I'm having trouble kickstarting this post. I'm not feeling very clever or funny. Since usually, I'm both, right?
(crickets)
Right.
Okay, so you know how on The Real Housewives shows, most of them are not wives anymore? But that's still the name of the show? Well that's kind of where I'm at with this blog.
Because The Traveling Shopgirl has died.
It's sad, I know. I put so much time and energy into this dream that never made it. I've had to make some decisions. That's one of my least favorite things about life - making decisions.
And when making decisions, you really have to take a hard look at your priorities, so that you can make the RIGHT decision.
So that is what I have done. Prayerfully and carefully.
I could have salvaged this shopgirl thing, maybe. The (hopefully) good news for all the former To The Nines reps is that Nicole Jones launched a new company called Nchantment. It still has a ways to go since this all happened suddenly, but hopefully her original vision will come true.
And the denim company is still going strong. I could still do parties with that.
But the reality is, a) I am mentally over the whole thing after that fiasco, and b) I need to work primarily during the day when my kids are in school. And if I'm going to be working at night or on weekends, there needs to be a bigger payoff. I could give you a laundry list of other reasons that led to my decision, but it doesn't matter.
I have decided to shut the door on the whole thing and move on. I've actually had a plan B for a while now (ever since I got that funny feeling that something wasn't quite right with the shoe world). I'm getting my real estate license as we speak! I've wanted to do this for years but never had the opportunity to really pursue it until now.
At first I thought maybe I could do both, but then I realized that I can spread myself out and be lousy at everything (including being a good wife and mom, which is hard enough as it is) or I could put my focus on one "work" thing and excel as best I can at everything.
So I made my choice. It's a little sad because I really felt part of a team with those women from To The Nines, now Nchantment. However, I just know that God is not calling me to move forward with them.
Of course I wonder why God allowed that whole ordeal to happen when He knew the ending. It didn't take him by surprise. For whatever reason, He wanted it to be part of my journey. And since I find that He tends to know a bit more than I do, I'm cool with that.
I'm going to go ahead and claim Jeremiah 29:11 here,
For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
Back to this blog.
I love writing - it is therapy for me. I'm not done with it yet, but I am praying about the direction it's supposed to go.
So stay tuned!
Monday, September 19, 2011
Friday, September 16, 2011
To The Nines: And the Plot Thickens...
If you have not read yesterday's post, stop what you're doing cause I'm about to ruin the image and the style that you're used to. Seriously, go read that first.
Where is Chris Hansen when you need him?
Seems that my pal Kenny Davis has been around the block with this sort of scheming before. Check out this post on Fraud Digest which states:
On July 7, 2003, five executives of Smart-Mart in Dallas, Texas, were indicted. They allegedly solicited investors to promote a store which would sell name-brand products at a discount. The investments, however, were diverted for the personal use of the company’s founders and officers. Over $2.4 million was raised from over 700 investors in the United States and Canada. The five individuals who were indicted included Kenny J. Davis, Timothy A. McMurray, Bradley D. Woy, Edward M. Stanton and Susan McMurray.
Now why on earth did I not ask him for his social security number on my way out of the meeting with him so that I could run a criminal background check?
To top it all off, it came to light that his wife, Tammy Beshear Davis, has a little criminal record of her own. I wouldn't bring it up except for the fact that she helped run the operation. She's a registered sex offender for sexual assault of a 16 year old girl back in 2004.
Funny, that wasn't in her company bio.
My next post should hopefully focus on the GOOD news. Because there IS good news!
I'll leave you with my Christmas card for this year:
Where is Chris Hansen when you need him?
Seems that my pal Kenny Davis has been around the block with this sort of scheming before. Check out this post on Fraud Digest which states:
On July 7, 2003, five executives of Smart-Mart in Dallas, Texas, were indicted. They allegedly solicited investors to promote a store which would sell name-brand products at a discount. The investments, however, were diverted for the personal use of the company’s founders and officers. Over $2.4 million was raised from over 700 investors in the United States and Canada. The five individuals who were indicted included Kenny J. Davis, Timothy A. McMurray, Bradley D. Woy, Edward M. Stanton and Susan McMurray.
Now why on earth did I not ask him for his social security number on my way out of the meeting with him so that I could run a criminal background check?
To top it all off, it came to light that his wife, Tammy Beshear Davis, has a little criminal record of her own. I wouldn't bring it up except for the fact that she helped run the operation. She's a registered sex offender for sexual assault of a 16 year old girl back in 2004.
Funny, that wasn't in her company bio.
My next post should hopefully focus on the GOOD news. Because there IS good news!
I'll leave you with my Christmas card for this year:
Thursday, September 15, 2011
To The Nines: Scandals and Lies and Theft, Oh My!
So here's the deal. Gosh, where to begin?
I'll start with a brief history in case you aren't a regular reader.
Last May I found out about a brand new direct sales company called To The Nines. I loved the concept of being able to sell brands like Betsey Johnson, LAMB, Sam Edelman, etc directly to consumers through events and my own e-store. Since I was already doing designer jeans parties - with a very reputable company - I figured this would be the perfect addition.
The To The Nines concept was the long-time dream of Nicole Jones, who had very successful shoe stores in Chicago and even wrote a book about her passion (shoes). She went on Shark Tank a couple of years ago but she was presenting it as a franchise piece so they turned her down. But then she got introduced to a man named Kenny Davis.
Kenny Davis has a company called IAMAA Direct. Supposedly he has consulted with direct sales companies like Mary Kay, Beauticontrol, etc. He also supposedly took minor celebrities products to QVC. Supposedly.
So they partnered together and formed To The Nines. Nicole had the relationship with the shoe manufacturers, who LOVE her, and Kenny had the direct sales know-how.
The company, IAMAA Direct, is based in Dallas, Texas about 45 minutes from me, so I went there to meet Kenny Davis and his right hand woman, Keli Teague, to learn more about the opportunity first-hand.
A week later I brought my husband to meet Kenny and the three of us spent about an hour and a half talking. I researched Kenny and IAMAA as much as I could on the internet and found nothing (which is noteworthy in itself, that should have been a red flag). Shortly after, I gave them $2,500 to invest in the Executive Director position, which came with $1100 worth of shoes, a 30% commission rate, and would get paid 4 levels down.
We were told that in October, when the company officially launched, To The Nines would launch a national media campaign with TV commercials, magazine, and internet ads and become a household name. As an Executive Director I would get the leads from these ads. I liked this idea because I'm not that comfortable recruiting friends but am better talking with strangers who are already expressing interest.
At the Super Saturday training in June, they told us that the opportunity to buy in at an advanced placement level would end on July 1st, and that they would not re-open that ever again. They were very adamant about this. They also said something about how they aren't using our investment money to fund the company. That was a strange thing to say, I thought. Of course it had crossed my mind. Maybe because my husband had mentioned it a time or two. Or three.
But lo and behold, a few weeks later they were so generous to give us another opportunity to recruit people in the advanced placement positions again! But now they cost more and came with less inventory.
While I was in California this summer they rolled out the Unified Fast Start Plan, where they emphasized how very beneficial it would be for you if you upgraded to a higher level. I was encouraged to invest an additional $2500 to get to the Regional Director position so that I would be higher on the ladder, thus make a lot more money down the road. Thank the Lord I had sense enough not to do that. I didn't really understand the Unified Fast Start Plan, but something about it just never added up in my head.
All summer I kept waiting on the shoes to be up on our website so we could start selling them and MAKE MONEY. But they kept making excuses and told us to focus on recruiting. Seize this opportunity! Now is the time to build your business!
In fact, if you complained about NOT having shoes, you felt like you were just being negative and not a team player.
By the time I got back from California in August I was pretty certain that things had gone awry. But here I had built a whole "identity" as The Traveling Shopgirl, and dang it if I was going to have one more Failure to add to my list.
Shortly after that I figured, if I can just get my $1100 worth of shoes, I'll just order them all in my size and at least get part of my investment back in product. (And I was getting oh so excited about that). My plan was to focus on my online sales instead of doing lots of events and having to carry inventory.
But the excuses for why we didn't have shoes to sell continued and time marched on. Sure, we got surveys a few times a week where we voted on shoe styles we wanted to carry. But no shoes.
Things finally came to light this week.
Now this is where things get hard for me because I have so much that I want to say here but can't for legal reasons. I mean, this could be so juicy.
In a nutshell, Kenny Davis is a liar and a cheat. That's putting it mildly.
He never paid for the shoes that he received. Never paid the printing company. Never ordered fall shoes. Never gave Nicole Jones the company financial reports (since April) and completely shut her out of all decisions, completely violating their partnership agreement. Took over $600,000 from consultants and God only knows where it went (but I have a pretty good idea).
A former employee has told us that he, his wife Tammy Davis, and Keli Teague are NOT to be trusted, they are all liars. I do not know this for sure, but my guess is that they never planned to really have this be a legitimate business. I think they tried to get as much money as they could from reps, then do who knows what. It's called a Ponzi Scheme.
Today Nicole Jones gave her resignation from To The Nines. She has not given up on her dream, so stay tuned to see where this story goes. She's an amazing Christian lady and I pray that God will bring many blessings upon her. She is completely innocent in all of this.
Now, I'm all about fairness, so since poor Kenny Davis can't give his side of the story here, I'll give you his cell phone number. 817-564-6004.
Oh, and Keli Teague. She's a personal favorite of mine. 469-223-9711
Hell hath no fury like 500 shoe-loving women scorned.
I'll start with a brief history in case you aren't a regular reader.
Last May I found out about a brand new direct sales company called To The Nines. I loved the concept of being able to sell brands like Betsey Johnson, LAMB, Sam Edelman, etc directly to consumers through events and my own e-store. Since I was already doing designer jeans parties - with a very reputable company - I figured this would be the perfect addition.
The To The Nines concept was the long-time dream of Nicole Jones, who had very successful shoe stores in Chicago and even wrote a book about her passion (shoes). She went on Shark Tank a couple of years ago but she was presenting it as a franchise piece so they turned her down. But then she got introduced to a man named Kenny Davis.
Kenny Davis has a company called IAMAA Direct. Supposedly he has consulted with direct sales companies like Mary Kay, Beauticontrol, etc. He also supposedly took minor celebrities products to QVC. Supposedly.
So they partnered together and formed To The Nines. Nicole had the relationship with the shoe manufacturers, who LOVE her, and Kenny had the direct sales know-how.
The company, IAMAA Direct, is based in Dallas, Texas about 45 minutes from me, so I went there to meet Kenny Davis and his right hand woman, Keli Teague, to learn more about the opportunity first-hand.
A week later I brought my husband to meet Kenny and the three of us spent about an hour and a half talking. I researched Kenny and IAMAA as much as I could on the internet and found nothing (which is noteworthy in itself, that should have been a red flag). Shortly after, I gave them $2,500 to invest in the Executive Director position, which came with $1100 worth of shoes, a 30% commission rate, and would get paid 4 levels down.
We were told that in October, when the company officially launched, To The Nines would launch a national media campaign with TV commercials, magazine, and internet ads and become a household name. As an Executive Director I would get the leads from these ads. I liked this idea because I'm not that comfortable recruiting friends but am better talking with strangers who are already expressing interest.
At the Super Saturday training in June, they told us that the opportunity to buy in at an advanced placement level would end on July 1st, and that they would not re-open that ever again. They were very adamant about this. They also said something about how they aren't using our investment money to fund the company. That was a strange thing to say, I thought. Of course it had crossed my mind. Maybe because my husband had mentioned it a time or two. Or three.
But lo and behold, a few weeks later they were so generous to give us another opportunity to recruit people in the advanced placement positions again! But now they cost more and came with less inventory.
While I was in California this summer they rolled out the Unified Fast Start Plan, where they emphasized how very beneficial it would be for you if you upgraded to a higher level. I was encouraged to invest an additional $2500 to get to the Regional Director position so that I would be higher on the ladder, thus make a lot more money down the road. Thank the Lord I had sense enough not to do that. I didn't really understand the Unified Fast Start Plan, but something about it just never added up in my head.
All summer I kept waiting on the shoes to be up on our website so we could start selling them and MAKE MONEY. But they kept making excuses and told us to focus on recruiting. Seize this opportunity! Now is the time to build your business!
In fact, if you complained about NOT having shoes, you felt like you were just being negative and not a team player.
By the time I got back from California in August I was pretty certain that things had gone awry. But here I had built a whole "identity" as The Traveling Shopgirl, and dang it if I was going to have one more Failure to add to my list.
Shortly after that I figured, if I can just get my $1100 worth of shoes, I'll just order them all in my size and at least get part of my investment back in product. (And I was getting oh so excited about that). My plan was to focus on my online sales instead of doing lots of events and having to carry inventory.
But the excuses for why we didn't have shoes to sell continued and time marched on. Sure, we got surveys a few times a week where we voted on shoe styles we wanted to carry. But no shoes.
Things finally came to light this week.
Now this is where things get hard for me because I have so much that I want to say here but can't for legal reasons. I mean, this could be so juicy.
In a nutshell, Kenny Davis is a liar and a cheat. That's putting it mildly.
He never paid for the shoes that he received. Never paid the printing company. Never ordered fall shoes. Never gave Nicole Jones the company financial reports (since April) and completely shut her out of all decisions, completely violating their partnership agreement. Took over $600,000 from consultants and God only knows where it went (but I have a pretty good idea).
A former employee has told us that he, his wife Tammy Davis, and Keli Teague are NOT to be trusted, they are all liars. I do not know this for sure, but my guess is that they never planned to really have this be a legitimate business. I think they tried to get as much money as they could from reps, then do who knows what. It's called a Ponzi Scheme.
Today Nicole Jones gave her resignation from To The Nines. She has not given up on her dream, so stay tuned to see where this story goes. She's an amazing Christian lady and I pray that God will bring many blessings upon her. She is completely innocent in all of this.
Now, I'm all about fairness, so since poor Kenny Davis can't give his side of the story here, I'll give you his cell phone number. 817-564-6004.
Oh, and Keli Teague. She's a personal favorite of mine. 469-223-9711
Hell hath no fury like 500 shoe-loving women scorned.
Thursday, September 1, 2011
A Very Scary Statistic
Has anyone heard of Dani Johnson? I first saw her on The Secret Millionaire and then googled her to find out more. She's this totally inspirational person who has a huge gift. She has overcome unimaginable odds to achieve incredible success, both financially and personally.
I'm not going to go into her whole bio here but you can look up her website at www.danijohnson.com.
Along with listening to some of her free downloads, I ordered her book called The First Steps to Wealth - which she only charged for the shipping. When I used to hear about books about "getting rich" I was immediately turned off, but this one is not about that.
It's based on a very scary statistic:
98% of the population will be dead or dead broke by the age of 65.
Yikes!
So the book is about how NOT to let that happen to you - how to "Increase your income, Improve your relationships, and Expand your influence." I'm learning SO much from reading this!
One thing that stands out that I wanted to share comes from one of the Laws of Success that she outlines. It's Law 5 - the Law of Desire.
She says, "All it takes is one person to inspire you to step up and be the person you were born to be."
I really like that. And I hope that I can be that person for others. But conversely, all it MIGHT take is one person to discourage you from being the person you were born to be. And I really hope I'm not that person. Especially with my kids.
She goes on to talk about Enthusiasm:
"We trade our enthusiasm for the idea that if we don't get excited and get our hopes up, we will not end up disappointed."
But, "Enthusiasm is what gives us hope and what makes us more attractive to other people."
98% of the population (remember them?) has traded enthusiasm for guarantee and security. (Which is sad because there really is no guarantee or security).
She talks a lot about how 98% ers think and what the 2% ers are doing differently.
You can click here to get this book for free. You just have to pay the shipping. I don't get anything from this, and I usually don't try to play "motivational girl," but this book is just really speaking to me.
In fact, I just may have more to share with you again. Prepare yourselves.
I'm not going to go into her whole bio here but you can look up her website at www.danijohnson.com.
Along with listening to some of her free downloads, I ordered her book called The First Steps to Wealth - which she only charged for the shipping. When I used to hear about books about "getting rich" I was immediately turned off, but this one is not about that.
It's based on a very scary statistic:
98% of the population will be dead or dead broke by the age of 65.
Yikes!
So the book is about how NOT to let that happen to you - how to "Increase your income, Improve your relationships, and Expand your influence." I'm learning SO much from reading this!
One thing that stands out that I wanted to share comes from one of the Laws of Success that she outlines. It's Law 5 - the Law of Desire.
She says, "All it takes is one person to inspire you to step up and be the person you were born to be."
I really like that. And I hope that I can be that person for others. But conversely, all it MIGHT take is one person to discourage you from being the person you were born to be. And I really hope I'm not that person. Especially with my kids.
She goes on to talk about Enthusiasm:
"We trade our enthusiasm for the idea that if we don't get excited and get our hopes up, we will not end up disappointed."
But, "Enthusiasm is what gives us hope and what makes us more attractive to other people."
98% of the population (remember them?) has traded enthusiasm for guarantee and security. (Which is sad because there really is no guarantee or security).
She talks a lot about how 98% ers think and what the 2% ers are doing differently.
You can click here to get this book for free. You just have to pay the shipping. I don't get anything from this, and I usually don't try to play "motivational girl," but this book is just really speaking to me.
In fact, I just may have more to share with you again. Prepare yourselves.
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Finding The Right Pair of Jeans
Love this video about finding the right cut of jeans for your body type. I can tell you that I certainly won't be pulling off the trendy high waisted look!
I can't wait to go pick up the jeans for my next Vault Denim party. Starting to get into the jean buying spirit even though it's 105 degrees here. I'm optimistic! I bought my first pair of skinny jeans last year and LOVE them. Not only do they solve a lot of problems when trying to tuck in my Uggs, but they look great with flip flops, flats, and heels.
I can't wait to go pick up the jeans for my next Vault Denim party. Starting to get into the jean buying spirit even though it's 105 degrees here. I'm optimistic! I bought my first pair of skinny jeans last year and LOVE them. Not only do they solve a lot of problems when trying to tuck in my Uggs, but they look great with flip flops, flats, and heels.
Sunday, August 28, 2011
How To Pick The Right Shoes For An Outfit
Okay, so some of this is pretty "Duh" and the acting reminds me of a driver's ed video, but I thought some of you out there might find this video helpful! Especially as we are heading into the fall season.
Most of us don't really have the time to pour over the fashion magazines so here's some good rules of thumbs and great tips...
And then I have a tip for the girl in the video: That lipstick tattoo on your foot is not working for you. Your welcome.
Most of us don't really have the time to pour over the fashion magazines so here's some good rules of thumbs and great tips...
And then I have a tip for the girl in the video: That lipstick tattoo on your foot is not working for you. Your welcome.
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Hey La, Hey La, My Boyfriend's Back
In just a few short hours my husband will be home, and it will mark the first time we have all been in this house since June 23rd. Hey, that's exactly 2 months ago!
And now life can REALLY return to normal!
He left a couple of weeks early to go to California for his project, and stayed almost 2 weeks after we left. And while we were there, he worked sun up to sun down most days. He is the most loyal and hardest worker I know.
One thing he is NOT good at is relaying valuable information. Such as the fact that he met Paul Young from Desperate Housewives at a popular country bar down the street from one of our restaurants in San Juan Capistrano.
I did not receive this exciting piece of news until about 4 days after the fact.
He said that he was with his girlfriend (Paul, not my husband), that he was very down to earth, and that he was much better looking in person. Meaning that he didn't look all creepy like he does on the show.
He almost asked Paul to call me but it would have been 2:30am my time and he knew I'd be way confused and probably embarrass all involved.
"Hi Stephanie, this is Mark Moses."
"Who? Who is this? Why are you calling me?"
"You know, Paul Young from Desperate Housewives?"
"What? Is this a prank call?"
Anyway, thank the Lord he is back because our first soccer practice is this Thursday night and we got suckered into coaching the team. I had to go to the coach's meeting a couple of weeks ago in his place. I figured I'd go, get the info, and relay it back.
But Oh, No.
They made us run drills.
In an indoor football practice facility. With no air conditioning. In 105 degree weather.
I didn't play team sports when I was a kid, and I certainly don't play them at age 35.
So of course I was the one who had to keep sitting down, getting water. Total sissy.
And the commissioner kept correcting my technique. I'm all, Seriously - my husband is the one who will be running the practices, I promise I won't ruin these kids.
But I had to keep getting back in line.
He really owes me for that one.
At any rate, it will be great to have The Man of the House back where he's supposed to be.
And now life can REALLY return to normal!
He left a couple of weeks early to go to California for his project, and stayed almost 2 weeks after we left. And while we were there, he worked sun up to sun down most days. He is the most loyal and hardest worker I know.
One thing he is NOT good at is relaying valuable information. Such as the fact that he met Paul Young from Desperate Housewives at a popular country bar down the street from one of our restaurants in San Juan Capistrano.
I did not receive this exciting piece of news until about 4 days after the fact.
He said that he was with his girlfriend (Paul, not my husband), that he was very down to earth, and that he was much better looking in person. Meaning that he didn't look all creepy like he does on the show.
He almost asked Paul to call me but it would have been 2:30am my time and he knew I'd be way confused and probably embarrass all involved.
"Hi Stephanie, this is Mark Moses."
"Who? Who is this? Why are you calling me?"
"You know, Paul Young from Desperate Housewives?"
"What? Is this a prank call?"
Anyway, thank the Lord he is back because our first soccer practice is this Thursday night and we got suckered into coaching the team. I had to go to the coach's meeting a couple of weeks ago in his place. I figured I'd go, get the info, and relay it back.
But Oh, No.
They made us run drills.
In an indoor football practice facility. With no air conditioning. In 105 degree weather.
I didn't play team sports when I was a kid, and I certainly don't play them at age 35.
So of course I was the one who had to keep sitting down, getting water. Total sissy.
And the commissioner kept correcting my technique. I'm all, Seriously - my husband is the one who will be running the practices, I promise I won't ruin these kids.
But I had to keep getting back in line.
He really owes me for that one.
At any rate, it will be great to have The Man of the House back where he's supposed to be.
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