Considering being a consultant? Advice please

Hi all

I have been so inspired since joining SW last year, now I have met my target I am considering becoming a consultant.

If there are any consultants out there (or anyone else with info) please could you tell me your thoughts. Is there an initial outlay? What is the realistic amount of working hours, can you do it alongside another job? What is the earning potential?

Many thanks

I too have been concidering becoming a consultant. I wouldnt concider it anytime soon due to my age, i just dont think i'd get the interest being so young, depite being at target.. however i have asked sw for some info and im expecting a phone call over the next few days..

you can 'apply' online and the district manager will contact you to invite you to a consultants opportunity event xxx

Thanks for that information, I've emailed them this afternoon. I didn't realise they invite you to an information evening, that's a good idea.

Yeah! i figured id go along and see what its all about so that im prepared. I wouldnt open a group for maybe another 5 or so years, but i dont want it to be my plan and not be prepared!

I considered it, but working full time and not having much time with my OH and daughter I decided against it.
When I looked into it the minimum outlay for the franchise was £500, the other package was £1000 BUT you need to buy the books, the info boards, pay for advertising, leaflets etc on top of this.
I don't know about earning potential - I guess it depends a lot on how many people you get through the door each group (this is why consultants get grumpy when people don't turn up!)

I would still like to do it, maybe in the very distant future when DD has gone to Uni.

The opportunities events will give you all the info, warts and all!

I considered it went to information evening, went for interview got offered place if i could find a place to open up then spent 4 months trying to find halls etc to use, bloody nightmare got frustrated so gave up lol

think its a good source of income when wanting to still be at home with kids, i was 27 when applied and think its perfect age - need more younger consultants in my opinion (all over 50 in my area)

i would strongly consider it but initial costs are expensive and unless your group is very very large it would take a while to get return on it.

good luck - any more questions just give us a shout

good luck and what I have found with pervious consultants is the passionate ones that have a real intesest and belief in SW are the BESt and people tend to be drawn to them ;D

i remember my consultant telling me about the initial outlay back when she started (well over 25 years ago) said she paid about 50quid to get started and that was that! oh how i wish things were that cheap! lol!

I can only imagine when i actually get started how expensive it'd be, but i'd be doing it to spend time with my kids (yes that how far in the future im concidering this, a good 8 years or so yet! ) and for the enjoyment of it. If iv learnt anything this past year its not money that makes you happy! id love to help people along, it makes me sad when i hear of people who are un-inspired by there consultant and i just think about how happy it'd make me to know iv encoureged somone to make a change


anywho, long way off! lol

I considered it when at target back in 2007 but the cost v return put me off

like was mentioned it's around a grand to set up and when you start you get around 1.25 per person through the door. If you can get enough people through the door then great but I reckon it will take around a year to start making money.

I reckon it would be a great job to do and if you have the money to put into it then go for it!

When I first targeted with SW in 2003, I was invited to be a consultant. At that stage I had no idea that we had to pay.
No-one ever mentioned financial outlay.
I went to open day and an interview, and then was called to say I failed. I cried buckets as that was really what I wanted to do.
Recently I thought about it again and applied on line and when then received a letter from SW Headquarters.
The letter did not mention the finance, however they did mention that SW can get a loan from a certain bank, with the first three years being interest free.
That, for me, shows that the amount must be considerable (I had heard over £1000)
and judging by the percentages paid by SW from membership, it would take a while to recoup the initial outlay before making anything.
There are also several courses one has to attend before starting a group. This all costs.
There obviously are no guarantees, but, for me as much as I would love to help others, I can't take the financial risk.
When a SW rep called me regarding my interest and interview, I declined explaining my concern with the financial outlay.
Her response to my reaction was "Did you not know that it is an opportunity to own a business franchise?"!!
Enough said. On my part it's a no-no, and I will continue going to group and help where can. That's it!

can i ask if you know what you failed on?

i can totally see why you wouldnt go for it now, with all the financial risks, and like mentioned before, it could be a year before you saw a financial return on it. In my head i know i would love the job itself, but being self employed is a big step, especially with no garentee you'l be a success. This is deffinatly one reason i would never concider it any time soon, my age is against me and i would want to have maintained for a substantial amount of times.

x

FernXx said:

can i ask if you know what you failed on?

x

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They didn't say. I could only presume that I did not pass some of the general interview questions. Perhaps they did not like something I said.
All I know was I was really gutted, as at the time I wanted it so much!

well i think your fab, and we all very much appriciate you on here!! xxxxxxxx

I heard that WW is a lt cheaper, but then again I dont like the WW diet! I would also be interested in SW consultant, but I think you would have to do at least 3 classes a week to get any real reward, and to do that you need to completely dedicate yourself to it, and that would be hard if you are also working full time.

if on the other hand, you could make it your part time job, do 3-4 classes a week and could travel to local areas, do your own books for the tax man, and manage your own time and accounts, then I think it would be an amazing opportunity, the rewards would be excellent. But I think you would have to live eat and breath SW until you were established.

SW, however great the diet is, is a business at the end of the day, and they want to make money out of their consultants, and members, and our success helps keep people joining, and the business growing.

its a loop, investments, results, success, investment, results success ...

It would be a great job, with challenges, rewards, fun, laughter and friendships, there are not many oppurtunities like that about.

I know that WW leaders get a cash bonus if a member becomes a leader, not sure if that is the same for SW.

good luck and I'll be all ears for any other info that gets posted on here.

xx

To run three classes would mean a massive outlay as you have to pay per class.


Being a ww consultant is very different. Hardly any outlay but you have to be within 5 pounds of your target (as sw can't enforce this all the managers in my area are obese)
with ww you also only get something like 25p per head. Not worth it in my opinion!

yeah it would be a big outlay, but you'd only have to do the prep once and use it on all three classes and you may get a 'deal' if using the same venue.

its a good point though.

as for ww leaders, my old one was quite big herself, she was defo over weight. but she had lost something like 6 stone and kept 4 off.

I am not sure if the weight of the leaders matters that much, as long as they are good, motivating, know their stuff and have kept off the majority of weight lost. we all have our own individual target weight we want to get to, and if someone has been very large in the past, like morbidly obese and they get to the lower end of obese or higher end of over weight, that shouldn't diminish their appeal as a consultant, they are still successful slimmers. consultants dont have to be thin, they just have to be good at what they do.

an interesting and separate debate that one.

I've been considering this at a later date too as a part time job to begin with.
I went to an info meeting about 2 years ago - it was something like £1000 for the franchise with one class and £1500 for 2 - there were consultants there who were obviously enthusiastic about it.

I recently found this on another site - mixed views but worth a read although it's a couple of years old.
Mumsnet Discussions - Thinking of becoming a slimming world consultant. - Going back to work

msblonde said:

I am not sure if the weight of the leaders matters that much, as long as they are good, motivating, know their stuff and have kept off the majority of weight lost. we all have our own individual target weight we want to get to, and if someone has been very large in the past, like morbidly obese and they get to the lower end of obese or higher end of over weight, that shouldn't diminish their appeal as a consultant, they are still successful slimmers. consultants dont have to be thin, they just have to be good at what they do

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just had to say I have no problem with a leader not being thin but mine is morbidly obese and has been so for many years
I find it hard to listen to her advice when she obviously doesn't follow it. Everyone struggles, falls off the wagon and such, it's the ability to get back on it that sets you apart

just don't want anyone thinking I'm sizist!!!

Hiya! I've just recently quit as a consultant of 2 very large groups at the end of December after 3 years in the job. I'm not sure what the current outlay is for purchasing the franchise as it seems to change all the time but you're in the right ball park with the figures that have been discussed. In addition, you have to pay for half the weekly room rent (SW pay the other half) which can be anything between £15 and £40 or more, you have to buy leaflets etc during the 3 or 4 promotional periods per year, monthly ads which amount to about £50 per month and any extra bits you require for your groups. All the training is free and is absolutely fantastic - you learn loads about yourself as well as how to be a better consultant. If you require accommodation during the training which is in Derby, you can make use of the local hotels for a discounted price. You have to go on training at least every 18 months. You also have to attend monthly team meetings locally and quarterly district meetings which you may well have to travel to. There is no outlay for the Xpressweigh system thats being rolled out as that belongs to SW but you do have to pay £35 annually for registration under the data protection act. You have to register for tax and national insurance and pay that accordingly. You self-assess so you may need the assistance of an accountant. You also have to pay the costs of phone calls, texts etc for all the member support you do.

I had to leave SW for personal reasons but I have to say that I personally worked quite long hours doing Admin and support work and SW DO demand very high standards of their consultants and their groups. I wasn't sorry at all to leave those aspects of the job behind. Having said that, I absolutely loved doing the groups and meeting people and treasured the feeling that I was doing something very worthwhile. I've got loads of happy memories of my time with the company and I'd definitely do it again. The one thing that I would point out is that many, many consultants - all of whom have successfully lost weight with SW as members - suffer with personal weight gain once they start the job. I regained 4 of the 6 stones I lost over the 3 years and thats one of the reasons I quit - I had to start looking after ME. I personally would NEVER recommend that a person who isn't at target or who has only very recently achieved it go forward to be a consultant. Once you're locked into the job, its very easy to think that it'll help you stay on track when, in actual fact, you put yourself last and see following the plan as a bit of a busman's holiday. This isn't always the case, of course, but, in my experience and that of most of my colleagues, its definitely true.
Starting any business venture is always a risk and working for SW is no different. You get placed where they place you and, if you get lucky, you land up in a highly populated area where there's loads of potential for growth. Otherwise, it can be a hard slog for little money. It all boils down to why you're thinking about doing it. Is it for the income or is it because you have a genuine desire to help people get to where they want to be. That desire is what SW focus on. Having said that, being turned down for the job is not a reflection on you as a person. SW just look for certain personality traits which meet their criteria.
Hope that helps - its definitely worth going to the opportunities events and finding out more. They're no obligation, are held every month and they give you a fuller picture of what the job entails. xxxx (PHEW!!!)

Wow - thanks for all the info Wannabe :thankyou: