as you need. It was produced on an excel file, so it can be easily changed or modified.(The fields that are in grey use formula’s so don’t delete or change them or the form will not be accurate. You will want to add your name and the business information to the spaces in green) This worksheet has been a time saver for me as I use it every year and save it in my tax file, then the next year I have the figures from the last year to compare. This form does not include all of the available deductions, but it does include the most common. Listed below is some of the information on the basic deductions with links to more in-depth information. If you are not sure what deductions are allowed, please consult a tax specialist.
1. Maintain good records all year.
The easiest way to ensure your yearly tax information is submitted correctly is to keep good records all year, avoiding the tax time rush of searching for lost receipts, calculating mileage and trying to piece together months-old credit card bills.
Keep all receipts, and make notes on the back of receipts about their business purposes, especially for smaller purchases like a business lunches or printer cartridges. Those little purchases can add up to big deductions at tax time. If you don’t like keeping a lot of paper receipts around, there are smartphone apps that allow you to take photos of receipts and file them away to better track your expenses.
Don’t rely on credit card statements – you’ll need itemized records of what was actually purchased. You can have an envelope in your car to hold the receipts you receive until you return home to your files. Then they won’t get thrown away in haste.
2. Keep track of startup costs.
If this is the year you’ve launched a home-based business, you’ll be able to deduct startup costs as capital expenses. You can deduct up to $10,000 the first year you’re in business, and the remainder of your startup costs should be deducted in equal amounts over the next 15 years.
For your AP business, you probably won’t have that big of a start up costs, but this would include items like, but not limited to freezers, coolers, printers, laptops and storage areas.
3. Measure your office.
The requirements for the home office deduction state that a portion of your residence be used regularly and exclusively for business purposes, but this space need not actually be an “office.” It can be a conference room, a garage area, storage room, or some other type of business usage. If you do have an area that you use regularly and exclusively for business, the tax law permits you to deduct a portion of certain expenses relating to your home. Once you determine the size of your room, you can use the method that works best for you for your deduction.
For most types of home office expenses, the amount you may deduct depends primarily on the percentage of the space in the residence that is used for business.
There are two common ways to the business portion of your home:
• number of rooms, or
• Square footage.
The first method (number of rooms) looks at the number of rooms used for business, divided by the total number of rooms in your house.
The second method looks at the square footage of the space used for business, divided by the total square footage of the house. Most of your home expenses (such as rent or real estate taxes and mortgage interest) must be multiplied by the larger of these two fractions to determine the portion that’s deductible as a home office.
For a more in depth look at the home office expense check out this link
http://www.bizfilings.com/toolkit/sbg/tax-info/fed-taxes/business-use-space-size-home-office-deduction.aspx
4. Track your ongoing expenses, like mileage, utilities and phone bills.
Beginning January 1, 2015, the standard mileage rate for using a vehicle for business purposes was 57.5 cents per mile for business miles driven. Carefully track each driving trip you make for work purposes–because you can’t claim personal miles driven, it’s not enough to simply tally up your vehicle’s total mileage at the end of the year. I use a small mileage booklet in my vehicle and when I start my car I think about the reason that I am driving, If it is business related, then I record the mileage in my booklet. At the end of the year, I have all the mileage written down.
Likewise, if you have a home office, you can deduct a portion of your home’s utility bills, including heating and electricity. This also applies to internet and phone bills. In the case of your internet bill, you’ll likely only be able to claim a portion of your expense since you’re probably using some of your home connection for non-work purposes.
I am attaching the form for the booklet that I have created. I copied it off at a copy center, cut and bound it in to a little booklet form.
5. Don’t forget health insurance.
Self-employed individuals can deduct the cost of health insurance for themselves and their families, if applicable. But keep in mind that if you qualify for health insurance coverage under a spouse or partner’s plan (or another employer-subsidized plan), you won’t be eligible for this deduction.
6. Hire Your Family
Another tax-saving idea is to hire your child or a child who lives in your neighborhood for your business, says Kristin Oberlander, a spokesperson for the National Association for the Self-Employed, since you can deduct their wages as a business expense. “Write up a job description, cut them a company check every pay period, fill out a W-2,” she says. “Any child can earn up to $6,300 tax free. Plus, your child learns about responsibility and earning a paycheck.”
7. Pay Yourself
Home-based entrepreneurs sometimes forget to pay themselves by setting up an IRA or other retirement vehicle, says Gloria D. Birnkrant, a CPA and partner with NSBN, a tax and business-planning firm in Beverly Hills, California, which allows you to put pre-tax money toward your retirement. “Even if the monthly amounts start out small, you will be surprised how soon you have built a nice account, with the advantage of a tax deduction,” she says.
These are just a few of the deductions that are available to a person who has a home based business. If you have already filed this year, then start now for next year. It will be a benefit for you. If you have never filed your home office on your taxes or claimed the home based business, here is a link from you tube that will help you to see why you need a home based business and the benefits from it.
Why do I need a home based business?
If you have ever tried to fill out a schedule C for your taxes, you can feel overwhelmed. Don’t despair; this is a video on how to fill it out. Great information for the beginner.
How to fill out a Schedule C form for deductions
Good luck to you in all your tax endeavors. Don’t sweat it, just record it.
We have some great basic mixes that are so versatile and we want to share some recipes ideas using them. Share these recipe pages at your Tasting Parties, Fair Booths, or when sampling these wonderful mixes. You could also print them off and give them to customers who order these products each month!
To help you grow your business, Alison’s Pantry provides a Marketing Kit to Representatives to be used at fair booths or open houses. Hosting an event is a great way to find new customers and increase sales.
The Marketing Kit includes the following items:
Instructions for hosting a successful fair booth or tasting party.
Products to display and use for samples or drawing prizes ($95.00 Value!):
In order to receive a Marketing Kit, it is mandatory that the Representative participates in a phone call with their RSM who will train them on hosting a successful fair booth or open house.
4-1-2022 – The Representative will then be charged $50 for each Marketing Kit. The Representative can receive full credit back on their account for each Marketing Kit purchased by doing the following steps:
Completing and submitting our follow-up report after their event.
Posting photos of their booth/open house on our Alison’s Pantry Rep and/or Team Facebook groups.
To request your Marketing Kit and training appointment, please contact your RSM.
Right click to save these beautiful images to your own computer to add to your Facebook wall, Instagram, personal newsletters, and e-mails to market Catalog #3 offers. Happy selling!
I try to do something with Alison’s Pantry each day whether it is sending out a newsletter by email, posting something on Facebook, calling and updating information with customers, sharing catalogs, entering orders, using the products in my everyday cooking or sharing something with friends or at functions. This past month I had several contests! Like my post on facebook to be entered into a drawing for a free brownie mix, drawing for a free recipe book if you place an order over $25, free cookies if you pick up your order on delivery day, $10 off any one item or free shipping on any size order when you place 12 consecutive orders, and today I just posted that everyone who likes my post today can get 5% off their catalog #3 order. I also participate in a yearly craft fair, and some of my best and most faithful customers have come from that alone, and because of that they have become my best friends! I don’t seem to grow in sales, but I am pretty consistent. The best way for me to get new customers is through the hot buys! I have tried many different things from having a sample each month at pick up day, a table of products to buy on pick up day, which I don’t charge shipping or tax on (I pay it), prizes for referrals, and any time I win anything from Alison’s Pantry, I pass it on to my customers! One last think is I multitask a lot! I don’t just go to a soccer game, I pass out catalogs while I am there. I don’t just wait patiently at a doctor’s appointment, I browse a catalog while I wait or in November when my husband was in the hospital, I made a lot of phone calls updating information. When I see a picture of myself or a testimonial from myself in a catalog, I try to do a seek and find contest with that. I love reading other people’s ideas and then try to implement them in my plans too! The attached picture is of my most faithful customer, my mother, Dawna Carlisle, at my craft fair in November (notice she is passing out catalogs). Remember, I multitask? So I did the craft fair with my son, Rick and his wife, Heidi, who make wood burning crafts. I forgot to take a picture of me at my booth.
Below are the files for the 2016 Order & Delivery Schedules for Blue Group and Red Group.
These files are for your customers. They show the customer order day (which is a Saturday) and the delivery week time frame. This can be sent to your customers through email or printed off and given to them or you could download this file to an online printing company (like VistaPrint) and then add a text box with your contact information. (See an example in the blog post on Advertising Ideas for your AP Business.)
The three files below are for sales reps. They show the day you should have new customer addresses and any corrections to existing customer addresses entered into Portals for the next catalog mailing. It also shows the day Portals will close for each Catalog (Monday at 5 p.m.) and the delivery week time frame. **This is for your information and should not be sent to customers.
You want to get the word out that you are a sales rep in your area and grow your customer base but aren’t sure how or what to do. Here are a few ideas that have worked great for other sales reps:
Business Cards – there are a lot of different ways you can design and use business cards. They can be simple with just words, you can add logos and pictures, and you can make them one sided or two sided. You can advertise ongoing specials like free shipping on the first order or a free item after so many orders or so much product is purchased. The possibilities are endless! You can make your own or have a printing company make them for you.
Car signs / window decals – these are a great way to advertise your business while you are driving around. They can be one color or multi color. You can have them made with someone’s vinyl cutting machine, VistaPrint, or a local print shop. Here are a few examples:
Catalogs – Get at least one extra packet of catalogs each month and carry them with you wherever you go! I have a couple sitting on the dash of my car at all times so that when I am out, I will have one available to hand to someone who may ask for one or who I would like to share one with. Make sure to write down who you hand catalogs to so you can follow up with them to see if they would like to place an order.
Displays – display products in your business area, at another business such as a bank or salon, or any place where people can see different things that we sell. Make sure to have extra catalogs, information flyers, or even a signup list for interested people to be able to get a catalog.
Facebook Business Page – we covered this in a webinar, but I just want to reinforce that this is a great way to reach out to new people in your area! Have a drawing for everyone who likes your page! Advertise order deadline and ask if anyone would like to see a catalog. Share pictures of our products, recipes using our products, price comparisons with you local stores, pictures of meals you have prepared with our products, etc.
Fair Booths – Fair booths are one of the best ways to advertise our products to new people. You can display products, hand out catalogs, sample products, sell products, have a drawing and/or collect potential customers’ contact information! We will be covering this in more depth in a future Webinar or contact your RSM.
Flyers/posters – Informational flyers/posters are a great way to introduce Alison’s Pantry to new customers. These also come in a variety of options and can include lots of great information. These can be handed out with catalogs, at fair booths, tacked on public information boards, etc.
Magnets – Magnets for refrigerators are a great way to advertise your Alison’s Pantry business. Information that could go on magnets are – your contact information, the company logo, order deadlines for the entire year, ongoing specials like a referral bonus, etc. I downloaded the delivery schedule the office sent us and added my contact information and had these printed by VistaPrint.
Referrals – invite your customers to share an extra catalog (or theirs when they are done placing their order) with someone new. Offer some type of incentive to them if they do (such as a FREE item or FREE shipping or a percentage off their order) or, if the company is offering a Referral Bonus item, make sure to point that out to them. Word of mouth is often the best way to grow your customer base and advertise your AP business. Especially if you are providing great customer service to your customers!!
Samples – Besides offering samples of our products to your customers when they pick up their order each month, you could provide lunch or treats one day at your local school, doctor’s office, or anywhere a group of people work. Make sure to include product information of what you sampled with a couple of catalogs for the people to look through while they are enjoying the delicious food you have provided.
Shirts – have a shirt made up with the Alison’s Pantry logo to wear at fair booths or sponsor a little league team or group and get your name advertised that way. Below is an example of a black shirt with an iron on logo and the back of a shirt where I was one of the sponsors supporting an RSHS Cheer Squad event.
I hope these have given you some ideas on how to advertise your Alison’s Pantry business. Good luck!
I use a small mileage booklet in my vehicle and when I start my car I think about the reason that I am driving, If it is business related, then I record the mileage in my booklet. At the end of the year, I have all the mileage written down.
