The latest reports show the national unemployment rate of 8.3.  There are currently fourteen states that have an unemployment rate of 9% or higher. Those unfortunate states are Indiana, New Jersey, Kentucky, Michigan, South Carolina, Georgia, Illinois, Florida, North Carolina, District of Columbia, Mississippi, Rhode Island, California and Nevada.

According to a Global Entrepreneurship Monitor 2011 report released last week, about 12.3% of Americans are considered entrepreneurs by the GEM measure. “The boost in U.S. entrepreneurship is somewhat of a mixed indicator, signaling that while the economy is improving, some people are turning to entrepreneurship because it’s becoming evident that some jobs may never come back.”

This explains why more entrepreneurial spirits are working from home and starting a direct sales business; presently 15.8 million people in the U.S. are involved in direct selling.  Of those sellers, 85% report a good, very good or excellent experience with direct selling. With businesses closing their doors, employees  showing up for work only to learn their positions have been eliminated and hundreds of applicants vying for one open position, work from home representing a direct sales company makes perfect sense for both men and women.

If you’ve lost track of how many resumes you’ve submitted and yet still can’t land a stable job outside the home, perhaps it’s time to consider starting a your own home based business. It’s a good way to meet and socialize with people. You’ll have a flexible schedule, so you can still work around job hunting and interviews. You’ll earn extra income while you’re still looking to get rehired.

Additionally, representing a company as an independent consultant doesn’t require any specific levels of education, experience, financial resources or physical condition; it’s a good fit for almost anyone. Consultants of all ages, from all backgrounds have succeeded in direct selling.

In my own state of Michigan, our Governor – Rick Snyder is quietly making progress of his own in a state where change is very difficult to achieve. In his January 2012 State of the State address, the Governor highlighted several successful small businesses in the state and talked about the importance of entrepreneurship and creating a business friendly environment in Michigan.  He gets it. He understands the importance of entrepreneurship. Other state governments are also embracing it as well and are re-examining legislation that surrounds these small businesses.

So if you’re unemployed or underemployed, I encourage you to give starting your own home based business serious consideration. Want a recession proof job? Think direct sales.

About the Author: Laurie Ayers is a Michigan work from home mom and a Superstar Director with Scentsy Wickless Candles. She enjoys helping men and women start and maintain a home based business in the US, Canada, Puerto Rico, Germany, Ireland and the UK. To download a FREE Start Up Guide which provides more details about how to start a home business as well as to learn about our compensation plan go to http://www.thrivingcandlebusiness.com/how-to-start-a-candle-business/

In addition to topics on Finding Work From Home, please browse this site to find more articles about how you can successfully work from home.

To make room for our exciting new Scentsy Wickless Spring/Summer catalog items, we are having a sale on most items in our current Fall/Winter catalog. Most items are 10% off during the entire month of February (or sooner if they sell out). Our new catalog begins March 1, 2012, so if there is something in the current catalog that you need or want, don’t delay. Our larger candle bricks, as well as some warmers and scents are being discontinued at the conclusion of our current catalog.  You can shop securely from the comfort of your home and have UPS deliver it to your door.  Take a look now at http://www.IncomeWax.com

1.   Direct mailings with your company catalog. Pick a market or two, such as assisted living facilities; nail salons or real estate agencies to name a few.  Mail no more than ten catalogs to each market; there’s no sense waiting catalogs and postage without testing the waters first.  Be sure to include a sample and/or special offer.  Increase chances of having your catalog opened and read by placing a relevant sticker on the front.  Highlight what’s in it for them if they open it.
2.    Develop a Valentines Day marketing campaign and get it out to the masses NOW.  February 14th is right around the corner, so don’t delay. Your window of opportunity is tiny. Men will be particularly grateful for gift giving made simple.  Think where you can find a group of men – barber shops, auto sales, auto repair, gyms, pro-shops, etc.
3.    Create a special offer for Groundhogs Day, February 2. There’s one people don’t see everyday.
4.    Call all of your customers, leave voice mail if necessary and merely say, ‘I’m putting in an order and wondered if you were ready for more …”
5.    Hire a business coach or join a Mastermind group. Find the right one and your investment will pay off ten-fold.
6.    Commit to asking for referrals from three people each day.  Not covert dropping of cards and catalogs but actually speaking to strangers.  Go into the gas station to pay, instead of using pay at the pump.  Hand the cashier a catalog and a sample and say, “If you know of anyone who likes (candles, jewelry, makeup, etc.) could you please pass this along?”
7.    Hold an open house. Who cares if you’ve been in the business two years or nine months or anywhere in between?  Call it a mid-winter shindig.  Pick a theme – Superbowl, Chocolate Martini, After Holidays Rest and Relaxation or Chick Flick Movie Night.

Sometimes there’s no secret to getting out of a rut other than to go back to basics.  Remember when you first started your business.  You were excited; you were pumped and you definitely were not in a rut. Shake it up a bit; think outside of the bowl.  Remember if you keep doing what you’ve been doing, you’re going to keep getting what you’ve been getting!

About the Author: Laurie Ayers is a Michigan work from home mom and a Superstar Director with Scentsy Wickless Candles. She enjoys helping men and women start and maintain a home based business in the US, Canada, Puerto Rico, Germany, Ireland and the UK. To download a FREE Start Up Guide which provides more details about how to start a home business as well as to learn about our compensation plan go to http://www.thrivingcandlebusiness.com/how-to-start-a-candle-business/

In addition to topics on reinvigorating your home business, please browse this site to find more articles about how you can successfully work from home.

Internet Marketing (IM) isn’t something a direct sales sponsor can teach – at least not in the same way the sponsor can teach using a workstation or host coaching. It is a knowledge base that must be learned over a period of years.  There are Internet Marketing gurus who make teaching this subject their full time business.

I would be very leery of any sponsor who promises to teach you IM. The sponsor should be making him/herself available to training and mentoring the entire team on all aspects of their independent businesses, plus taking care of their own customers, while continually working with prospects. When would this person have time to teach a comprehensive skill set that takes years to learn and one that is dynamic and always changing?

I actually worked with a local lady a few years ago who was interested in joining Scentsy. After meeting with and communicating with her over a period of weeks she did eventually sign up to be a consultant. However, she signed up with someone else, who lived on the other side of the country. That fact didn’t bother me so much because I genuinely believe it’s important that you find a good fit with your sponsor before signing up. It was the reason she went with someone else. She said “because he’s an internet marketer!” That was amusing to me because I was one of the original Scentsy consultants to first start working my business online in 2006 and the person she went with was a new consultant with the company with no proven track record. But he promised to “teach her IM”.

Fast forward two plus years, and she was still in the very beginning ranks and eventually quit.  He promised her the moon about teaching internet marketing and didn’t deliver. I’d rather tell people up front that I absolutely will help them with their internet marketing; I will coach them; I will point them in the right direction; I will offer suggestions and share what is working for me – but teach them? No.

Just to make sure we’re clear on the difference between Helping with – and Teaching, consider this example:

My daughter is taking Spanish classes at school. She is in her second year. Her teacher, Mr. Enriquez is teaching her.  That is his full time job – to teach the students Spanish. They learn and practice every day of the week, semester after semester, year after year to become proficient.  The students haves a responsibility not only to show up for class, but to do the work and apply what they learn.

Before tests and quizzes I help my daughter study.  I go through her flash cards with her and I give her some word association ideas on how she can better remember phrases.  I am not teaching her Spanish. My full time job is to be a Scentsy Superstar Director and all that entails. I can’t possibly do that and be a Spanish teacher.  But I can help, mentor, coach and support.

See the difference?

It’s like if you came to me and said “I want to really promote my business to the Hispanic Community.”  I tell you that’s an excellent idea and frequently an underrepresented market. Then I ask you if you speak, read or write Spanish? If you don’t, how are you going to be able to be successful in this market segment?  I can certainly give you ideas on how you can work this niche, but knowing the language is going to be a prerequisite before you come to me for tips.

If you want to work your home based business using Internet Marketing techniques, you absolutely can and should – it’s a wonderful way to build your business. However if you don’t already possess some of the required knowledge, skills and abilities it’s going to be very difficult to build a business using IM. That is not to say you can’t learn, but you’ll have to be committed to learn over a period of time and simultaneously work your business using other methods such as home parties, basket parties, vendor events or fundraisers.

Learning IM is not for the faint at heart. Because it involves technology, it is frequently changing. What I learned in 2006 is now obsolete.  It involves staying ahead of the curve, or at least keeping up with it. It’s also something that requires constant monitoring, measuring and tweaking.

Not sure where to start? I would recommend you chumming up with my buddy, Mr. Google.  He’s a wealth of knowledge.  Take it one small area at a time and immerse yourself in becoming proficient in that topic. Try searching [Topic] then the words “for beginners.”  Your topics might be: blogging, internet marketing, social media, social networking, Facebook, Twitter, SEO, WordPress, Keyword Density, etc.

So the next time you are interviewing sponsors, before you sign up to be an independent consultant ask plenty of questions and be cautious of anyone who promises to teach you Internet Marketing.

Here’s to success!  See you at the top -

About the Author: Laurie Ayers is a Michigan work from home mom and a Superstar Director with Scentsy Wickless Candles. She enjoys helping men and women start and maintain a home based business in the US, Canada, Puerto Rico, Germany, Ireland and the UK. To download a FREE Start Up Guide which provides more details about how to start a home business as well as to learn about our compensation plan go to http://www.thrivingcandlebusiness.com/how-to-start-a-candle-business/

In addition to topics on Internet Marketing, please browse this site to find more articles about how you can successfully work from home.

1.    The Products – Know, love and stand behind the products you sell. If you know how they work, why they’re worth it and actually like and use them yourself, you’ll do a better job selling it to others. Know what similar products are all about as well. If your competitor sells a product like yours, be able to tell your customers why yours is better even if it costs more. Don’t bash the competition; just highlight your strengths.

2.    Network, Network, Network – It’s important to build a business network. Be yourself and take the time to build friendships and other contacts beyond just potential customers. Building rapports doesn’t happen over night and it takes time to simmer.  Keep spreading seeds and you’ll reap a great harvest.

3.    Online Presence – Create a professional website for your business. You are missing a huge opportunity if you’re not doing business via the Internet. One of the first places people go to find something they need is the Internet and your product is no different. Even if you sell a lot locally, broaden your horizons by going online too.  Note:  No website is better than a cheesy, poorly designed one.  If you don’t have the resources to have a professionally designed website, then hold off until you do.

4.    Take Your Business Seriously – Just because you work from home doesn’t give you permission to be any less professional. Your website, business cards, products, presentation and everything else you do in your business should exhibit that you’re serious about your business. Sometimes this will take a bit of money, like hiring a web designer to put your website together if you don’t know how (see #3 for the importance of this). However, most of your professionalism will show in you personally, so treat it like a real business and you’ll obtain the benefits of doing so. If you want to work from home, you still need to show up for work each day.

5.    Honesty is Key – When your customers feel they can trust you they will be back. Don’t be shady or pushy in order to make sales or gain team members. When you make a mistake, admit it, correct it, and move on. Hopefully you won’t forget to mail something or to make a phone call, but if you don’t admit it.  Most will admire your forth righteousness and over look it. “I’m sorry I dropped the ball. I will make it up to you by …”

6.    Accept Rejection – Your home based business job entails sales, whether it’s sales of a product, a service or of yourself; so the word No is one you’ll hear frequently. Don’t take it personally and realize it is a part of this business. Keep working hard and you’ll get positive replies and more sales too.  It is important to recognize that it takes time and many rejections to build up thick skin about this.  So when you feel like throwing in the towel, remember what you are experiencing is perfectly normal and it WILL get better.

7.    Attend Meetings – Take the time to attend meetings for your team. Not only will you learn about new products and sales techniques, but also you’ll receive some needed encouragement from others who’ve been where you are. Even better, you will be able to help some of the newbies on your team eventually.   On a long distance team?  No problem, attend telecons or participate in team forums.  You can get all the benefits of a local meeting… and don’t have to figure out what to wear!

8.    Set Goals – Goal setting is an overused term. Yet this tip is extremely important when it comes to the success of your home based business. Write your goals down or cut out photos of achievements desired. Setting goals and constantly working toward them will help to make your business more profitable. Set big goals and then break them down into smaller easier to achieve steps. As you work your way through your list you’ll feel like you’ve accomplished something and your ultimate goal won’t seem so out of reach. Be realistic with your goals, but don’t be afraid to set them high either.

9.    Be There for Others – You will someday remember what it was like when you first started out. The help you received from others was valuable and once you’ve worked your way up, be sure to lend a helping hand to others. If you weren’t helped by anyone, but felt you climbed all alone, the remember what that felt like and ensure others don’t have to go it alone. Being of assistance to others in all areas of life is very rewarding.

10.    Work Hard and Stick with It – There will be hard times and maybe even times you are ready to throw in the towel in your business. Remember, any business takes work – nothing happens overnight. Keep moving forward even through the rough patches.  Some resources have said that it take 2 years for a new business to take off.  If you throw in the towel after 6 months, are you even giving it a fair shake? If you built or rented a brick and mortar building to run your business, it’s unfathomable to think you’d quit after three months of initial struggles. Yet some people have unrealistic expectation when they work from home. Keep on keeping on.

Take these tips and apply them to your home based business and you’ll see success. There are many other things you’ll need to consider in order to have a profitable business but the 10 discussed here are important and should be your starting point. Here’s to your success!

About the Author: Laurie Ayers is a Michigan work from home mom and a Superstar Director with Scentsy Wickless Candles. She enjoys helping men and women start and maintain a home based business in the US, Canada, Puerto Rico, Germany, Ireland and the UK. To download a FREE Start Up Guide which provides more details about how to start a home business as well as to learn about our compensation plan go to http://www.thrivingcandlebusiness.com/how-to-start-a-candle-business/

In addition to topics on Work From Home advice, please browse this site to find more articles about how you can successfully work from home.

Autumn Stroll AST
Autumn Sunset AUT
Black Ruby RBY
Central Park Pralines CPP
Christmas Cottage XMC
Cinnamon Bear CBR
Cinnamon Vanilla CVA
Clove & Cinnamon CNC
Cocoa Clementine CCT
Comfort & Joy CAJ
Cozy Fireside CFS
Embers EMB
Eskimo Kiss ESK
Festival of Trees FOT
Flutter FTR
Honey Pear Cider HPC
Pima Cotton PIM
Pumpkin Marshmallow PMW
Pumpkin Roll PMK
Sentimental Cider STC
Shades of Green SOG
Silver Bells SBL
Snowberry SBY
Spice Bazaar SBZ
Whiteout WHI

I love the excitement and enthusiasm that surrounds all the fabulous changes Scentsy just announced. There’s still more info to come with specific details. The web is buzzing with posts about the chocolate fondues, personal and laundry care products and scented greeting cards.  Sometimes details get a little mixed up or are not quite accurate (btw, Scentsy is not selling chocolate soap!)

Whether you’re a current consultant, considering jumping on board with us or are merely interested as a customer, below are a few summary bullet points as I understand it. Since all final details have not been rolled out in writing, it is possible some of what is below* could change slightly.

• All existing Scentsy consultants on March 1st will automatically be selling Warmers, Wax, Scented Stuffed Animals, Air Fresheners, Scented Greeting Cards & Layers personal and laundry care out of the Spring/Summer catalog & supplemental brochures.
• If we choose, we may purchase a starter kit for Velata and pay $10*/mo for a Velata PWS.
• You may sell both brands at home parties. In fact, the Velata fondue would serve as the party snack/food to create a richer, classier party experience and at the appropriate time you explain that these are for sale too.
• All PRV goes into the same pot for commission & promotions, but party sales are tracked separately for Velata so host must have $150 Scentsy and $150 Velata to earn rewards & free shipping for both. This means that $75 each for a total of $150 will not get rewards for either.
• If a new recruit joins our team after March 1st they are in our Scentsy downline. That is the only downline. At the time of application they will choose to purchase a Scentsy starter kit and/or Velata Starter kit. Whatever they choose, they are in your downline and you earn overrides on them.
• The big separation is for external websites and vendor events. You may only have one external website and you must choose which brand it represents. For a vendor event you may only have one booth and choose which brand to represent. A vendor event may have one Scentsy booth and one Velata booth, but represented by two different consultants.

That’s a general summation of how it will work. We still be believe in a core value of Simplicity. There will be some other fine print and policies but for the most part what you just read is a real quick overview of things to come.

If you’d like to take a peek at the “Big 3” (2 new product lines and 1 new brand) you can see them at http://www.sincerelyscent.com/ and http://scentsy.net/layers.aspx and http://www.velata.net/

In addition to topics on Scentsy’s new products, please browse this site to find more articles about how you can successfully work from home.

I am so thrilled about Scentsy’s new product line I can hardly stand it! I’m tickled pink because of the actual products, as described below and to the right, but equally as ecstatic about the name: Layers by Scentsy. Never before has a product been named after me. Fine – it wasn’t really, but let me believe that ok?

For those who need a visual aid: Laurie Ayers = L Ayers = LAyers = Layers … Ahhhh now you see it? Ok, ok, on with the big announcement:

On March 1, we will launch our second product line extension for Spring/Summer 2012: Layers by Scentsy–personal AND laundry care products infused with your favorite Scentsy fragrances and custom-designed for Scentsy. We worked with the best suppliers in the industry to bring you personal care products you will LOVE.

With Layers by Scentsy you can create a fragrance experience that is uniquely yours, and layer your life with fragrance.

There are nine Layers by Scentsy products–eight new ones, plus Scentsy Solid Perfume.

New personal care products include: Shower Gel, Shower Cream, Body Lotion, Body Butter, Hand Cream, and Body Spray.

In addition to world-class personal care products, two new laundry care products allow you to extend your Scentsy experience to your clothes. Washer Whiffs is a perfume for your laundry. Simply add it to the wash cycle with your detergent to scent your clothes. Then, toss your laundry into the dryer and add a Dryer Disk. The Dryer Disk is made of plastic infused with fragrance that has anti-static properties. It will scent up to 15 loads of laundry.

We will launch with six fragrances for new personal care products and up to six fragrances for laundry care products. Personal care product prices range from $6 (USD) / $7 (CAD) for Hand Cream to $18 (USD) / $21 (CAD) for Solid Perfume. Laundry care product pricing is being finalized. PRV will follow the same schedule as other non-licensed Scentsy products.

While you won’t be able to enjoy the new Layers until March 1, 2012 (as opposed to the old LAyers that you can enjoy now!) you can still take advantage of all the wonderfulness and specials associated with our current Scentsy Fall/Winter catalog at http://www.IncomeWax.com

I was born and raised in Michigan. Except for a small stint when I lived in California, I’ve been here all my life. I love it here. This is where I make my home and this is where my home based business is headquartered. I care about my state and also about my Scentsy business. So you can clearly see how easy it was for me to make the leap between the Governor’s State of the State speech and how it applies to my (and hopefully your) home based business.

Below are three quotes and nuggets of advice from the speech tonight that all entrepreneurs who have a home based job should heed:

1.  ”You can only build a brighter future by setting a higher standard.”
2.  “We cannot afford to slow down. We must maintain a sense of urgency and finish what we started.”
3.  “Success through Relentless Positive Action. No blame, no credit. Finding common ground and solving problems “

Set a high standard – achieving minimum monthly goals is not a high standard. Do you just want to get by and survive? Or do you want to thrive? Just because you work from home doesn’t mean you should accept anything less than high standards from yourself, your coworkers and team members. You may be home based, but it’s still a real business if you treat it as such.

Maintain a sense of urgency – throughout the whole year. Many home based direct selling businesses are prone to be seasonal with emphasis on the busy holiday selling season. I see consultants working overtime and pulling out all the stops from October – December, but then all sense of urgency comes to a screeching halt in January. You cannot afford to slow down.

Relentless Positive Action – this translates into keep on keeping on. You can’t just work your home based business when you feel like it or when it’s easy. If you’re in the midst of a slow period or if sales or recruiting is down, more than ever that is the time for relentless positive action. Don’t find an excuse; find a way.

I’m excited about the future of Michigan and the future of my home business. Both show promise of great changes in the near future. I’m pumped for a 2012 full of success – how about you?

About the Author: Laurie Ayers is a Michigan work from home mom and a Superstar Director with Scentsy Wickless Candles. She enjoys helping men and women start and maintain a home based business in the US, Canada, Puerto Rico, Germany, Ireland and the UK. To download a FREE Start Up Guide which provides more details about how to start a home business as well as to learn about our compensation plan go to http://www.thrivingcandlebusiness.com/how-to-start-a-candle-business/

In addition to topics on Work From Home advice, please browse this site to find more articles about how you can successfully work from home.

Have you heard the buzz? There’s lots of online chatter about Scentsy New Brand. Scentsy will be launching new product lines and new brands this year. That is a true story. There are plenty of rumors and speculations about specifics that have not been announced yet. So I will give you the scoop. Come closer … because I have to whisper it.

Oh come on, you didn’t really think I was going to spill the beans here on my little blog did you? Okay, how about this – I will tell you what I know and what I can tell you. Fair enough?

At this time there are two different big changes coming with Scentsy.

• One is our new Spring/Summer catalog that starts March 1, 2012. In that catalog, as with all new catalogs we launch, there will be some new, exciting products. That’s only about six weeks for you to wait until you can order from the new Scentsy seasonal catalog. As with previous catalog changes, some items will remain, some will go away either permanently or until next Fall, and then some new products will be introduced. Hot diggity, can’t wait.
• Then the second big change is something coming later this Spring and it will be a brand new company or Scentsy’s new brand under the big Scentsy, Inc. parent company umbrella. It will offer different products and a different name. It will be different than the current Scentsy home fragrance company you’ve come to know and love. It will be a fabulous opportunity to get in on a ground floor opportunity, managed by an established successful organization (Scentsy, Inc.). This is in addition to, not instead of, the current Scentsy.
• Then the third big change is something additional coming later this year and it will be yet another brand new company or Scentsy’s new brand also under the big Scentsy, Inc. parent company umbrella. It will also offer different products and a different name. It will also be different than the current Scentsy home fragrance company you’ve come to know and love. It will also be a fabulous opportunity to get in on a ground floor opportunity, managed by an established successful organization (Scentsy, Inc.). This is in addition to, not instead of, the current Scentsy.

What I know for certain:

• I know that there have not been any details officially released about Scentsy’s new brand(s), but it is coming VERY SOON.
• I know current and potential consultants have many questions in addition to what the product offerings will be. Some of those questions include: Can you represent both companies? Do you have to represent both companies? Is there a minimum quota? Is the compensation and downline structure co-mingled with the current Scentsy downlines or will they be separate?
• I know all these questions and more that deal with the new Scentsy brand will all be answered once an official announcement is made – again, VERY soon. So bookmark this page and check back frequently.

In summary –

• You’re bummed you read all the way through this and still don’t know much of anything, right? But you have excitement, and anticipation and hope for a bright future – that’s something!
• Scentsy as we know and love it, will continue to exist as we know it and will continue to be industry leading with innovative, creative and quality fragrance products.
• The Unknown New Scentsy brands / company (Brand X and Brand Y) will be equally as fabulous as the original Scentsy; and they won’t distract from our current quality that Scentsy offers. These new ventures will be announced very soon. Stay tuned.

What does this mean for you?

• If you’re a current Scentsy consultant – congratulations, you’ve already made the decision to be part of a company that is second to none.
• If you are a former Scentsy consultant, I would highly encourage you to give Scentsy a second look. Former Scentsy consultants can request to have their accounts restored for FREE. Contact me so I can explain how simple it is to come back.
• If you are considering the Scentsy, Inc. opportunity, now would be a fabulous time to join my team. It’ll give you a solid foundation to start your Scentsy career; you’ll be ready to rock and roll when our Spring/Summer catalog starts; and you’ll get the inside scoop on Scentsy’s new brand / company once it is officially announced to all the current consultants. You can join today by starting the enrollment process here.

The Scentsy Mission Statement:

To bring value to the world by providing an industry leading, family-friendly business opportunity selling creative, artistic, high-quality products that warm the heart, enliven the senses, and inspire the soul.

About the Author: Laurie Ayers is a Michigan work from home mom and a Superstar Director with Scentsy Wickless Candles. She enjoys helping men and women start and maintain a home based business in the US, Canada, Puerto Rico, Germany, Ireland and the UK. To download a FREE Start Up Guide which provides more details about how to start a home business as well as to learn about our compensation plan go to http://www.thrivingcandlebusiness.com/how-to-start-a-candle-business/

In addition to topics on the New Scentsy Brand / Company, please browse this site to find more articles about how you can successfully work from home.