Studio J Bootcamp

Hey stamping & scrappin team!

I'm so excited about Studio J! Yes, I just got back from Studio J Bootcamp and it was so much fun! I can't wait to share a ton of things I learned with all of you! If you haven't played with Studio J yet, or if you have just dabbled here and there, then hold on to your socks because it is awesome and is totally going to blow you away!

We spent one solid day playing with Studio J and learning cool new tricks. We had until midnight to submit the layouts we were creating (yes I finally clicked the submit button at 11:45pm! LOL!) But it was well worth the tired, bleary eyes we had by the end! We learned little shortcuts and tricks as well as cool ways you can create nifty effects. I thought I would share new tips with all of you each week.

So here's the first one: This family layout was created starting with a totally different kit! Believe it or not, I started with the Magnifique kit! I wanted to use the stickease from that kit, but I wanted the papers to be different colors. So I just dragged card stock on to replace the patterned paper. Then I clicked on the color palette and chose the colors that I wanted, pulling from my photos! Voila! Doesn't look like Magnifique at all does it? Simply changing paper colors makes a HUGE difference! Have fun playing!

A Couple of Cards I Made...

...using Fill in the Blank and Universal Backgrounds. I love both of these sets!

Team Builders...What a great conference!

I went to a great mini-conference last weekend in Salt Lake called Team Builders! Jeanette, Kristine and the executive team unveiled the proposed new compensation plan! WOW! I think you all will be happy. I was amazed at how thought out and detailed the company has been in listening to consultants and really trying to see what consultants want! Close to My Heart will be giving out more details soon, but I thought I might give you a sneak peek at what is being PROPOSED. Please remember that this is not set in stone. The executive staff introduced it to get feedback and suggestions instead of saying, "Here's how it is." LOVE that! Anyway, here are the highlights:

Starting April 1st:

*Jr. Consultants: We will still have the Jr. Consultant program, however, starting in April they will also have a quarterly minimum due, just as full consultants do. Instead of $300/quarter as for active consultants, it's only $100 quarter. This makes sense, as your commission/discount decreases when you move to the jr. level, and so will your minimums. So, this is the equivalent of about $34 each month. How easy is that?

*Recruiting/STTT: STTT bonuses for uplines are back. When a new recruit hits their first Straight to the Top sales level, the UPLINE who recruited them gets $25 in product credit as a bonus. When they hit their STTT Level 2, the upline gets $75 cash. This keeps uplines working with their new recruits and being rewarded for it.

The following changes are slated to start October 1st:

*Monthly Sales Minimums: They are LOWERING the minimum required sales for uplines to submit monthly to receive the bonus commission from their team sales. Currently, it is $600 sales to earn off your 1st level downline, $900 for 2nd level, and $1200 for 3rd level or deeper. With the new program, it will be $500 for 1st level, $750 for 2nd level, and $1,000 for 3rd level. Even easier for you to turn in your personal required sales to earn full commission from your downline.

*Personal Sales Commission and Bonuses: Our base commission is still 22% for all consultants at all active levels (jr. consultants are still 10%). However, the override bonuses are changing. Instead of getting very small cash bonuses for reaching certain sales levels (I'm sure sometimes for some consultants it takes months to get enough bonus $ to add up enough to get a check! LOL!), you will be rewarded with FREE product credit to shop with. When your sales hit just $1,000 for the month, you get the free product, plus a higher cash bonus as well. Here's a breakdown on basic numbers from the current program to the proposed new one (these are just some examples at different sales amounts just to give you a feel for the new compensation plan):

$150: 22% + previously get $2.25 cash, now get $5 product credit

$400: 22% + previously get $12 cash, now get $25 product credit

$600: 22% + previously get $30 cash, now get $50 product credit

$800: 22% + previously get $40 cash, now get $75 product credit

$1000: 22% + previously get $55, now get $80 cash PLUS another $75 in product = $155 (that's $100 more!!). 8% bonus vs. previous 5.5%

$3,000: 22% + previously get $240 cash bonus, now get $390 cash ($150 more, no product credit). 13% bonus vs. previous 8%

I don't know about you, but I would love to have $75 in free product to shop with each month. And is the products what helped us fall in love with CTMH? I'm so excited! Hitting $1000 in sales is a real sweet spot too, getting both a cash bonus and product bonus! Love it!

*New Team Structure: They have added in an additional Director title called Senior Director. Here's how it looks, and how many active consultants are needed in your first downline (there are others needed in other downline levels, this is just 1st downline for now):

Supervisor: 1 downline

Manager: 5 downline

Exec. Manager: 10 downline

Sr. Exec. Manager: 15 downline

Director: 20 downline

Senior Director: 25 downline (new title)

Executive Director: 30 downline

Sr. Executive Director: 40 downline

Presidential Director: 50 downline

*Team Sales: Commissions are going up - emphasis put on working with your FIRST level downline for pay increase. Here's the basic breakdown of old and new program - check out where you are now and what this will do for your income. For Sr. Exec. and Directors, your pay stays the same. For everyone else, it increases, especially for you supervisors and managers! !WOOHOO!

Supervisor: Old - 2% off 1st downline; New - 5% off 1st downline

Manager: Old - 3% off 1st dl, 1% off 2nd dl; New - 5% off 1st dl, 1% off 2nd dl

Exec. Manager: Old - 4% off 1st, 2% off 2nd; New - 5% off 1st, 2% off 2nd

Sr. Exec. Manager: Old - 5% off 1st, 3% off 2nd, 1% off 3rd; New - 5% off 1st, 3% off 2nd, 1% off 3rd (stayed the same)

Director: Old - 6% off 1st, 4% off 2nd, 2% off 3rd; New - 6% off 1st, 4% off 2nd, 2% off 3rd (stayed the same)

The following upper-level directors have minimum required team sales amounts to achieve, to qualify for the title and commission increase:

Sr. Director: Min. Team Sales = $20,000; Earn 8% off 1st dl, 4% off 2nd dl, 2% off 3rd

Exec. Director: Min. Team Sales = $50,000; Earn 9% off 1st, 4% off 2nd, 2% off 3rd

Sr. Exec. Director: Min. Team Sales = 150,000; Earn 10% off 1st, 4% off 2nd, 2% off 3rd, AND .5% off 4th

Pres. Director: Min. Team Sales = $300,000; Earn 10% off 1st, 4% off 2nd, 2% off 3rd, and 1% off 4th

**It looks like we no longer have a 5th downline...teams are only 4 levels deep

***For upper-level Directors, you can retain your title, but be paid at a lower level if your team sales aren't in line. For example, if you are a Senior Director with 25 active downline, but your team sales are less than the required $20,000 minimum, you will be paid at the regular Director level.

There are more little changes too (like stuff for those high level sr exec directors etc), but this is the bulk of them. I hope that helps! If you have questions, please feel free to holler any time! I'd be more than happy to give you any other information you need! We are part of a great company and I'm so glad that they are putting even more money and more product in our pockets!