Monday, April 6, 2009

Should I be The Chocolate Guy?


So I had my second interview with The Chocolate Traveler (click the image above to go to their website). Very interesting company and they definitely could use my help. The drawbacks are steep though.
  • I'm not an employee. I'm an independent contractor, much like a Mary Kay rep or Tupperware. The upside to this company though is that I don't have to buy my inventory; it's all on consignment.
  • Being an independent contractor, I'm responsible for all of my own expenses, including insurance, cell phone, fuel, income taxes, etc. So that's a lot of chocolate to sell before you start turning a profit.
  • So this is all to say that they pretty much won't/can't pay for anything for liability reasons. Just commission. Which is also interesting, because the inventory you're keeping for them, they technically still own.
These types of sales jobs, if you're ambitious and really driven, can be fun and profitable if you stick to it. But, I don't know many people who do it as a full time job. It seems like a good part time job. This could be good for me since I'm trying to also pursue producing/directing professionally.

The company itself is pretty great. I really like the people, the product is high quality, and I definitely see how I could have a direct impact on the company. That itself is pretty exciting. I also like that I'm basically my own boss.

The products are reasonably priced, and the margins are certainly doable.

So now... I guess the question is, how much chocolate makes it worth it?

No comments: