FLIP + CHING

My Stella & Dot Launch Party

Posted on March 22, 2014 by Ching under Projects, Shopping.

About a month ago I decided to embark on my first MLM business. Brian was completely against it because he grew up watching his mom try several of these ventures (Avon, Mary Kay, etc.) with limited or no success. He didn’t want to see me throw money at some new project only to watch me fail at it months later. Plus, he has this perception that all MLM businesses are pyramid schemes.

My friend Darcy at work kind of holds the same views. When I was telling her about it — and I can’t help but get excited because the products (jewelry, bags, scarves, etc.) are amazing — she just shook her head with disapproval. I got to the part where I was telling her how I have the opportunity to make even more money when other “stylists” (as we are called) sign up underneath me. She was like, “So it is like a pyramid scheme!” While there is a sort of pyramid structure that naturally happens when new stylists sign up under you and other stylists sign up under them, the term “pyramid scheme” just sounds so negative. It implies that there is little to no added value in the endeavor when in fact there is. I absolutely love Stella & Dot jewelry. The quality of the items are better than most name brand products and their customer service is out of this world. Seriously. I am always delighted to contact them.

Anyway, Isaac has his photo booth business. Carmen has her Origami Owl business. Now I have Stella & Dot so I’m feeling all entrepreneurial. LOL.

I didn’t really expect much out of this new venture. I decided to become a stylist mostly because I love the jewelry and wanted to be able to purchase them at half off. It’s a lot like how I got started with Zumba really. A couple of years ago I became a ZIN (Zumba Instructor Network) member just to get discounts on Zumba gear and also to get Zumba music. I originally had no intention of actually teaching Zumba. An opportunity to teach Zumba for the city of Wichita came up and I took on the the challenge a few weeks after getting my Zumba license. It helped me cover my monthly ZIN costs. It didn’t cover the money I was spending on workout clothes, shoes, and other Zumba gear or other expenses (such as conventions and conferences) but in my mind I’m actually saving money because I would buy these things anyway. As a ZIN I’m actually getting them at a discounted rate. Fast forward to today… I teach Zumba for the Greater Wichita YMCA (I gave up my class at Evergreen Recreation Center for several reasons but the biggest reason is that it’s just too far of a drive; however, I can still sub for the city whenever someone needs me to fill in). I would never have realized that I had a talent for teaching Zumba classes and a passion for bringing people a joyful and enjoyable workout had it not been for my Zumba gear shopping problem. Sometimes things just end up working out the way they’re supposed to…

But I digress… Brian and Darcy’s perspective that I somehow got roped into some kind of pyramid scheme wasn’t very uplifting so I really had no expectations whatsoever with this whole Stella & Dot business. I was quite shocked at the success of my launch party. I earned hundreds of dollars of free jewelry just from the trunk show orders and I still have a few more orders trickling in from work.

I was so worried that no one would show up for my launch party trunk show. I had attended several parties of all kinds in the past for various friends but I’d never had the desire to host a party of my own because I was always worried that no one would show up. I didn’t want to be the loser who had two friends at her party. I wasn’t even concerned about making any sales. I just needed bodies.

I had a few cancellations the day of the party so I was a bit nervous. Brian, the supportive husband that he is, offered to cater my event. I asked him not to make so much food because I was worried that I wouldn’t have any guests to feed. My friend Misty who was initially calling to cancel because she hurt her ankle the day before could sense my concern over the phone. She actually came over despite her injury. Not only that, she actually placed an order. God bless her!

Brian is convinced that the reason my launch party did so well is because of his food. I guess since people knew he was making food they decided it was worth the trip. LOL.

Seriously though, I have the most amazing friends. The launch party wouldn’t have been a success without them. And, I can’t believe I got all of those orders. They added up really quickly and got me awesome hostess rewards such as 50% OFF four times in addition to over $250 of free jewelry. My sponsor/upline Amanda was impressed.

I actually credit Amanda for the success of my party also. Because of a fiasco with USPS, who delivered my package to the wrong address, I hardly had any samples to display. Thankfully Amanda brought all of her beautiful jewelry.

Check out her display compared to mine below.

I’m so glad Amanda talked me into hosting a launch party. Between Brian’s delicious catering, Amanda’s wonderful trunk show display/presentation, and my awesome friends my Stella & Dot business is off to a great start!

BTW, shipping is so fast that everyone who ordered during the launch party (except for Kate because the earrings she picked were so popular that they’re on backorder) received their items on Thursday.

By Friday Faith and I were sporting our Stella & Dot jewelry.

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Fun Times With Friends

Posted on March 20, 2014 by Ching under Life.

We had such a blast at Oeno last Friday. We’d never been there for salsa night before. It doesn’t get as packed as Suede use to be, but I actually prefer it that way. Now that I know what it’s like, I’m actually thinking of putting salsa night back into our regular Friday night rotation.

It was a little rough this past weekend though because Friday night is our Bond night. When we got home at midnight we put on Live and Let Die just to stay on track of our goal to watch all the James Bond movies this year from oldest to newest. Brian said I passed out not long after the movie started but he was up until two in the morning.

I’m not sure what time I fell asleep but I might as well have stayed up with him because it felt like it the next day. Teaching Zumba at 9:30 AM that Saturday morning was no easy feat. LOL.

Speaking of Zumba, two of the ladies in my Zumba class got me a plant in honor of my last day of teaching at Evergreen Recreation Center. Since I’m no longer able to attend Señor Alvarez’ Spanish class I figured that it was finally time to give up teaching at Evergreen. It was great when I was able to take Spanish classes for free but, since it wasn’t working out with my schedule, it was actually costing me more to teach there than I was making. Not that I teach Zumba to make money but, now that I’m teaching for the YMCA, I can satisfy my need to share my passion for Zumba without having to drive clear across town.

This is actually great news for Brian because then I don’t have to be somewhere until 11 AM on Saturday mornings, the only day of the week that we can sleep in. Although, sleeping in probably isn’t in the cards for us because any time I find a gap in schedule I somehow find a way to fill it with something.

We spent Saturday night playing poker at Rune’s.

Brian ended up taking the tournament down (April placed third and Cory placed second), which is ironic considering Mama Dill actually knocked him out early in the game. Thank God for re-buys!

We had no idea that we were celebrating Cory’s birthday that night also so we weren’t prepared with our birthday gift. It worked out for the best though because delivering his present gave us a good excuse to see Cory in person on his actual birthday (he’s a St. Pat’s Day baby). Happy birthday, Cory!

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Way to Go, Subaru of Wichita!

Posted on March 20, 2014 by Ching under News.

So this was the big news last week, but the saga continues…

It all started with the protestors. The clever folks at Subaru, specifically my friend Aaron, decided to finish the sentence as you can see above.

It was the most brilliant rebuttal I’d ever seen executed in my entire life. Seriously. I know the protestors intended to have a negative effect on business but it did the exact opposite. It actually focused more attention on how clever the Subaru folks are. They’re so clever I fully intend to buy my next car from them when I’m ready. I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one. I bet the publicity brought a lot of traffic and sales. Way to make lemonade!

And, just in case you missed it, here’s a video of my friend Aaron on Fox & Friends.

So anyway, the union protestors decided to move their sign to the other side. Not to be outdone, the Subaru folks had an answer. You can’t put clever people down. LOL.

I think the union protestors should pack up and leave now. Best to throw in the towel. It doesn’t matter what you do. You’re not going to win this one.

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The Blue Moose

Posted on March 20, 2014 by Ching under Food and Drink.

I had the opportunity to check out Blue Moose while I was in Topeka last week.

Here are some pictures of our food.

This is what I had. It was good but very salty. I like salty foods so I didn’t mind it. The dish would have been way too salty for Brian, though.

Overall the restaurant had a pretty good menu selection. Everyone seemed to be happy with their dinner. As far as Topeka restaurants go, I still like the Blind Tiger best but I wouldn’t mind returning to Blue Moose again.

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Adventurous Babes Society

Posted on March 15, 2014 by Ching under Events, Things to Do.

After almost a year of being a member, I finally had the opportunity to participate in some Adventurous Babes Society events/adventures. Here are some photos.

This one was taken at the Death by Chocolate tasting event at Cravings Gluten Free Bakery. Check out more pictures from that event by clicking on the link.

This one was taken after my Zumba class at Andover YMCA. March is “Dance Adventure Month” for the Adventurous Babes Society so I invited the members to try my Zumba class.