Hi ...
What a year it's been.
We’re only six months into 2020, and it feels like six years!
From Kobe to Covid.
From Ahmaud Arbury and Breonna Taylor, to George Floyd.
From the impeachment of the world’s most powerful narcissist… to protests and riots across the land.
Whew!
And we still have a presidential election to get through.
Today, I’m going to give you a brief update on how the pandemic has impacted EE 2.0.
To get right to the point, it has really thrown a monkey wrench into things.
In a good way.
When the shutdowns began, we advised consultants and hostesses to cancel all home shows until further notice.
As it turns out, that was a prudent thing to do. Covid-19 has had a disproportionate impact on the Black community.
To be of service during the quarantine, we started doing special online events called Sankofa Gatherings. They were social events that brought families and friends together in cyber space.
There was no selling or commercialism. Just games, storytelling and community. We did them on Zoom and they were very well received.
The Sankofa Gatherings got some of us wondering whether it might be possible to do EE Parties on Zoom.
After all, the pandemic had the entire country doing just about everything remotely.
Work. School. Church. Birthday parties. Doctor visits. Graduations. Even funerals. And of course, shopping.
If Zoom parties worked, I knew they’d be an absolute game changer. For an old "art head" like myself, the notion of being able to do a party anywhere in the U.S. by simply turning on one's laptop was mind boggling.
But I also figured that, without the home show atmosphere, sales would be very low. Probably in the $250 range. And, maybe lower.
Ouch!
But hey, something is better than nothing, and Zoom parties would only take one hour.
Bernadine Kirkland (Harriet #1) did the first Zoom party. And, lo and behold, it went well. There were only 6 guests that came on, but the sales were $417.60.
And then… things started going uphill.
As it turns out, my estimates were waaaaaay off. Zoom party sales weren’t lower than Home party sales. They were higher! Significantly higher. And they only took an hour to
do.
Geepers! What in the Sam Hill was going on?
For starters, Zoom attendance was much higher. That's because all a guest had to do was jump on their phone, tablet or laptop... and poof, they were at the party.
In addition, family and friends could attend from anywhere in the country. For example, Gay Williams had a Zoom party that had orders from five different states.
Crazy right?
And on top of that, customers bought more. When the hour-long presentation ended, they could really take their time to browse and shop. Case in point, one of Gay’s orders totaled $432.90 by
itself.
Bottom line, Zoom parties have averaged over $500… more than double what I predicted.
Donna Wright did a table showing her Zoom parties over the last 30 days. You can check out her numbers below.
But before you do, take note of something. (Ye that have ears, let them hear!)
As you know, the killings of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor have triggered a new civil rights movement... and a new era of Black consciousness.
With the pandemic getting people comfortable with Zoom, and our artists being asked to do the covers of Time, The New Yorker, Rolling Stone, The Atlantic, and National Geographic, it's like a raging wild fire has been
lit.
Black culture, Black art and supporting Black businesses have suddenly become "the thing".
Fifteen new consultants have come aboard in just the last 7 days. And those 15 are already bringing in more. Some have already launched and their Zoom parties have been very successful.
Long story short, if you still have an interest in 2.0, you'll want to make your move before things really take off. Because as someone once said, "nothing is worse than missing an opportunity that could have changed your
life."
That's it for now.
Hope to see you at the top,
Brian
