Hi Vicky! Here are some answers to your questions from your article above. I thought it might be nice for others to know answers to your questions from another end of the Party Plan business.
1.You are right- Most Work at Home Mothers & parents want flexibility from their work at Home Jobs- for several reasons: they may want to spend more time with their families & may not want to work for an employer & still want to earn that extra needed income to!

2.Product & Company: Does the Company provide products that you enjoy & that you find useful for yourself & others?
Amswer: Yes, Home & Garden Party does provide that service for me & others. I find that Home & Garden Party has a fantastic line of stoneware pottery that I use daily, that is functional & affordable & useful as well as decorative for my home & kitchen or diningroom. Yes, The art prints & accessories have also added a decorative touch to the home as well.So I would have to say Yes- Home & Garden Party does cover those needs for me.

3.Will a Company that uses primarily a party plan meet my needs to work when it is a good time for me?
I would assume that most ladies know this answer when they sign up for the company that they wish to sell & have parties for.In most cases the answer is Yes!
Part II- will I be stuck with having to do a party when someone else wants to have one? The answer is NO!!! There is NO Need to lose a booking or any Bookings if you use an "OPEN DATE" sheet. This is just what it says it is- an "Open date" sheet that Hostesses may pencil in their temporary party dates & confirm later.This is a very useful tool that we use in Home & Garden Party.
Part III- Will you have problems getting bookings with the party plan company? I don't generally have a problem with "Booking Parties" & have not had that problem with any of the Companies I have worked with. If a Hostess Likes the Product & Like the Designer there is No problem with Booking parties.
As far as attendance at the parties? There should be NO Problem with attendance at the party as far as guests go. With the right Hostess Coaching & Help from the Designer, the party will hopefully be a succcess.For those who can not attend- the Hostess may choose to contact those that can't attend & get an outside order from them or the Designer may contact those guests who can not attend.Either way it's a win-win situation for the Hostess & the Designer.Also Have the Hostess contact the Designer or vs versa & have the Hostess mail, deliver you her Guests Lists & who is attending & who isn't able to.(This is not a lot of work)easy to do.Part of Hostess coaching.
5. As far as "QUOTAS" There are NO quotas with Home & Garden Party, However, If you choose to go up the ladder to Leadership, then yes, In order to build your team, Yes, you would Hopefully have a monthly goal set & obtain that goal.AND you are ALWAYS paid Commision on your Team sales through Home & Garden Party, regargless if your goals are met or not! If a Family member becomes ill?? Remember this is your Business- you CHOOSE when, where & How much you want to work.
6. Is 30-40% enough after you add up the cost for gas & supplies? Hopefully the answer to that is "YES" You can always get that extra outside order to pay for that gas & those supplies.
7.Training & Support: Yes, with Home & Garden Party there is plenty of training & support provided through the Company. There will be "Live calls" On Sundays, Mondays & Tuesdays" In addition we also offer online training support & Training 24 hours a day! We feature Telecourse Training, sharing & Carring , etc. All of this very useful & helpful. Plus we also Have CD/DVD training materials provided in kits for New Designers as well as available for purchase through supplies.
If anyone has any questions that they would like answered feel free to jump right in here & I'll do my best to answer them for you!! God Bless!

Rosalee Decker
Home & Garden Party
Designer/Fundraiser Coord.
www.ywave.com/~zelmyrs/
Rosalee832@hotmail.com
1-360-458-5680

This is the day that the Lord has made; we shall rejoice & be glad in it."