Does anyone wear Merle Norman

teakum

makeup? I love the product and am really thinking about buying into the franchise If you or know someone that bought into a franchise I would love to hear about your experience. How fun would it be to put make up on people all day?? I am just tossing the idea of owning a business like this around in my little head.

Lauren80

i do...and my mom (greeneyz7) has worked at merle norman for several years (she is retired now, but still occasionaly works at her old store to help out)

she pops in every now and then and will likely have much to say about the business...

teakum

ohh please do get your mom to comment!!!!

Lauren80

i am sure she will see it...

she comes in every now and then....she is a "newlywed" herself and actually was in here before this board got active... LOL but yeah....the "merle norman" in the title should get her interested in the topic....

greeneyz7

I was with Clinique for six years prior to going to work for Merle Norman. I do still work for MN averaging two days per week. One money magazine I was reading rated it one of the top franchises in the country to purchase. The lady who owns Merle Norman owns the two that are in Montgomery, one at Eastchase and one at Eastdale. If run correctly this can be a real money making business. Where are you located?....and are there any MN's close to you? New business would require a lot of hands on from the owner. Training is vital and finding really good people that you can trust is necessary to success. Not everyone who can sell can also sell makeup. Your location would be very important to your success. Merle Norman will walk you through the entire process, go to their website and look at their franchise info. My husband wanted to open one up for me in Prattville which would still be a prime location...but at this stage in my life I'm just not interested in putting in the time and energy that would be required to start a new business. If you like I can give you the owner's name and a phone number, she's been in this business close to thirty years and unless she was really busy when you call, I'm sure she would be happy to give you some information. Playing in makeup is fun but it's like anything else, some days you just don't really want to, even when it's your store LOL...it is a fun job though.

teakum

I would be want to do it in the Valley area. My one concern is that there already in one there. But IMO not managed very well, business hours are not good, they don t have alot of product ect... But Valley is booming right now, we have several new industry's coming to town so I am thinking that may help. Would Merle Norman have a problem with two being in the same town(Valley is no where near as big as Montgomery). Its just something to toss around in my head though. When you say you have to have alot of time to put into the store are you meaning more that 40 hours a week. Just wondering what it actually takes. And I know finding really good make up girls will be very hard, also trusting people in your business with your money while your not there will be very hard for me to come to grips with. But I will research it more. THanks

greeneyz7

MN has their own guidelines as to how close the stores can be within areas. It was approved and we were going to do one in Prattville, there's already one here but it's a crap store, poorly run and they don't sell enough to have fresh product...I have never been through their door but I have heard enough to know I would not buy anything there. MN almost insisted that she put in another one in Mtgy or they would find someone who would...and that's when she put in Eastchase. Now that she has done that, Eastdale is almost down the drain and I think she will close it once the lease is up. Depending on where you put the store they (the mall or strip mall in their contract)  will tell you or you can negotiate what hours you should be open. We are closed on Sundays which may or may not be a good thing for business and we are open until 9 which IMO definately isn't good for business. After 7pm most people just don't come out for makeup. If you have more questions just ask, I'll be glad to share what I know. Makeup application can be learned...that's not a big deal, being up on the products is important. It's a good business to explore.