The beginning of our story is probably familiar to many of you - two busy professionals (social worker and lawyer), struggling in an expensive city to get ahead - trying to balance the demands of work, family, and our relationship. Feeling too often unfulfilled. Loving and wanting to spend more time with our three little ones, but always feeling conflicted with the demands of jobs that were far more necessities than passions. Wondering if this was all life was, wondering whether it could get better and how. Knowing that having to work more to increase the material standard of our life would come at a cost – less time with our family, and less time doing the things that bring us happiness. Both of us struggling with the depressing nature of our jobs and wanting more.
Now our lives are very different. We are fulfilled and running an exciting business together from home. We feel more professional satisfaction than we ever have and we have more time to spend with our family, all without having to change our material standard of life, and here is how it began….
In the fall of 2009 I (Meghann) received an email from a girlfriend from my hometown; she was planning to join Scentsy…so I decided on a whim to give it a shot. I was curious about the opportunity of getting involved with a direct sales company that had just expanded into Canada. I signed up without seeing the product, as I have always loved scented candles….and had an issue with remembering to blow them out. The idea of Scentsy, fragrance filled houses with no danger, was a no-brainer.
My goals at the beginning were simply to sell enough so I could always buy the products and take advantage of host rewards. That was it. I did not understand what the “other” side of the business was until we earned the first incentive trip to Hawaii in 2010. I was a superstar consultant at the time of the trip and earned enough points to bring Ryan. That was our first ever real experience with corporate and meeting other successful consultants. We spent hours by the pool connecting with leaders in the USA that were living these incredible lives because of their Scentsy business, we were like sponges asking many questions and figuring out that to truly build our dream business we needed to help others build theirs. We decided that trip that we were going to do exactly that. One night during the trip we went back to our hotel room and talked and decided that everyone here were just “real” people, teachers, nurses, stay at home moms etc, and if they could do it, then so could we. That night we wrote down specific goals for our business and date stamped them, and 15 months after that trip, we hit Superstar Director, the top rank in the company, which was our final goal at the time (notice that I turned into a “we”) this trip was when Ryan knew he would become more involved with the business.
After our Hawaii trip (June 2010) Ryan decided that he wanted to invest in and participate with the business. After meeting Heidi and Orville, experiencing the authentic enthusiasm with other consultants and the quality of the product, he understood that Scentsy was not just another party product, it was a legitimate business.
At the time, Ryan owned his own small law firm. He had been to school for many years to get his education but was dealing with the very depressing reality that despite his many years of expensive education he really hated his job. Like many other law students, he didn’t know what the “practice” of law would be like after he completed school. The long hours, the demanding clients and extremely stressful environment started to take a toll on him emotionally. He loved his family dearly so each day he would get up and “do what he had to do” to provide for us, but each day as he drug himself out of bed I could see almost a look of desperation in his eyes. This is where I found a new WHY, we would build this business together to the point that it would support us BOTH! At first the idea was out of this world. Ryan made a very good income as a lawyer, despite hating his job. We thought that the idea of him being able to leave to work full time with me was a big dream, but we decided we’d swing for the fence.
Ryan knew that a Law career could not fulfill him, and that the practice of Law was not his passion, and that he needed to do something that he was passionate about, he needed something much more where he could create, motivate, write, inspire and teach others. This realization lit a fire under us that was indescribable. We knew that our Scentsy Family business COULD be the way to replace his law career (sounds crazy right????), so in turn he could pursue his true passions and interests. That became our new goal, to be able to grow our Scentsy business to a point that we no longer needed the Law income and were able to continue in a standard of living that we were used to. This took a serious joint effort, and there were many days that Ryan would work all day at his law firm, only to come home and work on Scentsy late into the night.
I can report that as of July 2012, our dreams became a reality. We were able to build our business to the point that Ryan could leave law and join me full time. Ryan provides business and marketing coaching to our ever growing team and takes the lead on our own marketing efforts. He absolutely loves the pure entrepreneurial aspect of this business and loves working with our team and providing them with the tools that they need to be successful. It truly has become a family business for us both.
I love being able to work from home, my dress code was simple: it usually consisted of comfy pj’s and a hoodie. I worked whenever I wanted, and placed orders after the kids were in bed. As a family business, my kids helped sticker and pack the orders. When “work” took me out of the home, it was usually an evening or weekend where I met new friends, ate sweet treats, and smelled even sweeter smells; and the best part was getting paid the entire time!
The product sold itself. I rarely had a guest at a party that didn’t order. I’d show up, plug them in, and Scentsy’s fragrance and chic warmers would do 90% of my job. I never thought I was amazing as a public speaker, but now I am able to address large groups of people, create promotional media, and am confident because of the experience that I’ve had at my parties and shows.
Scentsy goes above and beyond the call of a company in the way it motivates and incentivizes us. Creating terrific trips to look forward to and establishing pride in the product and our role as consultants is treated with respect. I was able to earn the Hawaii 2010 incentive trip in my first 4 months of selling Scentsy. Since then I’ve earned many rewards including a laptop and other fun trips (Scentsy paid for my whole family and Grandpa to go to Disneyworld in summer of 2011, Dominican Republic in 2012, and New York City in 2013. We’ve also been on training trips to the Bahamas, Mexico, Idaho as well as company conventions in Denver, Forth Worth, Las Vegas and Indianapolis.
The vision of Scentsy is authenticity, simplicity, and generosity. The integrity with which this corporation operates is apparent. The philanthropic work that they are involved in makes me proud. Scentsy is constantly encouraging consultants to give more than they can take. I have been blessed by my involvement with Scentsy. I have increased confidence, my own business, and a change of scenery from Treehouse TV and diapers. I have been challenged, and have learned so much about economics and what it takes to run a successful business I have discovered my talent for not only selling Scentsy, but sharing Scentsy with other people looking for exactly what I was seeking.
This company has also given me the experience of leadership in growing and developing a team. You can’t put a dollar value on relationships, and hands down, my friendships are what I treasure the most…the best part of the job. I’ve met people who have changed my life for the better, and shown me new tools to grow my business. Each member of my team has a personal story: some are moms suffering from post-partum depression, who needed a change of scenery and self-esteem boost. Others have been people whose spouse has lost a job, or become ill, their extra earnings became a necessity. Other stories, too numerous to mention, but Scentsy has made a difference to each of them.
Our focus and passion for working with our team, and incorporating Scenty's core values of simplicity, authenticity and generousity in our business resulted in our receiving Scentsy's most prestigious award, the peer-nominated "Shining Star Award" at Scentsy's National Convention in 2013. We were truly humbled and honoured to receive this award.
If you are looking for new career and the ability to balance your home, new friends, and the warmth of a scented home, call or email me; I’d love to share even more.
www.flamelesscandlescanada.ca
