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Work At Home
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CAREER PROFILE - GREEN BAY PRESS-GAZETTE
December 3, 2006
Cheri Larson combines skills, hobby in jewelry business
Cheri Larson
President & FounderAzante Jewelry LLC
"Handcrafted Jewelry made with Gifts from the Earth"
cherilarson2745@sbcglobal.net
www.azantejewelry.com
BY SHERRY STUART-ZUEGE Press Gazette correspondent
You hear people say turn your hobby into your career and you'll love your job and that's exactly what Cheri Larson did when she started Azante Jewelry three years ago. In her previous jobs she loved graphic design, advertising and marketing and sales, and her hobby was designing jewelry. Azante Jewelry is a culmination of all of the things she enjoys most.
Larson made jewelry at home as a hobby and introduced it to her family and friends and occasionally attended craft shows with her wares. She thought her jewelry would be perfect to sell to Door County tourists and was planning to contact shops there. A friend who loved the jewelry asked Larson to attend a party at her house and show her creations to a group of friends. That was officially Larson's first home show and she went home with $1,400. Larson said, "I was very excited and proud and thought, hey, I like this home show concept."
Azante was launched in 2003 as a direct sales business complete with home shows. All of the jewelry is designed by Larson and made in Green Bay by five employees. "Azante jewelry is handcrafted by women for women," said Larson. They have a small showroom and Internet sales. More than 90 consultants work in 17 states with most being in Indiana. "It's funny that we're in Green Bay but we're less known here than in Indiana," she said. Larson said that the business has grown mostly by success stories though word of mouth. "I love to work with women and help empower them. Direct sales are a tremendous opportunity, especially for stay-at-home moms that want more," said Larson.
The name Azante is in itself an art creation. Larson met a woman pastor from Kenya at church. The woman always said asante, which means thank you in Kenyan. Larson thought is sounded nice and just changed the word a bit. Larson feels that it's her way to say thank you for the gifts from the earth. Azante's business motto is "handcrafted jewelry made with gifts from the earth."
Education and work experience: Larson has been educated in business, graphic design, sales and marketing and jewelry creation. She's worked in television sales and started an ad agency 26 years ago.
Her job: "Being a small business, the owner wears many hats," said Larson. She hires and trains her consultants who do the direct selling and home shows around the United States. Larson also orders all of the jewelry making supplies, does sales, bookkeeping, accounting and tons of research into direct marketing and jewelry. Larson comes up with the businesses promotional ideas and does the graphic design of sales pieces and brochures. Another big part of the job is traveling to gem shows to hand pick semi-precious gems, fresh water pearls, Swarovski Austrian crystals and sterling silver. You will always find Larson with a pad of paper, and as an idea pops into her head, she does a quick sketch because she is the Azante designer.
What I like most about the job: "Designing nice quality fine jewelry at reasonable prices," Larson said. The other part she loves is empowering women to succeed with their own jewelry consulting business.
Advice to others wanting to get into this work: Larson recommends doing as much research as possible. "Talk to a lot of people, read books, research online. Make sure you know your competition. Be prepared to work a lot of hours on little or no money for a few years. Even with all of that, it's very rewarding," Larson said.
Kathy
Haigler
BeautiControl
Itex
Early in
April a friend of mine contacted me about joining her BeautiControl
business again. I had worked the business 10 years or so previously
and liked the products but I was lousy at doing parties.
In April the promotion was pay $99. get a full days training,
Over $400. worth of products and over $300. worth of business
supplies. I am with a barter group and I decided this was a
no brainer. I would sell off my initial inventory and then just
order products for myself at a discount.
I posted to my Barter group which is nationwide and quickly
had a response. Please keep in mind that I have not even been
to training yet, that is the 20th. I have sold over $1200. worth
of products in 2 weeks with no parties, I never left the house.
I do not believe that I am a great salesman but I saw an opportunity
and went for it. This time around I found a niche market and
I blended my two opportunities for success.
I am excited, my husband is excited and the recruiters in both
of my opportunities are really excited.
ps. I am trying to grow my list so if you are interested in
seeing my specials every month, go to my webpage, choose products
and then sign my guestbook. I will draw one lucky winner at
training to receive a $10. gift certificate.
How
does one tell of the success you see in the faces of teens ages
13-19? When they come to you with problems, questions and sometimes
even answers.
At Arky Pies and Things (www.arkypiesandthings.com)
that is what we get each and everyday! How do we get so lucky?
Personally it is hard work, working from home juggling life
plus a career all from the comfort of your own office or sometimes
your own living rooms like me. It takes dedication, focus and
most importantly help from above.
We area small church/bakery full of kids that come and go. Some
of the teens already have their life missions set before them,
then there are the ones that, well, have no clue what to do
next. this si where Arky Pies and Things step in. here we teach
them to take pride in themselves, learn a trade, learn to run
a business a learn to have a better relationship with people
in their lives.
We started the pie business as a way to fund those outreach
projects we are involved in, like www.chemoangels.com where we sponsor a child that has cancer and we send a gift
each week to help ease their chemo cycles just a bit. we also
hand out bibles to those in need, along with gospel tracts and
even send out bible studies to those who cant get out into the
community and attend their own church. We have cloth drives,
food drives, and a lot more.
I think we teach these teens to look within themselves and see
what it is they have that can be given to others in need of
their extras.
So this to me is PURE success. passing the knowledge down generation
and helping someone in need
Arky
Pies and Things
Debbie Bailey --Owner
www.arkypiesandthings.com
I entered Discovery Toys for FUN..and FRIENDSHIP.
I have an awesome upline and several others who offered me
encouragement as I was getting started. After my first
party I was hooked!! I did very well and had great sales.
Then recruited 5 people within a 2 week period. I guess
my enthusiasm was infections and was getting others excited
as well. Coming down to the last 9 days of the month
I was encouraged by another great DT representative and my
upline that encouraged me to GO FOR IT...the IT was Group
Manager. I was only about $600 in sales (me and my team)
from reaching that goal. My team and I grouped together
and figured out what was coming in for the last 9 days.
We jumped into online vendor fairs..offered small discounts
and WOW...the sales all came in and we made it with $11 to
spare. I achieved what I thought was such an unreachable goal.
With the help of my upline and a few other fine ladies..they
helped me to achieve. Now I have more enthusiasm as
I see what I have accomplished and where I can go. My
little home business has helped me see that I can really achieve
more and still be there for my kids.
Erin
Discovery
Toys
Kelly Albrecht, Independent representative for
Sensaria Natural Bodycare. Website: www.mysensaria.com/time2spa
I was looking for something that would allow me to make money
and still be able to stay at home with my children as I had
been doing. You see I was a stay at home wife and mother when
pregnant with my 4th child my husband unexpectedly died at work
one day. I needed a way to keep up the finances and I just couldn't
see going to work full time as I was also homeschooling my children.
I also didn't know what I could do that would allow me time
and freedom to be with my children and still earn money. I was
so excited when my cousin introduced me to Sensaria products.
I fell in love with them along with my then 15 year old daughter.
From watching her work her business and using the products I
decided that I could do that. I love the freedom it allows me
to pick my own hours and the amount of time I want to work.
I also like the fact that Sensaria doesn't leave you alone to
be in business without any support or help. There are others
there when ever you need a helping hand at an idea for a party
or just encouragement. I also like the fact that I get encouraged
from attending team meetings and the yearly convention. It is
nice and very encouraging to hear how others are succeeding
in their Sensaria Natural Bodycare business. Sensaria has been
doing direct market home parties or as we like to call them
spa experiences just over 5 years now. I am just coming up on
my one year anniversary with them and I look forward to many
more.
Sensaria Natural Bodycare is a company that has products that
are naturally based, no harsh chemicals and the finest ingredients
they can find. They are truly a good company to be involved
in and there is room for more representatives--just contact
me for more information.
Kelly
www.mysensaria.com/time2spa
The Kool-Aid Theory
Recently I have been very interested in commercial skin care
recipes. Everything that I have personally seen from facial
cleanser to mascara contains water as its first ingredient.
Standard recipes for skin care products contain anywhere from 60
to 85 percent water. Then they add the emulsion ingredients,
the detergents, and the preservatives. In reality only about 5
to 15 percent is actually active ingredient.
Commercial cosmetics aren’t much better. Foundation, mascara,
and lipsticks contain at LEAST 50 percent water in most standard
formulas.
Water is not bad. Water is the true form of moisture. Our skin
needs it to stay hydrated, nourished, and cleansed. It’s
necessary for life! However, water is repelled by oil and wax.
So, the water in chemical based skin care is not actually
reaching your skin! The oil and wax in the product seal the
skin causing a lubricating effect. This does temporarily treat
the symptoms of dryness, but does nothing to actually rehydrate
the skin. So if the water is not in the products to help with
hydration…….why is there so much of it??
When mixing a chemical based line, water is necessary for
diluting the potency of the detergents and preservatives. It is
also a base for mixing. Water helps to blend the dry
ingredients, helping to form the proper texture for the
product. It is the cheapest, most readily available filler,
making the product last longer.
This information reminded me of when I would make kool aid for
my children. That little packet is my 10% active ingredient.
Next I add sugar as my secondary ingredient and that is about
20% of my mixture. Then finally I fill the pitcher up with
water and mix it all. In reality 70% of what I am giving my
kids is water. However, that last 30% turns the whole pitcher
into a sugary product that isn’t very healthy at all. Just
because a chemical based line includes water, does not mean that
it is good for your skin. It just fills up the “pitcher” , so
to speak. That pack of kool aid costs about 25 cents. Would you
pay someone $4 to mix it and put it in a jug for you? Probably
not. So why would you pay someone to mix your skin care with
water?
Aloe Barbedensis Miller is the first ingredient in L’Bri skin
care. Aloe helps to blend the product well. It penetrates
into the deepest layer of skin, delivering the other nutrients
and ingredients in our products. With L’Bri you get 100%
product. We never charge you for water! We offer you natural
products that will hydrate your skin properly and maintain a
healthy pH balance. Experience the freedom of L’Bri for
yourself!
Shannon Neal
L'Bri Pure And Natural
http://www.shannon1677.lbri.com
http://www.myspace.com/shannonlbri
My Work at Home Journey
In 1991, when the horrific events unfolded on September 11th, I
had just returned to work following the birth of my third child.
I had already been crying each day for 2 weeks having to go back
to work and leave her at an all day daycare center. That
particular morning, I stayed glued to the television screen in
my office, and realized that I was blessed with my family and
needed to be there to raise them myself. I battled with my
decision for the next couple of weeks and then finally turned in
my resignation and never looked back!
The first few weeks, I reveled in my new found status of being a
stay at home mom, but then I realized that I needed to do
something with myself to keep busy at home. I started
researching different ways to make money at home and found upon
research and close scrutiny that most were scams. During this
time, I used my contacts and started up a Real Estate
Advertising business. I took care of all the little things that
the busy agents did not have the time to complete – newsletters,
flyers, taking pictures, etc. This turned into a 40-hour week in
no time! But still it wasn’t a job that was fun. So while doing
this from home, I continued to surf the Internet.
I loved to go on the WAHM sites and read/post on the forums,
devour new information and see what type of things one could do
from home . It was then that I decided that I would love to a
WAHM site of my own. Finally, early in 2006, I found the perfect
one that was for sale and I jumped in feet first! Not long after
that, I acquired my second site. I loved the sites and the great
people I met online thru the sites.
In the summer of 2006, an online friend, sent me a few lollipops
and told me to try them. She said they were diet lollipops and
were delicious! I tried them and fell in love! I first got into
the business just to get the Power Pops at a discounted price
and to lose the last pounds that I had not been able to lose
with baby number four. After seeing them, my husband told me
that this was a great idea and I ought to go for it as a
business.
In September 2006, I started on what has become one of the best
journeys that I have ever begun. Business started with a bang
and in November 2006 I acquired a site to sell the pops direct
online. Since that time, my business has continued to grow by
leaps and bounds. I have finally found the perfect business
(products) that complement me and because of that it makes it
FUN!
At a recent dance event with my oldest daughter, when asked what
I do for a living, my daughter jumped in and said, “My Mom sells
diet lollipops! She is always running around with a lollipop in
her mouth. Do you need any diet lollipops cause she has a lot of
them?” From the mouth of babes!
About the Author: Leah Stanford lives in Lafayette,
Louisiana with her family. Loving what she does, she enjoys
helping others create their dreams. You can reach Leah by email
at - or visit her online at
Healthy
Pops ,
My
Direct Sale Biz , and
Wah Biz
Opps
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