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October
2004 - Vol.2 Issue 10 |
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Candle
of the Month: Crème Brulee |
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Business Builders of the Month |
When Bob explained that Mia Bella Candles were soy/veg based and virtually soot-less unlike all the popular paraffin candles, which are a petroleum by-product, Rick was able to place the insurance with an “A rated company. Several months later, Bob again called Rick to insure an additional building, a warehouse for the fast growing business which had now become a multi- level opportunity called Scent-Sations, Inc. Rick began to ask questions about the business, called Pat from the warehouse and told her to “drop everything and get up here fast” to look at this opportunity. Having been stung with two other “sure thing” opportunities, needless to say, Pat was not very receptive. But knowing Rick’s tenacity, she gave in and listened to what Bob and his partner, Charlie Umphred, had to say, asked every question she could think of, and smelled every candle they had in the warehouse. The excitement started to build and they signed up as distributor #141 before they left that day, August 23, 2002. Rick and Pat have now built a team of distributors nation-wide. Since they both have full-time jobs, Rick with his insurance business and Pat as a realtor, the time they have to spend on a multi-level business is limited. Unlike the other businesses they were involved in where they had to baby-sit their downline and had to spend out of pocket money to receive checks, they say the distributors they have signed are so high on this business and as excited as they are. The owners of Scent-Sations, Inc. have vast multi-level experience and are always available for endless questions, conference calls and support whenever and wherever it is needed. Rick and Pat are basically recruiters; they sell minimal retail. They like working with a company that has a strong retail foundation and a commission plan that allows the part-timer to take part in a large income stream without having to jump through a lot of hoops. They say the beauty of this business is that the distributors have the flexibility to sell retail or fundraise or recruit or all three. Rick and Pat say the business sells itself – the product that Carmen and Lynn produce is a first-rate, quality product and consumable - once someone burns a Mia Bella candle, they will never use another brand of candle! Customers keep coming back for more and more and more! Rick’s and Pat’s home-based business is growing and so is their “nest-egg." Rick’s Story about the Power of the Label!: Pat & Rick Gazenski |
Scent-Sations, Inc. Pitches in to Help a Family in Need |
I did not know until last week that my niece Jessica Simon had written to Charlie asking if Mia Bella would consider donating something for Todd's benefit that was held this past Saturday. Jess was informed that they would be sending six candles to her and she put together a basket of six candles from her stock and sent with my sister on Friday for the auction. I just wanted to express my deepest thanks for your generousity. I signed up to sell your products shortly before my son had his accident. Marcy and I were planning an open house the Saturday after his accident. He fell and had a skull fracture and has been through removal of the left portion of his skull and then six weeks of rehab in Chicago, back to Rockford to have skull replaced, where he had a little pneumonia and an infection in his spinal fluid, and now in Davenport, IA. in rehab where he has had his ups and downs and it seems that things are finally going forward. This past week has been great. We are taking him out for his first outing on Sunday. Needless to say, I have had no time to devote to my business. Marcy and I did get our open house done in June and it was awesome. Everyone loves the candles and the bella bars. In fact, one of our landlords on the farm has ordered a dozen bella bars and two body wash that I am to bring to a dinner tonight. She has problems with her face breaking out and I had given her a candle and a bar of soap when we had our tenant dinner at her restaurant earlier this year. She was telling me that there was a company in Princeton that made a lotion from soy that had helped her but they had sold their business and she could no longer get it and she was tired of moving her bar that I gave her from the sink to the shower. I don't know if you have considered a soy lotion or not but you might give it a thought. I am in hopes that things will be settling down soon so that I can really pursue acquainting the people in our area with your products. I am developing a pretty good following even though I do spend the majority of my week in the hospital. I am also working on the nurses and aids. Everyone says Todd's room always smells so good but then I usually have a couple dozen boxes of votives in the room.
Again, please accept my deepest thanks for the candle donation. The total raised on last Saturday was $67,000 and there are still donations coming in. It was totally awesome. It was such a tribute to my son and our family. We have some great friends and co-workers. Donna Thacker |
Mia Bellas are a Great Way for Salon Owners to Make Money!
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 The owner, Karen (left) and I (right) are so excited by the response. They are selling so well. In the first 3 days, I sold over $350 of jars, votives, bath bars, buns and a couple of gift baskets. She is so thrilled with the sales that she plans on becoming a COTM member so that she gets more of the profit. Now, with this experience behind my belt, I can go to other retailers and have confidence that they too will want to sell Mia Bella products. You can't go wrong with these products!
Tammy Braswell |
Soysational Bella Bars Are a HUGE Hit for Distributors & Customers |
Our group has had an interesting discovery. Apparently, my 19 month old and another 18 month have found these bars to be quite appetizing, as little teeth marks are being found in the bars. We have joked that the kids have skipped the match-and the spoon-and went right for the bite. And this is with the packaging still on. Too funny. Cathy Mahady |
Do Mia Bella Highly Scented Candles Sell Themselves? |
Everyone is so right about these candles! I went to my dentist on Tuesday, and I took a jar and asked them if I could leave it on the counter with some flyers. They said sure, I told them I would donate the jar as a thank you for letting them. Well, my dad called me this morning because he went to the dentist thursday and said the girls in the office were asking him all kinds of questions about the candles because they them. He said you've got to call Jill, the secretary, because she wants to know how to buy them. She said even the patients are interested. So I told her I'd send her a list of the scents available, and then I told her about the candle of the month program and the associate program. She said she wants to sign up for the associate program so the whole office can just buy the candles at a reduced cost. The nice thing about it is my dad and stepmom were in another MLM company with me a few years ago. So they've been kind of curious to see what I'm doing. They know how Network Marketing works, but our kind of unsure about trying it again. It was neat because my dad told me he can't believe how much they liked the candles and that I'm going to make money just because I dropped a candle off in their office. So he wants to talk to my stepmom about at least signing up for the associate program. Laurie Baker |
Tracey Gilmore Loves Retailing! |
I decided to start retailing door to door to businesses during the day after listening to a recorded training call. The first day (Thursday) I only got to work 3 and 1/2 hours. Total sales for that time were $157.65 with a profit of $72.25 or $24 per hour! Not only did I not realize that I could make that kind of hourly income with candles but I also realized that no one else in the world would be offering a part timer that kind of hourly wage either! On Friday I worked 5 hours with total sales of $323.52 with a profit of $182.30 or $36.46 per hour! This is all I did: I learned that if they can't smell it, they are unlikely to ask about it. Jar candles are too heavy to carry, so I put a votive in a glass holder labeled with the scent, put them in a basket, (I carried about 35 different scents), walked through the door, held up my basket and simply asked "Does anyone here like scented candles?" I got one of two looks, one was "Leave me alone, I'm not interested." And if they said so, I thanked them, asked if I could leave a brochure, and wished them a great day/afternoon/weekend. The other look was guarded, but the mouth said "Yeeesss..." If they said that, I put my basket on the counter/desk/chair, if there was room, and asked what their favorite scent was. Most people have a preference already, a few just like a "type" of fragrance. Then I proceed to select the scents I think they will like the best. Most people buy if they smell. I always leave a brochure, whether they buy or not, and I have 3 people I think are highly likely to sign up for the Candle of the Month. This is a great way to put money in your pocket TODAY. It works well for people who have children in school and don't want to spend their evenings and weekends doing home parties. I put an insert in each brochure advertising "Lunch by Candlelight" and with the money I made, I'm not sure that I'm interested in doing much of that (too much pressure), although that is probably a very concentrated way to make money. Then I went to the bank and went home to order LOTS more candles. If you don't have it, you can't sell it! Tracey Gilmore |
Great Testimonial from Realtor Amy Foster! |
"As a Realtor, I'm always looking for unique client gifts for open houses and closings. Scent Sations has a fabulous product line and the candles are so scented you won't hardly believe it. They surely are better than any other I've smelled. The fact that they are environmentally friendly for homes and our health - with easy cleanup - is such a bonus for homeowners. Some home builders these days won't even honor their home warranty if you use soot-filled candles in your home. I don't even have to mention that they are actually for sale as a business opportunity, too...clients ask ME how to spread the word!" Amy Foster, Realtor |
18 Year Old Distributor Loves Making Money With Mia Bellas |
I am 18 years old and I signed up as a distributor in April of this year. It has been one of the best things I have ever done for myself. I live in a fairly small but growing city in Northern California and no one here has ever heard of a soy/veg candle, let alone one that smells this good! There is a yearly garage sale in my neighborhood that draws over a hundred people each summer. I set up a little table with Mia Bella Candles this year and although no one bought anything, everyone who came to the table was really excited about this product. Just last Friday I began calling people who entered the drawing I did at the garage sale in June. EVERY person that answered their phone was overjoyed that I had called them and wanted to order candles right away. This product is so easy to sell and I love it so much that it's contagious. My customers can tell that I'm not just pushing a product on them, I actually use the bodywash and the candles everyday! I began selling your products at our local Farmer's Market every Saturday in late July. Since then I have made almost $600!! Katie Sandberg |
Genia Rodgers/Candle Hippy |
After many ups and downs in and with my new Extended Family, I needed to do something for myself, and make sure that it was compatible with the children. Little did I know at the time that this was one of the wisest choices I have ever made, and it started because of my CHILDREN! I just took their advice... The first thing I had to do was to learn how to turn on the computer, and my adopted 7 yr. old taught me that! Then there was this word pad thingie, And then "the BACK OFFICE" What was that? And what in the world do I do with it? Then there was downloading! Oh Gee! So My 14 year old daughter, Amy, would do extra work in her computer class, just so she could learn the skills I needed. She would come home and we would spend the next few hours laughing and giggling at each other and the whole idea of Network Marketing! The next thing I knew all my children at sometime or another have been to my Mia Bella site! They think I Rock, Man! Amy and I had set up a booth at a fair in Greers Ferry, Arkansas in the early months of this past summer. The fair was rained out and so were we. But what we did was go ahead and pass out what flyers we could and giggled our way through it. There was also a local Radio Station there promoting me, "The Candle Hippy”and my booth. Four of my 6 sons brought people to meet their celebrity mom at the booth. They wanted all their friends to get to meet the CANDLEHIPPY herself (that’s me).. This was a source of free advertisement I didn't even expect. I was so new to this Business, that I didn't even realize at the time the quality of radio exposure the kids and I were getting. Almost 3 months later I received a call from An ART GALLERY who heard about it on the radio. She wanted to put the candles in her shop. Little did I know then that that call would be the beginning of taking over CENTRAL ARKANSAS! Think big and have large dreams. Mia Bella is a tool I use to teach my children. I have seen my bashful daughter OUT SHINE HER CLASS! I have seen her come out of her shell, and become a shining light for her peers! This has been a great ride for all of us. We just love it. Another daughter, Brittany Ann, is coming on next month. And some of my other kids are ready to become distributors. We are a large family and that's what works for us! This has given us so much. Our door is open to learn and we grow together sharing the up and downs! May I add the ups outweigh the downs by FAR! Peace and Walk in Beauty! |
Distributor of the Month: Carolyn de La Tour |
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Pat’s parents had always said that you need a “nest–egg to fall back on” and Rick’s philosophy was that “you shouldn’t put all your eggs in one basket”. So Rick and Pat tried two home based businesses which became too expensive to maintain and the requirements became too time consuming. Rick, the co-owner of an insurance brokerage firm received a call from his long-time friend, Bob Scocozzo, who asked him to insure a new enterprise, Mia Bella Candles. Rick visited the candle factory and told Bob he would do his best; however, insurance companies were not very receptive to insuring candle businesses because they were being hit with costly soot claims. 
Dearest Bob and Charlie:
I know I have been going on and on but I also wanted you to know that your products are getting out there even if it is a little slower than I had anticipated. Marcy and I want to attend your convention this coming year. We are in hopes that it won't be the last week in March as we have a girls trip planned to Cancun. Jessica was totally impressed when she went this year. 
I have to tell you how wonderful these Bella Bars are (as if you didn't know). I have never been so successful in having people approach me about a product---that is the ultimate business when you don't have to go to the customer, they eagerly come to you. And never have people been so eager to purchase multiple products because they want to share these bars with friends and family. I have people buying four at a time. I gave a Bella Bar as a hostess gift and as a result have sold nine bars this week. 
When I got into network marketing I really didn't have the first clue about what I just got myself into, or even what to do next. My children had told me that I could get a Home Based Business started and work from the computer. I have spent the last several years taking care of Foster Children. It wasn't till I had adopted 7 for my own, that I realized there was no going back for me. 
My name is Carolyn de La Tour. I live in Orlando, FL. I started with Scent-Sations in March of 2004. My background is in Sales and Marketing, with a degree in Commercial Art. I spent many years in the Corporate World....what some refer to as "The Rat Race". After the birth of my first child, I joined the ranks of many women as a stay-at-home mom. I still wanted to add to the family income, so I searched for a "Work from Home" opportunity. I tried so many "opportunities"...always spending more than I made, or not making enough income to make it worth my time. I was awarded "Best New Achiever of the Year" for my entire region with one of the most recognizable Cosmetic/Skin Care lines, and STILL did not have the income potential and commission structure that Scent-Sations offers me now, and it just keeps getting better!