"Use Your Own Uniqueness"

One of many interesting things Orville said at Convention is to work with your own uniqueness, instead of working against it. For example, a working mom should think, "I work, so I have lots of contacts I can introduce Scentsy to," instead of "I work, so I don't have time to do Scentsy." A stay at home mom could think, "I have more time and flexibility to work on Scentsy," instead of "I don't know anyone."

In a similar vein, Mary Christensen that if you really want to succeed, you need to connect your business to something you are passionate about. She told the story of a woman who wanted to succeed in her business because her husband had been ashamed of his teeth all of his life, and she wanted to earn enough money so they could get his teeth fixed.

I got to thinking about that. What is a part of my uniqueness? Well, for one thing, I really don't like selling. Which sounds like an odd quality to identify for someone who's trying to think about how to succeed in direct selling. But it's true.

I also got to thinking. What am I passionate about? Well, one thing I am passionate about is my community and my children's schools.

So then I got to thinking some more. How can I combine my uniqueness and what I care about, with an eye towards succeeding in Scentsy?

I came up with a plan. I think I'm going to offer to the PTA at all three schools in my community - elementary, junior high, and high school - that I'm willing to do a Scentsy fund raiser for them. I.e., they let me have a table at a prominent event such as back-to-school night, I sell Scentsy, and I give them 100% of the profit.

I told my daughter, and she said, "Why would you want to do that? You won't make any money!" I answered her, "Yes, but I will get credit for the sales, and that will help me advance in rank. I'll also get some free/discounted product. I'll have the opportunity to start developing a bigger customer base. And besides, it will be a way we can give back to our community. I don't have a lot of money I can donate to your school, but I'm willing to work to earn money we can donate."

I guess the point is, you have to open up your thinking. You have to think about how to give back, and sometimes that means thinking about how you can succeed, instead of why you can't succeed:

* Before Convention, with two weeks to termination, I was thinking that maybe I really can't succeed at Scentsy, because I don't like selling.

* After Convention, I'm trying to think in a new way: how can I succeed at Scentsy not in spite of who I am, but because of who I am? And, how can I use Scentsy to give back and create a double blessing - one for me, and one for someone else?