Scentsible Canada Blog
End of summer blues
As with most people here in this neck of the woods, well and most places, the end of summer is not my favourite time of the year. Though I have to admit being rather excited by the prospect of the kids returning to school, I dread the craziness of after school activities and the dinner/bath/bedtime rush, especially as a mom with a spouse who travels often and works late a lot. Also, HOW did we get to the end of August? It seems like just yesterday we were eagerly anticipating summer and all the fun that goes along with it. Cottaging, camping, vacations and just hanging out in the sun. Barbecue’s and picnics and I could go on, but then I’d just get more depressed.
But in the world of Scentsy? It’s a great time to be a Scentsy family consultant. Fall/winter 2012 brings a wealth of exciting new warmers and wax scents in addition to some completely NEW products. There are expansions to the layers line and Sincerely Scent line of personalized, scented greeting cards that can be scheduled in advance. You won’t want to miss this. Also coming in September is the holiday line of warmers and scents which are sure to be a hit in the gift giving season!
So swing by www.kathymcpherson.scentsy.ca to see what’s new. In addition, I’m also an independent consultant for Velata, the chocolate fondue that is fun, safe and easy…and the product that has had the most successful launch in direct sales history. www.wonderfulchocolate.velata.ca. And finally, check out Grace Adele, Scentsy family’s new line of purses, clutches and co-ordinating accessories that are made to match effortlessly. www.greatbags.graceadele.ca.
Hope to see you around. And don’t sweat the end of summer. Another one will be here before you know it.
I love New York
Cliche maybe, but so true. NYC is the most amazing place. Yes, I could complain about the crowds, the heat, the traffic, the noise…but really? I loved all of it. I’m a real city girl at heart. I know Toronto can’t possibly compare, but I love to have my little piece of turf in the centre of it all. As I’ve said before, I’d prefer to live in a shoebox than a mansion if it meant I could be within walking distance of the subway system.
Anyway, we just returned from a weeklong roadtrip getaway to the city that never sleeps, with the kids, who didn’t sleep too much either while we were there, and thus, neither did we. But it was an amazing trip. One of the best things about it is that the kids didn’t even know where we were going until we could clearly see the Manhattan skyline come into view.
Check out my son’s reaction as he realized where we were going.
Sadly the photo doesn’t do his reaction justice but the video file was too big to upload here. In any case, once it dawned on him that we had actually driven all the way to Manhattan he was uber excited! One of the things I’ve learned since having kids is that the best thing you can do is manage expectations. To do this, my husband and I tend to err on the side of not sharing a lot of info with our kids until we are 100% sure that we know the way things will go down. So in planning this trip, we just kept keeping it a secret until we decided, how cool would it be if we could actually keep it a secret until we arrived? And with the help of ipads and ipods to distract the kids from seeing any giveaway road signs letting them know what we were planning…we did it!
They say the journey is half the fun. With two kids who can’t keep their hands to themselves (or their mouths shut) for 30 seconds, 9 hours was a long time to be in the car. We wimped out and stopped overnight each way. I think with a few more electronic devices, and maybe a lot more patience, we may have managed it all in one go, but for now this was the perfect way to do it.
Once there, we did as much as could be expected considering it was oh, 1000 degrees in the shade for the whole time we were there! We tried not to let that get in the way of our plans, and it didn’t really, save for having to go inside an air conditioned store every couple of blocks and guzzle some water to rehydrate. We did all the touristy things that could reasonably be enjoyed by the kids.
Thanks to my mom and her Hilton Vacations Club points, we got to stay at the Hilton on 6th Avenue. It was the perfect location to be able to walk to almost everything we wanted to see and do. And do it all we did.
The Empire State Building, Times Square, Central Park Zoo, American Girl Place, Yankee Stadium for a game – against the Jays no less – Radio City Music Hall for a Cirque du Soleil Show, Carlos Bakery of Cake Boss fame, Walked across the Brooklyn Bridge, the 9/11 Memorial, Wall Street, the Statue of Liberty (via the FREE Staten Island Ferry), Battery Park City, FAO Schwartz, Toys R’ Us, Rockefeller Centre, the Lego Store, the M & M Store, the Nintendo World, and some amazing outlet shopping at Woodbury Commons to top it all off on the way home!
Whew!! I’m tired again just thinking about it all. But I’m hoping the kids are old enough that they will remember this trip for a long time.
And next up…VEGAS!!! For the Scentsy Convention!! Then I’ll really need a vacation!
The Toy Snake that wasn’t…..
For some summer fun, I thought I’d share a funny story that happened a couple of years ago…
Fast forward to the day, we’re pulling out of the driveway of my parents place in Florida in the car and my son sees a snake on the driveway and he says “is that my toy snake on the road?” and I’m like “yeah of course it is” not really paying attention, and being the Canadian that I am, and not used to seeing snakes, the thought didn’t even cross my mind that it could be anything BUT a toy snake on the road. So CW makes me stop and he gets out of the car and picks up the snake, brings it into the car and off we go on our merry way to do our errands, CW playing with the snake all the way.
Fast forward to the next morning, the huz gets in the car to go out and as soon as he opens the door notices a foul smell coming from inside the car. “What in the world is that? Smells like something died in here” he says. But being on his way out, he doesn’t bother investigating further, and just opens the windows to air out the inside of the car. Then later that night after dinner, we decided to go out for some ice cream with our friends while my mom babysat, and we decide to take our car since it was bigger. We open the door and now the car really stinks! “What the &%$# is that? ” says huz…it smells worse than ever in there…
So our friend Mike, being the brave one who once was sent to retrieve a dead bat from our shower stall (but that’s another post) was the one chosen to investigate. He opens the back doors of the car and pulls out a snake. He shows it to me and I take it from him and I’m all “oh that’s just Carter’s toy snake” But then huz comes over and he’s like “no it isn’t…that snake is brown, Carter’s snake is green”!!!! WTF??? Then it dawned on me. This was no toy snake. And it felt just like the REAL LIVE baby alligator that I held during the Gatorland show in Orlando the week before.
I immediately screamed and threw the snake down on the driveway where it should have been left in the first place. Then I also came to the disgusting realization that not only had Mike and myself just touched a real dead snake, but that my son had been playing with it while we drove around town! He wrapped it around his arm and who knows what else…and then it had been left to rot in the car for over a day in the South Florida heat! No wonder it stunk in there!
Of course I immediately ran inside and disinfected my hands. And the kids had already been bathed and put to bed so they were as clean as I could get them. But EWWWW. And what else had he touched with a REAL DEAD SNAKE in our HOUSE and CAR and in my bare HANDS!!! YUCK! Still makes me squirm just thinking about it.
So the next time Carter asks if we can have a snake for a pet….I’ll tell him he already had one. Or maybe that’s just one of those things you don’t tell your kids about. In any case…I don’t think I’ll be petting any more reptiles anytime soon…if ever.
Bring Back My Bar – for July only
So I know I promised I wouldn’t solely use this blog to market my Scentsy business, and I think so far I’ve done a decent enough job there. But today I have a couple of things to post about that DO involve Scentsy Family and such. I hope you won’t tune out.
Every year, once or twice, Scentsy does something special called “Bring Back My Bar” What happens is they allow visitors to the Bring Back My Bar website to vote on which of their favourite Scentsy Bar Scents they would like to see brought back for a limited time. Over 4 MILLION people voted! The top 20 scents are the ones that will be available to order for July only and after that, they’ll be gone again. So don’t miss them because they are fabulous.
4 Million people voted and these won
Here for July Only, Give them a shot!
It’s a question of timing
About 15 years ago, I was working at a boutique marketing agency which shall remain nameless. I was working for a guy who at the time seemed like a maniacal slavedriver, and maybe he was. The place had few established processes and was pretty much well, a sweat shop. With age, I may have gained a little perspective in that maybe he was just trying to run a business and make a profit, like everyone else…..but I digress.
It was one of my first jobs after graduating from university and while it was really stressful at times, at other times I really enjoyed it. I was single and young, and had the energy and stamina to work 24/7 and party the rest of the time. Because it was a small firm, I was given way more leeway and responsibility than I likely would have been anywhere else with so little experience. A lot of times it may have been just the rope I needed to hang myself, but at others it was an amazing learning opportunity. Especially if one learns from their mistakes as I had to do many a time.
One day over lunch one of my suppliers, someone I now consider a good friend, brought up the subject of direct sales. She mentioned that she was an independent consultant and she was able to bring in several thousand dollars a month in extra income for her family. She told me about the products and business model and how she was able to work this business while also working full time at her very demanding day job, even with two young kids!
I remember it like it was yesterday because she was so passionate about her business. All of a sudden, she pulled out a paper napkin at the table and drew a chart outlining her company’s compensation plan and explained how it all worked. I have to admit, at the time I thought she was a bit nuts. Also, I talked it over with my mom, who had been burned by a true pyramid scheme back in the 1980′s and she cautioned me against getting involved in “that type of thing.” If only I had known then what I know now about direct sales and pyramid schemes, maybe I’d have acted differently back then, but that’s water under the bridge. Enough with the what if’s, now I understand and am slowly working on building my own direct sales empire!
In addition to my lack of understanding back then though, my decision to start a direct sales business now is all about timing. It’s funny because looking back, I’m now at the stage in my life where my friend was 15 years ago. I’m older, and I hope a little wiser. I’ve got two young kids whom I want to be able to spend time with and work around their schedules. I want to be able to provide some income for my family without the constraints of a full time job working for a big corporation with limited (or no) flexibility. I don’t want to work 24/7 or party any of the time. It’s like a bell went off in my head when I realized this. This is the PERFECT job for me right NOW.
This isn’t to say that direct sales isn’t ideal for young, single, 20 somethings looking to make a little (or a lot) of extra cash. Young, active, social people make ideal direct sales consultants because their social networks, both in real life and online, are so MASSIVE. It just takes a more open minded young person, like I wasn’t way back then, to see the possibilities!
So if you’re in the same boat, try to see all sides. It’s possible that now IS the right time for you to take on a direct sales opportunity. I hope it’s Scentsy, but there’s something for everyone. It’s up to you how little or how much time you want to invest in it. Or now may not be your time. Oh, and if a friend whips out a napkin and starts drawing charts on it….they may not be as crazy as you think.
Some excitement in our fair city
Something happened here in Toronto on the weekend that was major news for our city, and I’m so glad that here in our city, this type of thing IS major news. Because that means it is unusual and not typical for this neck of the woods.
Saturday night, my husband and I were on our way to dinner for our 11th anniversary. Before we left home, we chatted with our babysitter for a few minutes about how things were going for her and of course the kids etc. We decided to head downtown because, with so many awesome restaurants within spitting distance of our house, we rarely actually go downtown. On a whim, we also decided to try a restaurant in the most touristy place in the city, the Toronto Eaton Centre. Again, odd for us because at the best of times we usually avoid this place, especially on a Saturday night just because it would be crowded, not because of what actually transpired.
As we approached the mall and were thinking about parking, we saw people streaming out in droves. Odd, but maybe the stores were closing and that was just how it was at 6pm on a Saturday, we thought. But then DOZENS of cop cars, firetrucks and more came screaming into the area. So, still thinking this was probably some minor false alarm or something, my husband says “get out and go see what’s going on before we park the car” Uh, ok. So I get out and start walking towards the entrance. Not 2 minutes later my phone rings (TG for cell phones) and it’s my husband saying “get back in the car, stat” (well he didn’t use that word but I like it) And I’m all “why?” Apparently, SHOTS had been fired in the mall and the suspect was on the loose in the area! They had evacuated the mall. 1 man had been shot and killed and several more injured.
At this point there were so many things running through my head. Firstly, “well I guess we aren’t going there for dinner” so we had to find somewhere else. I can be shallow like that sometimes! But on a deeper level were more serious thoughts. One was, yikes, we came SO close to actually being in the mall when this happened. Had we not stopped to chat a few minutes with the babysitter, we would have been parked and inside the mall when the shooting occurred. What if? Now, it’s highly unlikely that we would have been anywhere near the food court where it happened, but we had planned on browsing a bit before dinner so you never know. Plus, we for sure would have been involved in the stampede to get outside as soon as people heard what was going on. I couldn’t help but be mildly shaken by this. How random. Or maybe not. My husband said it made him think about the movie The Adjustment Bureau, but that’s a whole other post.
As expected within seconds it was all over Twitter and by the time it reached the actual news on the radio it was almost historical. There were eyewitness accounts and people speculating about the why’s and where’s and who’s of what actually happened and the professionals trying to get to the bottom of things while the information was still fresh in everyone’s minds.
What really affected me about this incident though is that it happened HERE. IN TORONTO. My big, yet safe city where this type of thing just DOES NOT HAPPEN. Yes, we have our crime and filth like the best of big cities but compared to others of our size in other countries, our crime rate is pretty low, at least for violent crimes, if not all types.
Now, this happened just on Saturday and all details are not confirmed. But everyone is speculating. Was the shooter some random physcho who just lost it and ran into the food court prepared to shoot anyone who looked at him wrong? Or was he a gang member with a target in mind and just shot other innocent bystanders by accident? Or was it none of the above and just something incomprehensible to the vast majority of us who are totally stunned by this insanity that just shouldn’t happen at all, much less HERE in OUR CITY.
More details are scheduled to be released today as they become known, but really, does anyone know whey someone does things except that person themself, and sometimes not even then? Who knows. I just hope that all the tourists who were planning to visit Toronto this summer don’t let this one incident change their minds. Because this will no doubt be sensationalized all over the media, and let’s face it, it should be because when this type of thing happens here it is BIG NEWS.
I just hope that people pay attention to the caveat that it it RARE and almost unheard of for this to happen here. I also sincerely hope that it comes out today that this was not at all a RANDOM act of violence but a targeted attack by one crazed drug dealer against another. Not that it makes it any less shocking, but at least then there’s a reason, and it would slightly lessen one’s fear of the possibility of being shot while dining in a mall food court. Yet, I know that if I was planning a trip to a city and I heard about an incident like this on the news, I might think twice and admittedly not look into all sides of the story before possibly changing my mind. Hopefully others won’t be so quick to judge. And maybe there’s a lesson in that for me too.
I guess this is yet another one of those times I need to sit back and be thankful. Thankful for my simple and generally not too exciting life around here. Thankful to have had a relaxing weekend enjoying not taking my kids to the zoo in the rain, lunch with some friends and dinner with my husband for our anniversary. I. Am. Thankful.
The zoo visit that wasn’t
I had grand plans to take the kids to the zoo today because they had a day off school. They have a sharks and stingrays exhibit where apparently you get to feed the rays. I’ve done this once before and I remember it being a cool, if disturbing, experience, so I was kind of looking forward to doing it again. Being the one car family that we are – and that I insist on staying – I begged my husband to leave me the car so I could make the zoo trip without having to spend two hours on the TTC. Normally, while inconvenient for him, this wouldn’t be a big deal for my husband has he can take said public transit to his office without too much trouble. However, yesterday afternoon it was determined that he needed to go to Ottawa today for a meeting. Since he was tired after last weekend’s Vegas trip, he didn’t want to drive it anyway so he bought a plane ticket to go and come back today.
All was well…until the torrential rain started down at about 5am this morning. I don’t know if this is at all related to the crazy storms that hit Montreal a few days ago or what, but it hasn’t let up all day. When I woke up this morning and saw the rain, I was all my usual stubborn self and thought, “we are going to the zoo today despite the rain/torrential downpour outside.” because I had promised the kids and made my husband take a plane to Ottawa. But then, the strangest thing happened…the kids looked outside…and actually didn’t even WANT to go! I didn’t even have to dissapoint them and say we couldn’t or I didn’t want to because I was too much of a wuss 
I still felt bad about the car thing, so I made sure to do some errands and stuff that I wouldn’t have been able to accomplish without wheels just to make it all worthwhile. And also, I’m kinda glad my husband isn’t on the 401 right now in this weather because it is dreadful.
But that said, tomorrow is a busy and important day that I really hope he makes it back for. Firstly, it’s our 11th wedding anniversary!!! We have plans to go out for dinner to celebrate and even have a babysitter coming. We have no idea where we’ll go, but we are going out without any kids! Yay! Also, we have planned a family photo shoot with my good friend and neighbour and amazing photographer Bev and obviously we can’t do that without an important member of the family. And lastly, I have a lunch with some great Scentsy girls that has been planned FOREVER and I am NOT going to miss it! Even if I have to drag my son and his ipod with us to lunch, I am GOING! So that’s that! Wish me luck!
An earth shattering blog post
I can’t promise to be riveting and exciting all the time around here, but I’ll do my best to keep things interesting. It’s not every day I’ll get to introduce my brand new website and blog, or wax on about direct sales companies and pyramid schemes. Sometimes the best I’ll be able to manage is more of a journal, and that will just have to do! Hopefully my life is interesting enough to warrant some people reading about it. Every day. A girl can hope, right?
So here’s something really exciting. This morning my completely housetrained Schnoodle, Snickers, peed on the floor. Isn’t that earth shattering? It’s always fun to add a little clean up to an already hectic morning. But what can you do. Oh and I sprayed some Scentsy Just Breathe Room Spray (couldn’t resist getting in a plug)
After we got through that fun, it was off to school for the kids and off to Yoga for this mama. I can’t say enough good things about the yoga classes at Just Ducky. They are just my style. A good workout that’s casual and fun and not too serious, with friends and neighbours, as well as child care if you need it. When I was done getting sweaty and stretched, it was time for the dog park with my neighbour and her dog whom Snickers is best friends with…that is, if dogs can have BFF’s. I think they can.
Then, time for a little lunch. Leftover chicken from last night’s fajitas on a wrap with some mayo and lettuce. Not earth shattering either, but it wasn’t bad. Now it’s time for a little work. Then shower and another dog walk….After all that excitement, I’m sure you can barely contain yourself, it will be time to pick up my daughter Alexis from school her her dance class…and then…and it doesn’t get more exciting than this…the elementary school Spring Concert!!!
And this time, my 9 year old will not only be singing…he will be playing the recorder. We will be sure to get that on video for his future embarrassment. Can’t wait. So there. It may not be earth shattering but it’s a day in my life. But it is these days, the ones that don’t seem so exciting that I’m so grateful for. I get to spend time with my family, do a little something for myself, my kids and my dog and feel somewhat productive. I don’t think I can ask for much more than that.
- Can be a nuissance, but oh so cute
Direct Sales Companies and Pyramid Schemes
When I tell people that I’m an independent consultant for Scentsy, I generally get one of three reactions. The first one, my favourite, is “Oh, I love Scentsy products, they are amazing.”That’s true of course. But, because Scentsy is relatively new to my area of Ontario, I don’t get that one too often.
The next most common reaction is “what’s Scentsy? I’ve never heard of it.” At which point I of course go on to tell them how great Scentsy is and how much they’ll love the products.
The third reaction I often get is “oh no, is that one of those pyramid schemes?” That’s the reaction and myth I’d like to debunk because there are a lot of misconceptions out there.
Many people think that so called “pyramid” or “Ponzi” schemes are the same thing as any company that uses a direct sales method of distribution. This is simply not true.
A “pyramid scheme” is an arrangement where people pay money to join a “company” but there are no actual sales of any product or service when that money changes hands. Some people simply don’t understand that direct sales is different and thus automatically associate direct sales companies with pyramid schemes or other illegal activities. Because of this, some people immediately turn up their noses at the great opportunities provided by direct sales without further investigation. I’d like to work on changing that.
Direct sales companies, like Scentsy, use a distribution model that, while different from a traditional corporation, is completely legal. Every dollar earned by Scentsy for products sold gets distributed between sales consultants in the form of commission, uplines in the form of upline commission and the corporate office of the company. There’s nothing shady about this. There are MANY direct sales companies out there that are 100% legit and legal, because, this is a model THAT WORKS! Reputable direct sales companies, like Scentsy, belong to organizations such as the Direct Selling Association that ensure that they are aware of the legalities and ethics of running such a business, in addition to rewarding those that are most successful with recognition.
Salespeople, or consultants, that work for direct sales companies simply use different methods than those of typical retail businesses to raise awareness about and sell their products. They often use the party model and booths at trade shows and fairs. They may use the internet and social media and of course, good old-fashioned pounding the pavement – just like any corporate or retail salesperson would.
If you think about it, at a traditional corporation, you may work for a manager or boss who you are accountable to, and have others working for you that you are responsible for. In direct sales companies, when you join, you are “sponsored” by someone who has a similar managerial role, and if others join your team, you become their upline and you are responsible for helping them learn the ropes and get their business off the ground. The terminology might not be the same for the titles you have at a traditional corporation, but there are definitely some similarities in the roles.
The greatest thing about direct sales, I think, is that you can become a business owner with a miniscule initial investment and little education or training. You get all this with the support of an established company behind you, and its resources at your disposal. The financial rewards you can earn are directly proportional to how hard you are willing to work. There aren’t too many occupations out there where this actually happens.
Not only that, how many traditional corporations actually let people choose when they want to work, for how many hours each week? Not many I’m sure. It’s true that slowly more and more companies are attempting to become more “family friendly” and they may claim to have “flexible work options” in their employee manuals and on their websites; but how many of these companies actually put these theories into practice to accommodate their employees? That’s debateable I’m sure.
As people begin to truly understand the value of direct sales and what a great career opportunity it can be for almost anyone, I suspect we will see exponential growth in these types of companies and in the number of individuals pursuing direct sales as a career with real potential. I’m one of them. If you’d like to join me, talk to me about joining my team. scentsiblecanada@gmail.com
Introducing Scentsible Canada
Hi and thanks for stopping by my website and blog! I hope you’ll come by often and see what’s new around here! On this blog I will be mostly sharing stories, some about Scentsy, some not so much. I may also mention Scentsy specials that I can’t resist telling you about. In any case, I will try my best to be interesting so you’ll continue reading and spread the word!
Since this is my premiere post, I’ll start by telling you a bit about myself and how I got into Scentsy.
My name is Kathy McPherson and I’ve been a Scentsy addict for about 6 months. My addiction is still in its early stages but it is getting worse daily.
When I discovered Scentsy last fall, I wasn’t really looking for a new career, or even a job. I quit my job in advertising two years ago to spend more time with my kids. I dabbled in taking some courses and other endeavours but didn’t really commit to anything because mostly, nothing was flexible enough to be able to earn some money, while still keeping up with my kids hectic schedules.
I was just looking for unique Christmas gifts for my kids. What I found was a whole lot more. I found these wonderful flame free warmers that I could use without worry, since sadly my short term memory went out the window with the birth of my first child 9 years ago and I no longer trust myself around fire. And the wonderfully scented wax that wouldn’t force me to commit to one scent for a lifetime? Brilliant. And room sprays, and hand cleansers and travel tins and laundry and body products and and and….I just couldn’t stop!
I found Scentsy buddies for the kids to put under the tree, but I also fell in love with the rest of Scentsy’s products for myself. As I explored my Scentsy director’s website, I discovered that not only had I found some amazing products to buy, but I could actually become a consultant and sell these products to earn some extra money.
When I ordered my buddies, I had the fortune to “meet” my director online. She is an amazing woman. In two years, she has given up her full time job to work for Scentsy full time, and is now helping to support her family while raising three young children. When she told me about this, I was hooked. So I could buy and sell amazing products that, let’s face it, I’m totally addicted to, and also earn some money? While still having time for my family? SOLD for the bargain price of $119.00. And that is where Scentsible Canada began. How else can you start your own business for such a small investment?
So here I am, on vacation, thinking about how lucky I am to have “found” Scentsy. I’ve never been so excited about my work as I am right now. Actually come to think of it, this has to be the first job I’ve had that I’ve really enjoyed doing and thinking about. While yes, it can be time consuming and hard work, but it is FUN. Both my parents, who are so fortunate because they were able to have careers they were passionate about that also paid the bills, always used to tell me, “if you find a career you love, you’ll never work a day in your life.” I didn’t really understand that expression until now. But mom and dad? Now, I GET it!
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