HOW DO YOU HANDLE POTHOLES ON YOUR ROAD TO SUCCESS?

I am so excited about this New Year and the possibilities. You can just “feel” that this year is destined for great and amazing things!

Last night I read the article that I will include the link for by Tom "Big Al" Schreiter,
http://www.nexera.com/e-news.html “How to attract good leaders”
In it he talks about being realistic about expectations of the “Perfect Business”. My mentor and friend, Jackie Ulmer had also read this article and had posted a reference to it on our team board.

I have a subscription to his articles, and they are usually good but this one really hit home for me because I know the New Year is when many people in a home business re-evaluate whether they are going to continue, and often their decision is based upon them listing the negatives or “bumps in the road” that happened in the previous year rather than asking themselves, “What was RIGHT about my business last year?” “What did I enjoy, or succeed at?” “What did I NOT try that might have made a difference, that I can commit to trying now?”

As I read his article, it was right on the money with this! My immediate thought in applying this article to the New Year was, “What a wonderful opportunity for everyone to “re-organize” their thinking and mindset about the little bumps along the way this year”.

It’s about the BIG picture.

Marriage and children are full of bumps too, and ladies…..are our children not THE MOST important JOB we have? This is a job FULL of bumps but quitting it, as a mom is not an option.

Did you ever consider giving up on your teenagers or quitting that JOB because you came home from a company conference (Fling) to the realization that half of the adult teenager population of your community had been to a party at your house while you were gone (this was not authorized) and ceiling plaster had actually come down, among other things???

And that the invitation to this party had actually been publicized on the internet?……Give up, quit?……well……okay maybe for the teeny, tiniest split second…….lol just kidding.

It simply meant a bigger detour around that particular pothole, AND some “enforced” road work for the above said teenagers!

But never would I give up on them, or quit, they are worth it, I believe in them, and I am in it for the long haul to see the end result, because I BELIEVE in the end result, (and because I love them with all my heart) and it is the same scenario for this business.

It has it’s growing pains too, but I believe in it, and I’m in it for that long haul to experience the end result because I know beyond a doubt all those bumps ARE worth it! They are just part of the “process”, and they are that insignificant. Like running out of toilet paper in a house of 6 or more, it sucks, and is a profound moment, but you go to the store and get more, and by tomorrow it is just an inconvenient memory.

It is the END result that is your FOCUS, the dream made reality! That’s what you focus your “personal power” and belief on, NOT whether or not you are happy with the fragrance this month, or that UPS damaged your product in transit, or whether your home party, or fundraiser sales were less than you were hoping for on your last one, or even two, or some leads hung up on you! etc. These are just the little bumps and pot holes that we step over on the way to our DESTINATION, and we ALL have the “personal power” to step over that rock in the road, or log, or even to detour around a tree on this journey. ALL of us.

LIFE has given every single one of us plenty of practice every single day to navigate our road to success. Especially us moms, we are MASTERS at it! (no offense to all of you AWESOME dads out there, this is just an historical thing) The bumps in this business are nothing in comparison to some that many of you have experienced as part of your life, and NONE of you reading this has “quit” that JOB. Think about it.

There is no PERFECT business, but we DO have an incredible opportunity and products, with an amazing company that is making a true difference in people’s lives, and that offers a DESTINATION of dreams realized for those that are up for the journey.

So keep your personal focus and power on the “Destination” of this journey and you will step over those bumps in the road without even looking back, and THIS will set the pace for the distributors that you invite to walk this road with you, they too will step over those imperfections in the road and focus on WHERE you are going! It IS worth it, and I’ll see you THERE!

Ps, I have included a picture of “one” of the trees that went down during our ice storm. This covered our driveway and definitely qualified as one of those “road bumps” but it is all about how you handle it. The ice storm became a reason to take candles to some of our neighbors to share with family and friends while their power was out, and the half a tree that blocked the driveway…. became a beautiful and bountiful stack of firewood to warm the house if the power goes out again, and to add to that beautiful fragrant Glow that only one of our candles burning in a room can create.

Kellene VanDorn
Double Diamond Leader
www.ourcandleclub.com

Have a wonderful day of thankfulness everyone!

Amen to the thought posted below in a message sent by one of our distributors to our team board. Here's to everyone's loved ones, appreciating the blessings we have, and developing and maintaining an "Attitude of Grattitude" in 2008 and beyond!

Take care, be safe, and love your families like there's no tomorrow.... after all, we never know what the future will bring, so let's not waste one minute not appreciating our loved ones, and make every second count!

We all have much to be greatful for this Thankful Day. If you place your focus on all of the things to be greatful for in your life, there will be no place, or room for negatives.

All of us fall away from our "Attitude of Grattitude" at different points in our life, ....including me, .....but there is ALWAYS another day, God Willing, to get your mindset back in a place of gratefulness.

Let this attitude start each day, as you open your eyes, ...be greatful, you will witness another day of your children's lives, or have another day to make someone you care about smile.

Another day to forgive, to heal, to love, to work, to walk, or even talk, these are ALL things to NOT be taken for granted, to breathe, to eat, or to begin the process of changing eating habits and getting in shape. To be grateful that you have the food and CHOICE to decide. That you have a roof over your head, and a place to sleep.

Instead of focusing on the car payment bill, focus on the blessing of "having a car". Instead of focusing on the aches and pains, be greatful that you are alive and that you "feel", many don't.

Next time when you are feeling stressed that there is not enough time in the day for everything, instead be greatful that your life is so full and that you have "so many" opportunities to re-organize, as well as to "prioritize".

To be able to Prioritize your day to day schedule and your life is a HUGE blessing. Think about it. There are many many people that this will never be the case. That to be able to make choices, decisions, will never be an option for.

So yes, .......even your CRAZIEST DAY is a blessing and something to be greatful for.

I am greatful that we are properous enough that I will have the food and supplies to do "all the cooking today". That I will have many family and loved ones over to "clean my house for." That at the end of the day when I am so tired and the dishes are done, "I will have had such a joyous day with the people I love, as a reason to be tired for".

How many won't feel that joyous exhaustion because they have lost their families and loved ones this year.

That I can go with my grandchildren and take a plate of pumpkin bars, and pumpkin pies, with any extra canned goods and food to our local mission for those that have different blessings to be greatful for. Because they are alive, they have a roof over their head, and they have the promise of tomorrow to begin changing the rest of their life and focusing on what they DO have to be greatful for. Because with this "attitude of gratitude" comes "more" blessings.

Another thing I will be greatful for at the end of the day today, is all of YOU. It has been an amazing year and each of you has brought something new to be greatful for into our lives. Maybe an idea, or thought that I didn't have before knowing you, or "your own" experience that changed my way of looking at something, or that made me "greatful" for something in my own life.

Sometimes it is knowing that by meeting you and offering this opportunity, or working with you, it has the promise of changing the things YOU are greatful for in your life!

This is HUGE and just brought tears for me as I typed it, because when you can offer something positive to others that has the possibility of changing lives, it fills my heart to overflowing grattitude that we can be a part of that, and .......that you will too.

This is more than a "business" for us, and for you. It is a journey we are all taking together. We all have our own destinations that are right for us, and some of you will continue to develop new journey plans as you reach your destinations, some won't, but we know that we are not journeying alone, we have caring and support and SO many things to be greatful for along the way.

Have a wonderful day of thankfulness, and as we say our family prayer of blessings and gratitude at dinner today, you will ALL be in my thoughts.

Kellene, Bill, Savanah, Kyndra, Jeremiah, Krista, Forrest, Garrett, and the VanDorn Zoo.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Kellene VanDorn
Double Diamond Team Leader
www.ourcandleclub.com

photo by Kellene VanDorn

BELIEF, IT'S NOT A SECRET!

I believe every one has experienced at one time or another the "secret" in their own lives, most of us are just not aware of it, or that they can use this at will. When you become AWARE of the power you have in the law of attraction you will begin to change and influence your life to achieve all of the abundance that you have ever imagined.

When I watched “The Secret” I became more fully “aware”. All of the possibilities became clearer to me. I have always believed that anything is possible, my daughter has taught me that, but I was missing the knowledge of how to intentionally put out my thoughts and intentions in order to consistently manifest them. I watched this, and the simplicity of the perfect sense that this made was powerful to me!

One of my passions has always been to make a difference, to create positive change within the system for persons with physical challenges. No doubt this passion was fine tuned through my daughter Savanah, who has Cerebral Palsy and is in a wheelchair. I wanted to help where I could, and to know that I was doing something to make a difference in other people’s lives, not just Savanah’s.

I am visualizing this desire, and ways to make this happen and focusing on this intent, not on all of the past roadblocks, and it is begining to manifest. In the normal process of going through my day, people and situations that I had never met or experienced before are coming into my life with new possibilities and opportunities that further manifest my desire.

I was told about a national organization that helps people with physical challenges. This organization is the WAPD (World Association of Persons With disABILITIES)

This organization asked me to be a Prosperity Team Leader within their organization, …. “new possibilities”, I embraced them and visualized how I could combine my passion for the wonderful flexibility of this business with my passion and desire of helping the physically challenged obtain financial independence….. “I was asked to be the founder of the chapter of this organization for the state of Kansas”, this has already begun opening even more possibilities that will make my desire happen.

More and more, Bill and I are receiving contacts from people with physical challenges about becoming distributors with this company, they are just coming into our life, and my dream of combining our own growing success within this company and making a difference to people with physical challenges is manifesting and growing every day. I am visualizing and putting out the desire and intent that the partnership of possibilities that our company has to offer people with physical challenges will be HUGE and on a national scale!

Once, 19 years ago, I was told my baby daughter was not going to live. I didn’t dwell on that, I “believed” that she would survive, I focused on that and nothing else, and she did.

I was told that she would never be more than a vegetable, I ignored this and visualized that my child had a strong will that was “capable of anything”, that she would have an important life to live, and that her will and accomplishments would humble and once again open the minds of the doctors. I “believed” this, and nothing else. Savanah was 7 weeks old then, and she did open their minds and continues to.

Many of you know her now and you know that she is a true manifestation of my belief, and of this philosophy, because she daily attracts good and blessings into her life.

Get “The Secret”. Watch it, and open your mind to the possibilities. It will change your life. Then share it and build your team on it’s philosophy. VISUALIZE the abundance that this will bring!

I begin each day watching parts of “The Secret” at my computer as I drink my first cup of tea or coffee. I am setting my mind for what I want to manifest that day. It is wonderful, try it! Then LIVE it, and enjoy your own abundance!

Savanah will walk. Watch it happen!

Kellene VanDorn
Double Diamond Distributor
www.ourcandleclub.com

MARKETING FOR THE HOLIDAYS

Thanksgiving is past, and the VanDorn Family has so much to be thankful for. Long after the turkey is gone my thankfulness for our many blessings continues into each and every day. High on that thankful list is our business, the dynamite team of business associates that have joined us, and that we have reached one of our goals of achieving Double Diamond Status!

Now we are coming up on the Christmas season and there is a magic in the air that is special to this month. It is about FAITH, belief, giving, wishes, dreams and new hopes for the new year, ……and our INCREDIBLE PRODUCTS!!!

It has been such a phenomenal retail season this year, and we are on the home stretch to Christmas, but the season is FAR from over! There is a magical wealth of marketing opportunities just waiting for you to tap into, opportunities that will spill right over into the New Year. This is no time to slow down your business!

I love thinking outside the “box” so to speak, so the magic and creativity of this season makes it a delightful favorite for me. The limits are only in your imagination, so here are a few of the ideas that are working well for us. Try them, and explore more of your own ideas, and make this season “your own in retail growth”! Come have fun with me!

There is a wonderful selection of custom gift boxes for this season and to carry you into the new year that are available at http://www.papermart.com/, or http://www.nashvillewraps.com/ . Take a gift box with white background and black paw prints all over it, layer it with red tissue paper, our simmer pot and melts, a few dog or cat treats, grooming brush, and you have a perfect display or gift for vet hospitals, dog grooming and boarding kennels, individual dog and cat owners, ect. Be sure to put one of our Body Bars in this gift set though with a note letting them know that our Body Bars have been found to be wonderful to bathe our pets (small pets) with as well.

Or how about the local travel agency? Take a gift box shaped like a cruise ship in to them for a display, lined with a plastic bag, you could fill it with decorative sand a couple of sea shells, and our Sex on the Beach jar candle a Body Bar, Body wash ect. or Heart of the Ocean. Many people travel to warmer climes the first of the year, and if they take your products with them on the trip just think of how many places your name might travel to!

Are you a nurse or do you know one, or a doctor? There are gift boxes that look like a nurses medical bag, or a doctor’s bag, fill them with our products and leave a tag that “says light this candle and call me in the morning”.

A gift box for golfer’s or Angler’s, or houses as the perfect listing gift for a real estate agent to give to their new client (you get two new customers with this one, because the home owner will want your candles in their new home!) they even have one with orange chili peppers on it! All of these are tools to keep your retail growth strong and consistent no matter the season or time of year. They are simple, all you have to do is fill them, and they can be personalized to the person or situation. Presentation is everything, and these may open new retail doors for you.

Our Cinnamon Buns also are perfect for that unique gift for the co-worker, neighbor, teacher, friend, relatives, ect. They make a wonderful stocking stuffer! Everyone has a stocking in our house that is filled on Christmas Eve.

These are a tradition and taking it a step further, try purchasing the little brightly colored containers (usually with a picture of Santa shaking an admonishing finger at you on the lid) that contain the infamous lump of coal as a gag gift. You can usually find these everywhere at the dollar stores, hardware stores, or WalMart by the registers, this time of year.

Put the lump of coal container and the Cinnamon Bun back to back and then wrap them together with a decorative Christmas ribbon (like a package) then tie in a pretty bow, and put a catchy tag on it that says something like,
To:
From:
Naughty or Nice, …..I’m covering the bases! Merry Christmas

Inexpensive, but a fun and memorable gift.

The dollar stores as most of you know are a treasure trove of “outside the box” packaging for our products. Let your imagination wander. One of our local discount stores had a whole line of the popular “Chubby Chef” items (say that real fast 3 times!), and one of these was a chubby chef figure bent at the waist holding a platter over his back. This platter is the perfect size for one of our Cinnamon Buns. I’m attaching a picture so you can see how cute this is as a gift by itself, but you could also make it the centerpiece for a beautiful custom holiday gift basket filled with our baking scents in the mia melts & jar candles, with SOCP hand wash (for the kitchen sink) and decoratively arranged kitchen items like, hand towels & pot holders, cookie cutters, wooden spoons and spatulas, and a decorative cookie plate standing up in the back for balance and height, or even a recipe book on baking. Both of these would have our simmer pot in place to secure them. You get the idea, and people LOVE ready made gifts that are personal and unique and won’t require wrapping!

Another great idea that is simple but so realistic it has been a big hit for us, is to sell your bella buns in a bakery box. It’s a great way to market them as a set rather than an individual sale. This will accelerate your retail turn over.

Go to your local bakery or even grocery bakery, or donut shop and get some of the white bakery boxes with windows. These come in various sizes that will fit from 4, to a dozen Cinnamon Buns.

Our local bakery has some great seasonal bakery boxes with windows right now. They have a white background with Christmas green dots.

What I have done is nest the Cinnamon Buns in a bed of red tissue paper for the holidays, then simply close the lid and tape it to keep little fingers out, tie them up like a present with a Festive Bow, allowing the window to still be seen and they are good to go, and look good enough to eat!

They love this when giving them for gifts because with the realism of our Cinnamon Buns accentuated with the bakery box, it is a unique gift that will have everyone talking and ordering “Our Fragrant Pastry” for themselves!

Add a tag saying:
To:
From: our kitchen to yours, or from Santa’s Kitchen, or …….

I would also suggest taking in a sample of the finished package to your local bakery to show them what you did with the boxes. It may open new doors for retail or even distributorship.

This idea will work for all seasons and holidays, simply change the tissue and ribbon to match the theme or season.


If you get a large regular retail account for these, or you decide to sell this idea to police departments (healthier than donuts), office buildings, schools, car dealers, and different businesses where there are multiple office staff, you can also purchase these bakery boxes in larger quantities from http://www.papermart.com/ . Just go to the home page and on the left column choose gift boxes, then food boxes, and then " cake and bakery boxes".

This is A great idea for the office boss that wants to purchase gifts for office staff, that is easy, and that they’ll love. They can buy a bakery box of Buns gift wrapped and have each employee pick one out of the box! Be sure to “Thank” the boss or business owner for their purchase by giving him or her a ScentSations calendar for 2007!

While we are on the subject of Christmas gifts for the office, …..our Body Bars make beautiful colorful Christmas ornaments hanging from a tree! For those of you that have established office or business customers, ask them if they are having a Christmas Party this year, most all do, and offer to supply a Christmas Gift Tree for their employees as a table centerpiece!

Just get a table top Christmas tree (they are everywhere right now and very reasonable, or you may already have one), take a hole punch and carefully put a single hole in the end of the BodyBar wrapper so that you can tie a length of Christmas ribbon through it with a bow. You now have a colorful Body Bar ornament for your Christmas Tree.

Hang all the different Body Bar colors (scents) on the tree (ask the employer how many he will need for staff gifts) add some festive miniature garland, twinkle lights, maybe some small snowmen scented with our fragrances(small cloth snowmen that you have brushed with melted votive wax), and a tree topper that you will be able to “scent” with one of our incredible Christmas fragrances (look for tree toppers that are made from an absorbent material, like angels, cloth stars, ect), and a colorful piece of material for the base.

Get a few of these trees and you could book them for office Christmas parties perhaps that you have done Lunch by Candlelight parties for, and rotate them through different locations.

A variation of this is to use the organza drawstring bags, or Christmas gift bags (the velvet or satin ones with beads are pretty and often the dollar stores will carry them this time of year) depending on the budget the boss or business owner wants to spend.

With this option you could mix and match some of the other products as well, such as Cinnamon buns, hand wash, body gel, our super melts, ect. simply drop them in the decorative gift bag and hang them on the tree as a surprise gift, so no one knows what they are getting until they pick it from the tree. Watch the conversation, smelling, comparing and swapping that will go on, all of which is GOOD for your business! They will want to order what they didn’t get!

All of these ideas are simple, and very quick. Craftiness NOT required! This time of year I am all about memorable impact and marketing, with minimum time investment.

A festive Product Christmas tree is a great conversation piece to get employees talking about your products and business at the party, and they can simply pick their gift from the tree.

This also works wonderful as a table display at your shows and events. It gets the product up at eye level, the twinkle lights will make everything sparkle, and draw the eye of customers, and it will free up your table surface for other things. You can also hang gift certificates from the tree in this situation to encourage larger multiple purchases, like …..buy 4 jar candles and get a “50% off jar candle gift certificate”, or buy 6 jar candles and pick a “free jar candle gift certificate”.

I have an idea to create a garland of our Super Melts for the tree to sell, but haven’t actually made them yet. But I think this is another great and unique marketing idea (especially for those of you needing “hand crafted” items for holiday shows) that I am going to try in our booth at a local craft mall for Christmas.

My thought is to individually wrap them (two of same scent together for thickness) like candies in clear and, or, colored cellophane (tootsie roll style) tied at each end with metallic curling ribbon to seal in the fragrance and prevent cross scenting, then tie them together with ribbon to create a Super Melt garland for the tree! What a great way to give someone that uses simmer pots a sample of each of our Super Melt fragrances. Use one of each scent for a bright multi colored garland, or you can go with one, or two colors to match a specific decorating theme, have garlands that are only baking scents, ect. Do a Fresh Apple one for your child’s teacher! If they have a Christmas tree in the class room this would again be a great conversation piece amongst other parents and teachers to expand your business! Again, no craftiness required. If you can unwrap a candy in reverse, and can tie a bow you can make this.

There are so many ways you can use a simple table top tree to market your products and business for the holidays.

Use the Christmas theme when decorating your show and event tables for the holidays too. Our experience is that it puts everyone into a more Christmas buying mood. It is amazing what you can use just from your own house to dress up your displays without buying anything. If you have another table top artificial Christmas tree hanging around, you can put that at one end of the table and use a Christmas scarf or pretty piece of material around the base as you would for the table centerpiece. Around the bottom of your tree display votive sets packaged like “presents” in a 4x4x4 gift box with bow.

I have also individually wrapped different scents in clear or red cellophane squares to avoid cross scenting, put a label on them to distinguish the fragrances and load them into an empty votive box. I then wrap it in pretty Christmas wrap with a tag that says, “The Twelve Scents of Christmas” and sell them with votive holder included with every purchase. It is a great way to use those empty votive boxes that are just too nice to throw away!

Set these wrapped gift sets around the bottom of the tree. It looks festive, and makes them think of buying their Christmas gifts while shopping at your booth, rather than just two or three for themselves. This will also keep your retail profits at maximum rather than a customer inadvertently nickel and dimming you by buying one votive at a time.

We won't sell votives one at a time, they must purchase them in minimum sets of 4 same fragrance for $12.00, or a box of the twelve scents of Christmas for $36.00. This way if they are buying the set of 4, and we don't have the fragrance in stock they are paying for the whole box if I have to order it, and the other 8 are free inventory for our opportunity bags or more sets of 4 for sale. It also often encourages them to go ahead and purchase a jar candle instead which is where our greatest profit margin is, and their greatest value for the money. “Always we include a votive holder of our choice, to insure the maximum burn experience.”

Another idea for a festive display that will add height to the table and lifts is to take a pedestal cake plate and stack a display of Buns on it, or, if you don't have that, you can take 4 generic wine glasses (upside down on the table) and put a decorative plate that you probably have in your cupboards on top of them so that it is evenly and securely balanced, then stack your display on the plate. This is surprisingly stable. Run a string of twinkle lights up under the decorative plate if it is transparent for an extra special effect.

Again, you can also hang the Body Bars from the branches of the artificial tree so that they can pick their own bars right off of the tree as they purchase them. If using the cellophane, just center the bar in the square and fold the sides up around the bar and then tie it at the top with a curling ribbon. Then hang the bars on the tree from the ribbon. Or, use the whole punch in the package, or gift bag idea from the office party Christmas tree. Again, this puts out the idea to purchase these as gifts and the gift wrapping is done for them.

A pretty Christmas basket, or sleigh filled with pine cones from your yard or the local park will also display nicely on a candle of the month box under a piece of festive fabric for lift. You could have the jewel colors of our BodyBars poking out at different angles from the pine cones. Again have a string of twinkle lights intermingled and it will draw the eye and show off the colorful Body Bars like ornaments in the pine cones.

In the early days I would use our empty inventory boxes under layers of material in different heights for displaying candles and products, when the show is over uncover them and pack them back up with any unsold inventory. I would stack empty votive boxes together also to achieve different “custom” heights.

No matter what display, a great way year round to dress it up, set it off, and add sparkle to the jar candles is to whenever possible use the white twinkle lights in and around the displays and products, especially the jar candles. It will make them sparkle and shine like black velvet sets off jewelry. These lights also always catch the eye of customers, are inviting, and this sets your booth apart. They are inexpensive and most people have at least a string or two of these lights in their Christmas decorations and it is a great way to highlight our products.

We all have so many props around our homes that you can use for your displays, especially during the holidays. Look through your Christmas decorations, cupboards, closets, and rooms with a whole new eye. You may be surprised at the wealth of display materials that are hanging on your walls, or on shelves right now that would give your table unusual drama and appeal, and the price is right.

There is an infinite supply of ideas. Just look around the house for props and unique items that you wouldn't normally think of and your imagination will create a successful holiday marketing display.

We all have things around our house for every day use that can add great drama and interest to an event table. It's creative and fun to think outside the box and to use what is on hand. Have fun with it, and make this magical retail season YOURS.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Kellene VanDorn
Double Diamond Team Leader
www.ourcandleclub.com

NO MORE 9 – 5 FOR ME! WE’RE MIA BELLA LIFESTYLING IT BABY!

Bill and I started with this Incredible company www.scents4success.net 3 years ago now, and my how our business and the company have evolved!

When we started I was still working a day JOB full time for a local utility company. I was on “Special Projects” and was paid very well for what I did, but when I became a distributor I became more and more aware of the opportunities that were passing us by everyday that I drove to and from work and couldn’t stop to introduce our products to many perfect businesses along the way. This was a huge frustration for me and blessedly it wasn’t long before I was able to relieve that frustration by walking away from my day JOB to become a full time business owner! And I LOVE it! http://www.kellene.scent-team.com/opportunity.php

When I left the day job I began to re-evaluate how we were going to approach marketing our business. I began by approaching some of those people and businesses that I didn’t have the opportunity to approach before. These first action steps developed into a focus that became a “Lifestyle” method rather than designating just certain times and places to work our business. I found that simply scheduling a certain place (s) to go to that day or certain times to work this business wasn’t enough. There were still too many opportunities that were never realized by limiting myself like that. So I began to take my business with me everywhere I went.

I use to carry a basket of jar candles with me, and in certain situations still do, but now I carry a business bag/purse. It is my portable “trunk” and is a portable business office. I had been looking for a while for a bag that I would be able to combine my purse and my portable business, because I figured since my purse was use to having everything up to, and sometimes including, the household plumbing in it I might as well make it productive and carry my business with me, and I do.

The reality is that it isn’t much heavier than just my purse use to be. ( Like I said, just about everything found it’s way into my purse so it wasn’t light. When one of the family pets came up missing the consensus was….look in mom’s purse! Not really, but you get the idea.)

It is actually an expandable computer bag. I have my initials on the front of it, and it has 3 sections. The first section is “my purse”, and contains my wallet, glasses, keys, ect. (minus the family pet or kitchen plumbing). The second section has foam inserts designed for a laptop but for my purposes they are perfect for the jar candles. The foam keeps them snug and from clacking against each other. As I sell, or gift a jar candle I simply separate them by placing them on opposite sides of the foam inserts.

The third section has three expandable file pockets that is perfect for organizing the different flyers, promotional materials, fundraiser portfolios, ect and also has individual pockets for the CD’s, catalogs, brochures, and business cards, pen holder pockets. The outside of the bag has a large front pocket to hold up to a dozen of the “Possibility Votive Sets”. Keeping them here makes them a finger touch away and available at a moment’s notice, when there is an occasion to smile and give a Mia Bella thank you to someone.

My life-styling bag carries up to 4 jar candles comfortably, many possibility votive sets (these are the seeds of our business and we plant them everywhere), Body Bar samples http://www.kellene.scent-team.com/bathandbody.php ( made by making curls from a Body Bar with a simple potato peeler and putting the curls in an organza bag), business CD’s , business cards (magnet and regular), catalogs, brochures(Spanish and Business), fundraiser flyers and portfolios http://www.kellene.scent-team.com/fundraising.php, tear off flyers, ect. it is my business made portable and every day before I leave the house I reload it with anything that needs replacing.

I’m always prepared. Everywhere I go. You might think it would be heavy with all of that product in it, and honestly it is, ….when I first start out. But I don’t intend to carry those products very far into the day. The whole idea is to take advantage of Mia Bella opportunities when they present themselves, and trust me when I say they are EVERYWHERE!

Everywhere I go as I go about my day of meetings, shopping, court dates, the bank, Petsmart, ect. my bag becomes lighter and lighter. If it doesn’t, I’m not life-styling to full potential. My bag doesn’t stay heavy long, and while it is I simply look at it as an upper body workout.

If I have a particularly busy day scheduled with meetings for Savanah, or my Aunt, I will sometimes try to schedule a quick pit stop in the middle of it at the house so that I can reload because I breeze through a half dozen “possibility sets” and four jar candles with no problem. It’s all about the mindset, I leave the house thinking of all of the wonderful people that are going to come into my life that day that I am going to have a reason to say a Mia Bella thank you. That’s an exciting thought to start the day with and it puts it out there like a wave that precedes you wherever you go!

My days in many ways are even busier than they were when I was working the day JOB. Savanah came of legal age last year, and even though she is still in high school, and I am her mother, I had to legally become her guardian. I also became legal guardian of my Aunt by marriage when my Uncle passed last year making no provision for her. She has advanced Alzheimer’s and requires 24 hour care and supervision. I love her dearly, so when her family in PA made it clear they didn’t want the responsibility there was no question about what I would do.

It has been a struggle with legal issues and liquidating and preserving her estate for her continued care in the lifestyle that I believe she deserves, ect. and very time consuming. We are also making the most of the time we have in Savanah’s senior year this year to set new long term precedents for vocational opportunities and alternatives, (in large part using this business as an example) not only for her, but to set the precedent for all the young physically and mentally challenged adults that will come up through the high school system in the years to come.

It is a new revolution for these young adults and our Company’s business opportunity is leading the way like a beacon! I am very proud of this, and our company. But all of this, and the resulting time constraints if I were not life-styling our business would have severely limited the growth of our business. Instead, through life-styling it is flourishing and growing in abundance!

Bill takes our “Possibility sets” with him to work, and when he does an appraisal and sees there are candles in the house, he asks if they have ever burned one of our candles http://www.kellene.scent-team.com/candles.php. The answer is no, or they would have them sitting around, so he says “my wife sells these candles and everyone loves them, I think I have a few samples of them in the truck, I’ll give you one before I leave and you can try it and let her know what you think” This benefits his appraisal business in a positive way, and we usually have a new customer, or prospect.

When he is going to a rural area for a land appraisal he will save our mailings and mail them at the local post office there to introduce our candles to that local post office. The post office employees in these small rural areas know everyone! He partners with me in life-styling our business as he works his regular appraisal job.

Last Christmas I took a case of candles and packaged them with seasonal tissue paper and ribbon and tied one of our candle business cards, and Bills’ appraisal cards to each one then had Bill take them to a major real estate office he had been trying to get his foot in the door with for a while and put them on everyone’s desks.

It was an investment that has paid for itself a hundred times over in the $thousands of dollars worth of appraisals that this company now almost exclusively sends to Bill and, we have an entire office of new customers now, the girls call me when they need a new candle and I load up their orders and a case of candles besides in a large Rattan Basket I have and when I go in there, I go with the mindset that it is only going to be heavy going in because coming out it will be an empty basket, and it is, and I usually have a few more orders besides!

Now Bill’s boss has me make up a case of candles like this periodically for one of the other guys to beef up their business too. He pays me $20.00 a candle for them, I package them up and Bill takes them in. The appraisal business can really slow down when interest rates go up and right now the other guys are experiencing a slow down, but it is all Bill can do to keep up with the orders that the girls send him every week. The other guys want a piece of this action! Lol

My attorney (for my Aunt and Savanah’s issues) is also one of our best customers. She has a HUGE network and her, and her partner love candles. As usual I gifted her and her staff with a candle after she helped me with my guardianship case of Savanah and my Aunt, and that $11.00 investment has paid for itself over and over, now word is spreading in her circle, and between her office, Bill’s boss, and ONE of our real estate offices, we sold 4 cases of candles just to them alone last week. Be willing to invest a jar candle in the right place every now and then as part of a sincere thank you, you will be amazed at the return on your investment.

We advertise every day. Bill has a truck window decal, that was in September’s newsletter. We have had customers and distributor sign ups from this. Everywhere we go we are advertising our business even if we are parked in the grocery store parking lot we are advertising without thinking about it. I also WEAR our fragrances. This is advertisement and a conversation opener. Put your day jewelry in a dish with a favorite votive fragrance and it will temporarily absorb it. As you wear your jewelry you are a walking smell and sale. People notice and love our fragrances!

I volunteer with our products for craft workshops now at the state day care facility for young adults with mental and physical disabilities near us, once a month. I have a blast with these very dear and special people and the smiles on their faces with what they can do with our products is tremendously rewarding for me.

Also, doing workshops with the seniors of our community in the life guidance care home that my Aunt lives in is equally rewarding for the same reason.

We have a unique product that is so much more than a candle! Find a group or organization that shares your passion for something and then volunteer to do a workshop for them. Watch the levels of payoffs for you personally and for your business with a group that shares your passion.

It’s a GREAT way to spread your business into your community! If like me, it becomes a regular part of your life, tell the group you can do a fundraiser to provide the money to pay for the workshop supplies. That fundraiser means income, new customers, community involvement, ..…see how a positive like this spreads out like a wave before you?!

Literally everywhere I go and everything I do I am prepared to present our candles and the business opportunity to someone, and I gage that by the opportunities that present themselves to smile and say thank you to someone for something, anything. Then…..”do you like candles? Here, take this votive and try it (possibility set). If you like candles I think you will LOVE this!” Everyone I have introduced to these candles have been blown away. “I’ll give you a call in a couple of days to see what you think. I’m really looking forward to your input.” I only use certain votive fragrances for this kind of promoting for maximum impact.

We also grate down Peach/Papaya and attach fragrance samples on EVERYTHING before it leaves the house. Whether catalogs, business cards, flyers, ect. Nothing sells our candles like they sell themselves and we give them EVERY opportunity to do that.

I give everyone the option of being our customer or distributor. Either way is fine with us but we present both options if they are excited about the candles. Service repairmen coming to the house, horse shoer, doctor, attorney, teacher, mechanic, florist, telemarketers ( I love telemarketers and look forward to their calls because I look at these as prospects for our business and work them like leads, and have recruited some of them!) social workers, the hairdresser at the care community where my Aunt lives, literally anyone you come in to contact with in the course of your day.

And if you are home all day and don’t have an opportunity to get out as often, no worries, if you make a list of the people that come to YOU at your home in the course of a day or evening you will be amazed at how many that adds up to.

The postman, school bus drivers, the pizza delivery person, your UPS person, the meter reader, the trash pick up guys, the gardener, the neighbors…It is all about the MINDSET and putting out the thought like a positive wave in front of you each day, that you are going to share our company experience with everyone you have reason to be thankful for. Including your trash collectors. Think about it. And watch how that positive wave carries your business to a new level of abundance!

We are so grateful for this business every single day, and the freedom it has given me to be there for the loved ones in my life that have so needed me there. The blessings are huge and limitless, share them in the course of YOUR lifestyle and watch your business grow and grow!

Kellene VanDorn
Double Diamond Team Leader
www.ourcandleclub.com

PLEASE REMEMBER KRISTIN FOULKE

I wanted to share a profound loss to our team andeveryone that have had the pleasure to meet or to know her, this last week.

I deeply feel her loss.

Kristin Foulke passed away Monday, July 31. I know many of you prayed for her recently, thank you.For those of you that had a chance to meet Kristin at Mid States,you will appreciate how sincere I am being when I say she was a veryspecial lady.

Kristin and her daughter drove in from Kentucky, and I am so grateful that I had that opportunity to hug her and meet and visitwith her in person. I connected with Kristin on a personal levelduring our first phone conversation and felt as though I had knownher for years. My deep regret is that there was not more time to spendwith her.

Please go to our company's JUNE newsletter and read the article thatKristin wrote. If you read it before, please read it again. Herwords are somewhat prophetic, but what shines through bright andclear is the wonderfully bright and positive attitude that wasKristin.

Her newsletter was titled "I'M DETERMINED NOT TO FAIL" she didn't.She was, and will remain a warm, strong, and bright flame in myheart, and all that knew her.

We are family here in this business, and Kristin was a beloved family member. Her example willlast our lifetimes.

Lindsay, her daughter, asked me to share this link with you for viewing of her memorial which I have listed below, and other information.http://www.glennfuneralhome.com/

We offer our sincerest condolences to Kristin's family.

For the rest of us, please keep her very special light in your hearts, with thoughts and prayers for her family. I know their loss is beyond profound. Kellene


Kristin Pickett Foulke. August 30, 1947 - July 31, 2006

Birthplace: Ft. Campbell, KY

Resided In: Owensboro KY USA

Visitation: None

Service: Pending




Kristin Pickett Foulke, 47, of Owensboro passed away Monday, July 31, 2006 at the Owensboro Medical Health System. Born at Fort Campbell, KY, Ms. Foulke was a graduate of Mount St. Joseph Academy, Brescia University and received her master’s degree from the University of Hawaii. She had worked as the Development Director for the Glenmary Center and was a member of St. Stephen Cathedral. Ms. Foulke volunteered for the Knights of Columbus and enjoyed traveling, especially to the ocean, photography, and reading.She was survived by a daughter, Lindsay Foulke of Owensboro; a son, Chris Foulke of Owensboro; her parents, Edward and Grace Archambault Pickett of Owensboro; sisters, Rosemary De Coursey and Ellen Pickett both of Arizona, Karen DeSosa of California, and Ann Marie Pickett of Texas; and a brother, Bob Pickett of Owensboro.Glenn Funeral Home is handling arrangements.Expressions of sympathy may take the form of donations to the Kristin Foulke Family, c/o Lindsay Foulke, 1644 Griffith Ave., Owensboro, KY 42301.

Online condolences may be left at www.glennfuneralhome.com.

DO YOU MAKE A DIFFERENCE?

Here is another thought for the day.

It was uppermost in my mind after a wonderful and long conversation I had with Cherry Fishlowitz, a friend and company associate that I am complimented to know I have much in common with.

This thought is one that I have chosen to live by since before our company http://www.kellene.scent-team.com/home.php entered my life, when I realized as a mother of a child with "Challenged A-bilities" I would have to step forward and make a difference for her, and others with special needs, and now with this business as a vehicle I have even MORE opportunities to live this philosophy.... to MAKE A DIFFERENCE.

There are so many ways you can do this everyday, big and small, but at the end of each day the feeling and rewards are the same when you choose ...to make a difference…. where ever possible, and that feeling will enrich your life.

Have YOU made a difference? If you are working this business I guarantee you have, in some way.

Who can you reach out and touch with this business this month to make a difference? Whether that is sharing a better candle with a new customer, or making a difference for a group or organization that needs the DIFFERENCE that a fundraiser with our products can mean to their goals.

Or, is there someone you know that the income and flexibility of this company would make a life changing impact for? Think about it.

Many of you ARE reaching out this month in a big way, and you are an inspiration to all of us! Explore those possibilities. You have all the tools necessary to MAKE A DIFFERENCE in so many ways, to so many people. All you have to do is believe you can. Believe in yourself, and you WILL make a difference.

Kellene VanDorn
Double Diamond Team Leader
www.ourcandleclub.com