Our first Event

Today was a good day, we went to our first Holiday event and met a lot of other Direct Sales Reps. Even tho' we were a last minute addition, the coordinator put us right at the entrance so we saw everyone who came in the door before anyone else. We were able to get our name and info out to a lot of employeed people because the event was held in an office complex for the people who work there. Everyone was amazed with our offerings and were excited to see and taste the Spiced Chai Mousse. We were able to pre make it and pipe it into small cups with lids and charged a minimal amount so that we could give money to the Breast Cancer Research charity designated by the group. We actually donated over $40.00 from our little enterprise and they were very happy with us, and we were very happy with them.

Almost to a "man" the attendees didn't know anything about our program and we were the talk of the show. Now we have to follow up and make sure we take advantage of all the names and contacts we collected today.

First "Show"

What a caflunker.......lots of problems...caused by some poor planning. The Chocolate was yummy and everyone loved it. We really do need to get a script together so that we both know what parts we are supposed to do. Amy has read all the material so she can do all the technical stuff...just like always.....I can cook (if I have the right cream...need whipping cream, not half and half), we need to figure out the martinis. The should be the star but for some reason I didn't get them right......read more directions. The real shows are coming this week and I know we will have our stuff together.

The First Show

We had our first show for friends and family. What a hot, crazy mess! Kids, lots of people forgot to come, dogs were seriously hyper and We really need a script. It was a great opportunity to try the products that we hadn't tried and happily everything tastes good. Okay, seriously not much worry since everything is chocolate. The display table was complete and looked nice.

Our show was rocky at best. We did not exchange talking time. I became Vanna to her Pat Sajak. I pretty much expected that to happen. I love her but if I don't want to be the sidekick I need to do my own shows.

We had kids so we decided to make virgin chocolate martinis. I took the underage to the kitchen to make the virgins at the blender. Well, the shaker lid would not come off for the loaded martinis and the shaker came into the kitchen for surgery. Everyone got so involved in the shaker drama that the presentation for the Virgin martinis was pretty much ignored. Of course, the service for the VM's was fully focused and they were delish ... I hear. I didn't get to taste any which is okay, I was pretty chocolated out. The loaded martinis were not great. Vodka with syrup, souper strong limited chocolate flavor. This is their biggest seller? We definitely did that one wrong. Although, all of it was consumed. Maybe, the guests (or hosti) needed Vodka to get through these show.

The moonpies were super messy in that perfect tasting decadent delicious way. Brownie mix with marshmellow fluff and chocolate topping. The fluff got a little soft and everybody had chocolately fingers and smiles.

We have a mousse packet that you are supposed to make at the party to show how incredibly easy it is to make. You put 3/4 cup of whipping cream to 1 packet of mousse mix melt 2 bars of dark chocolate. Pipe in onto spoons ... voila anyone can do it! Unless you buy half and half instead of whipping cream. Doh!

Props to Jessie, she mixed that half and half for 10 minutes with no stiff peaks. I just kept serving chocolate. (Fondue, Almonds, White Chocolate, Chocolate Covered Grapes) She called for Cool Whip and saved the mousse demo. Yeah! and it tasted great! (of course half and half, cool whip and chocolate .. what's not to like)

We didn't pimp the product as much as we should have so our sales weren't great. Actually, our sales were zero, no show, no business partners. But everybody got a boat load of free chocolate. And we got insight into how seriously bad our presentation is right now. The big money shows are coming up so we can fix the problems. Hopefully ...

Found awesome items for the Breast Cancer Event. A really cool box, a matching plate and when filled with Dove Chocolate items, even I would like to win it. I hated having to give away the box.....I may have to go back and get one for myself.......after I make some $$.

The Dollar Tree was a boon for the small items, check out the big craft stores for bargains and don't forget Marshalls ( found some awesome stemless martini glasses (I thought they were glass, turned out the are plastic.....exactly perfect for toting to parties for martini tasting). Also found "amuse bouche" tiny glasses. (I only knew what they were because of Top Chef). That should be everything needed for the kick off week. Both of them only $3 a set on the close out shelf.

Today is the day to set up the Quick Books so I don't lose track of all the expenditures

Todays challenges

It finally stopped rainy and we are off to find items to add to a basket for our first event. The proceeds go to Breast Cancer and as a survivor I want to be sure our basket raises lots of money. It is great to be able to do something you love and still do something for a great cause.

Hope you all watched So You Think You Can Dance last night, great performance to support Breast Cancer. AWESOME.

We keep finding more and more resources to help us kick off this direct sales business, all you have to do is keep surfing the internet and you will find information that will answer almost any questions you might have. From how to get started, find contacts, networking and more. I am on linkedin.com and all of the traditional social networking sites. It is truly amazing how many people you can touch without leaving your house.

What to do on a rainy Wednesday

So much for the picnic...cancelled. So today I get to break out the spoons and do some cooking. I need to try more of the chocolate so when I open my mouth to speak I will know of what I speak. Of course I already know that Dove Chocolate is to die for, but it also should have the power to beat the blues. They say it is almost as good as having "whoopie"...if you get my drift. So this will be a good day for experimenting. Some guy on TV wants me to buy expensive salt...WHY! I love savory dishes but I am not sure how to use chocolate in these type of dishes, any suggestions???? Maybe expensive salt makes everything better?

Our First Show!!

We booked a show for the Chocolate business!! We went to the EMS office building to pick up paperwork and general administration. There were signs all over the building about a Christmas in July Bazaar and the vendors were Longaberger Baskets, Silpada, Pampered Chef, Mary Kay and more .... These people needed chocolate.

We called the organizer and they were booked for this show. Bummer! It was a free show. Jessie explains that Amy works for EMS (right there in their building) and we bring Chocolate. She says she'll see what she can do. So here we are planning our first show!!

We are trying to decide what to put in the door prize basket. How to set up the table. Do we want to sell any "cash and carry"? If so, what would that be. Also, our starter kit had no tablecloth and the apron is an oilcloth horror that doesn't work for me. I'm no Tim Gunn and I cannot make that work.

Jessie is off to Gabriel Brothers where (whoopee!) a $7.99 full size chocolate colored tablecloth. Perfect for a 6' table. 4 yards of fabrics, trim and sewing machine and voila 2 aprons.

Surprise when we set up the table and opened the Brownie Kit. This thing is phat! Even I (Amy) could make brownies with this! It has Wilton cupcake wrappers, frosting, 3 bars of premium milk chocolate (I could stop there). Okay, now Jessie and I are debating, "is it milk or dark chocolate"? Who cares it's three bars of chocolate. Oh and the brownie mix. So we take a picture of the kit. I guess this is where product knowledge matters.

The table is pretty. We do a run through of a party and boy are we bad!!! We've got a lot of work to do. But hey, we booked a show!!!

I bet you didn't know Dogs love chocolate too

Oh course Dogs can't eat chocolate, it is toxic to them. You shouldn't feed them grapes, raisins, macadamia nuts, and onions as well. The best thing to feed them is a fantastic food called Blue Buffalo. It is a totally organic food for dogs and cats and helps to protect their health so I don't have to keep the vet in business. All three (Furby, Agnes and Roxy) are my Blue dogs, but they are really blue....in fact... they are all spoiled rotten and they are sitting here carefully watching everything I write. Take a look at http://www.bluebuff.com/ to see what it is all about.

Why am I talking about pet food? I love the food and I sell it at PetSmart on the weekend.

Put the Chocolate on the back burner

Another of my Seniors need help with their computer, so I am off tomorrow to guide them through the wonderful world of the internet. It is so cool that Seniors are learning how to email, use EBay, Twitter, Facebook and even Snapfish to keep in contact with family and friends. It can be challenging because I have to sometimes go over something several times to be sure they really do get it, but it is amazing how even my 80 year olds catch on so quickly.

I really love working with them but I can tailor the training to meet the needs of almost anyone who needs help and doesn't find what they want in structured classes.

Maybe I can even sell them some chocolate.......who knows?

Why Do I Suddenly Feel Like Willy Wonka?

This is Amy ... the daughter. I went looking for a job in this economy and found one! Selling ATT Uverse door to door through a company called EMS. They run their business like direct sales. (More Later)

The Mummer's comes to me and says she has a great idea for a business. Sell Chocolate. I cook ... savory. I don't bake. I've made cupcakes that crated like the face of the moon. I feel a cold sweat start breaking out. Make chocolate? Sell chocolate?

She starts selling and nobody resists Mom when she starts selling. The website promises no baking expertise required. And it came with Chocolate Martini Mix. So if the whole thing goes off the rails we can at least enjoy Chocolate Martinis.

The best part ... NOBODY in Dayton or Columbus is doing this business. There is only one person in Cincinnati so it's wide open. We did a bit of research and decided to do this gig. Now there is a styrofoam cooler of chocolate in the house. You know that song from the 80's? You can look at the menu but you just can't eat?

Now the potato chip addict is peddling chocolate ... and cable. So hopefully we've got a golden ticket. I hope we see some oompa loompas.

I Love Anthing Chocolate

I was sitting in my living room one morning trying to figure out how I was going to pay all my bills on a fixed income, when Tory Johnson came on GMA and started talking about home based business and how they can be a great way to earn some extra cash during these hard times. I kinda' yawned and said here we go again and then she said the magic word....CHOCOLATE....

Immediately I woke up and listened to her talk about Dove Chocolate Experience and how I could talk about and taste chocolate and make money. Too good to be true??? I logged into GMA's website found the link and checked out the company. Only $149 to start and that bought me a lot of chocolate along with all the stuff I needed to start (Hey if the business isn't what I thought it could be I could just eat the inventory!!). I dove in (no pun intended) and signed up, it only took a few minutes to get hooked (heck I was hooked when she said Chocolate). My friends are excited as I am and immediately booked parties so they can taste the Chocolate Martinis. My daughter is jumping into the chocolate pond with me and we are going full force to spread Dove Premium Chocolate all over this area of the state.

Our own personal stimulus plan

It's tough to be in Dayton, Ohio right now. Unemployment is over 10% and going up. Our biggest employers are General Motors, the Air Force, NCR, Reynolds and Reynolds, and Lexis Nexis. You'd have to live in a cave not to know about GM - they just closed all their plants in town - I guess bankruptcy has a trickle down effect. NCR is moving to Atlanta - and they tried to use federal money to move. Reynolds and Reynolds keeps laying off folks or forcing them to take pay cuts. So it's tough to be here. It's also a great town with a great history. You can raise a family. The Wright Brothers invented flight here. The cash register was invented here. The combustible engine was invented here. Hey even the pop top on your can of soda was invented here. And not to sound like Al Gore, but the internet was created at Wright Patt AFB which is ....hmmmm......here. It's great in Dayton....most of the time and we will rise again!!!!

This is our blog about diving into the world of direct sales. This is how we're going to combat the blues ... SELL CHOCOLATE!!! and cable (more to follow) and computer instruction (again, more later). So hang in there while we share our journey into the world of direct sales. Successes (hopefully a lot). Mistakes (hopefully not too many). Insights. Revelations. Whatever. Stayed tuned. We're nervous. Like a lot of people here....we have a lot of good ideas, energy, determination and time so hopefully you can wish us luck.