There are several great articles, blogs, and web pages that talk about the benefits of Scentsy Wickless Candles and how to start your own Scentsy Business. They are highly informative and motivating. What I have not run across so far is an article or blog written from a husband’s point of view. I would like to take a moment to share my Scentsy story (being the husband of a Scentsy Consultant), and give a little perspective into how Scentsy has enriched my life.
In March of 2005 my wife Nicole 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 a homebuilder and working between 12-16 hours a day so I did not have the time or energy required to argue about it or even ask her many questions about this “Scentsy thing”. I simply said “do what you think is right” and went back to looking at house plans and paying invoices. I was pretty self-absorbed and thought if Nicole wanted a new “hobby”, then more power to her. What I did not know was that Nicole did not want a “hobby”; she had a specific goal and had found her means to accomplish it.
Nicole’s goal was to find a way that would allow her to make enough money per month to pay for our family’s health insurance policy. At the time she would need to make between $400-$500 per month in order to do that. Nicole looked into going to work outside of the home but figured that by the time she paid daycare, gas, taxes, taxes, and more taxes, she would need to work at least 25 hours a week outside the home in order to keep enough money to pay for our insurance. Thankfully Nicole was not willing to miss out on 25 hours a week of our kids’ lives just to pay one bill a month. When she found Scentsy and read up on their compensation plan she knew immediately that she could make it work.
With the Scentsy compensation plan you earn 25% commission on the products you sell, plus you have the ability to earn a percentage of everything that members of your team sell. Nicole originally did not plan on building a team; she simply wanted to do a few home parties a month in hopes to earn her $400-$500 per month in commissions. Nicole made a goal to schedule one party per week on Thursday nights from 6pm – 9pm to earn her desired commission check. This meant that I needed to make sure that I was home each 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 quickly found that when she did a party she would occasionally have a guest ask her if they could sign up to sell Scentsy. Before she knew it she had a small team formed and she was consistently able to accomplish her goal of paying our monthly insurance bill. I was still pretty much oblivious to the big picture of Scentsy; however, I did notice that Scentsy was starting to take more than a few hours a week of Nicole’s time. It was at this time that I realized that her “hobby” was turning into a real business.
Over the next two years Nicole started to spend more and more time on her Scentsy business and I started having to spend more time helping out with the kids. At the time I saw this shift of responsibilities as a huge inconvenience, but now looking back on it I see how it was a true blessing. Instead of “having” to take care of kids, I was finally getting a chance to build a relationship 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 pushing us apart as I initially thought; it was covertly bringing us closer together as a family. We were being forced to work as a team for the first time ever. We would separate and deliver Scentsy orders as a family, we would tag-team household chores as a family, and we would even start enjoying time off as a family. Nicole’s commission checks began to not only pay our insurance but they were surprisingly large enough to take us on a vacation every now and then.
Fast forward to present day: Nicole and I are working together from home, both focusing on different aspects of the Scentsy business. I can’t believe how much Scentsy has changed my life. We are both still busy but we are able to choose when we are busy and when we are not. Four years ago I rarely made it to any of our kid’s school activities or events. Now I never miss a one. Nicole and I get to see each other for more than 30 minutes a day and we have even been able to take some much needed family vacations. I never thought that I would be working from home or the keeper of my own schedule, but now I am both and loving it.
To all families out there that are weighing the decision of whether or not to join Scentsy; I have a few closing words of advise. Realize that your Scentsy business will not be an overnight cash cow, it takes work but it is worth it. If you treat it like a business it will become a 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 imagine. 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.
Jason Ferland
Husband to Superstar Scentsy Director Nicole Ferland
