What are you fighting for…. Prepare to win

Photo created by P.Lynne Designs using
Photos from Disney's Mulan and The
Longaberger Company.  

This is going to sound corny to some but if you have been reading my blog posts for a while, you know I love anything, Disney.  Well, a few nights ago, I finally saw Inside Out, and I saw Mulan for the umpteenth time.  It is the second movie that I want to focus on for the moment.

Released on June 5, 1998 (I looked it up), Mulan was about a young girl who wanted to restore honor back to her family and to show her worth as a woman in ancient China.  Before I get into my reasoning behind why I choose this animated movie as a backdrop to my title, let me give you the backstory behind Mulan.  After all, you cannot have a story without a backstory.  In fact, the movie trailer read like this:

“Fearful that her ailing father will be drafted into the Chinese military, Mulan (Ming-Na Wen) takes his spot -- though, as a girl living under a patriarchal regime, she is technically unqualified to serve. She cleverly impersonates a man and goes off to train with fellow recruits. Accompanied by her dragon, Mushu (Eddie Murphy), she uses her smarts to help ward off a Hun invasion, falling in love with a dashing captain along the way.”

This time period was based on the story called “The Ballad of Mulan” (Yes, Mulan was a real person, unlike Cinderella, Snow White, and many others, except Pocahontas, who was also a real person.) The movie itself was in the Chinese time period of the Han Dynasty, but some accounts also say the this took place during the Qing Dynasty. 

The point (and the ending) of this story is a young girl, despite her upbringing to do what a woman in that time was supposed to do, which includes serve tea to her husband and be subservient to him, decides to do a noble thing, and to take her father’s place to fight in the Chinese Military.  

New Purpose for this post à A Different Direction

I had a different purpose for this title, which is a course of a couple of weeks I had forgotten.  Is old age setting in for me, or the subject really does not matter anymore?  I would have to say, the latter.  Here is the reason:

If you follow me on social media, I know that I posted on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, that The Longaberger Company temporary closed its doors as of May 4, 2018.  As an Independent Home Consultant, I cannot submit any orders until further notice.  Let me give you 3 views on that announcement.

I heard and read the following in an email from the company:

“Until further notice, please do not submit any orders until we can safely get back orders to those customers who are still waiting for their orders.  We will rise above this and come back stronger than ever.”

I also read that both Tami Longaberger and Rachel Longaberger Sturkey had settled with the new owners and the company for the amounts owed to them.  Another subject for another day.  In fact, I will not address it.

This does not sound like a company closing their doors for good.

This is what the news media heard over the weekend:

The Longaberger Company has officially closed its doors for good.  What has happened to this iconic company whose headquarters is shaped like a basket?

Nothing yet.  This is a temporary setback.

I remember when Columbus’s 10TV’s former anchor, Dave Kaylor, looked like he could not wait to report some bad news report on Longaberger. It would make my skin crawl.  It was as if it gave him joy.  Why did he hate Longaberger so?  I bet he is overjoyed now and probably wants to come out of retirement just to make the official, final announcement.

It makes people wonder if they should sell their baskets and pottery to the highest bidder on Ebay. The news industry is wondering if consultants are scrambling to return customers their money back.  I have to report, nope, the fat lady has not sung yet.

This is what the vultures are hearing:

Chug-ching!!!!!!

I received a long message from a lawyer in New York City.  Yes, that New York City.  I guess he was on his weekly mission run of “ambulance chasing” because he found my profile on LinkedIn.  In case you are not familiar with the term, Wikipedia says that the term means, sometimes known as barratry, is a professional slur which refers to a lawyer soliciting for clients at a disaster site. The term "ambulance chasing" comes from the stereotype of lawyers that follow ambulances to the emergency room to find clients.” Now, I may not be a victim of a recent accident, but a company that has temporarily closed its doors is basically the same thing.  I bid him a “No Thank You” and issued this statement on my LinkedIn news feed page.

“I want to address something in a short but brief message:  Just because Longaberger made an announcement about their current status, I am still an Independent Home Consultant with the company.  I am part of the sales force, which has a different weight than a person who was actually hired by the company.  Any consultant who is with a direct selling company knows this.  You do not receive benefits, such as health insurance, vacation pay, and the normal things an employee would receive from a company who is either active or in limbo, with is the case with The Longaberger Company.

So please, do not send me messages about suing the company.  I have nothing to sue for.  I volunteered to start selling their products in 2001.  I have not sold anything in a couple of months before they made the announcement.  Please do not ask me to be a part of "X" direct selling company.   To be honest, next year is going to be my last year at Longaberger regardless of the outcome of this company.  I had 16 long years with Longaberger, and I would not trade them for the world. I have started my own company, which is listed in my profile.  I will not be searching for a new direct selling company unless it benefits P. Lynne Designs, my Stationer/writing company.  Thank you for your understanding.”

I also wanted my Longaberger sales force family on what happened to me on our Facebook consultant page.  Hopefully, this is the first and the last time I will see a message from any “vultures”, but I know it is not.

I also read Karen Baker’s article about direct selling consultants becoming “predators” and “Vultures” in this industry called direct selling.  She says, “DON’T DO IT”. I can tell you why before finishing this article.

·        It makes you look desperate for new members of your team.  Wait a minute until you get all the details of a company’s closing.  It may be temporary, as such is the case of Longaberger. I will tell you right now, this very minute, I do not know whats going on.  I was given the same info my upline manager was given. I could be taking new orders next week.

·        We are in shock.  This goes for anyone who feels like they just lost a member of the family.  We are trying to make sense of all of this, and you come swooping in like a vulture getting his meal ticket.

·        This is temporary.  For the moment, legal terms are being worked out by the owners on the best course of action.  In Longaberger’s case, it works out the terms of back pay for the employees, commissions for the sales force, and even the insurance for the employees. Plus, shipping needs to be done for all the back orders.  Once that is ironed out and implemented, then they will have a clear idea of where to go from there.  It may take a week, 2-weeks, a month, or even 6-months.  I have no idea.

·        Some of us may not want to go to another direct selling company.  For those of you who are in direct selling, think back for a moment:  What drove you to the company you are selling for?  Was it the products, the sales technic? The perks of selling with the company?  How about the way a certain person made you feel when inquired about the company?  For me, it was one man.  Yes, a man and his name was Scott Beaver.  He made me feel that if he, a man, can sell baskets, pottery, and then wrought iron product, then a shy, insecure, African American Woman can too.  He made signing up a breeze.  Sadly, he left the company a few years later, but I did not quit because he left the company and the sales force.  I became part of a new team.  Susan Short was not that great, but that was when I learned to lean on others when your upline stops short of your expectations.  Once she quit, then I moved on to Marilyn Imhoff-Edman’s central team.  She has been wonderful, and she helped me when Susan would not do a thing.  She invited me to her team meetings, and when I did not understand the rules and practically cried on her shoulders (after making a one-hour drive from my house to hers), she calmed me down, and told me everything was going to be all right, and went over those rules, until they stuck.

So, as you see, I am not looking to joining another DS company and I am not letting you make me a pawn out of a would-be class action suit or the newest member of the trinket charm club sales team.  What I want to do for the moment is to process this information, make a reasonable decision, and listen to what JRJR Enterprises has to say, who is the parent company of The Longaberger Company.  In the meantime, I will play with my papers and make cards, stationery, write, make videos, and mini books for my company, P. Lynne Designs.

If you stuck around to the end of the post, you know that it was quite long, and for that, I do apologize.  I did not want to split up this post. I will keep my readers informed on my next steps with this company.  I had to get my anger and frustration I have for this company, whose products I do love. It saddens me the way that people are when something like this happens.  I have a backup system, while many consultants and employees do not.  It may be the only skill they have used in a while. My heart breaks for anyone who has ever lost a job.  As they told us, it is only a setback.  The company is not done with yet.

Last word on “What are you fighting for?”  Your fight may be different from mine.  It could be an illness, your child, your marriage, or a cause.  It could be your life.  You have things worth fighting for, just like Mulan.  This is my fight, and I am going to come back swinging.  Are you going to do the same?   

Directly Selling to you…

(c) 2016 P. Lynne Designs

In continuing with the whole making money theme, today, I am focusing on direct selling.  My disclaimer for today is, there may be some affiliate links in this article, in particularly with a company I am a consultant for, however, they did not pay me to write this article.  I am doing this on my own as part of this blog. I will also give you the pros and cons of this business, so, if you want to be a part of this type of business, either through the company I represent, or another company (5,000+ strong) you can make this decision yourself.

In case you did not catch my previous article (which I highly recommend you read), I am an Independent Home Consultant for The Longaberger Company or Longaberger for short. I will not go too much into the company itself, but it started in 1973, in a little town, about an 11/2-hour drive from where I currently live in Columbus, Ohio called Dresden, Ohio, by a man named Dave Longaberger.  Longaberger makes and sells baskets and pottery, along with other accessories for the baskets and pottery.  I got started selling them in 2001 and have seen many changes in the company in terms of the products being sold, and ownership.  Dave’s daughter, Tami Longaberger took over the company when he died in 1996, and sold the company in 2013 to JRJR Enterprises (formerly called CVSL), the only thing that stayed constant was the making and selling of baskets. (Pottery actually was added to the line in 1993).

What is Direct Selling?

My take on what direct selling is “the art of marketing and selling of products to the customer in a comfortable environment through parties.”  It is a little different from what I said in the previous article, which was, “the art of selling exclusive products to a customer in hopes of developing a life-long relationship (buying of product).”  Both are correct, except there are other ways that a person can buy direct.  To me, infomercials is another, but, the problem is the marketing form is through television, not an actual person selling to you face to face.  If you do not feel comfortable with the product being sold on the television, you change the channel, right? 

Direct selling, before the home party movement, was mostly made up of the door to door salesman (think Fuller Brush man or the insurance person making house calls).  Today, a person asks you if you want to have a party, you say yes, set a date, invite a few of your closest friends to view the product, have them bring a friend who is interested, and they eat and mingle, while the consultant presents a few of the latest products. The guests make an order, and cha-ching, it is money in the bank.

OK, it easy to do, right?

I did not say that it will be easy to ask for the sale (getting someone to host a party or make a purchase).  Sometimes the hardest part about earning commission is hosting a party, but it is.  I cannot speak on behalf of all the consultants out there, even from my own company.  Everyone has different experiences as a consultant, but if you stick with it, you can even make leadership. 

Let me get this off my chest for a moment:  I have never made leadership with Longaberger or with the other 2 companies I was briefly a consultant with (4 years with Tastefully Simple; 1 year with Your Inspiration at Home).  I had a team that I inherited in the almost 15 years I have been with Longaberger. Personally, I think the person I inherited the team from, cheated, because when I called up my team members, many did not know that they were consultants, they just wanted to buy from her.  That is a big no-no, because, you can lose a lot of friends that way, not to mention, problems down the road when you leave the company, and your team gets inherited by your upper manager.  Because of this, I am slowly rebuilding a team, and I have had a lot of people who have said they want to sell Longaberger, but end up not making the commitment it takes to be a consultant.  So, in this business, it takes time, and commitment, because you are building a business.  You are building a team of people who have that same drive to work the business as you do.  You start off small, and in time, you will have a viable business.

What this business is not:

While you can make money off this business, it is not a 6-figure business, directly.  There are ways to doing it, but I have not been able to do it, so in this article, I will not steer you towards that goal.  The way that some people have made 6-figures, has turned me off to not even try to cheat my way into it. 

What can I get from this?

If you are seeking for a way to get in front of people, this is the business to do just that, but be aware that not too many people will buy from you at first. You have to learn how to promote your business and promoted it well. This is the only way you can gain customers without depending on your friends and family.

You can, however, ask your friends and family to help support and start your business, but the best way to earn more commission, is to have an open house or tag along with your upper manager to one of her parties. If you have an open house, be sure to ask your upper manager to come to your first open house, that way, she can give you pointers on how to make your parties better. If he or she comes, be sure to take notes, and apply them to your next party.

Most party planning direct selling businesses allow you to at least a 25% or higher commission. You also will get incentives for earning certain levels. You can also earn a percentage of the earnings from the people who are under you. Be sure to check with the company decide to sign up with.

There is much more where that came from.

That is all I have for you today. If you have general questions about joining a direct selling company or have specific questions about joining Longaberger, please comment or ask below. If it’s something that you have to ask personally, you may send an email to me at plogan721@att.net. You may also send me a message at my Facebook page, Tricia’s baskets – Longaberger, my Twitter account @Tricia721.

Next week, I will have an article about handmade businesses. Until then, I hope you would at least give this a try if this is something you are looking to do. Remember, there are startup costs when going into a direct selling company, but you will make up your money in no time after a few parties. Also, let me know if you want to see more of this type of article. Be well.

How to Generate More Money to Live

(c) 2016 P. Lynne Designs
consultants!

Ok, today, I am going to be serious with a twist.  I have a little concern.  It is about my financial status and it is about your financial status.  I cannot say that it has been on my heart lately (those of you who belong to a black church congregation will understand this phrase greatly).  So, I am going to say this in the most, lovingly, kiss it with kindness, powering it up and put on a pretty little bow way I can possibly can.

Baby (as my grandmother used to say), you need to generate more income.  We, as Americans need to generate more income.  When we have more income, we are telling the government thank you for the help (whatever help you are or not receiving), but, bye.  It is showing that you are independent, smart, and self-sufficient.

Now, there is nothing wrong with receiving help, but help needs to be temporary until I get on my feet type of help. It cannot be a multigenerational type of help, meaning my grandmother go help, my mom got help, I got help, and my child will get help.  Someone has to work.  I am talking about able-bodied people.  If you are disabled, physical, emotionally, or mentally unable to work, that is a different type of situation, and I understand perfectly.  You may not qualify for working, but I have seen disabled people working, and I commend them for at least trying.

In today post, I am not talking about finding work per se, I am talking about finding additional work.  I know what you are thinking, “Do I have to get a third job on top of what I am already doing?”   The answer to that is no unless you want to make a career out of it.  So people may not have the time, and that is ok with it too.  No set hours needed unless you want to.   

What I love about making extra income for yourself is this:  you can save the money, use it towards paying down a bill or two, or have the extra money for a house, car, or vacation, or to have it lying around in case of an emergency.  Use the money for anything you want or need.  Not only that, the skill that you decide to learn may come in handy for a promotion at your current job.

For instance, I am learning on my own to use the Adobe software suite.  I can call it a suite, because the programs piggyback off of each other, just like the Microsoft Office suite does for Word, PowerPoint, and other software.  My Bachelor’s degree is in marketing, but not the one that uses graphic design.  I also make scrapbook albums and cards, so, using programs like Photoshop, Illustrator, and the rest allows me to expand into other areas, that required computer work.  If I want to, later on, I can apply to work at a 9-5.  There are also online companies like Fiverr, which allows you to create gigs or fulfill a customer’s order that I am utilizing my skills. 

Extra Money Looks Like this:

At some time, I will cover all of these topics in great length, but for now, I will mention briefly in this post:  One thing to note is some of these links will have affiliate links on them.  Affiliate links are one of the ways that I do generate extra income, and I will explain how in a moment.

Another thing to note as you are reading this: I am an entrepreneur, and I left my last job as of January 2010, but at one time I was working outside of the home and was making extra money on the side.  When I decided to leave my 9-5, I made two of my extra income gigs my main jobs, while still earning extra income on the side.  I cannot say that it has been easy, and I will point that out below.  In fact, I am in what they call lean times, but I am rising up from that.  It will be covered in another post.  I want to promote the positives of self-employment or entrepreneurship.

Directly Selling to You…

Direct Selling.  What do you immediately associate direct selling with?  If you said Avon or Tupperware, you are half right.  Direct selling is the art of selling exclusive products to a customer in hopes of developing a life-long relationship (buying of product).  This is my version of it.  According to Wikipedia, direct selling is the marketing and selling of products away from a fixed retail location.  This including peddling, which according to the same source, is the oldest form of direct selling.  Today, think of your party planning companies.  This is where you will find Avon (makeup and jewelry), Tupperware (kitchen products), and more recent Origami Owl (charm jewelry) and Younique (Makeup).  I am a rep for Longaberger (Baskets and Pottery) and have been since 2001.  The basics behind a Longaberger party (as well as other DS companies) is you can host a party.  You, as a host, will bring in as many of your friends to look at the products offered at your party.  You can have snack food, dinner, or a brunch.  As your consultant, I would come in to show the products available to purchase.  The more people you have at your buying party, the more money that can be made in one night.  For example, in order to have a $350 party, which is an average total, you need to invite 5 people, but I am going to encourage you to invite more.  With $350 in total sales, for example, you can have 2 half-price selections, $65 in free price, and buy a host bundle (which can be counted towards either one of the 2 half-price selections or host dollars.)

(c) 2014 P. Lynne Designs
A table full of potential sales

How does this help you earn extra money?  I tell potential recruits your business is your business.  You join a team of recruits (either through an invitation of a currently active consultant or the company will assign you a consultant in your area), and this team helps encourage you through your sales during the time you spend as a consultant.  You are earning a commission through each sale you make.  You can either work this business of direct selling as a hobby, part-time or full-time.  I never tell a potential recruit that you will make a six-figure salary from the beginning, and it should not be the reason for you to build up to that level.  Some achieve it quickly, others do it slower, and you may not get there at all.  If the company you join is a good to a great company, training is on-going to help you build that business, but you have to want it, especially on the leadership level.  I have seen people save for vacations and down payments on homes, and able to get by on that income.  I have also seen people use that money for bill paying money.  I will have a more in-depth post of what it takes to be a direct selling consultant at a later time.

Homemade Business industry:  If you have bought something on Etsy, you have bought a homemade item.  The homemade business industry is not your cute, little craft show anymore.  It had gone beyond that point.  If you knit, sew little cubbies, woodcraft, or make jams and jellies, you are a homemade artist.  You can turn that cute, craft into some major bucks.  As I said in the beginning, I create scrapbook albums and greeting cards.  I had several people, including some from members of my own family, tell me that I need to turn that into a business.  So, in 2009, I did that, and P. Lynne Designs was born.  It is my passion, my baby, and I love it.  Once I made something for family and friends, I created an Etsy account.  Now, in addition to that Etsy account, I am creating my website.  I will do a separate post on how I got started with this business at a later time as well.

Freelance Writing:  This is the basis of this blog, and I tell people all the time, that if you have a passion for writing, go for it.  I love all kinds of writing, but I cannot do all kinds of writing.  So the key to writing is learning what types of writing are out there, learn what type of writing, and go for it.  I compare writing to music, dance, painting, cooking, and crafting.  There are all kinds, pick one that works for you, and learn all you can about that area of your expertise.  Also, be aware of the other part of your craft.

How can you make money?  Would take out an ad, but before you do that, showcase your work.  Write what you know about.  You can do creative works about your family, humor about your job, poems about the food you ate last night or have a blog post about writing.  Create a journal.  Publish a book.  Do something that validates you as a writer.  Once you have achieved that point, advertise your service of writing skills.  Set a price.  There are several hundred websites, including magazines, card writing, writing contests, and content writing who are always looking for that new bright spot to keep their readers attention.  You can also start a blog like I did. 

Affiliate marketing.  This one is a little bit tricky to get into, but with a little research, you should be able to make a little bit of money from it.  This is what I like to call, “only make extra money with this.”  Why?  Because it is all about placement, and even then you cannot depend on everyone clicking on a link.  For this, you do need a blog or website.  You may have seen colored underline words in this post.  These are affiliate links, and they lead to a product on either Amazon or some other site.  I cannot say that all of the underlined words lead to a product because they also may lead to a post that I previously have written or something I want to draw your attention to.  This is why I have the disclosure:  This post may contain affiliate links. 

I do not have a high dependency on affiliate links.  Why?  As I said, not everyone may like to click on links.  Not only that, I myself tend to forget to link a word to a product.  I like to write, and I am not used to earning $0.02 per click (per my AdSense page a couple days ago.)

So why use it at all?  AdSense in a way is a build up to a bigger picture.  My click depends on my readers.  So does Amazon, and I have never turned down a penny that has earning potential.

Ebates:  I love Ebates.   Ebates is very simple.  When you go shopping online, you get cash back.  Here is the trick to Ebates.  The cash back is given out quarterly, so do not expect a check every month.  (They will send it through Paypal as well.) Ebates has does something new, and I cannot wait reap the benefits of this as well.  If you register your credit card on their site, every time you do in-store shopping as well, and you use that credit card, you will get cash back from that as well.   Ebates is perfectly safe.  You can also refer people to Ebates, and you get $60 for doing so.  Nice.

I also do not recommend you go shopping just for the heck of it.  Remember that you are spending money, and if you do not have the money to spend, you do not have the money to spend.  I rather see you save it, but if you must shop online, you might as well get some money back for your purchases.

Surveys and mystery shopping:  You may wonder why I have not mentioned these two up to this point for earning extra money.  It is very simple.  I do not like them for the most part.  I am on a few, and yes, they do come through my inbox.  I only do a survey for a name brand I trust, such as Disney, Provo Craft (Cricut Die Cutting Machine), and a few others.  I have even done them for people I trust.   I am not talking about those surveys.   I am talking about the ones that allow you to win a free gift card.  Here is where I do not trust them.  You have to click on offers to get to the prize (the gift card).  If you are not careful, you could be buying something that you have no interest in or agreeing to a subscription that has a monthly fee. I have done that a few times.   

So, this is sort of an introduction to making extra money to make a living.  This is my take on the industry, and there are other ways to make extra money.  One last thing I have to say about this introduction is there are indeed scammers out there who will pretend to help you.  I would have to say be careful when going into it.  Always do your research before signing up for anything, even the direct selling companies and people who say they know a shortcut to where you want to be.  This is not a rush job, and it takes time and patience to get something going.  Be persistent if you do create a blog or vlog, create a schedule.  In fact, schedule everything, so your followers know when to expect it.  I am trying to get better with mine.  Know why you are doing this in the first place and set a goal.  

Everything I suggested can be done with or without having a job, although it would be better to have an income when you first get started.  They can also be done on a part-time or as your main job.

Good luck and God bless.