i’ve been asked the same questions a few hundred times in passing conversations, at trunk shows, via instagram dm’s, etc…
why did you become a stella & dot stylist?
i hear this question so much that i decided it deserved its own blog post. i’ll start by sharing WHY i became a stylist and my favorite things that came out of it – one thing i’m leaving out will surprise you!
the why:
i had been a loyal stella & dot customer throughout the years. i went to my first trunk show and wanted EVERYTHING. that’s usually how it happens once you see the line in person – pictures do not do it justice. i toyed with the idea of becoming a stylist since i loved the product so much, but it just wasn’t something that i thought i could do at that time. so i kept buying…and buying… each line, i bought more. i hosted an online trunk show and earned hundreds in free product credit which kept feeding my s&d addiction. then after seeing my daily instagram outfits featuring stella & dot day after day, my fab upline ashley dickinson messaged me and was like “GAL! why are you NOT a stylist?? at least for the discount alone, you should do this!” so i thought and thought and thought. after much thinking, i said to the hubs, “what do you think about this?” he was all about it as it would save him money if i was at least getting a discount on the jewelry i was purchasing anyways. he told me to give it a go so i signed up, picked out my jewels and a few days later, i got my starter kit. my plan from the get go was to have a “launch show,” earn my investment back and then just get the discount from then on out without selling. my how that did NOT happen.
let me clarify first, i DID earn my investment back. i DID earn commission and extra product credit from that one show. i DID get all of the gorgeous jewels on my wish list. what did NOT happen was that i would just get my discount and not sell after that. i found that my friends and fam LOVED the line and wanted it for free so they wanted to host shows. then THEIR friends and family wanted the same and THEIR friends and family said the same and so on and so forth…. online shows became a thing, so i was able to meet people in california, virginia and ohio who wanted to do the same but online. it just blossomed from that one launch show and before long, i started working my way up the stella & dot ladder and built a team of 12 stylists who all had the same intentions as me, but once they learned more about stella & dot and our fabulous CEO jessica herrin, they fell in love with the company’s mission and built a business that worked for their lives.
so i could go through and give you all of the things i did to grow my business and become a stylist, but i’ll let you in on a secret: all i did was follow my new stylist guide and do everything they told me to! its THAT simple: just do what they tell you! its the best advice i was given and that i share with my new stylists.
anyways, there are some awesome benefits that came of me joining this stella & dot community so i want to share them with you bc one that i’m not including may surprise you!
community
the first thing i noticed once i became a stylist is my circle of friends grew! from hostesses to trunk show guests to fellow stylists, this gig has helped me meet SO many gals from all over the place! being the only female in my house, going to trunk shows was my outlet to have some girl time. in our house, everything is about basketball and pizza and farts – my boys are 10 and 13 so that’s life around here – sorry to be so honest! but when i have a trunk show, i get to drink prosecco and pick at fun cheeseboards and style women while talking about the bachelor or this is us! i mean, the hubs tries, but he just doesn’t have the level of interest in these topics as other gals do! so once i figured out that i could do all these fun girly things while making new friends, i was like BONUS!!!
my circle of friends grew with fellow stylists dramatically too! these gals, i cannot even begin to tell you how incredible they are. i’ve never met so many women who not only love the product but are so amazingly encouraging to each other! when i put out that i was going for a promotion, my phone became flooded with messages of encouragement and tips on how they got there. it literally blows my mind daily how i didn’t have some of these gals in my life two years ago – they’re my biggest cheerleaders and inspiration!
leadership
when i started on this journey, i NEVER was a salesperson. my anxiety has never allowed me to get up and speak in front of people without sweating, shaking and stammering. i was always a team player, but rarely the leader. well once i started sharing with other women the blessings this business has brought into my life, it just all started happening. live videos got a bit easier (my first was hilarious!), group hellos at trunk shows that i used to avoid doing became a MUST, training my team became one of my highlights of my week bc i just love sharing what this business has done for me and the confidence just naturally built inside of me without even trying!
opportunities
when i started doing trunk shows, i always figured i wouldn’t drive further than a half hour bc that just didn’t sound fun to me. little did i know it would take me to las vegas for hoopla, our annual conference… on a plane by myself – i’m a nervous flyer…. to room with two gals from my team that i never met in person before… but the training i received, fun i had and friendships formed was worth any sort of “hassle” i tried to talk myself into it being!
little did i know it would get me an invite to stella & dot‘s design studio in nyc…. taking a train by myself, depending on my iPhone to take me thru soho to the design studio without getting lost… meeting some swoon-worthy leaders, getting to see how everything is made, meet the people who handcraft these jewels and having a small group training with our chief inspiration officer… it was a “pinch me” moment for sure where i kept asking
“are you sure you invited the right jillian???”
little did i know i would leave my house at 6am to drive down to the DC area for a day of leadership training… that sounds crazy and awful right?? well to me it was a no brainer, i HAD to go!
little did i know i’d be hosting local stylist meetups to connect with gals in my area and share our #sdjoy… i would never in a million years take it upon myself to plan those, yet here i am, having one this monday night!
so yes, this gig has brought me friends, confidence and opportunities that i never thought would be in my life and here i am soaking up every second of it!
one thing i haven’t mentioned yet that you’re probably sitting there thinking to yourself, “GAL… money? hello?? are you making money doing all of this stuff??”
of course i am, but to me that’s the lowest benefit on my totem pole. do i get to go spoil my shopaholic self with my earnings? yes. did i pay for our entire christmas with my earnings? yes. i could list all of those things, but i won’t bc the commissions i earn are just an added bonus to all of the above, but hardly the best thing about this business for me!
so i hope you enjoyed my journey with stella & dot thus far! i’m a little over 1.5 years with the company and i can only imagine what will happen in the next few years, but i cannot wait for it all! i’ll be heading to nashville in august for hoopla this summer and attending my first red shoe affair so that’s one of the next big things for sure!!
if you have any other questions about this gig, i am always open to answering them for you! you can email me or head over to my site and click Be A Stylist for all the FAQs! xo
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