Would you like to shed some extra inches and/or pounds? Do you feel like there is a happier, healthier you hidden behind some extra weight? SlenderMargo is here to help!  While this blog is still really new, I have known Margo herself for years and years and I am amazed and truly impressed with her journey.  She has been trying for years and years with many other diet plans with little or short lived success.  But now, she has found Take Shape For Life.

As and independent representative, she has lost an impressive amount of weight for her son’s wedding last year and continues to do wonderfully as she is shrinking almost daily.   At one point, I went to visit and didn’t even recognize her because she had lost so much!

On her blog, SlenderMargo she will be talking about her weight loss journey.  It will be a place where you can find support and encouragement as well as a solution to any extra pounds that you may have in a safe and effective way.

Go visit now and see what you think!

Awnya Boam

Time4Felt.com

“If you have only two pennies left in the world, with the first penny, you should buy rice to feed your family. With the second penny, say the wise Japanese, you should buy a lily. The Japanese understand the importance of dreaming…”
-unknown

Awnya Boam

Time4Felt.com

Here are a few tips I’ve learned over the years on how to may your Direct Sales Party a Success:

1. Don’t lecture. People came to PARTY so play games, award prizes, be silly. If they wanted a lecture they could have stayed home and listened to talk radio or the news. They want fun, so make it fun.
2. Details don’t matter - at least at first. If you give a detailed description of each product, you will loose the group. highlight 3-4 of your favorites or ask which products they are DYING to see. Later on in the evening they can ask you any questions they have about the specifics of the product.
3. Have commercials. During my home shows, I announce that I am doing a commercial. 30 seconds to talk about joining my team or having their own party. I do 3 commercials per party to keep it light and fun.
4. Have a cheerleader. I choose a super-fun gal to cheer-lead for me. When I say commercial time, her job is to say “yeah!!” If a guest participates, she cheers for them. This keeps the excitement level up and fun time rolling.
5. Have the guests tell about the products- this is a fun way to involve the guests and keep you from talking the whole time. I simply hand out catalogs and let guests choose a product from my display. They then become the expert on their product and take turns telling the group about it. It is neat to see who is really trying to sell it. At the end you can even vote on who did the best job and award a prize. (this also works great because they are grabbing their favorite product that they see, so you can get an idea of what they want to buy)
6. Publicly thank your host/hostess.  Give them praise and sincere thanks for inviting you into their home and introducing you to their guests.  You can even give her a small thank you gift.
7. Keep it short.  People are busy and don’t have time to sit and listen to you for 3 hours.  Keep your formal party time to 30-45 minutes.  Then they can visit, eat and leave when they need to and you are being respectful of their time
8. Close the party quickly.  You want to respect those who ordered the night of the party.  If you keep it open for 2 or 3 weeks, the odds of other orders coming in is very low and the people that DID order want their stuff.  I usually allow 2-3 days after the party to close it, but have also closed it the same night the party was help.  Either way, close it quickly to honor those who did order.
9. Offer value - more than usual.  This is a fancy way of saying go the extra mile.  Add something of yourself to what they are buying.  You can do this by  teaching them how to “coordinate outfits more effectively”, “how to get your house smelling like a 1,000,000 bucks” or “picking the jewelry to accent your face shape”.  Find a way to add value to what they are buying.  Plus, this is a great way to get guests to the party in the first place.
10. Take a deep breath and have fun.  Don’t be afraid to be a little silly.  A lot of times we get hung up on looking so professional that we loose the fun factor.  So what if they think you are strange.  Studies show that if the guests have a good time, they will spend more money.  AND if they have fun, they are more likely to host their own party or join you in your business.   So relax and enjoy yourself.

Follow these simple tips to have more enjoyable and profitable parties and you will truly find Direct Sales Success!

Awnya Boam

Time4Felt

Here are some great articles and links to what others are saying online:

Business Tips For Working Moms and Mom Entrepreneurs-
http://www.voidbots.net/2010/08/30/business-tips-for-working-moms-and-mom-entrepreneurs.html/

4 Hot Tips For Work At Home Moms
http://1tipeachday.com/financetips/?p=821
(This one is from one of my FAVORITE people, Deb Bixlar.  She is such a great source of wisdom and a sweetie. )

Find Party Plan Bookings When Out Doing Errands
http://eccentricwahm.com/wahm-business-ideas/direct-sales-find-bookings/

That’s all for now folks.  Enjoy the reading material!

Awnya Boam

Time4Felt

We have all heard it -”A Journey of 1000 miles begins with 1 step”. What things are you stepping towards today. Do you have set goals and a path charted on how you will get there? What safety nets do you have in place to make sure that if you do stumble and fall that you will be able to pick yourself up again and continue on? Is the goal small enough that you can get there, but large enough so that you have to stretch and push yourself?
Recently, I set a goal for myself to go to the DSWA Leadership Retreat. This is an elite group of individuals that are dedicated and truly successful. I have figured out what I need to do to get there and I’m working towards it 1 step at a time. (BTW- if you haven’t heard of the DSWA check them out right now…they are WONDERFUL).
Decide RIGHT NOW what is the 1st step you need to take and then take it before you go to bed tonight. You will feel much more accomplished AND be that much closer to the goals you want to achieve.

Awnya Boam
http://www.time4felt.com

A thought came to me today. - Have you ever watched Snow White? The wicked queen is so determined to be the “fairest in the land” that she plots to kill Snow White. She becomes so focused on the fact that Snow White is also very pretty that she looses sight of everything else. She becomes SO focused that she even ends up transforming herself into an ugly old woman to destroy another, which then defeats the entire purpose of getting rid of Snow White.

Lesson learned: Sometimes we become SO focused on one tiny goal that we loose sight of the big picture. If the queen would have just left Snow White alone, then she would have married the prince and moved far away. Then, mission accomplished. Fairest in the land (because Snow White would live at the Prince’s kingdom).

Keep focused on the BIG picture. On your BIG goals. This way, we won’t end up undermining yourself in the end.

Here is an article on Twitter Tips to Boost Small Business Marketing. I love how the walk you right through everything you need to do to be a success on Twitter. Beginner friendly ;o)
Read, enjoy, and then Tweet about this blog and that great article.

Here is a neat article about Blogging for Business. There are some great points in it, and even some I need to take a little more seriously.
Enjoy!

How do you connect with new people? Have you tried to go to any local networking groups? Meetup.com is a great place to find people in your area that are meeting for different reasons. Try attending a few different meetings with the intent to connect and make new friends. Think about how you can help your new found friends in their lives and in their businesses. Keep your needs/wants on the back burner and make it all about them. This is the way to create lasting connections and network in a way that will serve you for years to come.

So get out there and make some new friends!!

Here is a neat article about 10 Tips for Launching your Business Blog. I wish I would have read this article BEFORE starting a blog a few years ago because there are some great tips.