Home Business Parties

Dear Home Business Parties,

No, this is not a I-loathe-you-and-all-your-cheesy-sales-pitches-and-awkward-moments-of-forced-purchase kind of letter.


I actually kind of like you.

Sometimes.

Except that I’ve decided that there’s a new rule regarding you:

One can’t invite someone to a home business party without having invited that person over previously. I’m talking a no-strings-attached, purely social invite. In a public place or one’s home.

Now, I understand that besides the obvious, “I want to sell items and make money” or “I told the party host I’d have at least 12 people show up” reasons for inviting near strangers to your party; some people might actually really want to enjoy the social aspect of your events and really want to befriend the attendees. I could see how you might seem like a “safe” environment in which to get to know coworkers or acquaintances with whom you ordinarily do not socialize with. That the schedule and purpose of a party might provide nice structure as a host.

I get this, I really do.

But.

I’m putting my foot down with this rule. I and my over-analytical self and tired of getting these PamperedChefMelaleucaTupperwareNorwex invites from people with whom I’ve never engaged in voluntary socialization. How do I interpret this? Am I just another number on the invite list? Am I just another potential sale? Do you really care about the quality of my jellyroll pan? Do you really want to be my friend in real life? Or just my friend in the home-business-party world?

Therefore, the necessity of the rule. If the host is willing to actually hang out with the invitee prior to the aforementioned party, the host is either: a.) really wanting to engage in a genuine friendship with this person OR b.) willing to go to great(er) lengths to make a dollar and more power to her OR c.) genuinely concerned about the invitee’s organic cleaning, plastic storage, all-natural laundry detergent needs.

Phew, I feel better having voiced this.



But as I write, a second rule is forming in my head. Something regarding the ratio of home business party invites to non home business party invites. Probably at least 1 to 3, though this might be altered depending on the amount of purchase the invitee makes at said party ….

For another letter, I guess.


Best,
Julie