Many of you here know WHAT I do. I am a LuLaRoe Retailer who loves to sell amazing clothing. However, not all of you know WHY I do this.
When I first started in this business I jumped on board to make some extra money and to do something outside of motherhood. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE motherhood, and it is the title I am most proud of. However, there were days I found myself wanting something more that excited me and brought out a passion that laundry, groceries, and dirty diapers just wasn't doing.
I jumped full force into this business. If you know anything about me at all, you know that when I start something new I dive in head first and completely immerse my thoughts and actions with it! Little did I know that this wouldn't slow down :-)
When I got started I was excited to share with my kids that beauty doesn't come from your shape, size, or age. I found that LuLaRoe allowed me to fall in love with my body again (despite the wear and tear of age and motherhood), and to be proud of it. I wanted this for my customers, but more importantly, I wanted my daughters to know that their worth was not on their appearance.
When I first started in this business I jumped on board to make some extra money and to do something outside of motherhood. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE motherhood, and it is the title I am most proud of. However, there were days I found myself wanting something more that excited me and brought out a passion that laundry, groceries, and dirty diapers just wasn't doing.
I jumped full force into this business. If you know anything about me at all, you know that when I start something new I dive in head first and completely immerse my thoughts and actions with it! Little did I know that this wouldn't slow down :-)
When I got started I was excited to share with my kids that beauty doesn't come from your shape, size, or age. I found that LuLaRoe allowed me to fall in love with my body again (despite the wear and tear of age and motherhood), and to be proud of it. I wanted this for my customers, but more importantly, I wanted my daughters to know that their worth was not on their appearance.
So, I sold LuLaRoe to make sure EVERY woman who put our styles on their body would know that they are worthy of feeling beautiful.
That God created her perfectly imperfect.
And then I began to take this concept of "Perfectly Imperfect," and really internalize it.
I kept using this idea when it came to my outward appearance, but God was doing something bigger. Something He not only wanted me to accept in myself, but to share with others.
I found myself on Periscope sharing my life. I shared my love for LuLaRoe, but there were moments I wasn't all "put together." The thing with live stream is that it is raw and unedited. You hit that "Go Live" button and that is exactly what happens. You are sharing yourself with the world, and risking the chance that you might say the wrong thing, have a child throw a tantrum, equipment could malfunction, or your hair and make up might not be just right.
The thing is, the more I did this, the more I loved sharing my "perfect imperfections." The more I felt that I was building relationships with others who said "I can relate." A community formed of those of us who already loved LuLaRoe, but we began to love ourselves more because we realized were weren't the only ones who had messy closets and unmade beds.
I never knew if I could be good at this business thing. I felt that those who were successful business owners had to be organized, tidy, and consistent at balancing their check books. All things I was not. But somehow I found that I was meeting women like me and we encouraged each other. I began to learn that the success of my business was more about the relationships and community I built with my customers and team, than making sure my files were updated and papers organized.
Let's back up a bit...
I grew up in an amazing home. While we weren't perfect by any measure, I had parents I was close with and siblings that I thought were pretty cool. My mom and my 2 sisters were very organized people. They picked up their rooms, hung clothes after they wore them, and in general they were organized and tidy. For some reason these tasks were just tough for me. These were the women I compared myself to. Don't get me wrong, my mom and sisters are my most favorite people ever, but somehow I felt like I was somehow missing what came so easy to every other woman I watched.
I started to base my worth on what I wasn't doing. I wasn't getting my laundry completed. My cupboards weren't organized. With each child I had I felt that I just began to shove more and more things into spaces they would fit. While I hate being late to things, I still couldn't get my schedule figured out.
There were many times I'd talk to my mom about this, and she had always told me she was certain I had ADD (She was a teacher for children with learning disabilities, so she knew what was up). She heard my frustrations, and she turned things around with different messages (Jill and Cricket, if you are reading this, this isn't a knock on either of you ;-) )
"Bets, school didn't come as easy for your sisters as it did for you. They had to work hard, and you sailed on through."
"Betsy, you are SO creative. You love crafts, and you don't mind the messes!"
"Betsy, you have a way with social media that pulls people together."
"Betsy, your transparency and honesty is what draws people to you."
While I had spent so much time telling myself I was lazy because I couldn't keep my house tidy, I had forgotten to look at the gifts God had given me that were important to make me who I am. Sure, I will never be the person who has a perfectly organized cupboard, but I will be that person who let's your kids sit down and make a mess at my counter while they paint pictures.
For a long time I didn't like people coming into my home, because I assumed that they would judge my lack of perfection. Stupid, huh? Then I started LuLaRoe. God has a way of breaking us of things. I had people stopping over constantly to pick up items. I had the option to drive myself crazy trying to schedule them all around when I could get my house picked up, or I could embrace my life and the reality of being a work at home mom.
December of 2015 I was officially diagnosed with ADHD. In the same month I had one of my largest LuLaRoe Open Houses I had ever had. In many ways the very thing I felt that held me back from being the "perfect" wife, mother, and retailer is something I know has made me the perfectly imperfect wife, mother, and retailer for those in my life. It's my ADHD that allows me to follow the comments on Periscope. It is my ADHD that is constantly making me think outside the box of what I could do next to excite my customers. It's my ADHD that has truly been an avenue to which people can relate with me.
And all that organization that business owners DO really need (I mean, we do). God filled a need when I didn't ask for one. Many of you have heard of and know Amy. It's funny when she and I talk about how God brought us together, but it truly was something He put into place that we both needed. And God bless my husband, Paul. He has stood behind me from day one. I am sure there were times he questioned this whole thing, but I could not have done any of this without his encouragement, and more importantly, his blessing.
There were many times I'd talk to my mom about this, and she had always told me she was certain I had ADD (She was a teacher for children with learning disabilities, so she knew what was up). She heard my frustrations, and she turned things around with different messages (Jill and Cricket, if you are reading this, this isn't a knock on either of you ;-) )
"Bets, school didn't come as easy for your sisters as it did for you. They had to work hard, and you sailed on through."
"Betsy, you are SO creative. You love crafts, and you don't mind the messes!"
"Betsy, you have a way with social media that pulls people together."
"Betsy, your transparency and honesty is what draws people to you."
While I had spent so much time telling myself I was lazy because I couldn't keep my house tidy, I had forgotten to look at the gifts God had given me that were important to make me who I am. Sure, I will never be the person who has a perfectly organized cupboard, but I will be that person who let's your kids sit down and make a mess at my counter while they paint pictures.
For a long time I didn't like people coming into my home, because I assumed that they would judge my lack of perfection. Stupid, huh? Then I started LuLaRoe. God has a way of breaking us of things. I had people stopping over constantly to pick up items. I had the option to drive myself crazy trying to schedule them all around when I could get my house picked up, or I could embrace my life and the reality of being a work at home mom.
December of 2015 I was officially diagnosed with ADHD. In the same month I had one of my largest LuLaRoe Open Houses I had ever had. In many ways the very thing I felt that held me back from being the "perfect" wife, mother, and retailer is something I know has made me the perfectly imperfect wife, mother, and retailer for those in my life. It's my ADHD that allows me to follow the comments on Periscope. It is my ADHD that is constantly making me think outside the box of what I could do next to excite my customers. It's my ADHD that has truly been an avenue to which people can relate with me.
And all that organization that business owners DO really need (I mean, we do). God filled a need when I didn't ask for one. Many of you have heard of and know Amy. It's funny when she and I talk about how God brought us together, but it truly was something He put into place that we both needed. And God bless my husband, Paul. He has stood behind me from day one. I am sure there were times he questioned this whole thing, but I could not have done any of this without his encouragement, and more importantly, his blessing.
Being a LuLaRoe Retailer is not just about selling leggings and beautiful dresses. For me, it has been an avenue for my creativity, an opportunity for me to relate with others, and exactly what I needed to feel that those things I deemed as negative qualities are the very thing that has helped me find success. A huge reason I do this job is so to help others feel confident that they can do this to. I do this to encourage others to embrace who they are. You don't have to be gifted at all the things. Know your gifts, and find others with different gifts to help you be successful.
Within LuLaRoe we are encouraged to learn our "why," and to be able to say it in one sentence, so here is mine:
Within LuLaRoe we are encouraged to learn our "why," and to be able to say it in one sentence, so here is mine:
"I do LuLaRoe because I want others to know the freedom that comes with loving yourself, using your talents to build your business, and that we can find success within our mess (I need to give a shout out to Becca Sparks for this phrase ;-) ). A huge thank you to my customers, my team, my up line, Amy, Paul, and my family for sticking through this journey with me. It's only been 2 years, and I cannot wait to see where else this takes us!
Where you can find me if you want a larger dose of the chaos I am putting out there:
FB Business Page
FB Shopping Group
Periscope
Where you can find me if you want a larger dose of the chaos I am putting out there:
FB Business Page
FB Shopping Group
Periscope
