Susan Handley, mother of Kyle, 10; founder of Beijo, a home-party
business that sells chic, affordable handbags. Number of sales reps:
1,000. Projected 2007 gross sales: $25 million.

My story: I've loved handbags
ever since I was a little girl. I'd sneak into my mother's closet to
play dress-up and stack my arms with every bag I could reach. But I
never thought my passion for purses would provide a paycheck, until
four years ago. That's when my "practical career"—selling advertising
in newspapers and on the radio—made me certifiably unhappy.
Babysitters. Stress. Zero savings. As a single mom with a 6-year-old, I
needed a major life change, but I didn't have time to figure out what
it was. So I quit—cold turkey.

I spent a lot of time being scared to death until I noticed my
friends were buying knockoff designer bags at home parties. They'd
invite a bunch of the girls over, serve wine and cheese and get a
discount on the merchandise for hosting the party. I thought, I can
design bags that are just as inexpensive but really special. It would
be a way for me to work from home—or someone else's home. So I tapped
the entrepreneurial know-how that runs in my family. My father lives in
Hong Kong and exports furniture to the United States. With his help, I
toured 30 Chinese factories until I found one that had a truly fabulous
material: pearlescent vinyl in a gorgeous array of colors. Seeing the
potential, my father bought into my venture by lending me $50,000 for
start-up costs.

For luck I named my company Beijo, "kiss" in Portuguese, after my
son Kyle's second word. And luck was what I needed six months later
when a container of 2,500 bags arrived in Jacksonville Beach, FL, where
I was living. I set up a booth at a local bazaar, and women went crazy.
Not only did I sell 300 bags in four days, but customers wanted to host
parties in their homes to sell my bags to friends and family. I didn't
ask—they did!

The key to a successful home-party business is in the product. If
people love what you're selling and are passionate about it, they'll
talk to friends and so on and so on. When a woman sent one of my bags
to her sister in Atlanta, I suddenly had an Atlanta rep. Then a Dallas
rep. And a North Carolina rep. In my first six months, I sold a million
dollars' worth of bags entirely through word of mouth! I grew so fast
that in 2004 major retailers offered to carry my bags nationwide. I
said no. I didn't want to just design bags. I wanted to design a
business that lets women work—a little or a lot—and find balance.
That's what I'm more or less achieving in my own life, thanks to my
assistant. "How about the other pocket you used to put on?" Kyle will
ask when I'm designing. He no longer has to help me pack and ship, but
he's right in there with me.

Lessons learned

1 Design a party you'd want to go to. At mine there's instant gratification. No ordering, no catalogs. If you've always
wanted a red clutch, take it home tonight! When shopping is a thrill,
it creates energy—and sales. At a Beijo party, sales typically total
$1,000 (nearly three times the national average).

2 Customize your business model. Some home-party businesses encourage you
to recruit other reps so that you can get a cut of their sales. I
wanted Beijo to be about the bags, not about dragging other women into
the business. My sales reps buy a minimum of 20 bags and get a
percentage of the sales—there's no incentive to bring in other women.
And with low overhead, they can work as much or as little as they want.

3 Be unique. What sets me apart? My prices—most bags sell for $69 to
$89—and my bright, vibrant colors. I don't do a lot of black. Black is
serious. I want my parties to have girl-power energy.

4  Roll up your sleeves. When I started in 2002, my son would do his
homework at the warehouse and then help me pack and ship.  We sent
out the first 60,000 bags ourselves. I kept track of everything on
Excel. Now, after two years of planning for it, I have software and
systems that let me drop-ship bags to reps within 48 hours. I am
finally out of start-up mode!

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Party Planning

Emphasize whatever it is that sets you apart from the conventional selling process. The more personal you are, the better.