Why Mia For Me........
After my husband spent 20 years at the same company, he came back from his lunch break one Wednesday afternoon to find the doors locked and the company closed. Just like that. We were moved out of our comfort zone and we found ourselves in a new, tight, uncomfortable place we had never been in before. The truth is, my husband had long ago tired of the industry he was in and feeling trapped had been praying for God to change our circumstances. We had a comfortable savings at the time and were in no hurry to jump back in to anything right away. After several months of idea jumping, he decided to go to work with his step-father. What started as the two of them doing odd jobs and playing handyman is growing. The company is now a corporation and my father-in-law is looking to hire more men to actually go out and do the work while he teaches my husband the finer skills of management. Nice!
But like anything that is worthwhile, it takes time. Success doesn't happen overnight. I found myself in a place where, although the income was there, I was tired of walking the fine line from paycheck to paycheck. Many times since marriage, I have been ready to look for a job. But our children were always young and the schedules were too conflicting. This time, with our youngest in Nursery School, I have a 2 1/2 hour window of 'free time'. I began to ask myself, "What can I actually do in the 'real world' for a job in that amount of time?". Not to mention the travel time to and from his pre-school. That leaves about 2 hours of actual work time. No one would hire me to do that, not even part time.
I wanted to work out of my home to reduce the amout of time spent away from my family. My thinking was, if home is my 'office', then I am 'at work' as soon as my kids board the bus. No work attire, no travel time...no boss. Just a comfy T-shirt, a cup of coffee (not at $4 a pop!), my pc and a telephone.
My husband and I have always dreampt of having a business, we just didn't know what kind and herein lies my dilemma. There is a HUGE difference between "working from home" and "owning your own business". I looked at doing medical transcription, but there was a turnover deadline. The files they sent home on Monday were expected to be transcribed and back in their office in a very specific time window. Not quite the "family flexible" style I was looking for. I looked at stuffing envelopes, but the income is literally pennies. My time is more valuable than that and where is the joy in envelopes? I have friends who do home parties of all different products from Mary Kay and Avon to Pampered Chef and Tastefully Simple. Granted, the products are nice and I have occassionally splurged on one or two. But the products weren't a fit for me, a girl who is far from glam and lives in her sneakers and sweatshirts. My idea of dressing up is applying mascara and trading in my Levi's for a pair of slacks on Christmas Eve.
In the meantime, with my husband and father-in-law working their business, my family was medically uninsured. Everything we did medically came directly out of our pocket. This forced us to look into alternative medicine. What we found was appalling, amazing, exciting, enlightening and all together unbelievable... but true and possible nonetheless. We dabbled in homeopathy, herbals, vitamins, natural whole foods, and discovered a wealth of knowledge on how to get healthy and stay healthy without walking into a pharmacy and filling a high priced prescription.
It was during this time of finding reasons why I couldn't sell the "home-party" products that I was familiar with and at the same time moving into a more healthy way of living that I found Mia Bella's Gourmet Soy Candles & Bath Products. Once I heard about Mia Bella, I just felt a click inside. I really thought, "Hey, this is for me!"
My family was making the transition into natural medicine and eating natural, whole foods. The soy/veg creation just naturally fit into our lifestyle.
We had always loved scented candles, but they always set off an asthma attack for me. The one I tried from Mia Bella did not. I felt confident that I could sell it to my in-laws and their friends who are also (I say in love) 'health -nuts' without feeling like I am ripping them off or guilting them into purchasing something from me just because they feel obligated. I could never do that with the other home-party products. They may have been good products, but I always felt as though I could have gotten a better deal from Wal-Mart. Not so with Mia's!
They are priced competitively with other scented candles of the same size. They smell much stronger and much truer to their scent name than some other, more expensive brands. They are deffinitely more healthful to your body and cleaner to your home since they burn soot free. You also get more burn for your buck since they burn all the way down leaving a clean jar and only the little metal wick holder in the bottom. Because they are made from a proprietary blend of soy/veg and other renewable materials, spills clean up with soapy water and they are profitable to our homeland farmers.
I just can't say enough about these deliciously scented candles. They are triple-scented from top to bottom with the highest quality imported essential oils that money can buy so that the last burn is as delicious as the first and each jar has double wicks for an even burn. The wicks are pure cotton which makes for a slower burning, longer lasting candle. And because they are cotton they are more healthful to you, no lead, zinc or chemicals here!
Let me say that I am not trying to sell you anything. Either you are interested in this opportunity or you are not. Either it is a natural fit for you or it is not. There are no high pressure sales tactics here. I can sell these products because: 1) They are healthful, clean burning and soot free, which means that unlike other scented candles, these do not stimulate my asthma and allergies. 2) They have a great profit margin so I actually make dollars on every sale instead of pocket change. 3) People are already buying scented candles and love them, so what I am showing them is simply a more healthful, better smelling, longer lasting, competitively priced alternative. 4) I can work my business in so many ways; I can retail to customers through home parties, gift shops, consignment shops, health food stores, craft fairs, etc. I can sell locally or work my internet business, or both. 5) I can build a long term residual income by creating a downline of like-minded partners. 6) I could make a healthy steady income from just running fundraisers alone.
Now, Home-Parties are an option I can either accept or decline. My business doesn't revolve around my next booking. I can literally work whenever and however I choose. Because I really am working for me, I want to work harder and longer. I can voluntarily run fundraisers for worthy causes I believe in or for my children's schools and their extra-curricular interests.
In the meantime, I tell people like you about this opportunity. Some of you will know immediately that this is exactly a right fit for you, like I did, and sign on as my partners. Others may kick it around for a few weeks, months, maybe a year even and then try it out. Others will never try it, for whatever reason. And that is all okay. I am not here to convince you of anything. A salesperson, I am not! These products literally smell & sell themselves, as does the business opportunity behind it.
I started my business for $50, including shipping & handling and tax!! What other home business do you know that has that low of a start up cost? My guess is none. By joining the Candle of the Month Club you receive a 16oz Jar, a dozen votives, and a Bella Bar Soap, all in the scent of the month. You also receive a company website that is set up and run for you. All you do for the website is sit back and collect a check when purchases are made there. No maintainance or upkeep! That is where I started.
If you have a little more to invest and want to jump in with both feet, I highly recommend the Fast Start Pack. That was what I wanted to start with, but was limited by finances. In that you receive everything you need to open shop TODAY! You can view that by clicking here and then clicking "online registration". You don't have to register, just scroll down to view the different enrollment pakages.
Support....The support that comes with this company is unlike any other, I am sure! There are categories of different topic training calls almost every night of the week. Direct access to the owners and management of the company, your up-line person, the web-designers of your on-line store, etc. And, of course, me. I am available via e-mail and telephone anytime you need support. There are Yahoo Groups and message boards filled with helpful folks to bounce ideas off from and they are from all over the place, nation wide. The support system truely is extraordinary.
But enough said...finally.
If you would like me to send you more information and a couple of free scent-samples, e-mail me here.
If you would like to enter my drawing to win a free 16oz Jar candle and a Bella Body Bar, enter here.
If you would like to try a full size product and smell for yourself, visit my online store and order here.
Feel free to look around : the web-site and check out the company background, the candle of the month program or get other product information.
posted by Alisa @ Friday, October 20, 2006
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