Company Name: Chalk & Company
Costs: $99
Rating: 42/100
Do I Recommend Chalky & Company?
For some people, trying to make money with Chalky & Company could be an achievable goal. There is certainly demand for the products and their Painter’s Powder does have selling power. Nevertheless, I still recommend affiliate marketing as a more effective alternative to making money. You can promote ANYTHING you want instead of just one company.
At the same time, many of the products are easy to find at stores like Hobby Lobby, which considerably decreases the potential to earn money.
What Products Does Chalky & Company Sell?
Chalky & Company is a little unusual. First of all, the emphasis is on DIY and crafts around the home. But, the idea is also to make the process much easier, so that it is something that anyone in the family can do.
To do so, the company offers one primary type of product, which is Painter’s Powder. This powder can be added to any brand of latex paint to create a naturally chalky appearance. When purchased on its own, the powder comes in either a 4oz or a 9oz size.
One of the key selling points of the powder is flexibility. For example, the powder can be used for both small and large projects. The consistency can also be changed by varying the amount of water added. Doing so then alters the way that the paint looks.
Along with flexibility, the powder is popular for how easy and safe it is to use. This would make it a good choice for families trying to limit exposure to chemicals and those who want family projects that don’t involve much work.
For that matter, chalky paint is popular for precisely this reason. It can be used on most types of surface with little to no prep work. The popularity is why so many brands have produced chalky paint of their own.
Chalky & Company also offers a range of latex paint that can be combined with the powder. So, customers have the option to use this paint or paint from another brand entirely. In this case, there is only one size available, 8oz.
Beyond these two areas, the company also offers various products to help people create their projects. Some of these seem similar to what you might find with Creative Memories or Stampin’ Up.
The company also sells various kits that give people everything they need to create a product from start to finish.
In concept, the idea sounds like fun. There is no shortage of interest in arts and crafts, with many families turning to DIY projects to make their homes more interesting. You can see this on Pinterest too, with many different ideas out there. Chalky & Company fills a gap in this field too – helping to make DIY more accessible and easy to understand.
Even so, there are some issues. For one thing, most of what Chalky & Company offers isn’t that unusual. You could often find similar products by looking at Hobby Lobby or similar stores.
The main product that makes the company stand out is their Painter’s Powder and the ability to make chalky paint. Being able to make the paint is useful, as it lets people tailor the consistency to whatever project they have at hand.
But, that being said, chalky paint is easy to buy. There are many brands out there that offer it and those products may be less expensive than what Chalky & Company sells.
Overall, the products are fun and there is a significant market. But, they’re not unique and they’re likely to be overpriced compared to non-MLM companies. It would certainly be cheaper to buy the individual components from stores like Hobby Lobby, rather than choosing the kits from Chalky & Company. These latter aspects would make sales more difficult, although not impossible.
For me, it's just hard to get excited about selling chalk.
Is Chalky & Company A Good Business Opportunity?
Direct marketing companies get old fast but Chalky & Company is unusual enough that it might just work – especially if you know people who enjoy crafts. So, what about the business side of things?
Well, as is often the case, Chalky & Company relies on a party model to sell products. Here, members are hosting workshops with friends and family members. Those workshops provide a way for the distributor to highlight the various products and make them all seem amazing.
With this company, people who attend the events must first choose and order a kit through the distributor. The workshops are then an arts and crafts session, with the distributor helping people to make their projects.
The event is a perfect way for distributors to promote products. If the participants enjoyed themselves and liked what they created, there is a decent chance that some of them will make orders.
The style can also make it easier to reach a wide audience. In particular, events are held at the home of a ‘host’, who will often be a friend or acquaintance of the distributor. That host will typically invite the guests, which come from their social contacts. The host also earns bonuses based on the success of the party, so there is an incentive for them to invite as many people as they can.
In theory, events like this are powerful and they can work well. But, there are limitations too. One problem is that people get sick of them fast. Additionally, people tend to have overlapping social circles. This means the same individuals end up getting invited to the events over and over again.
With Chalky & Company, participants also have to buy kits first. This decreases costs for the distributor but it could make it harder to get people to come to the parties. After all, you’re getting them to buy a kit before they know whether or not they like the products. That’s a tough sell, especially if you’re promoting to someone who doesn’t like DIY.
Earning Income
The primary method of earning money with Chalky & Company is to sell the products. Distributors earn 25%-30% on the sales that they make themselves. It’s easy to see how that could add up, especially if you could get consistent sales at your parties.
The other aspect is building a team. Here, the goal is to recruit people, who then do the same. As your team gets larger and more successful, your income potential increases as well.
A key aspect of doing this is going up through the ranks in the company. Each new rank brings various extra bonuses and chances for income but also has new requirements. This includes the need to sell a certain amount personally and within your team, along with having a specific team structure.
Some people are successful in this area but honestly, most aren’t. Simply put, building and maintaining a team is hard work. Many people can’t even find a single person to recruit and even if they do, most of the people they recruit don’t end up being very dedicated.
Even if you do get enough recruits, you have to continue to make sales, as do they. Doing so can be extremely difficult, especially as you are typically competing against one another to some degree.
Ongoing And Hidden Costs
To stay active with Chalky & Company, you need to make at least $150 of sales every 3 months. This isn’t a large amount but there is a catch – that $150 has to be from a single month. So, even if you sold $140 worth of product every month, that wouldn’t be enough to keep you in the company.
Now, this requirement isn’t excessive and would be relatively easy to achieve. The design also means that you only have to meet the sales requirement once every 3 months. That’s pretty good really and means you can have a few bad months without it being a significant problem.
The sales requirement is a little restrictive but it’s still better than you will find with many similar companies.
However, there are some other areas to consider.
One is that the sales requirement can pressure people into buying. For example, if you fall short on meeting the $150 goal, you may end up buying product yourself to make up for it. If this happens consistently, you could lose money. Thankfully, the requirements are low enough that this is unlikely but it is still something to be aware of.
Additionally, there would be some costs involved in hosting the workshops. If nothing else, you’d need a kit of your own to work with. You may also want products to demonstrate and you might provide refreshments, prizes and the like.
These are all little costs that can add up – especially if you don’t get many (or any) sales from some of your parties.
The Company Itself
One final thing to mention is that Chalky & Company is fairly new. It has only been around since 2015, while many other direct marketing companies have been active for 10 years or more. That newness has advantages and disadvantages.
On the positive side, there is still buzz around Chalky & Company and the products are unusual enough that people are interested. At the same time, there are relatively few distributors out there. So, there’s a decent chance that you won’t be competing with someone in your local area.
As a contrast, think about companies like Amway or Avon. Most people know about these and have probably been given a sales pitch at least once or twice before. There are also distributors throughout the country and the products are easy to find. This means the competition is much tougher and it is harder to get ahead.
For that matter, growing a team is easiest when a company is young – as there are more potential members out there. As the company becomes more successful, the people who would join do so, making it harder to find people who are interested. So, in this sense, the newness of Chalky & Company is perfect.
But, there are also more risks. For example, it’s too soon to know how well Chalky & Company will do in the long-term, especially as the products aren’t all that unique. This may also make some people less likely to become distributors as well, simply because they don’t trust the company.
It’s also worth remembering that your income is entirely dependent on the company. So, even if you have a large team, you could lose everything overnight if the company stopped trading for any reason. And, that does happen, like with Ava Anderson Non Toxic. Relying on a single company is always a risk. That risk is only increased when the company is relatively new.
Making Money With Arts And Crafts
I love the type of product that Chalky & Company sells and it’s easy to see how the items would be popular. But, I would still be very hesitant about the company itself. The whole concept of team building also ends up being much more effort than it’s worth.
I also hate the idea of having to rely on other people efforts in order to make money. For example, you might find that many of the people you recruit don’t put enough effort in or don’t take the idea seriously. This would make it much harder to earn an income.
On the other hand, affiliate programs can be an alternative way to earn money with this type of product, with fewer risks. Doing so gives you the chance to reach a much wider audience and to have more control over the products that you promote as well.
Final Review
Chalky & Company has some interesting items on offer and this may be enough to let you earn some money from them. Still, the MLM structure and the newness of the company is a concern. Personally, I'd rather build my own brand on a website, and recommend products from various companies instead of just one.
Whatever type of product you decide to promote, it's important to own your own website to grow your business.
Parties only work if you have a network of friends with money in their pockets. Network marketing only works if your friends are interested in joining business opportunities.
With a website you can reach the entire world, and only promote great products to people interested in what you have to say. Plus, you open up doors to multiple streams of revenue like affiliate sales, ad click revenue, paid advertising, and even selling your own digital products.
Nathaniell
Thank you for your review. I’ve been with the company since 2015 and it is what you make of it just like other companies. I hope people will give it a try and judge for themselves.
Heidi