Survey... Would This Job Interest You?

What happens if a very qualified man comes in to apply? You cannot discriminate on the basis of gender. Are there other companies that you could talk to that do this? I love the idea but I don't want you to get in trouble!

Well, no...this would not interest ME.

However, I do know plenty of women it would interest. There is definitely a market for this type of job. Also, as far as I know...you don't have to interview anyone you don't want to. If you got an application from a man, you don't have to call. IF you were to interview a man and didn't hire him, because he was a man...you'd be in trouble. You can be selective as far as who you decide to interview. (I could be wrong.)

I know a woman, who has a cake/cupcake business.
On the side, of her day job.
What she does, is... she provides the desserts (in this case, cupcakes), to a restaurant. Just one restaurant. They buy from her. And her product is good.

She only sells wholesale to 1 restaurant, for now... because that is all she can handle. She is a one woman business and as I said, she also has a regular day job and is a student at a university. So she is REAL busy. All her free time, goes to her cake/cupcake business. And providing desserts to that one restaurant.

She is her own sales rep.
She approached the restaurant on her own, and gave them samples.
That is how she got her Client.

IF you expand your business to wholesale... you must make sure, you can handle the expansion... and the manpower and production and the employees, and the accounting of it etc. Do you have the capacity for that?

Then, I also know of another woman with a cupcake business. Retail with a brick and mortar shop.
She also sells, to a local grocery store. That is her client. SHE approached them, herself. She does not have a "Sales Rep."
Sales Reps, can be expensive..

Don't expand your business... UNLESS you know, you can handle it, financially. Some businesses, go out of business, once they expand.

If you do expand and get a Sales Rep., I suggest you speak to a Financial Advisor first.

I think you're going to get slapped with a lawsuit if you only hire women.

Just like all companies have to have 'x' amount of minorities working/ different sexes.

Maybe get a token gay guy for your biz ;)

In regards to the actual question, honestly? I had ONE job I worked on commission only, and I will never ever do it again. I had AWESOME sales numbers and made a huge paycheck, but the stress of it all was a no-go for me. Never again.

I know that's not the answer you were looking for, and I certainly wish you the best of luck, that's just my opinion ;)

You need to rethink your business plan and establish a good solid business plan. Use some $$ wisely to talk to tax and legal counssel to see what you need to do.

As for sales, my hubby has been in sales for years and he is the sales guy for the company we own and manage now. He is a leading person in our industry and there is no way he (nor I) would ever accept a commission only job.

You have to do something to interest a sales person. They are out knocking on doors, making calls and sales for YOU. I would not advertise "women only" either because some nut job will see it as an opportunity sue you. You know how sue happy so many people are in the world.

Good luck to you and please get good guidance and planning with the help of a good consultant, tax and legal counsel.

Before you start with a sales force you should take some classes in marketing and sales. And some classes in accouting and tax prep and business management. Look into the cost to you of hiring even one sales person. You will have to pay Unemployment insurance, Workers Comp, half their Social Security and they will need some kind of office space to do their job. So that means multiple phone lines, desks, files, computers ect...

If you are hiring sales persons on commission how do you plan to compensate them for the gas and other auto expenses? Do you plan on giving them an expense account to cover lunches while on the road? Also remember that Worker's Comp covers them while on the road selling in case they are involved in an accident.

To be totally honest with you I worked as a sales person for 30 yrs. I have tons of experience and knowledge in sales and marketing. I will not even consider a sales job that is commission only. A salesperson spends the bulk of their day prospecting for new business and setting appointments to close sales. Many times you do not get a one stop close. You may have to go back to the prospect 2 or more times to close the sale. So the sales person could easily go a week or two and not close a sale, so no pay for that week. But the sales person got up every morning, drove to the office, made calls, then went to see customers and prospect for new business, drove back to the office to make follow up calls and fill out paper work and then drive home.
With gas prices on the rise I would never take a commission only job.

No, it wouldn't interest me because you probably couldn't afford me! I'm in scientific sales and love the thrill of it. Very risky, competitive, stressful and lucrative. I'm sure there are women that would really like it though.

I wouldn't count out the men though. I have known a few men in the restaurant distribution industry and they have a lot of contacts = $$$

I'm not a sales person.

Just a few thoughts....
1. It's great that you want to have staff of all women and promote that type of business, but it is illegal. You can not discriminate. However, if a woman is just as qualified as a man, you can hire the woman.
2. I think it would be very difficult to find someone who would work on a commission only basis. Maybe you could come up with some other type of arrangement that would mostly be commission, but would also include some type of base pay, milage reimbursement, etc.
3. I think you may be able to find some women who may want to take this on as a part-time position that they could do while the kids were in school. However, do you want part-time sales people?
4. Product discounts are easy. You should know what your cost is to make your products, charge them cost + a small %.
5. Run this by your accountant to get her opinion.

Forgive me if I'm repeating any answer - I'm too wiped out to read all of them.

I think that a SAHM that is interested in bringing in some income would be interested in a position like this. If you market it as an opportunity to develop sales skills they already have a natural talent for and as an opportunity to have some work experience they can add to their resume I think a lot of women who are interested in working part-time would be interested.

Like others have said, you can't discriminate against men... not even in your advertising. So you don't want to say that it's "by women only". You can say "by and for women" but you can't exclude men.

Personally, it's not a job I could consider, but I'm not into direct sales. More important than whether a bunch of strangers on the Internet would consider this job, is try to figure out what you can actually offer. If you're giving a discount on cupcakes for sales people - that's great. But think of how many cupcakes they'd have to sell to make it worth their while.

I think you should call your local Chamber of Commerce or Small Business Administration and see if there's anyone who can help you set up a business plan. If you had that, you'd interest more employees, and you could figure out how many people you need and whether you can actually pay them.

you need to go on Shark Tank
Awesome idea!!

If you offered contractor positions and did not hire them as an employeee you would avoid the umemployment issues however would still need liability insurance to ensure you are not sued for their words guarantee or promises. Offer of a position to one sex only is legally discrimination and if one man wanted to could own your company easily through. Suit.
A fair shake due to the contractors cost would be around 35 ti 40% yup sounds like alot but thet are trusting you and putting their rep on the line tgat you can deliver and not make people sick. They would be spending their. Car gas,time,clothing,wear and tear on their care. How mant places and people di you need ti call on to make one sale.

Sometimes people balk on no salary, no matter how good the commission package is.

We frequently do "draws", which means we advance payroll to someone on the understanding that they need to pay it back against any commissions they earn (we withhold the draw amount from their commission when it comes in).

Technically, if they don't earn ANY commission while they are employed by us, they are supposed to pay the draw back. However, it can be difficult to get that money back, so something to keep in mind.

I work in the recruiting biz, where draws can be common.

Hey, sounds like a great opportunity. I like how motivating a commission-based salary is. I was sold on the first sentence when you mentioned cupcakes :)

I am sure there are many ladies that would jump at the chance to have this job. Best wishes with your buisness!

Yes. My parents own a very successful tamale company. They've been in business forever, and now they sell tamales to grocery stores and restaraunts all over the place. When they started, I imagine it was similar to your idea. I love that you are wanting to do this with all women. It's a great idea!

If I didn't need consistent income... I would LOVE this! Commission is tough, especially if there isn't a huge market in your area, but if I was looking for something that was fun, "happy" and to supplement my spouse's income... I'd be applying!

Call your local Chamber of Commerce. There are many local business who will mentor a new "business" for free. My uncle used to be a corporate mentor and he loved working with new companies (he was retired) to get them up -and-running at no cost to them!

That would sound like an exciting opportunity.

I don't know exactly how commission works for these types of situations, but I do know they are pretty common and you can likely get a lot of good info online. This article may help:
http://www.inc.com/guides/sales-compensation-plan.html

I also know a few successful online bakeries who ship cupcakes here:
http://www.allthingscupcake.com/mail-order-cupcakes/