WHEN OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS

Contributing post by Ginger Mokher.

When opportunity knocks… LET YOUR GIRLFRIENDS IN!

If you had told me (Ginger) a year ago that I would be working in direct sales for a jewelry company, I would have told you, “You’re crazy.” But for six months now, I have been working for Stella & Dot, a home-based, social selling, and accessible-luxury brand jewelry company.

And though I do love jewelry, fashion, and having fun with girlfriends; my primary motivation to become an independent stylist with Stella & Dot had more to do with my attraction to the vision and values of CEO and founder, Jessica Herrin.

In the late 90’s, Herrin, a student at Stanford Business School, co-founded one of the first online gift registries for brides. Within months, the site expanded into a full service bridal portal and merged with WeddingChannel.com. But grateful as she was for her success, when she envisioned her future, she didn’t see how adding a child to their family could be a fit with her grueling schedule.

Eventually, Herrin sold WeddingChannel.com, took a job as an e-commerce executive at Dell, and began to focus on creating her ideal business – in her words, “a company that you own but that doesn’t own you.” This was my first clue that I aligned with her values. This time Herrin changed her focus. Instead of developing a business focused on products, she focused on the target employee: a woman with kids who needed flexibility.  This was my second clue for alignment.

In 2003, Herrin began Luxe Jewels, a business based on at-home jewelry-making parties. Then in 2004, she resigned from Dell to devote more time to both of her babies: newborn daughter, Charlie and Luxe Jewels. She began hosting her own parties and recruiting Luxe sales reps. In 2006, after the birth of her second daughter and with hundreds of trunk shows under her belt, Herrin fine-tuned a social selling concept, transitioned from making jewelry to selling jewelry, and that grew to $1 million in sales.

But, Herrin was far from satisfied. She knew her business model could do more. That summer she met Blythe Harris, who became a rising star and had recently introduced Banana Republic’s jewelry line. The two shared a vision of selling fashionable jewelry with a broad appeal. Clue three, their collections have something for everyone and the jewelry practically sells itself.  At that time, Herrin decided to rebrand her company a second time and Herrin and Harrris renamed the company after the two most inspirational women in each of their lives: their grandmothers, Stella & Dot.

Fast forward to today. Stella & Dot’s mission is to give every woman the means to style their own lives. Clue number four: they leave it up to me to decide how much I want to earn. Herrin’s focus remains the salesperson, or as we now are called, the stylists. “Some stylists are really brand ambassadors. They like hosting an occasional trunk show and the opportunity to buy affordable jewelry,” Herrin explains. “Other stylists work full time during the school year and take the summers off. The important thing is they choose how much and when they work.”

Since joining Stella & Dot, I’ve been building my team and my focus is the same as Jessica Herrin’s; you, the stylist. There are three choices for initial investment to launch your own business and new stylists earn the investment back, on average, within four trunk shows. There couldn’t be a better time to sign up with the holiday season approaching. Full or part-time fashion, fun and rewards are a phone call or email away. I would love to chat with you if you’re getting a clue too. Give me a call at 305.904.9851 or email me at gingermokher@gmail.com.

As you take some time to think about the possibilities, be sure to enter our giveaway below. Rafflecopter giveaway