You may have noticed our flashing Mom Ceo button on the left sidebar.  If you’ve been a little curious but haven’t clicked over yet, here’s some more information for you.  Mom Ceo is owned by Sandi Sullivan and here’s her interview about Mom Ceo:

Q.   Why did you decide to start a home based business?

A.  I was working in Corporate America.  I made a six figure income, but it was very demanding and stresssful. I realized that if I wanted to have a family, I couldn’t be the mom I wanted to be and still work in that environment.  I tried a few more corporate positions, but it was the same grind. I finally tried a home business, but failed badly.  Luckily, I didn’t give up the idea of a home business at that failure.  Instead,  I did due diligence and found my perfect fit! 

Q.  What features of MomCeo appealed to you most?

A. My business allows me flexibility to build my work schedule around my family life.    I am ultimately my own boss, but I have a team of people that I get to work with who have a similar why, values and goals.  The pay structure rewards teamwork. I am a people person and enjoy the energy I get from helping them succeed.

Q.  How does working fit into your busy schedule?

A.  I treat my business like a business.  I have business hours that I keep so I stay on task and also my family, friends  and team members can respect my time.  I use technology as much as possible. I depend on my email to communicate with my customers and team members. My cell is always with me when Im out running errands and between appointments to keep me on schedule.  I save a lot of talk time with texting – but not while driving.  I monitor my calls and my social networking througout my work hours, as a conversation or quick look at your facebook account can take hours away from important things that need to be done.  I often let calls go to voicemail so I can better addess them in an environment that lends to a proper response.

Q.  What ways does your business generate a profit?
A.  I am are partnered with a 25 year old company that manufactures high quality, cost effective, highly-consumable wellness products. “Green” products.   Everyday household consumables like laundry products, cleaning items, toothpaste, soap, shampoo, deodorant and lotions and so much more revolving around wellness..  Our customers order direct using a catalog or online.  The only way you can become a member is through an exsisting customer.  By using the products ourselves and helping others open accounts—we are considered joint-business partners with the manufacturer. I make commisons from customers ordering and I make commsions and bonses on my teammembers referrals as we work together to create a database of  satisfied customers for the manufacturer. Ninety-five percent of our customers order monthly, therefore creating an ongoing stream of commisons.  

Q.  How long did it take for you to build a decent income? 

A.  I signed up as a customer in late 2004 and I decided to build this business in March of 2006.  The very first month I was in the black. I earned about 20k that year. I doubled that the next year. I should more double that this year. To date I have earned over 246k. I work about 10 hurs a week on average.

Q.  What is the best part about your business?

A.  I wake up every day, so thankful that I have found a busiiness that doesnt run my life!~  I run it, and I design its operation around my family, travel, friends, and my non-profit work.

I have met some of my best friends working in this business. I love that my children and husband are totally supportive of my work and encourage me all the time. They know they come first!

Q.  What is the hardest part about your business?

A.  This has been a life changing move for me and for so many others who work with me. This is a people business.  I tend to belive in people more than they belive in themselves and it can be dissapointing.  I know anyone can do this business, but I have learned not to expect them to do it.

Q.  What advice would you give to a mom who wants to work from home?

A.  Get the Facts about the business you are considering before jumping in on emotion. I spent 4 years pursuing my first home business venture before realizing that motivation is not enough to make it work.  I thought it was my fault it wasnt working for me (they kept telling me that). 

Ask important questions, like Angela has asked me.  Other important Questions – What will be the monthly ongoing costs to run your business?  Are there any quotas to attain or maintain.  Are there any inventory requirements? Is there a large upfront investment?  For more questions like these, I have a free report that can help with your due dilegence at my site at  www.momceo.com.

Hi, my name is Jennie Jensen and I have been a Scentsy Consultant for 3 years.  I fell in love with Scentsy the moment I walked into my sister-in-laws house and could smell ‘sugar cookie’ throughout her entire house.  After buying and using Scentsy warmers I decided to start selling it.  I just had my first child and made the decision not to go back to work and become a stay at home mom and I wanted something that could bring in some extra money and do for fun. 

Scentsy is such an amazing company, the owners, Orville and Heidi Thompson are the most generous, down to earth, and inspiring people I have ever met.  They have both inspired me in so many ways, not just in selling but in every aspect of my life.  When they launched Scentsy, Orville and Heidi were determined from the beginning to build their business around core virtues of Simplicity, Authenticity, and Generosity.  One of my favorite things that I have taken from Scentsy is to ‘give more than you take’; this philosophy is part of the foundation that makes Scentsy so successful.

The Scentsy Story

Scentsy began with a simple idea—a safe, wickless alternative to scented candles—and quickly grew into one of the most successful direct selling companies. This wickless concept was born when two stay-at-home moms began selling decorative warmers designed to melt scented wax with the heat of a light bulb instead of a traditional wick and flame.

Entrepreneurs Heidi and Orville Thompson encountered the small company at a home show in early 2004 and brought sample products home. They were intrigued by how fragrance brings powerful emotions and memories to the surface—without the safety risks of a burning candle. They purchased the tiny company and moved Scentsy to Meridian, Idaho, where the company’s first home office was a 40-foot ocean shipping container on a small sheep farm

Scentsy joined the Direct Selling Association (DSA) in 2004 and enrolled its first Independent Consultant. Since then, the company has expanded operations, hired a strong executive team, and received numerous awards for its growth and ethical business practices, including being named the number one consumer products company on the 2010 Inc. 500 list, appearing on the 2010 Direct Selling News Global 100 list of top direct selling companies, and receiving both the DSA’s 2010 Success Award and the DSA’s 2009 Rising Star Award.

In just seven years, Scentsy generated more than $700 million in revenue. Today, the company’s family of more than 100,000 passionate Independent Scentsy Consultants shares the Scentsy experience and the Scentsy difference throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, Guam, and Canada, with a European expansion currently underway.

For just $99*, Scentsy will send you a Starter Kit that includes everything you need to run your Scentsy business–and it all fits conveniently in one shopping bag.

Scentsy sells itself, it is a product worth standing behind, and you can make it a hobby or a business.  There is no inventory to keep, you make 20-30% commission on sales, you have a huge amount of training available, and you are your own boss.  Scentsy has been a blessing in my life in more ways than one, I have been able to meet some amazing people and friends, bring in extra income for our family and it has helped me to give more than I take.

If you have any questions regarding Scentsy, whether to BUY, HOST, or JOIN, feel free to contact me or check out my webpage.

Jennie Jensen

Independent Scentsy Consultant

www.jenniejensen.scentsy.us

wickless-scents@hotmail.com

503-626-9565

The company we are featuring today is totally new to me. This product line brings different spin on direct sales that may interest husbands to work alongside their wives. Here’s Amy Johnson to tell us more about it.

My name is Amy Johnson. A couple of years ago, when our traditional business began suffering the effects of the economy, my husband and I started looking for our “Plan B”. After prayerful consideration, we were introduced to ACN.

A Little Background On ACN:

ACN is a traditional direct sales company providing essential home and business services that people need and use every day, including digital phone service, video phones, local and long distance calling, Internet, wireless, satellite TV, home security, computer support and energy (yes, Energy!). ACN offers familiar, trusted brand services that everyone uses on a daily basis. Imagine receiving a residual income every month when someone turns on their lights, heats their home, talks on their cell phone, uses the Internet, arms their security system and watches TV!

Why We Chose ACN:

First of all, my husband and I really like the idea of no inventory and no monthly minimums. Since I don’t consider myself a salesperson, I love that we don’t have to convince anyone they need our services or ask them to spend outside of their monthly budget, or hope they order more next month. We share the business with a few others, gather a few customers and help others do the same. It’s that simple and we can do it on a part-time basis.

After we understood the concept of the business opportunity, it was important to my husband and me to make sure ACN was a stable company that wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon. We were looking for something that we could build over time. What we learned is that ACN was co-founded by four men of faith and incredible integrity. The company is 18 years old, debt free and is now doing business in 23 countries. ACN is the world’s largest direct seller of telecommunications.

Our Journey:

Having the comfort of the company’s stability behind us, we began our journey. Let me first say that surrounding yourself with leaders is instrumental to the success of any direct sales business. We are fortunate to have some of top producers in all of ACN mentoring us and our team. Having the right leaders, being coachable and putting into action on a daily basis, what our leaders teach us, has led to our continuing success.

Once we became independent representatives, we immediately became our own customers. We now receive a monthly residual income on our cell phones, satellite TV, home security, business phones and computer tech support. The next step was to contact friends & family and see if we could help them save money on services they are already using. Even if we couldn’t save them money, many became our customers just to support us. We now earn monthly residual income on their services as well. Significant residual income takes time to build so while that is building, ACN offers awesome bonus opportunities to sustain our business. In February I was able to help a home schooling mom of five (ages 4 months-18) earn a $1,000 bonus in her first month of business!

Training & Support:

ACN’s award winning training is phenomenal. We have local training weekly, regional and national training quarterly, regular conference calls with leaders and co-founders, product and business opportunity webinars and video training available at anytime through our back office support.

Another key to success in our business is putting the success of our team before our own. When you’re helping others be successful, your success will fall into place, but if you put yourself first, you’re sure to fail.

Benefits Beyond Income:

Beyond the income potential of this great business opportunity, we are blessed to be able to help others achieve their goals and dreams. We have established life-long relationships with so many positive people. Our personal growth has been absolutely amazing and I love that my husband and I can do this together.

Going Primetime:

ACN has been endorsed by one of the world’s most successful leaders in business. This multi-billionaire entrepreneur sought out our co-founders when he learned of ACN. Because of his belief in the company, this Sunday, March 27th, ACN goes Primetime with its encore appearance on NBC’s The Celebrity Apprentice. ACN’s home-based business opportunity and our revolutionary IRIS V Video Phone will be featured.

If you can’t watch, feel free to call me or contact us through our website if you’d like to learn more about the opportunity or the services we offer.

Amy Johnson
Executive Team Leader
ACN Independent Representative
Cell: 208.640.1053
Web: http://davejohnson.acnrep.com

If you are just joining our Blog from yesterday’s segment on the 700 Club, I am doing a small business focus this month to help mom’s who’d like to earn money from home.  If this topic doesn’t interest you, hop over to the archives from February where we did a whole month on saving money on groceries. 

If cosmetics aren’t your thing, cooking supplies might interest you more.  Here’s Maggie to tell you about why she loves her Pampered Chef business:  Note:  It’s interesting when you look at the birth of most of the Direct Sales Companies–most were started by a woman with a dream from her living room.

My name is Maggie Miniard and I’ve been with The Pampered Chef for four years.  I absolutely love being a consultant because what I do is not just about the products we sell, but the service and information we provide.  I love being able to  help busy moms and dads spend less time in the kitchen and more time together as well as give them the tips and tools they need to prepare healthy, nutritious meals that make the cooking experience fun.  Being a consultant also provides me with the opportunity to control my schedule, spend more time with my family and earn an extra income!  I have been asked if my business has been suffering since the economy has been so bad, and the honest answer is- “No” I actually had my best year ever last year.  I have found that not only have my sales increased, but sales for the Pampered Chef overall have increased because more people are eating at home instead of eating out.  And they want to know how to do it fast, easy and healthy.  Everyone loves to eat- so this business appeals to everyone!

One of the greatest features is our Consultant Kit.  The Pampered Chef offers two start up kits-The full sized kit costs $155 and contains about $570 worth of kitchen products, all the paperwork for your first six shows, training materials, hostess gifts, an apron, the bag to carry it all in and the software you need to submit your shows online.   This alone is worth the investment, but we give our hosts an opportunity to use $20 or $40 of their free product value to offset the cost of the kit.  The very least a hostess would pay for the full sized kit would be $115!  The mini-kit costs only $80 and contains approximately $200 worth of products, all the paperwork you would need for your first 4 shows, training materials, the apron, hostess gifts, and the software to submit your shows online.  For the month of March only- any consultant who signs up by the 31^st of March and qualifies in their first 30 days will receive half the cost of their kit back! 

As you can see, just from the kit price itself that The Pampered Chef is very generous to its consultants and hosts, and that generosity begins on day one!  They provide incentives for new consultants to strive for when they qualify in their first 30 days.  What does it take to qualify? –Simply submit $1,250 in product sales.   Many consultants (me included) achieve this in their first three shows.  The earning potential is limitless, but just to give an idea of what an average consultant can make look at this example.  A consultant who does just two average shows (an average show is approximately $450 in sales) each week can earn $850 each month.  Where else can you work just two days (or four hours) a week and earn that?

The training provided for new consultants is wonderful.  First off is the training DVD contained in the kit and the paperwork that helps a new consultant step by step get their business off to a good start.  There are online and tele-classes available 24-hours a day on The Pampered Chef website, along with a full library of videos that demonstrate how to prepare a variety of recipes, or show you how to use different products.  Team meetings take place once a month for more training and recognition.  And of course the consultant who signed you would take the lead in helping you get started.   Since there are no territories, a consultant can recruit anyone in the United States to join their team.  Assistance is provided that helps to connect new consultants that live apart from their recruiters with directors in their area.  Once a year, the home office prepares and schedules national conference and regional training meetings that any consultant can attend and receive further instruction from top sellers and motivation from leaders on how to be a success or how to take their business to the next level.  In fact, it is possible to promote to director in your first 90 days and they show you how!  I hear this over and over- “You are in business for yourself, but not by yourself” In the Pampered Chef community there is an abundance of help and resources available to ensure a new consultant’s success.

Another advantage is that there is no inventory to maintain.  In fact the only product a consultant is ever required to purchase is the kit itself.  Twice a year consultants are given the opportunity to earn the next season’s new products for FREE and each month special items are offered as incentives to the consultants as well.  This could be anything from special aprons, to clothing items or bags that help the consultant to advertise or enhance her business. 

The Pampered Chef home show format is one of the most fun I’ve been involved with, and its super easy- any one can do it!  The show itself can take anywhere from one to two hours.  The hostess buys all the ingredients needed to make the selected recipe for her show.  The consultant then demonstrates how to prepare the recipe, or has the guests prepare it under her watchful eye. Letting the guests try the tools out for themselves is a great way to “try before you buy.” My hosts and guests have so much fun and everyone chimes in with their own kitchen tips.  One of the things I love best about the cooking show is meeting someone who says they don’t cook or don’t like to cook, and at the end of the show they discover that not only can they cook, but that they enjoyed it too-they just needed the right tools! 

I hope this information has piqued your curiosity enough to take a closer look, and honestly I haven’t even scratched the surface on all the benefits and incentives consultants receive.  I would be thrilled to discuss this business opportunity with you further.  If you would like to browse the online catalog, place an order for products or schedule your own fun cooking or online catalog show-you can simply go to my website!  I look forward to hearing from you.

Maggie Miniard
Consultant #513399
Team Leader with The Pampered Chef
757-498-4229
aminiard@cox.net
www.pamperedchef.biz/maggieskitchen2

It’s no secret that I’m completely biased in the Direct Sales market, so I thought I’d start with a focus on the business I personally chose, though many other companies will follow.  If you click on the Mary Kay links, you will go to my personal website and I’m offering a 20% discount on any sales through the site March 23-30th.  To take advantage of the discount, order through the site but do not pay. I will send you a paypal invoice with the discounted total plus sales tax (but shipping is free.)

  I chose Mary Kay because:

1.  50% profit on all sales

2.  Excellent training

3.  Debt free company with a geat reputation and a Christian foundation

4.  I love the products and am a happy customer–my skin has never looked better!

5.  No sales quotas

6.  The products are consumable, so I get lots of reorders and even in a recession, cosmetics sell great.

Part of why I joined Mary Kay is my amazing director, Andrea Costley.  I asked her to share a few words with you about her journey in Mary Kay. Although her success is not typical or average, I believe anyone with the same drive and dedication that she has can achieve similar success.  Mary Kay has more of these success stories than most direct sales companies.

Here are just a few of her accomplishments:

1.  Do let the people around you know that you are in business, but don’t be a pest.  While my friends and family support my business, I’ve found my best cutomers are strangers.  If someone tells you “no”, don’t be offended or pester them to get a “yes”.  There are plenty of people in your sphere, just move on to the next one.  No means next and it’s not personal.

2.  Give excellent customer service:  Deliver products on time or ahead of time.  Add samples and little chocolates to order bags.  Send personalized thankyou notes to the hostess and guests after a party.  Follow up a few days after a  sale (or delivery) and make sure each customer is satisfied with her products.  Remember your customer’s birthdays and send a coupon gift.  Take advantage of catalog mailing promotions from your company.  Keep records of your customer’s favorite products or wish lists.

3.  Manage your money well.  Be careful if you buy inventory to only buy multiples of what sells well.  If you are too new to know, ask an experienced colleague in your area.  Keep your business money separate from your personal money and never dip into your business money to take care of a personal need (In the corporate world this is called embezzling.)

4.  Have a cheerful and professional phone voice.  Make people at ease to call you or happy to hear your voice.  Have an enthusiasm that’s contagious!

5.  Use your own products.  You are the best adertising for your business.  If you sell purses, never leave the house without one from your company.  If you sell cosmetics, be loyal to your brand.  When people ask the secret to your gorgeous skin and beautiful eyes, you won’t have to wonder which product did it and you’ll have a perfect lead in to offer some samples or a free facial.

The next couple of weeks, I’ll be featuring several small businesses.  It’s my hope to give you ideas about what’s possible, to showcase things that are done well, and to introduce you to some businesses that might bless your life.

First up is Say Mmmm

Overview – Say Mmm is about helping parents save time and money getting dinner on the table. The website has several free meal planning, grocery shopping, and recipe organizing features to help people go from Hmm to Mmm:

Meal planning – Easily plan meals by day, week, or month with an online calendar designed to work with your recipes and shopping lists.

Grocery lists – Simplify grocery lists with smart features that help you remember and organize the things you need to get.

Recipes – Save all your recipes and meal ideas in one place, organize them as you like, and just click to use them in meal plans and shopping lists.

Say Mmm Plus – In addition to the many free features, Say Mmm Plus has some additional premium features for $3/month.

Blog Features – Bloggers can add printable shopping lists, printable recipes, and recipe index features to their sites.

What I love:  The site is well designed, easy to navigate, provides a useful service, and has some amazing free features.  These advantages are sure to bring a ton of quality traffic to the site.  It has a built in lead capture when new members register for the free service.  If he chooses to add more streams of income to this site or another one, he’ll have a huge list already grateful to him ready to hear about it.

The advanced features are very affordable, $3 a month, for the average family.  And the added features of calorie counting, price tracking, and an additional recipe bank will save a subscribing family enough money or give enough benefits to more than offset the cost.  When he gains a large group of  paid subscribers, it can generate a sustaining monthly income without financial hardship on any party.

And of course, I love Say Mmmm because it helps organize the shopping and planning method that saves families the most money possible!

There are several low or no cost ways to drive traffic to your blog or business.   If you have an online business, you need a blog.  This helps people get to know you and your products in a more personal way.  Also, don’t underestimate the power of video blogging (vlogging.)  My friend recently sold me some innovative hair clips.  I had seen them on her website and wasn’t that interested until she showed me how they worked.  A vlog showing new hairstyle tips and tricks featuring the clips will have the same affect but reach hundreds or thousands of people instead of just one.  I can see this idea applied to cooking supplies, decorating items, craft supplies, cosmetics….don’t just tell us, show us.

Before driving traffic to your site, make sure it is ready.  Otherwise all that traffic will be wasted.  To be ready, make sure your site looks great and is easy to navigate with good content and eye catching photos.  Have a welcome page for your new visitors.  If they will be coming from a specific place (like the 700 Club) then make it personal to that venue.  And have a lead capture portion with a great giveaway to your site so you can keep track of who is really interested.  On this site the lead capture is the newsletter subscription with a cleaning recipe giveaway reward for signing up.  The subscribers get a weekly email full of helpful content and no pushy sales.  This keeps most of the subscribers from removing themselves from the list and helps them not forget this resource is available.

1.  Add a link with a short description or motto in your email signature.  Then be active on online groups (such as yahoo groups) where the content is related to your business.  This is not the same as spamming.  You are not actively promoting your business, just offering helpful conversation with the group and having the link there as a passive invitation.

2.    Have a facebook page for your business or blog and invite friends to like it. Set up your blog to automatically post to your facebook page.

3.  Have a twitter account for your business.  Set up a feed to automatically tweet when you update your blog.

4.  Upload helpful videos to Youtube with a link back to your site.  You do not need to have a fancy video camera to do this. 

5.  Write guest posts for blogs with related content that are receiving good traffic.

6.  Offer giveaways on other blogs.

7.  Buy ads on other blogs.  Look for blogs with great traffic and that offer perks, such as end of the post links, monthly features, group giveaways only for advertisers,  or a feature post with 3 months of advertising.  I once took a risk and purchased 3 months of advertising on a popular blog for $300.  It came with a guest post opportunity.  That $300 earned me $1000 a day for the first week! 

8.  In short, be everywhere.  Be on facebook, twitter, Youtube, all over the popular blog world.  Google your own name.  The first page should be covered with all of the places you’ve been.  Find where your target market hangs out and be there too.