First show for Erin!

MY FIRST SHOW EXPERIENCE!!!

On September 10th, 11th and 12th, 2009, I was a table sponsor for the Coastal Kids Consignment Sale at the Wicomico Youth and Civic Center in Salisbury, MD. At first I was a bit distraught because on Thursday, I had no sales. However, it was only from 4pm to 7pm and the only people who were allowed to attend at that time were the consignors and the volunteers who worked the sale. I sort of expected it to be that way. BUT, then came Friday...their busiest day. It opened from 9am till 7pm and during this time, I felt really confident with how my sales were going and all the contacts I was making. With it being a Kid's consignment sale, especially in the morning and early afternoon, it was a lot of those "stay at home mom" types who were visiting my table...the PERFECT target audience I needed!!! It was also helpful with me introducing how I can do fund raising with schools, children's sports leagues, etc. I spoke to quite a few people about that as well and gave out a few of my fund raising packets. Saturday was a bit slower but the sales still came as well as the networking and fund raising I was marketing.

Overall, I was VERY PLEASED at my very first show and I am planning on attending the next consignment sale with them next spring (and in the fall again). I had almost 50 people sign up for the drawing and a lot of them were really excited to see my demonstration of our candle vs. the "other" candle (with the soot around the edges). And the children LOVED the Apple Pie from the bakery as well as the Cinnamon Buns....I'd get the children to smell them first and that drew their parents right in. :-)

A special thanks goes out to Toni and Dave Guenthner for allowing me the opportunity to use some of their inventory to add to my inventory for more variety to make my show even more of a success!!!!

Paraffin Candles and Health Concerns

Here's an interesting article about how paraffin candles can be bad for you.

Great Team Members Site!!

Sharon Rogers is really taking advantage of her GoDaddy account. With every domain name is the Website Tonight option which lets you put together a great looking page pretty quickly. To put yourself out on the web can really help your business by letting your customers see your products and learn about you. Remember, we're not just snagging the occasional customer in our nets, we're creating long term relationships with people through our great products. There's no reason your customers shouldn't be buying from you 20 years from now and loving you for showing them something they really enjoy. Check out her website at www.sharonsenchantedscents.com. here's some pictures from her site.

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The last one does a great job of showing her customers how the other candles burn dirty. Something I bet most people out there don't even consider. I know I didn't until Toni showed me the light! (pun totally intended!)

The New Gift Bags

Heading out for a little "Fling"

Listening to Charlie's recorded call the other night, he flat out says that to be successful, you gotta go to these events. They changed his outlook in marketing by giving him a bigger picture, bigger goals, and bigger dreams. Now it's our turn. We are looking forward to turning the ship into the winds of the holiday "selling" season, and this will only add fuel to our fires. We plan to pick up a few things. We bought plenty of the fling specials last year, even though the Air Force had other plans for me than being in PA for the week. Look for the emails with the specials or call us Tuesday or Wednesday for a report from Candle headquarters in Wilkes Barre. If we're a little hard to understand, it's because we're in a marketing frenzy (or maybe the hot tub and open bar).

How to video on Scent Samples

Shelf Question

I'm posting this in response to a question I was mailed about one of the pictures below in reference to the shelves.

First, let's talk about the wood. The more expensive and less knotty will last longer. These are made from an inexpensive cut. They work very well, but my next set will be a little higher quality wood. These are also nailed together. Next time I'll use screws.

The design had to be simple to make (I'm not a carpenter, I blow stuff up for a living), repeatable in case I needed more, cost effective (not waisting anything), and space saving. This is what I came up with. All of the wood for the shelves is from finished 1" X 6" lumber (actual size 3/4" X 5 1/2"). The horizontal pieces and the lowest vertical (front) piece are ripped to 4 1/4" and the scraps are used for the side supports. The rest of the vertical pieces are 5 1/2" (uncut). All the joints are nailed and glued. Better wood would have held the nails better, plus not having to avoid the knots in the middle of cuts.

The shelves are 22" wide. They hold 5 candles across. I made them that wide for two reasons.
1. They would be narrow enough to use at the end of a table by themselves. Two would fit on a 4' table, three on a 6' table, and so on.
2. They wouldn't sag in the middle. Candles are heavy, and I didn't want any sag.

The legs are made from dowel rods cut to the length that make the shelves level. They attach to the shelves using a bracket you can find in the table leg section of your nearest large hardware store. The double ended screw in the dowel was sold separately in the same store. It's a wood screw on one end, and a machine screw on the other. Make sure and drill a hole in the dowel before trying to install it in the dowel. You can see from one of the picture that when the legs are off, the shelves nest together to save space during transportation. They are quite heavy all together. I usually carry them in sets of two. And don't forget and leave the legs at home. You'll be hard pressed to find a substitute on the road.

I have not finished these yet, but a good polyurethane in their future. If I left them out in the rain right now, they wouldn't last very long.

Fear of Failure

Goofy Weekend

We ran into our share of difficulties this weekend at our two shows. Both had challenges due to other candles. After having a successful show at the Baltimore VA center a few month ago, we returned to find them now selling the "y" candles in there own shop. They had them in the front on shelves, and priced below retail. They claim they do it to give the Veterans in the center what they want. That's fine with us, but don't ask us to wake up at 4 in the morning, drive two hours, and set up next door. We would have gladly just canceled the date had we known. The management company understood our quandary and wasn't upset when we packed up early.

The next day we woke up with the sun and left for a small festival here in the Dover area. As we pulled up, we noticed another Scent Sations distributor unloading their candles. Now you know we asked when we signed up if there were any other distributors signed up having had this problem before. They say they knew that there were going to be candles there, but didn't know what kind they were. This is obviously the fault of the Scent Sations distributor not following the company policy of how to properly register for a show. By rights we could have unloaded and asked them to leave. We didn't. We had not gone far or unloaded a thing (not to mention being plain worn out from the day before). We asked the coordinator for a check returning our registration fee and went back to bed.

The distributor that showed up had been doing this particular show for years, but that's no excuse for not following the distributors guidelines put forth by the company. It appears this is the only show they do because they still had some very old jars. We traded this one for a newer jar 'cause I'd never seen one before. We're just going to hold on to it.

Our First.....Outside

We have had our first event in an outside location. It required us to have a tent and our own power. It was a rain or shine event with no alternate location in case of foul weather. We found a tent we like at K-Mart (of all places). It's an instant-up style tent with a large awning and a large roof vent. Both great features to keep the weather and the heat off of us. It is a very nice model, and we had as many offers to buy it as anything else we had.

The inside dimensions are 10x10, so it sets up a lot like an indoor booth, but there isn't any "wiggle" room. This shot shows the sides with the plug-in walls and melts. Melts were also hung from the tent frame on the chip clips. The wall is running off a first try at a home-made portable power pack (lots of room for improvement). Generators were not allowed. The soaps are on this table, too. They sold well.

The candle shelves went along the opposite wall. Leaving the lids off of a few seemed futile. We didn't think we were going to change the scent of downtown Dover.

The booth space was accessible from both the street and the sidewalk, although most of the traffic came from the street. This picture shows the tent and walls from the back. It also shows the large vent which not only keeps the hot air flowing out, but will hopefully help it stay down in heavier winds. No stakes were allowed here. There are regular 45lb weight plates in the corners. We got some wind, but nothing heavy. We plan on using steaks whenever it's allowed.

Toni's Tip of the Day (The Century if you ask me!)

Hi Team!

I would like to talk about how important scent samples are to our business. If you do not have business cards, I suggest you order them. Whether you get them from Scent-Sations or not, just get them. Make your own if need be! Scent samples and business cards are a necessity for any aspect of this business you are building.

Hopefully everyone has made their own list of people they know and is either letting everyone know about their business, or has already done so. Remember, you are not pushing your business on them, you are simply letting them know what you are doing, and finding out who they know that may be interested in purchasing products, fundraisers, or earning some extra income from home.

In the course of a day, most of us see or talk to many, many people. Those people should be getting a scent sample. "Hey, do you burn candles? Let me give you a free scent-sample. You can put it in your car for an air freshener or a linen closet or drawer at home. If you go to my website, you can sign up to win a free candle!" Most people will take it and thank you, others will decline. For the people that accept the sample, you can 1) Let them know about the business opportunity and say "Maybe you can help, who do you know that may be interested in making some extra income from home?" 2) Talk about the great product line and say "Maybe you can help, who do you know that may be interested in a home party or a catalog party?" 3) Let them know you are looking into helping organizations with fundraisers and say "Maybe you can help, do you know of any organizations that need some extra funds?" The point is, you have let these people know that you have a business, and have given them a free "gift". You have not pushed them into anything, or tried to "sell" anything, you simply asked "who do you know". Also, the "Maybe you can help" works because people LIKE to help. You may not have an answer right away, but they have your information, and they will probably be thinking about who they know.

Also try to follow this rule ~ If you hand them money, they need this opportunity. Meaning; wait staffs, cashiers, etc. We always try to leave a scent sample with our tip, let the cashiers know that they can win a free candle, etc. If we don't have a scent sample with us, we at least leave a business card.

When doing craft shows, etc., it is extremely important to your sales to have the samples. We have been at a lot of shows, and handing those samples out to the people that walk by are a MUST! This is the "smell and sell" at it's #1 form. Even if they do not come in your booth right away, they may turn around and come back, or we've even had people go home and come back the next day! They may not even come back, but you may get a call. From this SIMPLE method, we've had requests for parties, fundraisers, and information on the business opportunity!

When you are handing out information to ANYONE, for home parties, fundraisers, or the business opportunity, always be sure to give them a scent sample too!

We're always interested in hearing new ideas from our Distributors. If you are in need of 1deas to grow your business, Just let us know how we can help!

Thanks!

Get back to work!

Ron and I took the opportunityto have our picture taken with a celebrity. Michele Smith from the show American Thunder on the SPEED Channel was in attendance at the 2nd Annual Gettysburg Bike Show. She was very cordial when asked to have her in a picture with the "guys". I hope this picture makes the newsletter next month. The show was a good time with a noticeably different crowd than a craft show, but the "Smell and Sell" theory worked just as good here. We had one gentleman admit quietly that he burned candles, but wouldn't be caught buying one from a bike show. The plug-in warmers continue to impress us with their sales. Having a deal on Mia Melts works real good when paired with them also. The two words of the day area as usual. Scent Samples! Don't do a show (or leave home) without them.

Candle Business without Boundries

This is a marvelous display that Betsy and CJ set up. If you think for one minute you can't sell candles anywhere, i'd take a look at these pictures. I won't keep you guessing, this is a muscrat skinning competition. If you don't believe me, ask the muscrats.

You'd think this was their 100th show and had been set up here before. But this is their first show. I can only imagine where they can go from here. We sign people up and want to show them everything we know. These guys are showing us.



These pictures demonstrate many different things to me. First, I'd like to say that these guys have amazed me with the display they put on here. It could not have fit in any better. Camo Table skirts, Plug-ins mounted to a crab trap, and don't forget the stuffed critters. They set this display up on a shoe string buget and a Walt Disney sized imagination. We hear all the time the restrictions life puts on our business. We hear, "I don't have the money to start a Home Based Business."These guys prove you don't have to listen to them. Ambition teamed with action will overcome all obstacles.

Laurel high school

We've opened an Online Store

We created this Company Logo and started an eBay Store. We will be selling all of the non Mia Bella's products we carry at the shows. We have had to tell everyone that the plug-ins are not available on our website when they asked at shows. As they're always good sellers, and we hate to pass up the opportunity to make a sale, we decided to give them a place to buy them when we're not doing a show. At the top we placed the banner to the recruiting website, and we'll make it perfectly clear where to get the best scents to put in their warmers. There's just a few up there now, but we'll have them all up there soon.

It's just the lid, right?

This is a project we're doing for the Blades VFC in lower DE. It started with us participating in their Yard Sale (pics below). They wanted to give something away at there annual awards banquet and thought of candles. They called the "Y" candle company and got a great price from them. They ended up doing is getting candles from us, even though we couldn't actually match the competitors price. That's how good a candle we have! When they told us about the idea of having something etched on the lid, we wanted to help. There's a store on base that does a lot of trophies and awards, and they have the machine that would etch almost any design into glass. After creating the artwork, this is what the test lid looks like. We might not have made a ton of money off these, but they'll be giving out 150 of these out, people will love them, and our name will be on the bottom of the jar. They've asked us back to their yard sale and there is a definite fundraiser possibility.

Baltimore VA Medical Center

Here's some pictures from a show in Baltimore. I really have to remember to bring a real camera to take pictures. Sorry for the fuzzy pics from my cell. We had 4 tables stretched along one wall. This is the first time we've set up a 24 foot long display. I liked this setup for us. We're not the "sit behind a table and wait for you to buy" kinda people. We're going to approach you with a scent sample if you're walking by. The top pic is of the whole 24'. The lower is of the section we had of bath and body products, and votives. We'd like to get out of the votive biz altogether. We sold a few soaps and a car freshener. The wall behind us was painted with a mural, so attaching anything to it was not an option. The sign is being held up with some chip clips we had. The candle business is proving to be recession proof as people continue to pamper themselves. It's cheaper than a day at the spa, and lasts much longer.

Baltimore Show

This is a picture of the center sections with the jar candles. The jars sold well and were our biggest number of sales. "Smell and Sell" is still king. Get that jar under their noses. The two fold-up shelves have worked great, but more shelving is coming. The candles weigh a lot, and some weaker plastic tables might bow in the middle. I try and place the shelves so they straddle the table legs. We also have the toppers an skirts that Mary made out on display. The blue table skirts were provided by the VA. We have decided to use this color in the skirts Mary is making for us. We will need to keep a lint roller handy to keep them looking good.

Baltimore Show

This one is of the "Wall" with 12 plug-ins on display. We actually have about 24 different models in stock. We're starting to realize that these are almost as popular as the jars. The lights from the plug-ins bring them in like mosquitoes. This area had literally a 5 story ceiling, so trying to scent the place was impossible. On the table in front of them are the table top warmers. These aren't flying off the shelf as well the plug-ins. On the sides of the wall and beside it are the melts displayed on the chip racks. These are saving us a lot of table space along with giving us some free standing vertical display. When you don't have a wall behind you to put stuff on, you can use all the vertical you can get.

Shiree gets Crafty

Shiree has put together some baskets to sell. I hope there's a candle in there? We'd love to be this crafty, as we know these baskets usually don't last long and sell for great prices, but there is a talent involved. Maybe one day I'll have an eye for this type of thing and can put a little more spending money in my pocket. Until then, I'll admire Shiree's work as she reaps the rewards of her talent.

First Craft Show (sorta)

Here is a picture of our setup at Laurel High School. It was their 1st annual Yard Sale / Craft Show. We had plenty of space and got to be the first table people saw when they came in the front door. We angled the back table in the direction most would be approaching our booth. We were using our 6' folding tables for the first time. The new tables white tops and table skirts looked great. We had the candles arranged alphabetically so it was easier for us to find when we were trying to pick a scent for the customers. I had to work this weekend, but we hired a friend to help Toni with the booth.

Look as these!

A friend of ours made these real quick to see what she might be able to do for us to break into the craft shows. They fit the jar candles perfectly. They're really cute. We hope she's got more ideas coming. One of them is an Easter theme. We'll probably have more with other holiday themes, along with ones for Mother and Grandmother.

Our setup at the Greenwood VFW

This is what we were able to put up on just 1 8' table. It's quite a bit! No Bath and Body and no votives(although we did sell some of each). Almost every scent of candle is represented here, along with quite a few Melts. The plug-ins are still a seller. People love them.

Jim Rohne

If you haven't heard this man speak....

I've got more, just ask. This guy will help you build your Home Based Business. Who'd of thought you can start one for less than 50 bucks?

The wall

This is a picture of the small wall I built with 12 outlets to display our plug in tart warmers. These aren't available from our Company Website, but we are carrying them to help with sales of the Melts. We were able to get a wall space at this show with access to an outlet. The Fire Dept. actually offered to move their tables to let us have this spot. I'm going to have to make some modifications to it so it will stand up by itself.

Blades VFD setup

Here is our tables set up at a indoor yard sale in lower Delaware. It was a fairly well advertised event and there was a waiting list for vendors. Unfortunately it was 4 degrees (not a typo) that morning that discouraged customers and vendors alike. Three vendors that had paid for tables didn't even show. From reviewing this picture, table skirts are a must every time.

The setup of tables worked fairly well for a 10'X10' space. The two 6' tables with the 4' table in the middle up front actually was a little wider that 10', but no one minded here. My next project is going to be shelves for the candles.