News FLASH

I have some exciting news to share!! I am in the process of building a website so that everyone can buy directly from me online! I will still have my Facebook page with all my inventory, but soon, you will be able to go to my website, click the item you want, and completely check out from there. It will be secure, easy, and fast! As soon as I've made it public, I will post the link here.

A Party For Everyone

This is a party for all of you!! I will be hosting an online party on Tuesday, April 23 from 1-3 pm. If there is enough interest, I will also do one the same day from 6-7 pm. It will have the same benefits as an in-person party, except you won't have to leave your home, or if you live far away, you will finally be able to come to one! There will be party exclusive jewelry added throughout the event as well as a buy 5, get 1 free deal! Please visit my Facebook page to see all the details - Facebook.com/heatherArobinsonPaparazzi.

I am very excited and I hope it goes well. It would be the perfect time to get that special mother in your life a great and affordable Mother's Day gift.

My Inventory

I have received a request to post my inventory on my blog. I am not sure how to actually create an album, or if that's even possible, so this will have to do for now. I've been wanting to add this feature for a while, so I'm glad I was given the push to do it! Please bear with me as I post these photos and I hope it doesn't make this post too big.

My 'Why Paparazzi' Story

This week's challenge was to post our 'Why Paparazzi' story. Some of those posted are so inspiring and brought tears to my eyes as I read about single moms who are only able to have a great life for themselves and their kids because of Paparazzi! My story isn't nearly so powerful, but I wanted to share it none the less. This is taken directly from my post on the FaceBook group. Here it is:

Here's my Why Paparazzi: My story is a lot simpler than a lot of others' I've been reading on here. It's not nearly as inspirational, however, I do find Paparazzi to be more inspirational every day! I was introduced to it by my sponsor, Jessica Walker. She was in my town for a few days and I wanted to buy some cheap jewelry for myself. I really didn't think I'd be impressed (because how good can $5 jewelry really be?) and decided I was only going to buy one thing. Well, she came over and $20 later...I was so impressed! I told her that I couldn't believe how similar it was to Lia Sophia but I only paid the tax cost I would have for Lia Sophia jewelry! I booked a party with her a few weeks later, something I swore I would never do because I do not like to host or entertain...and I'm kind of bad at it too. We had a decent turn out for my party back in August 2012 and she sold $300 worth of jewelry in three hours!

When I decided to host the party, I had no intentions of joining. After the party, I had high hopes I could do it. I read through the polices and procedures and talked to my husband for several months. He was skeptical since it was a direct sales company and he isn't in favor of pyramid schemes. He read a few pages of the policies himself and said "This actually looks pretty legit." Even though it took a while, I was finally able to buy the $300 kit with some tax return money this February. I've only been doing this about 5 weeks, but I've already made back my money 200%! So my actual "Why" is simply so that I can pay for my little hobbies like showing dogs again and doing a little bit of traveling. I just want some extra spending money without feeling too bad about figuring out if it's the month's budget. And now that I'm in, I love it and really hope it becomes more than just a way to make some fun money.

I've already had my first launch party (at my house haha!) and a friend hosted a party for me this past week - so I found this last training call to be perfect for me - and I have another hosted party booked in two weeks. Plus, I have two craft fairs lined up in May. I really am amazed at how well it's taken off. Thanks for letting me share and sorry it's so long!

My Dreams

Every Wednesday, one of the Paparazzi groups I'm in, Frank Divas (they are a few sponsors up from my sponsor and are very successful in the company) holds a training call. Everyone can call in and listen. It's a muted call, so I can put the phone on speaker and do house work and even babysit, without anyone ever hearing all the clanging and kid noises, it's great! Last week, our weekly challenge was to create a dream board and then post it on the group page, as well as email it to them. I was only going to put the two reasons I started Paparazzi on my board - to have dog show money, and also have a little extra for my trips this summer. During the call, however, they said dream big! If you dream it, it has the potential to come true. So, I just put some of my dreams on there. Yes, they are very far away and I don't know if I'll ever make Paparazzi a career that can actually help pay for all these dreams, but it was fun, and inspiring, to put them down. I am posting what my board looks like below. This week's challenge is to tell our story of why we joined Paparazzi. I'll share that next week.

What I Learned from Empower Me Pink

I meant to get this post up over a week ago, but life had been a bit crazy lately. I had so much fun at the Empower Me Pink Tour in Salt Lake 1.5 weeks ago. It was great hanging out with my sponsor and meeting so many neat women from the various teams I'm a part of. The entire event was amazing and I'd go again in a heartbeat just so I could catch something new that I missed in the few hours we were there. The financial director/business guru and one of the founders were the ones to put this tour on, so talk about inspiring! That they would take time out of their busy schedules and from running a business to help US better our businesses was just incredible! (And they didn't charge us to go!)

I really did learn a lot, but these were the things that really stood out: Party! Yes, really...it's all a big party and everyone is invited. They said that us, the consultants, need to figure out what the best times are and then hold a party. This doesn't meant having a party from 1-4 on Saturday every time. It means to hold it at a time that is best for those attending. This was evident at the party my friend hosted today. My launch party was on a Saturday from 1-4 pm, her party today was (obviously) a Tuesday from 3:30-6:30 pm. More people came after 5:30 due to work. The next party I host is also on a Tuesday, but from 6-8pm. So, know your audience and then appeal to their needs. If nobody will host a party for you,  be your own host.

Color block. While I knew this was important, and definitely try to do it, putting everything together hadn't actually occurred to me. They said to put everything together - black necklaces, earrings, bracelets - this way, those who aren't sure what they want or what looks good on them, or even what matches, will be able to see exactly what pieces will look good together and they will be much more comfortable in what they choose.

People want what you have. No, this isn't meant to sound vain, but rather if they see you wearing it, they'll want it! It's sometimes hard to visualize what something looks like on you, but if you see that piece on someone else, you may realize how great it is! I did this at the party today. I wore a very bright, multi-colored disc necklace (we're talking bright blue, pink, yellow, and orange) and I sold one because she was able to see it on me. Plus, it's a lot of fun for me to wear various things so that I know it really is a nice piece of jewelry.

Keep a party journal. This I hadn't thought of, but I am going to work on mine first thing tomorrow while today's party is fresh in my mind. This way, I can record what to change for next time and what to keep the same and also have ideas on how to sell things better, set things up better, and just make everything run smoother.

And the last thing I learned was how genuine those running Paparazzi really are! When the founder is trying to reign in tears from all the emotions she feels about how much it means to her, you know they care! They didn't just tell us what we wanted to hear, they actually took the time to tell us how Paparazzi was created - and it wasn't created to be a business like it is, it was merely created because they loved jewelry. It really did start out as a party! They also told us that they were and are determined to have a company that is not only always fresh and up-to-date, but also one that is affordable to everyone out there! No matter what your budget, you can afford to buy a little something special for yourself. They wanted a company that gave you what you put into it. If you give 100%, you will eventually get 100% out of Paparazzi. However, if you just want to give 50% because you don't have time to give more or you just want to do it for fun, you'll get 50% out of it. There's nothing wrong with either scenario, but it's up to you! This was so moving! These founders, who now make a lot of money, care! How many large companies can you say that about?

I love Paparazzi! I love that they are changing lives one $5 piece at a time!! And I love that they love both those things too!!! It really is life changing, whether in a big way or in a small way. I also love hearing people's stories about how it changed their lives for the better.