Closet Candy Independent Stylist
Are you interested in joining Closet Candy Boutique as an Independent Stylist?! Keep reading!
affiliate plus program
You probably landed on my blog post because you want to know more about the Independent Stylist program!
First thing first - what is an Independent Stylist? As a CCB Stylist, you have an opportunity to make commissions selling items from Closet Candy. After you sign up, you’re given a custom link to share with your customers and make your commissions on completed sales. You can also build a team and earn an additional commission, but there are no minimum sales or recruitment requirements.
investment and returns
I’m all about the details, and I’m also incredibly analytic. I’ve broken down how much it costs to join the program and become a Stylist, as well as broken down how much you’d need to sell to start making a profit. For me, my three biggest factors are the money, the requirements, and the exit strategy. Is this excessive? Probably…but I think it’s best to know as much as you can upfront before making any decision!
How Much to Join?
To sign up as a CCB Stylist, you pay a non-refundable $99.99 technology fee that covers the cost of your custom link to your replicated website and Backoffice account for a year. It breaks down to about $8.34 a month.
2022 Update: The price to join went back to the original $9.99 monthly fee. They no longer offer the $99.99/year option.
Additionally, once you reach $50 in commissions, you’re sent a debit card linked to your commission account. The card itself ships free of charge, but there is a $1 monthly service fee once you have it.
Total Monthly Investment: $10.99
Breaking Even
To break even from the program fees, you need a minimum of $73.26 in sales each month.
This seems to be questioned a lot, so let me break it down.
“Breaking even” means that you earned as much as you invested.
The money you spend to join the program is your investment: $10.99 monthly fees ($9.99 monthly stylist fee + $1 monthly debit card fee).
The money you earn is the commissions from your sales.
ROI, Return on Investment. If your commission check for the month is less than $10.99, you’d be “in the red”, meaning you spent more money than you earned. If your sales were exactly $73.26, your commission earnings would be exactly $10.99, meaning that you “broke even” and neither made nor lost any money. Any commission on sales over that amount would be your profit/ROI.
More details on commissions are below, but the minimum base you can earn is 15%.
For example, if you sell $100 worth of clothing, you earn $15 in commission on that sale.
Why $73.26? Let’s break out the algebra. We will use 0.15x = $10.99 to determine exactly how much clothing we need to sell at a 15% commission rate to earn back our $10.99 investment and break even.
To complete the equation and find ‘x’, we divide $10.99 by 0.15, and $73.26 is the final result.
To double-check, you can multiply $73.26 by 15%, and you’ll get $10.99. Voila!
Let’s say that you have a customer buy a pair of jeans and a graphic tee from you. Let’s also assume the jeans were $59 and the shirt was $35. The total sale would be $94. Of that sale, the minimum commission you’d earn at 15% would be $14.10. To calculate your ROI, subtract the $10.99 you invested in being a stylist that month, and your true profit from that sale would be $3.11. Any commission you make for the rest of the month would be profit.
commissions
Commissions are earned two ways - personal sales and team sales. Ranges of commissions depend on your monthly sales and which “rank” you qualified for.
Click here for the full commission chart!
Personal Sales
Commissions range from 15% - 25%. It’s referred to as “PV” for Personal Volume.
Stylists earn a base commission of 15% on all sales, which are paid out weekly.
Depending on how much you sell for the month, you can earn up to an extra 10% on those sales. It is their “Enhanced Commission” that this paid out monthly.
Example: You have ten customers place ten orders for $100 each last month, and your total sales are $1,000. Each week of that month, you got paid 15% commission for the week those sales were made, equaling a total of $150 in earned commission. Due to selling that much, you reached the highest rank of “Master Stylist II”, which qualified you to earn 10% more on that $1,000, and you get paid an extra $100 at the end of the month. Therefore, you earned a total of $250 in commissions for that month, which was an ROI profit of $239.01.
Team Sales
You can earn additional commission on sales from people under your team. It’s referred to as “BV” for Bonus Volume.
That money does NOT come out of their commissions, AND you could get paid for up to three levels below you, depending on your rank.
Honestly, it’s too complicated to explain. Essentially, if people sign up under you and they sell up to a certain minimum, you can earn a little extra money.
Do Stylists Get Discounts Upfront?
No, you don’t get an upfront discount. You buy clothing from your own replica link, then earn a commission on that sale.
how it works
replicated website
When you join, you’re provided with a custom link, e.g. yourname.closetcandyboutique.com. It shows your photo and details at the top of the webpage to let customers know they’re shopping with you. Your Backoffice account is where you log in to see your sales details and such.
do i need inventory?
NO. All inventory is managed and shipped directly from Closet Candy, so you don’t need to buy inventory or ship anything yourself. Aside from the fees mentioned in the section above, you technically don’t need to pay for anything else to stay active in the program. Having your own CCB clothing to show off is always a great idea, but it’s not required.
required sales or recruitment?
NO. Closet Candy does not require you to sell anything or have anyone join under you to stay active in the program after signing up. There are many multi-level marketing and affiliate programs that require you to meet monthly and/or quarterly minimums, but CCB does not. Honestly, this is HUGE for me and one of the main reasons I decided to sign up.
I absolutely loathe the idea of having to sell a certain amount or recruit a certain number of people, and I love Closet Candy for not having that built into their program. I could go on and on about the dishonest tactics of other multi-level marketing programs and how they set up affiliates for failure or worse, but that is for another time and another soapbox.
If I sell nothing, the only loss is the monthly fee, and you can decide whether you want to take that risk or not. If I recruit no one, the risk is not having the option to earn an additional commission. I know that I personally love the clothes and constantly get questions about where I get them from, so sharing a link and selling on my own time makes this endeavor low-risk and low-stress for me.
ready to join?
I assume you’re here because someone else approached you to join their team, and you simply wanted more information. I get it! You don’t want to join under me, as you already have someone else in mind. In that case, I hope my details cleared things up for you! If you don’t have someone in mind yet…
GET A GOOD SPONSOR
Seriously, get a good sponsor. It doesn’t need to be my team or me, but if you’re new to social marketing, I promise you that having a sponsor and a team will make it easier to get started. You can probably even email CCB and ask for a sponsor recommendation. Joining under a sponsor is the best way to have someone explain to you the ins and outs of the program and get started. There is a training app provided by CCB, but there are MANY Stylists and limited internal resources for someone to answer all your question. Make sure you have a sponsor who wants to take the time to help you get started - it will be loads easier for you. You don’t lose commissions from joining under someone, so there is no risk (unless your sponsor sucks or is pushy, which is NOT my cup of tea).
You don’t NEED to sign up with a sponsor, but you really don’t have anything to lose if you do. Don’t want them all in your face? Just tell them. Use them as a resource if you have questions, and then ask them to leave you alone until you reach out. They don’t get a bonus for you joining under them, and you won’t earn less commission for being on a team.
It’s On You
It’s all on YOU to make money. CCB has training resources, but you will need to put in time and effort to start seeing returns.
I’m a practical gal who appreciates enthusiasm but prefers details over “fluff”, so let’s be real - I’m not the biggest fan of the “own my own business” mentality when it comes to MLMs. It’s a social marketing commission-based sales gig. However, what you earn is entirely based on what you put into it, so to that extent, it’s ALL ON YOU. There is no boss to push you or help you. For some, selling is easy peasy. For others, not so much. I’ve known girls who make amazing commissions and work hard for it! I’ve known others who struggle or put in little time into it and don’t make much at all. You won’t have a boss encouraging you or analyzing your performance - it’s all on you!
Need a Recommendation?
Send me an email at: hello@karinasandiego.com!
some favorite outfits
more faqs!
Is Closet Candy a Multi-Level Market Program (MLM)?
This is the #1 question, and I totally get why! The answer is yes and no.
The No. You can still buy directly from Closet Candy without going through a Stylist. They continue to operate like a regular business. They were a regular online retailer for years before introducing the Stylist program.
The Yes. If you buy from or join as a Stylist, it’s under their affiliate program, which is technically an MLM since there are levels and commissions. It’s not, however, a “pyramid scheme”, which seems to be a popular inquiry for any MLM program.
You don’t make money simply for recruiting people. If someone signs up under you, you do not get a bonus for their joining. You can earn a small commission on their sales (see commission chart for minimums and rates), but it is less than the commissions from your own personal sales. To stay in the program, you’re not required to recruit anyone at all if you don’t want to, and I’ve never been pressured to recruit.
You are not required to purchase ANY inventory. Sales are made directly through your custom link, and the company ships it out to the customer.
If you join and do absolutely nothing, your net loss is $10.99 from the monthly fees.
Who/What is Closet Candy?
They are an online clothing boutique that has been selling direct to customers since 2012. They’re based out of Arizona, and the husband-and-wife owners sold over $40M worth of clothing before launching the Stylist program.
What is Their Return Policy?
While shipping is always free. Returns, unfortunately, are not. If you’re someone who regularly shops with boutiques, this isn’t surprising. If you’re someone who HATES not being able to get your money back on a return, this can be annoying for you or your customers.
To help, make sure to read the description on each item, as they do a great job indicating whether you should size up, down, etc. If you receive something you do not like, you can print out a Return Label from their website and place it in the resealable shipping bag that your items arrived in. All items must be received within 30 days of the original order date. Once they process your return, you will receive a digital Closet Candy Gift Card via email for the balance of the items, minus $7 for the return shipping fee.
Any Signup Restrictions?
You must be at least 18 years old and in the US.
How Do I Cancel/Leave the Program?
Send an email to stylists@closetcandy.com. In the body of the email, write “I wish to terminate my Stylist account as of today" and include your Stylist ID number. They usually respond within one business day, and they do not refund your Stylist Fee. There is no cancellation fee.