Posted by Mike Barrick on November 09, 19102 at 02:30:42:
In Reply to: Re: Scentura Creations purfume scam. posted by ROXANNE AND ANGELA on October 03, 19100 at 09:37:52:
I can tell you, from the perspective of someone who ran a distribution center, and had numerous offices beneath me........... everything you would want to know about this "opportunity".
Scentura's real opportunity is for you to learn the direct sales game ( an invaluable lesson btw ), and once you are ready in the eyes of your office manager, Scentura will consign you about $3000 worth of perfume ( which costs Larry Hahn about $300-$400) so you can start your own business, recruiting and training people to do the same. Thats it!! That is the golden opportunity that you have been promised.
You will at that point take all the same risks of any other entrepeneur.......including signing your name on the lease for an office space, spending money on advertising before making a dime, etc...
Can you make money doing this?? Absolutely. I made over $1,000,000 doing exactly what I just described.
Will you learn alot in the process?? Absolutely!
Here is the problem.....Not many people would warm up to the idea of selling stuff on the street while virtually going broke ( more on this later), so the recruiting office owners have to make it sound extremely appealing. If they described it factually ( like I have above ), they couldn't recruit enough people to stay afloat. They pitch the opportunity to all the recruits just like the sales people pitch the perfume to people on the streets. This is where the ethical boundary gets crossed. You have to put your own good before the well being of anybody else in order to be successful in this setting. Most that walk through the doors for an interview will never make a dime doing the perfume business, but you ( as an office owner ) don't make any money telling new recruits the truth. You tell them all that they can do it if they make enough sacrifice, burn bridges with their family and friends who try to talk them out of it ( in effect, alienating them from everyone but other people in the perfume business), Put the blinders on taking all focus away from any "Pre Scentura" values/priorities and they can be successful.
Please understand as you read this.........I was the guy telling you all this. Everytime I think of that time of my life, I am filled with shame and regret rather than pride. Yes, I was successful in that business but it was at the expense of others. Good people quit working for me ( financially they had no choice ), and I shunned them. That was what I was taught. Anyone that did Scentura for any period of time know the saying.." The weak fall by the wayside, while the strong survive". The lack of moral terpitude is what you can expect from your experience with Scentura Creations. Nobody cares about you.
I learned alot of things while I did that business but I learned some of my most valuable lessons after leaving the company. Business does NOT come before family. You can't achieve success at the expense of others without it eventually coming back to bite you in the ass. Most importantly, money is NOT the most important thing. It can make things more comfortable but in the end, your cars, jewelry, houses, etc... don't mean a thing. Things you buy with money only provide short term happiness which always goes away. The joy I derive from my wife, children, family and friends is long lasting and more important than any of the superficial BS.
Any Scentura owners that stumble upon this post will surely rationalize that I sold out for a low income/non stressful lifestyle but you would only be half right. The businesses I am now involved in make me the kind of income I only experienced during seldom "highs" with Scentura, while only requiring 25-30 hours a week. More importantly, the people that work for me make good money and can believe what I tell them.
Hope this helps some of you understand what it is you are contemplating. Good Luck to all.
Btw.........I included a link to a page from the "Scents of Pride" magazine from my time in the business. Take note of the fact that not one of the four top offices from this bulletin is still with the company. Are they all weak or dishonest blowouts??? or did they all figure out there are better ways to make a living?
http://www.kidschairs.com/ScentsofPride.htm
Michael A. Barrick
KidsChairs
Various Interaction/Bulletin Board Posts that you might find enlightening.
> Mike,
> My name is Patrick Nichols. I have been working for Designers' Int. in
> Birmingham, Al, a D.C. for scentura. You propably know Rob and Rikki
Zuckert
> who run the regional office here. Anyway, I am, or should I say that I was
> only two weeks away from moving to Louisville, Ky to be the right hand for
a
> couple that is going to open their office there on the first of February.
I
> quit today because of the way some things were said and of how several
> questions were left unanswered. I know that they make everything look
great
> and that they promise you everything, but something doesn't feel quite
right
> about it. could you please let me know a few reasons you quit. Everyone
> there is a salesman and I kept feeling like they were trying to sell an
idea
> without telling the entire truth. I don't want to bash the company or
spread
> false rumors, i would just like to know the truth about what they won't
tell
> you. Please let me know.
>
> Thank you for your time,
> patrick
Patrick,
It's hard for me to give you the "truth" about Scentura because I am not sure what info
they wouldn't disclose. Yes, I know Rob & Ricki..........I always thought
they were nice people.
I left for a lot of reasons. I guess the main thing was that I realized
about my 5th year or so that it really isn't a business that "anyone" can
do. It's takes not only a significant talent level but additionally, a
special type of personality having the right combination of blind faith,
tenacity, positive attitude, etc... I knew early on that not all or even
many would make it, but I always thought those that stuck it out would
become successful, so I believed I could help those that helped themselves and that the end justified the means.
Not the case, I promoted probably 25-35 offices myself, and had my owners
undrneath me promote another 25-35 offices through the years and hardly any
of them made it past the first year. Believe it or not, there were several
that still wouldn't quit even after bringing them back in for retraining and
re promoting them and them failing again and they would keep coming back
despite their marriage having failed in the process, and ruining their
credit, etc... These people weren't quitters.......they believed what I
told them. They thought if they hung in there, eventually they would put it
all together and be a huge success. You think that it will all get better
when you open your own office. Then you struggle as an office owner but
think its going to get better once you start promoting people, then you
think its really going to happen when you become a regional, and so on......
By the time I stopped believing I was doing good, I already had 15 or so
offices underneath me and was making $1500-2000 per week in overrides before
I woke up on Monday and took a shower. Who would walk away from that kind
of money? I was on the verge of quitting after about my 6th year and sat
down with Carol Shottenfeld, ( I assume Mark and Carol are still in the
business ), and she said that if you quit when things are down ( they were
at that time ), you would feel like
a loser and you won't quit when things are going good because your making
too much money. This is the case for many people running offices.
This is of key importance and that you don't realize until you
are way in for years and actually start making significant money in
overrides. I assume you know as a promoting owner you make money off of
every bottle your promoted offices sell?
So you continue on and try to believe but the truth is.......very few people
will ever make any significant money in that business. Think about
this....How many office owners have you come in contact with that are doing
well? I don't mean nice car because lets be honest........about anybody
with decent credit can be driving a Lexus or a Corvette, with a high payment
of course. I am talking about seriously living in a nice home they OWN not
rent. Money in the bank, etc.....
Aside from Rob & Ricki and their promoting owners ( I think it was Kerry
Brunson if memory serves ), I will bet you haven't met anyone or at least
not many that run offices that are actually banking alot of money. On the
other hand, I bet you have met quite a few that are getting by clinging to
the hope that "real success" is just right around the corner if they just
keep hanging on. And so the process goes.
One more thing about Scentura or any business like it is you may as well
forget ever having any time off with peace of mind. I never enjoyed being
away from my office regardless of where I went because there were always
problems from hell happening while I was away. I remember being in Maui on
one of the trips that only the top 10 people go on each year, and being
awoken by my VP calling me at 4:00 am to tell me one of my owners in
Virginia Beach had blown out with all his office bottles plus all the
bottles from an office he promoted. Made it tough to try and relax and have
a good time when I had just gotten the news somebody had stolen $5000 from
me.
You made a good point about everyone there being a salesman because they
make money by keeping people around moving bottles. The DC owners make
money by keeping their people around. Regional managers make money by
keeping their owners around. Larry Hahn makes money by keeping the Regional
Managers around. It's tough to believe anybody cares about you because they
have an agenda.
On a final note regarding the "family" that you have become a part of with
Scentura..........When I declared my intentions to leave and start another
business, I was about immediately cut off from my override money from the
offices I had promoted, and the my promoting owner bad mouthed me to the
offices underneath me in an attempt to get them loyal to him. After all
those years, and being used as an example of how a young guy can be
successful in the business, being on the company film, etc...... my
departure was almost humiliating. The only people I still speak to are some
"real" friends I made who are also doing other things now.
I said I wasn't going to write a book report but it looks like I did anyway.
Good luck to you with whatever decision you make.
Michael A Barrick
KidsChairs
----- Original Message -----
From: "Patrick Nichols"
To:
Sent: Tuesday, January 16, 2001 12:06 AM
Subject: RE: Scentura Creations
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Posted by Mike Barrick on April 21, 19101 at 14:57:47:
In Reply to: Why don't some of you people get a life? posted by kim on April 21, 19101 at 02:20:34:
You assume too much. I will give you this much. There are a great many posts here from those who "gave it a try" and after a few days or weeks quit and blame the company. Shame on them because they are bashing for the wrong reasons.
There are also, posts from people like me, that made over $1,000,000 in the business but still don't have a favorable opinion of how it operates. THAT is why some of us left. The year I left the company, I was 1 of 10 offices that won a trip to Monte Carlo.
"Alternative Marketing" and/or direct sales is awesome.....but recruiting people on false pretenses knowing that 99% of them will leave the business in worse shape than they came, is not admirable. The 1% of people that truly make great money w/ Scentura are people that could make great money doing ANYTHING.
I taught at a few owners schools for Scentura where we taught owners how to recruit and retain people at all costs. I didn't lie to people but I knew how to tell the story and make it sound great. I don't look back on that time of my life with Pride, but with regret for having steered people wrong for personal gain. Hindsight is 20/20 but I post here to provide honest insight so people perusing for info can find an honest take from someone without an agenda. If anything maybe I find some feeling of redemption being able to offer information that to people so they can make an informed decision on their future.
So why are you here Kim? What is your backround? Have you ever stayed in a seedy motel sleeping on the floor because you sold the least on the road trip that day? Have you ever cut ties with friends/family in naivity, believing they were going to drag you down with their "negative attitude".
Unless you have some personal experience in the business, I contend you are speculatively talking out your ass. You are the person signing the back of the paycheck while some of us are signing the front.
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MR DOMINICAN RHINOS EMAIL TO ME
since you have been in the co for 10 years you must know the name Steve
Tejeda...thats the person that gave me the opportunity. I dont know how much
you were making but i am making my 3000 a week. First of all i dont have
anything to prove. But dont call the business a scam because you couldnt
handle it after 10 years. Its even more sad in your case. Sad because you
say ill never make the money you did....if thats the case why did you leave??
interesting?? oh and for some reason your name sounds familiar dude. Im
pimping 400 bottles out of my building in between ffaar and satellites, and
in about two weeks im going to open up my first office...If this shit is a
scam...then im part of it...but then again this shit is negative! I think i
should stop dealing with blowouts....alright mikey, have a good life...dude
MY RESPONSE TO MR DOMINICAN RHINO
The fact that you don't even use your name takes away any credibility that you might have had. I have no clue who Steve is but I have been in 3 of Larry Hahn's homes through the years. I have won trips to Maui and Monte Carlo that only the top 10 people get to go on each year. Congrats on your first promotion..........I promoted about 40-50 offices through all the years of doing that business. Yeah, I would say I know what I am talking about. Why would I leave???? What....you don't think anybody outside of Scentura make more than $250 per week? You are a very naive person. I make more now than I did during my best years with Scentura.........I still own my own business and I don't have to hustle people 52 weeks a year to make my money.
Everybody quits at some point. You just haven't figured it out yet. Just like all the people come through your "revolving doors"..........some stay a day, some stay a week, and some stay years.......but they all quit at some point. Fortunately for you they make you money while they are there.......and when they quit....you just hire more.
Larry's revolving doors are no different only its you thats the kindling wood that keeps his fire burning. You'll quit too at some point......maybe in a month, or a year.......or maybe 10 years or longer. You will realize at some point that there are better ways to make good money without living off of other poeple's struggles. I know, I know........your helping them by giving them the same opportunity. I thought that for years..........you'll figure it out someday. Until then.........JUICE! hehe