My Story
I was a corporate gal. You know the type. Business suits, panty hose, heels, and goals. My dad had been an educator all my life in various capacities (ending as a superintendent of a school district) and I was convinced that I would work for the same company my entire career. And of course, that career would last for 30 years. I graduated from college in 1993 and began working for First Security Bank that Fall. I will spare you the details of job moves, reorganizations, and mergers. I honestly had my sights set on upper management for the first few years. In 2001, I went back to school for my MBA and was able to move into a commercial banker position. In 2006, I left that bank (it had become Wells Fargo in 2001) and went to a small Idaho community bank. But wait a minute... I need to take you back to November 2004… In my job as a business banker, I spent a lot of time building relationships with commercial real estate companies. It was November 16th when I asked (my eventual sponsor’s husband) “What is that on your desk?” Since I lived in Meridian, Idaho, I went straight to the Scentsy office, picked up some information, and took it home to look it over. Remember that I was a corporate gal. I was extremely loyal to my employer, even through a massive, uncomfortable merger in 2001. I was taught all through school how to obtain skills to go to work…for someone else. My MBA program gave me a new perspective, though I cannot pinpoint what it was. All I knew in November 2004 was that I was intrigued with this idea of “wax and warmers”. Looking back, I remember distinctly thinking about joining a different direct sales company shortly before I learned about Scentsy. It was a company that I was what I can call “a really good customer”. It’s embarrassing to think how much money I would spend and not even think about it. I figured that I could at least get the items at cost. Something about Scentsy was different. It certainly wasn’t going to be easy. No websites, no catalog, no consistent product offering with the warmers, no training program, etc. The company didn’t even have a paid employee. But that didn’t matter. I joined Scentsy on November 17, 2004 as consultant number 54. I still have my signed contract. Back to 2006. Syringa Bank reminded me a lot of my days at First Security Bank, and I even got to work with some of the same people. If you remember, 2006 was the last year of economic growth before the downturn. 2007 was not fun, both professionally and personally, as I went through a divorce that year. In spite of these life-altering times, I promoted to Director with my Scentsy business. I honestly had no idea what that meant, as I had not spent much time focused on my business, especially in 2007. I had people want to join my team, so I said “sure!” and off they went to sell wax and warmers. My defining moment in my Scentsy business happened in the Fall of 2008. I had promoted again, and my bank job was not fun. After the busy holiday selling season, I sat down in January and decided that it was time to quit losing years off my life from the stress of working in commercial real estate lending and get this wax and warmers business ramped up. I saved money like crazy because I wanted to have a year’s worth of expenses saved (thank you Dave Ramsey!). I didn’t know when the “magical” date was going to happen until my friend John contacted me in August 2009 about teaching at the new community college in Nampa. And that was it. I certainly couldn’t work 3 jobs, so the bank job would have to go. And thanks to Wells Fargo, I had my MBA, which gave me the ability to teach at the college level. November 17, 2009, I celebrated 2 things. It was my last day as a “career” banker (with a little more than 16 years of experience) and my 5th anniversary as a Scentsy Independent Consultant. I was a Vice President at the bank and now I am the President of my corporation. I went from earning sales awards and trips to…earning sales awards and trips. And I am able to fulfill my passion for teaching courses at the college level during the semesters that work for me. I still get to do some of my favorite things from my banking days: meet new people, connect people with each other, provide excellent service, teach people how to use my products, and represent a company that I respect. The biggest difference in being a part of a direct selling company like Scentsy (versus working in corporate America) is that every single person I come in contact with can do exactly what I do and can achieve even more than I have. In fact, I can help you make decisions that I wish I would have made in 2004. Does any part of my story intrigue you? If you can’t wrap your mind around how I can make a living selling wax and warmers (or any of the Scentsy Family brands/products), please reach out to me. You just might find that this is what you are looking for, too. Jorene Batali Independent Scentsy Family Consultant and SuperStar Director 208.870.0986 https://jorene.scentsy.us jorene54@gmail.com
