One More Day to Share! - A Great Article for Business Builders

This is a card I worked on today for my June
card classes.  It's hard to see in the photo, but
I used a Sharpie marker to color the Sparkles to
match the Crystal Blue paper.  I'm focusing
on quick cards in June.  The hat can be changed
to any image to fit your occasion.

Wowee!  What an amazing month our teams have had!  As of today, we have grown an incredible 36%!!!  My hat's off to all of you for your great work of sharing your passion for CTMH.  I'll post the stats next time.  There is still one more day, so keep on spreading the word. Call, email or text those last few people, sometimes the urgency of being the last day is what they need to act.

Shout-Out:

A quick update on Susan Hopkins who I've been posting about this month.  I'm proud and so pleased to announce that she has gone from Consultant to Manager in less than 1 month and is super excited to continue to build her team and attend Convention, but to also qualify to attend Leadership Day too!  Way to go, Susan!

 

 

Business Bit:
This is a great article to share with anyone who wants to make CTMH a business.  They are 5 great tips for working from home.  I do all of these things and I think they have been key to my success with CTMH.

Work at home businesses are a great way to earn money on your own terms.
You work your own hours, take vacations when you want, hire who you want to work with, and work in whatever attire you wish.

However, there are some inherent problems that may arise when working at home. The most common problem experienced is how stay focused on your work.   When working at home, it may be easy to get distracted. Instead of working, you may think about cleaning the house, walking the dog, going to the gym or doing some extra gardening. To get anything accomplished in a home business, it is essential that you stay focused on your work and not get distracted by all the home chores that need to be done.

5 Tips To Stay Focused While Working at Home

1. Do a few chores at home before you work.
When you do a few of the more pressing household chores before you begin your work day, you will not feel as pressured to do household chores while working.
Start your day 30 minutes later than normal, and use that extra 30 minutes to clean the dishes, walk the dog, vacuum the house or go for a run.

2. Use a to-do list every day.
One of the best ways to stay focused on your work is to have a specific list of items that need to be done each day. Without a to-do list, it is easy to get distracted or to not dedicate the proper time to important tasks.

3. Do the simple tasks first.
There are certainly people who prefer to do the most difficult tasks first, but those people are the exception rather than the rule.
Most people procrastinate at some time and put off difficult tasks. When you perform some of the easy tasks on the list, you can cross those items off and feel good about what you are accomplishing. With a few items crossed off, the list will look less intimidating and overwhelming.

4. If you have to deal with deadlines in your work at home business, it is important to stay ahead of those deadlines.
Putting everything off until you have a tight deadline is often a recipe for disaster. Waiting until the last minute also takes away any flexibility you would have in performing various work duties. Something that needs to be done immediately will take precedence over everything else.

5. Have a comfortable and dedicated work space.
Your environment has a significant amount of influence on your concentration.
When you are working at home, it is crucial to have a dedicated work environment.
A private room with a door is the best choice. However, an area that is separate from other living areas should work as long as the space is used only for your business.

A work at home business is a business; treating it like one is an important ingredient in success and prosperity.

 

Keep on Sharing!

One of my quick cards for my May card classes
I love to add color to my sparkles with a Sharpie
Marker. Ariana bulk with a bit of Balloon Ride bulk

I am sorry to have missed posting on Tuesday.  I have been trying to fix a problem that you have undoubtedly been aware of.  It seems my blog was somehow hijacked and random posts have been showing up in Arabic (or some language that looks like it)  I hope that I have fixed the problem.  I changed my password and that didn't help so I had my assistant delete a 3rd party app that auto posts my new posts to Facebook.  I apologize for the disruption. 















One week left......have you shared the incredible CTMH recruiting special this month?

Business Bit: A re-post from 2 weeks ago....

I hope that each of you are taking advantage of the AMAZING opportunity CTMH has offered to help us grow our teams. The key is to SHARE it with EVERYONE, EVERYWHERE! In a nutshell when they sign up April 1-30th they will recieve - $400 in CTMH products (including a Cricut bundle of their choice) for just $99!!! AND a 22% discount until at least September 30th. Post it on ALL your social media sites as a quick easy way to start.  You never know who will want to start their own CTMH business or who your contacts know that may be interested.

If you are interested in growing your teams contact me ASAP, I'd love to help you. This offer is just through the end of the month so get started NOW! If you don't share, someone else will :)

For those of you who have "Former Consultants" be sure to contact them and see if they want to take advantage of this limited time offer. You can easily access their contact information by going to your "Advanced Reports" - downline reports and clicking on "Former consultant contact information". They already know how wonderful CTMH products are and would be the easiest place to start your sharing :)

 

Shout-Outs:
In the last 21 days the team has grown by leaps and bounds!  We have 378 new members to welcome!  Congratulations to all of you who have shared the CTMH opportunity this month.  The following 36 people have recruited 3 or more new team members!

1st Downline:
Christina Eisenhour, Ginni Candelaria, Laurie Varner, Linda Caler, Michele Rowley, Susan Hopkins and Tina Lovell

2nd Downline:
Geri Polasek, Meredith Nguyen, Noreen Petty, Sarah Hirsch and Susan Williams

3rd Downline:
Adeline Brill, Briana Bostick, Cathryn Oliver Brown, Dalene Wells, Debi Thomas, Dr. Phil Wilhelm, Jean Ann Gardner, Joy Tracey, Krista Hershberger, Lynn Como, Mandy Petty, Rachel Rothmeyer, Sheila Wilson and Tonya VanWinkle.

4th Downline:
Amy Raftery, Angie Hofmann, Cara Miller, Dawn Flammger, Janet Royer, Judy Larsen, Melinda Beltran, Mischelle Smith, Sheryl Harpel and Tammy Sinks.

I took the day off today to go and tip-toe through the tulips at the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival.  This is a yearly tradition for my husband and I.  It's one of the beautiful gifts we have here in Western Washington in exchange for all of the rain.  I get inspired by the beauty of mother nature and all of the vibrant colors that never seem to clash. 

WOOOHOOO!!! - Congrats to our Team! - Exciting Events coming!

The special card from CTMH for my
 23rd anniversary.

I am thrilled and excited!!!!  I have been impatiently waiting for today's announcement!  Congrats to each of you for doing your part to help our team achieve the Thriving/Striving 30 Contest!  I am also thrilled that this achievement comes the week that I celebrate 23 years with CTMH.  I still can't believe all of the incredible rewards, relationships and opportunities I have had thanks to Jeanette and CTMH. 

I'd also like to say an extra special Thank you and Congrats for being part of the Striving/ Thriving 30!

My upline - Karen Morris, Presidential Director, The Dream Team, Las Vegas, Nevada

1st Downline - Christina Eisenhour, Senior Director, Memories in Motion, Springfield, Missouri

3rd Downline - Lynn Como, Senior Director, Coastal Stars, Newington, New Hampshire

3rd Downline - Krista Hershberger, Director, Create 4 Him, Elverson, Pennsylvania

.…And the Winners Are
After 5 months of terrific performance and standout achievements, it's time to announce the winners of our Thriving/Striving 30 contest, in honor of Jeanette's 30 years in the stamping and scrapbooking business. What better way to celebrate this milestone anniversary than with free Team celebrations for some of our top Teams that are striving and thriving in 2014? Winning Teams will receive a fabulous Team celebration including Team training, recognition, creative projects, giveaways, treats, and a great evening together, hosted by your Team's Director and a Close To My Heart Vice President. Celebrations are tentatively planned to be held in July, August, and September. Emails to winning Directors will be sent within the coming weeks to finalize each event’s celebration date, training topic, creative project, and more!

I am happy to say that the Connected Hearts are indeed both striving and thriving.  There has been unprecedented growth and excitement for CTMH so far this month and I can't wait to see the results on the 30th!  In anticipation and being the optimist I am, I talked to Brian Holman while in Costa Rica about the idea I had to hold my event in an area that we have a large concentration of team members in my 1-4th downline that was NOT served by Rediscover CTMH event. I know that my local team here in the PNW will be disappointed, but we were fortunate enough to have 2 events here in Seattle and Portland just 3 hours apart.  I'll let you know when we have a date and location.  Keep building your teams and we may be coming to your town!

To all Directors and aspiring future Directors:

I am super excited about a 2nd FREE Team Builders Event!!!!
I attended the first one and came away so inspired and enlightened.  I'd like to encourage you to clear your calendar Nov 13-15 and make it a priority to be there.  It is a unique opportunity to spend time with like-minded leaders as well as the Executive Team in a very intimate setting.  You won't regret it! If you're an aspiring Future Director and would like some help reaching your goal, contact your upline for assistance.  If he/she is unable to assist you, contact me :)

Announcing a Great Leadership Opportunity This fall we will be holding an event just for our Directors and above who are interesting in improving their business and leadership skills. Do you hold the title of Director or higher? Would you like to make more of your Close To My Heart business? Then we invite you to plan on attending the Team Builders event coming November 13–15, 2014. Hosted by the Executive Team and other members of the corporate staff, you will benefit from all the ingredients of a fabulous corporate-sponsored event: great ideas, wonderful company, awesome creative opportunities, and plenty of fun. There will be no fee to register for this event, which will be held in Salt Lake City, Utah. Mark your calendars now and be prepared to get more details when the registration website is made available at a future date. We look forward to seeing you there!

TEAM NEWS - UPDATE
Because these dates for the Team Builders event conflict with the scheduled Oregon Team meeting date already announced, I am changing the date from Saturday, Nov 15th to Saturday November 22nd.  Please change it in your schedules.


Quote of the Week:
Be inspired by others, appreciate others, learn from others, but know that competing against them is a waste of time. You are in competition with one person and one person only – yourself. You are competing to be the best you can be. Aim to break your own personal records.

~ The Success Factory

2014 Convention Team Meeting - Shout Outs - Lovin' Studio J

Team News: 2014 Convention Team Meeting!!

Attention EVERYONE ---- Connected Hearts (my team), Legacy Makers (my sideline-Julie Reynolds team), and the Dream Team (my Upline - Karen Morris's team) are combining forces for an amazing Convention Team Meeting. The content will knock your socks off.... you won't want to miss it!  Our meeting will run from 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm, so leaders---...
please schedule your own meetings either BEFORE (5 pm - 7 pm) or AFTER (8:30 pm - 10:00 pm) so that everyone can attend!

Shout-Outs:
Great Work to all of you and Congratulations!

Congratulations to Lynn Como, Noreen Petty, Joy Tracey and Dr. Phil Wilhelm for earning the Aulani Hawaii Land Trip 2015 so early!

Top Team Builder with 2 New Team Members in March - Carol Fowler

Straight to the Top - Level 1
Mischelle Smith, Margie Wight and Kathy Rawlings

Straight to the Top - Level 2
Karyn Asfour-Kambur, Donna Paquette and Jennifer Saslafsky

Promotion to Supervisor:
Tina Lomas, Patti Magallanez, Donna Turban, Tania Klescich and
Steph Criblez

 

Creative Corner: Studio J

I LOVE Studio J! As you might have guessed by the fact that my artwork is almost exclusively cards - I started out with D.O.T.S. as a card maker. I am not much of a classic scrapbooker and in this age of digital photography Studio J is my preferred method. Whenever I get an order in the mail - it's like Christmas! Even though I created it on my computer and saw it on my screen, there is nothing like seeing it printed 12x12. I really wanted to take advantage of the $5 layouts last month and do my Costa Rica adventures, but time got away from me and I found myself as many of you did, doing it literally in the final hour! I also LOVE the Express Collections. Even with the website running really slow in the last hour of the last day of the month and quarter, I did these 4 layouts in just 30 minutes! If you haven't tried it, do it TODAY. You'll find out how quick, easy and beautiful Studio J layouts are, and they are so easy to share.

 

Spring Fever

Update:  Sharing Works!  A Success Story:

Tuesday afternoon, I posted about sharing the April Recruiting Special - Discover the Art of Business.  That evening at 11:30 pm I sent an email out to my 1st Downline with an incentive for promotions. 

Wednesday at 5:35 pm I received an email from Susan Hopkins a Consultant from South Dakota:

"I sent out e-mails and a Facebook post to many people on the April promotion to join CTMH. I just did that this morning, and it looks like I have 2 ready to sign up and a 3^rd strong possibility. Cool!" 

At 6:00 pm Susan sent me another email:

 

"I just got off the phone with prospect #1 and she is all signed up. I expect to sign up #2 either tomorrow or Friday. I don’t believe either one of these gals are “kit grabbers”…I think they will stay in as at least hobbyist consultants. I’ve been wanting to build a team and I’m so excited that the company is helping to make that happen. Thanks so much for your e-mail earlier today. I’ll keep you posted!"

Congratulations to Susan!  She is now a Supervisor!  You are VERY INSPIRING!   Keep on sharing and building your team!

This is the power of simply sharing this awesome opportunity and your passion for CTMH.  I'd LOVE to hear of your successes - leave a comment so we can celebrate with you :)
 

Business Bit: 
Today is "Siblings Day" so it was very fitting to spend the day hiking with my sister, Kathy.  As many of you know, I LOVE to hike and get out and enjoy nature.  Here in Washington we are famous for our rain and the beautiful green trees and mountains.  When the sun comes out, as the stamp set "Do Your Best" C1573 says "The mountains are calling and I must go."  Spring is a time that seems to derail my best laid plans.  There are so many distractions.  For me, some are business related, like planning for our convention team gathering, and others are of a personal nature, like hiking and gardening that are seasonal and weather dependent.  This article really "struck a cord" with me.  I hope you'll find a reminder that you can relate to.

Subject: Time…

It's spring and in most parts of the country that means - for those of us with children - baseball and soccer season are in full swing. It's time for ACT and SAT testing, college searches, end of the school year recognition ceremonies, plays, recitals, dances, senior celebrations, graduations, confirmations, etc, etc, etc; Even if you don't have children, there is the call of dirty windows, lawns that need a winter facelift, gardens that yearn for attention, closets screaming to be cleaned out, etc; etc; etc;

There is just something about spring that can be a major distraction from our businesses, wouldn't you agree? If only we had a 36 hour day instead of just 24 hours (some say sleep is overrated).

So, if spring has not completely side-tracked you and if (hopefully) you are reading this article, here are some reminders about how to get more out of each day this spring and anytime of the year.

Pockets of time are crucial. Take advantage of the early morning or late evening hours of the day to do a load of laundry, make lunches for the next day, do a quick house pickup, load hostess or recruit packets, or clear email. Often it is easier to be more productive with these things when the house is quiet…this email is being typed at 6am!

Enlist the help of your family. Kids can help too. There are lots of little jobs they can do - from 8 years old ours did their own laundry!

Let go of the perfectionism and resist starting too many “spring cleaning” jobs all at the same time. Make a to-do list and chip away at it in 15 minutes increments here and there.

Carry your “to read” file with you at all times so that you use those unexpected pockets of waiting time (Dr's offices, carwash, etc;)

Stamp catalogs and brochures while sitting at your children's ball games. It's a great use of time and you may spark some interest in your business.

Work out carpools for your children's activities - split the driving so you only have to do drop off -or- pickup.

DO NOT FORSAKE YOUR OFFICE HOURS! You may need to adjust office hours when factoring new activities - but remember adjust, don't omit!

Handle it once. Open mail over the garbage can, act on email as it comes in (vs. saving and thinking about it), and return phone calls promptly.

Keep a written to do list (vs. an `in your head' to do list) - it will cut down on your stress.

Keep phone calls efficient. Don't be afraid to say, “I'm dying to catch up, but for right now, I'm on the run and I just needed to go over a few quick things with you.”

Finally, with regards to volunteering, remember every time you say NO you are giving someone else the chance to step up and volunteer. You can't do everything!

 

Quote of the Week:

Time is more valuable than money. You can get more money, but you cannot get more time.
                                                                                                                            - Jim Rohn


Copyright 2014 by The Success Factory All Rights Reserved

Sharing is KEY!

Hello Everyone!  Wow!  I'd like to begin by CONGRATULATING everyone on the incredible team growth, we have grown by 15% in just 8 days!!!

 

Business Bit:

 

I hope that each of you are taking advantage of the AMAZING opportunity CTMH has offered to help us grow our teams.  The key is to SHARE it with EVERYONE, EVERYWHERE!  In a nutshell when they sign up April 1-30th they will recieve - $400 in CTMH products (including a Cricut bundle of their choice) for just $99!!!  AND a 22% discount until at least September 30th.  Post it on ALL your social media sites as a quick easy way to start.

 

If you are interested in growing your teams contact me ASAP, I'd love to help you.  This offer is just through the end of the month so get started NOW!  If you don't share, someone else will :)

 

For those of you who have "Former Consultants" be sure to contact them and see if they want to take advantage of this limited time offer.  You can easily access their contact information by going to your "Advanced Reports" - downline reports and clicking on "Former consultant contact information".  They already know how wonderful CTMH products are and would be the easiest place to start your sharing :) 

 

First Downline Team Challenge:

As an added reward for promoting and growing your teams, I'm offering an added bonus!!!! Contact me for the details - watch your inbox - I'll be emailing it out as well.

 

Creative Corner:          
I like to work at least one month ahead to create my class projects.  I show them to my customers so that they will want to attend the following month.  I also include a photo with my customer newsletter that CTMH send out for us so I need to be prepared by the end of the month.  It has also reduced my stress level that I am completely prepared at least a week ahead with all my paper cut before each months classes.  Here is one of my May Stamp of the Month cards I created today.  Ever since I first saw this set, I wanted to do a "chalkboard" card that is so trendy now.  It's quick and promotes the White Daisy ink pad, Chalk Marker, embossing folders and the Ariana Paper packet.  I plan on using the Free To Be Paper Collection AND this stamp set for 2 additional cards. 

 

What does your profile picture on your social networks say about you?

Business Bit:
I subscribe to a number of blogs and online newsletters and pass along articles I find to be particularly applicable to our CTMH businesses.  This one I found to be very timely and made me think.  Because our team is diverse in locale and size, unless I've had the pleasure of meeting you at convention on other team events, you may not know who I am or what I look like.  It's the same for many of your current and potential future customers or team members.  Your Facebook page or other social media sites become a place for that all important first impression.  In this day of easily accessed information, if a customers goes on to the CTMH consultant locator and has a choice of consultants, they might "google" the names to see what they can find out about you.  What is the first impression they would get of you?  What does your profile picture say about who you are?  Do you need to update/change it?  Try asking your friends to see what they say. 


I had a professional headshot taken and used a photo from the Costa Rica incentive trip as my cover.  I change my cover from time to time.

 

What does your profile picture on your social networks say about you?

By  Jennifer Fong

 

What kind of a first impression does it make? In direct sales, these are very important questions to consider. Far too often, direct sellers don’t give a lot of thought to their profile pictures. And it can wind up harming their businesses.

For example, someone I know was considering joining a network marketing company. This was a pretty experienced person who could build a large team fairly quickly. It was one of those people you hope you can find for your team. They were matched with a potential sponsor who would be this person’s upline. When checking out this potential upline, my friend noticed that their profile picture was pretty off-putting. It was a photo that was a visual representation of a cause this person was very passionate about. And while my friend was on the same page as the potential upline about the cause, he found the profile photo to be a bit disturbing, and it caused him to reconsider joining this person’s team.

First impressions are a big deal.
Now this potential upline only used this photo for her personal profile picture. Her business presence had a different photo. But because she connected with my friend using her personal profile, and because of Facebook’s algorithm, my friend saw her mainly online through her personal profile. Every time my friend interacted with this potential upline, it was with this photo. And every time it turned my friend off.
You may think your business and personal profiles are separate. But if you intend to interact with potential customers and recruits online at all, what you do on your personal profile still matters.

Here are some tips for choosing an appropriate profile photo:

1. Choose a Good Headshot – Your profile photo is your first “face-to-face” contact with someone online. It is the picture people will see EVERY TIME they interact with you. Choose a good photo of your face. It just makes sense. If it’s your personal profile you might include family members in this photo too, if you want to. But make sure your face is prominent.
2. DON’T Use Your Logo – People connect with PEOPLE, not logos. Help people feel more connected with you by using your photo instead of an impersonal logo.
3. DON’T Use Celebrity Photos – If you are doing business online, using celebrity photos makes you look unprofessional. If you are crazy about Justin Bieber, share a photo on your timeline, but help people connect with YOU by using your own photo as your profile photo.
4. Save Your Cause for Your Posts – Of course you’re passionate about certain causes. Everyone is. But use your timeline posts for these causes. Let people connect with you first, and then you can share your cause once they get to know you.

Choosing a good profile photo matters a great deal when you plan to do business with online contacts. Make sure you consider the impression you’re giving. What tips would you give for profile photos? What have you seen that has turned you off? Would love to read your comments below.

Copyright © 2014 Direct Sales and Social Media | Jennifer Fong's Blog

My workshop version "Card in a Box"

Hey there!  Happy April Fools day :)   I'm back again.....sorry about missing last Thursday's posting.  I had a couple of family obligations that took priority so something had to give.  March was a super busy month being the end of the quarter as well as gearing up for an incredible April that will result in explosive team growth!  I hope that you are all spreading the word and sharing the awesome April recruiting special.  Now, not only can new consultants earn  back their kit cost, but in April they will also get their choice of one of the 3 Cricut Collections as a bonus.  Please contact me if you need any assistance training your new team members, I'm here to help in any way I can.

 

Creative Corner:  Here is my take on the "Card in a Box" that has been all the rage.  It's super easy and best part is that it folds FLAT to mail.  There are lots of tutorials out there on You Tube  just search on "card in a box"

 

The dimensions I used for this version that I'm teaching in my classes are

1 - 4 x 12 B&T (bulk Lollydoodle)

scored at 1 1/2 on the long side and 2 3/4 , 5 1/2, 8 1/4 and 11 inches on the short side.

Score and glue together to form a box.  Cut down the corners to the 1 1/2 inch score line and fold back.

Insert 2 - 1 x 4 inch strips scored at 5/8 and 3 3/8 inches inside the box  

Attach your decorative pieces to the strips and embellish.

 

 

Shout Outs: 

	These fantastic achievers reached $2,000 or more in personal sales for the month of Feb 2014
		Monthly Sales DL Level Consultant Name   $7,900.65 3 Lynn Como   $6,945.90 4 Angie Hofmann   $5,856.85 3 Joy Tracey   $5,683.15 2 Noreen Petty   $4,775.85 4 Adele Vaio-Beisser   $4,042.60 3 Dr. Phil Wilhelm   $3,321.70 4 Judy Larsen   $3,117.50 3 Krista Hershberger   $3,112.25 1 Linda Caler   $2,595.60 3 Jenifer Benner   $2,553.75 4 Meg Cheesman   $2,500.80 0 Naomi Smith   $2,465.85 2 Michele Pryor   $2,454.00 3 Debi Squires   $2,297.15 1 Tina Lovell   $2,149.05 2 Karen Varcoe   $2,019.20 1 Ginni Candelaria