I’ve visited loads of fantastic web pages that discuss the benefits of Scentsy Flameless Candles and how to launch your own Scentsy business. They are very informative and motivating. But what I have yet to run across so far is an article or blog written from a husband’s perspective. I would like to take a second to tell my Scentsy story (as the husband of a Scentsy Representative), and give a little perspective into how Scentsy has affected my life.
In March of 2005 my wife told me that she saw the most amazing “candle” at a friends house and that she wanted to sign up to sell the product. At the time I was in construction and working between twelve-sixteen hours per day so I didn’t have the time or energy necessary to fight about it or even ask her many questions about this “Scentsy thing”. I simply said “do what you think is best” and went back to looking at home plans and paying bills. I was pretty self-absorbed and figured if Nicole wanted a new “hobby”, then kudos to her. What I didn’t comprehend was that Nicole didn’t want a “hobby”; she had a specific goal and had found her means to accomplish it.
Nicole’s aim was to discover a way that would allow her to earn enough money each month to pay for our family’s health insurance expenses. At the time she would need to bring in about four hundred to five hundred dollars per month in order to do that. Nicole looked into going to work outside of the home but decided that by the time she paid daycare, gas, and taxes, she would need to work at least twenty five hours a week outside the home in order to bring in enough money to pay for our insurance. Luckily Nicole was not about to miss 25 hours a week of our childrens’ lives just to earn enough for one bill a month. When she happened upon Scentsy and read up on their compensation plan she recognized straightaway that she could make it happen.
With the Scentsy compensation plan you earn twenty five percent commission on the goods you sell, plus you get to earn a percentage of everything that your team members sell. At first Nicole didn’t plan on building a team; she just wanted to do a few home gatherings a month in an effort to earn her four hundred to five hundred dollars per month in commissions. Nicole set a goal to host just 1 party every week on Thursday nights from six to nine pm to make her desired commission check. This meant that I needed to be sure that I was around every Thursday so I could take care of the kids while she was gone. Three hours a week compared to 25 hours a week made sense to me so I was in.
Nicole rapidly established that when she had a party she would every so often have a customer ask her if they could sign up to sell Scentsy. Before she knew it she had a small team built and she was systematically able to attain her goal of earning enough to cover our monthly insurance bill. I was still pretty much oblivious to the big picture of Scentsy; however, I did note that Scentsy was beginning to fill more than a few hours a week of Nicole’s time. It was at this point that I recognized that her “hobby” was turning into a real business.
Over the next 2 years Nicole started to spend more and more time on her Scentsy business and I began having to spend more time taking care of the kids. At the time I saw this shift of duties as a immense misfortune, but now in hind sight I see how it was a actual blessing. Instead of “needing” to help out with the children, I was finally getting a chance to construct better relationships with them. The extra time at home also made me begin to appreciate Nicole for all that she had always done as a mom to keep our family running. Her increased workload was not forcing us apart as I initially thought; it was actually forcing us closer together as a family. We were actually functioning as a unit for the first time ever. We would fulfill Scentsy orders together, we would tag-team household duties as a family, and we would even begin spending down time as a family. Nicole’s Scentsy commission earnings began to not only pay our insurance but they were surprisingly large enough to take us on actual get aways every now and then.
Speed up to present day: Nicole and I are working together from home, both focusing on different parts of the Scentsy candle business. I am still so surprised how much Scentsy has changed my life. We are both still busy but we are able to decide when we are busy and when we aren’t. 4 years ago I seldomly made it to any of our kid’s school activities. Now I never miss one. My wife and I get to see each other for more than 30 minutes a day and we have even been able to splurge on some much deserved family vacations. I never thought that I would work from home or the keeper of my own schedule, but now I am both and really enjoying it.
To all couples out there who are contemplating the decision of whether or not to get started with Scentsy; I have a couple closing remarks. Recognize that your Scentsy business won’t be an overnight money machine, it requires work but it is worth it. If you treat it like a real business it will become a real business. If you treat it like a hobby it will become a hobby. Husbands if you have a positive attitude toward the business it will help in ways you can’t even comprehend. If you have a negative attitude about the business it will frustrate your wife and most likely will hurt her business. You guys need to trust me on this one; I’ve been there and done that. Stay positive, work hard, and enjoy the ride. I wish everyone the best of luck and continued success.