Spirit of the Law

Because part of my job is mentoring new demonstrators who join my group, I have decided it might be beneficial to interject some business posts on my blog. Today's topic will be the Spirit of the Law.

When you own your own business, you get to make all the decisions. When your business is a Stampin' Up!® Demonstratorship, the first decision you get to make is whether or not to commit to abiding by the Independent Demonstrator Agreement. This is a contract between a Demonstrator, and Stampin' Up!®, which is agreed upon before the establishment of a Demonstratorship. The contract binds every Demonstrator not only to its specific terms, but also to changes, as they occur and are disseminated in company publications. Some of the policies are very clear, while others might be more liberally interpreted. However, behind each policy or Letter of the Law, there is a purpose, or Spirit of the Law.

There are many Stampin' Up!® Demonstrators with blogs and personal web sites on the internet these days. (You can identify company-sponsored Demonstrator web sites, as they all belong to the www.stampinup.net domain--you can view mine here.) On some personal Demonstrator web presences you may find discounts on Starter Kits. I have been asked why I do not offer these discounts, and my answer is that I feel I can best honor the Spirit of the Law by refraining from that business practice. Stampin' Up! has released statements indicating they are not in support of individual demonstrators "discounting" the Starter Kit, though they haven't yet outright prohibited the practice.

The only discounts I present in regards to the Starter Kit, are those offered by the company, such as the 20% Discount offered during the current Sale-A-Bration. I do, from time to time, offer my own personal recruiting incentives, such as bonus gifts (usually one stamp set or specific accessory) for those who join my team of demonstrators during specific periods. This is within the Spirit of the Law, because it is a separate gift which does not entail me essentially "buying" a portion of your Starter Kit.

By following the Spirit of the Law, I work with the company to preserve things such as fair and equal opportunity, a more prosperous compensation, benefit and bonus plan, and a better Demonstrator experience--both for recruits, and the customers they serve. For me, it's all about passion, and I am very passionate about preserving the integrity of the Stampin' Up!® opportunity and experience.