Jessica Tracy of Scentual Embrace

Name: Jessica Tracy

Tell us a little about yourself:
I am a 22 year old married, WAHM of 2 little boys. I started working from home when I was 19, shortly before I got pregnant with my second child to help with household expenses, and quickly fell in love with the freedom available to me!

What is your business name and website address:
Scentual Embrace http://scentualembrace.net

What inspired you to become a work at home mom:
Well, I put my education on the back burner when I became pregnant with my first child as I felt it was more important for me to stay home with my son and raise him myself instead of shipping him off with a babysitter or to a daycare, and I guess that just kind of escalated when I started to think more about what my kids could be exposed to if their father or I were not available to guide them. Plus it was heartbreaking to see the hurt in my sons eyes when his father would go to work every day, so when I decided to try and help out with bills and other expenses, I opted for a home based business.

Tell us a little about your business:
I have experimented with many different businesses from Telemarketing to Avon and have narrowed my WAH Businesses to a few Direct Sales Companies I love, My primary business is my site http://scentualembrace.net where I sell the products from all of my direct sales companies. I have everything from Bath & Body Products, Soy Candles, Home Fragrance, Gifts, Educational Childrens Items, Jewelry and more. On the side I also do Auto-Surf Programs on the side which is a pretty steady source of income for those slow sales months.
Is there any advice you would like to share with other women: Be as organized as possible, Keep yourself on a strict schedule, make sure you set enough time for work, home, family and PLAY! “Mommy and Daddy” time is a big thing in our house, we try to make sure to spend a couple hours at least once a week together, sometimes we get a babysitter for the night, it really helps us both unwind from working and dealing with kids, and I think it has really helped business as well!

What has been the most effective advertising method for you:
I would have to say the most effective advertising method has been Network Marketing. Using Ryze.com to meet other work at home moms with similar interests, participating in Online Events, and just general chatting on a work at home mom message board. I’ve found that when people get to know me better they are more likely to be interested in my products and services.

Can you share with us one negative business experience that you learned from:
The only negative experience I can think of off the top of my head was the first company I worked from home for. It was Telemarketing, and it was horrible. They had terrible training, outrageous quotas, it was just really bad. I guess what I learned from the experience is to do as much research as possible on a potential business opportunity before you jump in feet first. Otherwise you could lose a lot!