First-Year Surprises - Part 1

 

It's been one year since I signed up with Usborne Books & More, and I must admit that I'm a little shocked about how fast time has flown. Has it really been a year? This time last year I was at Teach Them Diligently in Nashville, and I was stalking the Usborne booth; I must have visited it four or five times. I looked at the consultant kit (in a sneak way because I didn't want anyone to know I was interested - ha!) and bought a bunch of books. By the time the convention was over and we were back home, I knew I wanted to have my own book show. I messaged the first local consultant I could find with an active website to set up my party, and then I messaged her back the next day or two and said I was just going to go ahead and sign up and would that be okay (hahahahaha!). I started Usborne Book Barn, but I really had NO idea what to expect my first year with a direct sales company.
I've never sold anything in my life - and I hate the thought of being a 'salesperson.' Would I be good at this? Would anyone want to do this with me? I prayed that God would just take my business and do what He wanted with it.

Usborne and CC Cycle 1 Match-Up!

If you're not new to my little place on the world wide web, you know that I lovey-lovah-love Usborne books, so much so that I've become a consultant and team leader. It's just a great company that I stand behind 100%, and you can learn more about my journey by clicking here and here.
I was recently contacted about finding Usborne books that correlate with CC Cycle 1, so here's what I've put together! It's not an exact match-up with a fancy numbered table (I'm sure someone will create that if it's not already out there), but it's a good general place to start if you're looking to get yourself ready for Cycle 1. 

Christmas Gift Idea #2 - Wind-Ups!

In anticipation of our first Mystery Hostess Facebook book party, I'm spotlighting some of Usborne's most popular books that make amazing Christmas gifts!

Christmas Gift Idea #1 - Castle!

In anticipation of our upcoming Mystery Hostess FB book party on Nov. 1st (woot!), I'm going to be spotlighting some of Usborne's BEST books and activities to put under your tree!
First up is our new Slot-Together Castle with an Usborne Book!

Mystery Hostess FB Book Party!

Usborne book home parties are SOO much fun, but sometimes it can be hard to get out of the house. Or sometimes we just don't want to clean or have people over. I hear you. Solution?
Facebook parties!
Partying in our jammies is easy, fun, and in this case, VERY exciting! Usually the hostess of the party will earn free books and discounts based on the amount of books purchased at her party. Like this:

Isn't that awesome?!
This hostess's Christmas shopping is DONE!
And I'd like to make this happen for you, too!
YOU could be the hostess - and you don't have to do anything except place an order through a special link by clicking here. When you order through that link before November 1st, you'll be entered into the drawing to win ALL the hostess books and discounts - YOU will be the mystery hostess! 
The Mystery Hostess Facebook Book Party is Saturday, November 1st, at 8 p.m. CST on my Facebook page. Coming to the party will get you extra chances to win the free hostess books, as well as other prizes like free shipping and additional discounts on amazing Usborne books! Plus, Facebook parties are just FUN!

(probably best to not binge drink; check out that huge wine glass - yikes!)
But, you get the point, right? Books make great gifts, and Usborne books are the bomb.com! Why not order some Christmas presents and enter the drawing?! YOU may win ALL the free books and discounts!
Sounds good, right? But what exactly are the discounts, you ask?
If you win on November 1st, you'll get

• free books
• half-priced books
• $25 in books for 65% off
• another $20 in books for $5
• any set/collection for 65% off!

The winner will cover the cost of tax and shipping, but that's never much when you think about all the free and discounted books. 

So, please save the date, November 1st at 8 p.m EST, and join the party! To enter the drawing to be the mystery hostess, simply place an order online. Can't make it to the party? Shop through this link between now and November 1st, and your name will still be put into the hat. However, if you come to the party, you'll get MORE chances for all the free and discounted books (and it's pretty fun, too!).
To come to the party, just hop online November 1st and go to my Facebook page. Be sure to 'like' it before then so you're all ready to go! Also, check in often between now and then for ways to earn extra points for the raffle!
Are you excited?!
Are you pumped?!
Do you have November 1st circled on your calendar?!
It's going to be awesome, and fun, and I hope you'll join me at 8 p.m CST!
Oooh, and go ahead and start browsing the Usborne catalog by clicking here! You can also see inside MANY of our incredible books by checking out my You Tube channel by clicking here! (You can also see some pretty funny video-bombs by my sweet girls, too - ha!)

Hope to see you on November 1st at our Facebook party!

Goal #1 - Accomplished!

I want to say a big thank you to God, my husband, family, and friends, and my new Uzzie buddies for helping me realize my first goal with Usborne Books & More!
We're going to see The Mouse!
Our first family vacation will take place this January, and it's paid for!
And it may seem silly, but seeing this the other day on MY screen made me cry:

Yes, we have a reservation! Yes, my girls will be overjoyed when they see all their favorite princesses!

Yes!

I'm still in shock. Still amazed that it's happened in just four quick months as a consultant with Usborne! (Click here to read about my goal from the start of this adventure!) The money doesn't fall from trees; it's like any job - you have to work and train and go out there and give it your best. But to our family, it's worth it. I've built an INSANE library of amazing books for my girls, made a boatload of new friends, and paid for our first family vacation. 

And I know I talk about Usborne a lot. I know. But, friends, it's just been such a blessing! It's hard not to share about something I've become so passionate about!

So, I'm sharing once again (shocker!).

If you're looking for something fun and flexible, something where you can be PROUD of the product and be rewarded for your efforts, something where you can stop and pick back up when 'life' happens, then I encourage you to take a look at Usborne Books and More.

This month, we have a great special on our new consultant kit:

Here's what's included:

There's a Mouse About the House (Classic!) - $10.99

See Inside Your Body - $14.99

Illustrated Dictionary of Math - $12.99

1000 Things That Go - $14.99

Illustrated Dictionary - $15.99

My First Word Book - $9.99

Secrets of the Apple Tree (SO fun; flashlight book!) - $12.99

Muddle and Match Adventure - $8.99

(we just passed the $100 mark...)

100 Paper Planes to Fold & Fly - $7.99

That's Not My Goat - $7.99

Ted and Friends (GREAT phonics collection!) - $19.99

Conspiracy 365 (young adult fiction) - $10.99

Special Forces (LOVE this one!) - $8.99

Baby's Very First Big Play Book - $22.99

Drawing, Doodling, & Coloring (AWESOME!) - $13.99

Wipe-Clean First Words - $7.99

(just passed the $200 mark...)

Jonathan James & the What If Monster - $6.99

The Last 13 (young adult fiction) - $10.99

100 Things for Little Children to do on a Trip (wipe-clean activity cards - SO great!) - $9.99

Dogs (non-fiction beginning reader book) - $4.99

Underpants for Ants (phonics book) - $6.99

Sticker Dolly Dressing Princesses - $8.99

Lots of Things to Spot at School - $8.99

And YOU can get them all this month for just $100!

For $100, you can give Usborne a try! There are no monthly minimums; sell, don't sell, it's YOUR business. However, I do encourage everyone to at least do a kick-off show with your new kit. When you do a kick-off, you are the consultant (get 25% commission) AND you're the hostess (get double-free books and other discounts up to 75% off)! So, why not?! The commission from an average party will pay for your kit, and you're left with bookoodles of FREE and discounted books! Kick-off parties are the bomb.com!
So, now that my first goal has been achieved, I'm moving onto my next:
Ireland!
Each year, Usborne has an amazing trip that consultants can earn. Everyone starts off on the same even ground (love that!), so anyone and everyone in the company, old and new, has a chance to earn a free trip! This year, we're going to Ireland! The contest started this past June and ends the last day of January...
(big news ahead...)
I'm over half-way to my free trip!
Eeeeeeeeeeeeeekkkkk!!
From my personal business page:

Am I saying to toot my own horn -
nope.
I'm showing you this because four months ago I never DREAMED that we would be going to Disney World. I never DREAMED that I could be going to Ireland for free! I'm not a dreamer anymore - I'm a realist. Going through what I do with Anna has (what's the right word??) leveled me out a bit. Did you ever read the Anne of Green Gables series? I LOVE those books! Well, if you remember, in the first couple of books, Anne is so bubbly and lively and over-the-top. Then tragedy strikes with her first child and it... levels her out. And I don't even know if that's the right word or phrase... maybe 'matured,' is correct. I don't know. She's just more even-stephen and cautious with her dreaming I guess. Well, that's exactly how I've changed with Anna's diagnosis. It's just a heavy-hearted thing to deal with (as I'm sure many of you have your own heavy-hearted issues and concerns as well), so my dreaming has taken a back seat.
Well ... today I dreamed again.
Today, after we got our commission report for July and realized Disney was now paid for, I hopped up on the kitchen counter next to my sweet husband (who was doing the dishes - makes him even sweeter!), and said, "What do you think?! Let's go to Ireland!"
And we talked about passports and childcare and got on the computer and looked at pictures of old Irish castles. It was surreal!
We're dreaming again.
And it feels good. 
Really good.
And I want to give all the glory to God. He is the one doing this and leading us places. We have just prayed and prayed through this. He has led us to Usborne. And I just want to say that if you feel Him leading you to try something new to bless your family, I'd love to welcome you to the team. Click here to start your new adventure!
And if you're like me, maybe it's time to let yourself dream again.
It's feelin' pretty good!

Usborne History Match-Up for ALL CC Cycles!

Encyclopedia... what images come to mind when you see that word?
For me, it's a dry, boring book with pages and pages of text of itty-bitty font.
Gag.

Final Version - Usborne and Cycle 3 Science Match-Up!

I created an Usborne and Classical Conversations Science Match-Up earlier, and now the full year version is complete!

Usborne & CC Cycle 3 Science Match-Up!

I'm getting SO excited about Science (never thought I'd say that)! Usborne has like a million-gazillion Science books, and it might be hard to choose the best ones when you can't pick them up and look through them. So, I thought I'd go through and pick what will work for our family this year with CC Cycle 3, take some pictures to compare my favorites, and then share them with you! And... here we go!
UPDATE!
Click here to get the FINAL version of this Science match-up! First, I made an Usborne books and Cycle 3 Match-Up:

Click here to get it! New! Click here for the updated final version!
Here are the three books that we'll be using the first semester when we study the human body:

The Usborne Science Encyclopedia (or the big boy, as I call it),

First Encyclopedia of the Human Body, and

See Inside Your Body. We'll also use (absolutely fabulous!) The Usborne Flip-Flap Body Book, but I didn't include it in the Science match-up. Instead, I tried to use just one book that would target each age group. Since you're there, and I'm here, you obviously can't flip through each book and see what will work for you next year. So, I've taken lots of pictures, and hopefully you'll get an idea of which titles would be helpful if you're considering these books. First, The Usborne Science Encyclopedia (big boy) is the perfect general reference for all things Science. This is what I use to look up definitions and find great pictures. It's also one that we won't outgrow anytime soon. This encyclopedia has 448 pages and is for ages 9 and up. Here's a peek at the inside:

Notice the pages on Digestion above in the big boy.  Now, to compare, here is the digestion page from First Encyclopedia of the Human Body:

The font is bigger, as well as the images. This is the perfect body book for elementary students! It's geared to ages 8 and up, and it has 64 pages of awesome information and graphics. Here are some more pictures of the First Encyclopedia:

Next, See Inside Your Body is for ages 7 and up, and it has 16 sturdy board pages with over 50 flaps. This book is so much fun! Here is the spread on digestion, just to compare with the other books, followed by more pictures:

Even though this book is for the younger set, it's my favorite! There's just so much to explore and make learning fun! We'll also be using The Usborne Human Body Sticker Book for some more hands-on learning. 

It has 32 pages of information plus 10 sticker pages with over 130 stickers! I like all the extra information and fun facts that are included in this one! Here's a peek inside:

I hope this little look inside some of my favorite Usborne Science books has been helpful! Don't forget to grab your copy of the Usborne and CC Cycle 3 Science Match-Up. I'll be updating the second semester page soon, using Usborne's Illustrated Dictionary of Chemistry.  More later, alligator! All of the links take you to my Usborne store. Thanks so much for your support!

Sneak Peek Inside an Usborne Book Party!

Well, I did it!
My Usborne Books & More kick-off party is in the books!
I had a blast, got $380 in FREE books, AND made over $200 in commission.
In.

One.

Night.
These results are not 'typical,' but it was pretty awesome, and I'm more excited than ever to be walking this new journey as an Usborne consultant!
Have you ever been to an Usborne party (home shows and parties are the same thing; I didn't know that until like a few weeks ago!)? My kick-off party was the first one that I've ever been to. Want a sneak peek? Sure you do, right?! Okie dokie then, here's what went down...
Meet Molly.

Molly is the (almost) team leader for our area, and she's the one who actually did my show. She arrived at my house about an hour before the party with her bags of books to set-up. She had TONS of books, which was a really good thing because my friends wanted to see as much as they could.

Molly and her mom (a teacher and fellow consultant) spread the books around my living room and dining room table. As my friends came in, we all talked and visited, then Molly asked everyone to find a book that looked interesting. We picked out our books and found a comfy spot on the couch, bean bag, or pulled up some carpet. It was very casual, which I LOVED.

Then we went around the room saying which booked we picked up and why it caught our attention. Molly or her mom would jump in sometimes and mention a special feature of the book, like the fact that Usborne has its own composer who creates the tracks for our music books (so cool!). 

My beautiful friend, Amanda (she adopted Sophie from China last year, remember her?), shared about a book her son loves called Animals at War. Did you know that dolphins wore cameras strapped to their backs to spy on ships? Yeah, pretty much everyone at the party bought the book after hearing Amanda talk about how fascinating it is (including me!). 

After everyone talked about their books, we passed them around and Molly stacked the books up in the middle of the floor. The stack of seven or so books was a good visual of how many free books the average hostess gets, which is around $70 in free books (around 75% of Usborne books are under $10, so the seven books represented $70). However, since I'm a new consultant, I'm allowed to offer my first hostesses DOUBLE free books for a limited time with one booking, which Molly also pointed out.

The average home show is around $400 (circled in green above), so the red amount is the new consultant special offer. Pretty awesome! Four of my friends at the party decided just to have their own shows to get their books (or more books!) for free. Yeah, I don't blame them!
After that, we all just looked at books... and looked... and looked. These books are just so awesome! (Don't believe me? Click here to see what the Pioneer Woman thinks about Usborne! I mean, c'mon, it's the Pioneer Woman! You've got to see what she says - great pictures, too!) Then people started checking out and enjoyed some snacks.
And that was the party! Easy, fun, relaxed.
Basically, just perfect!

(this is what my inside happy-yay looks like)
The best sellers of the night were definitely the human body books (getting ready for Cycle 3!), Encyclopedia of World History, and the war books. Click here for more CC Cycle 3 and Usborne match-ups!

As I said in an earlier post, being an Usborne consultant is like having your own small business. There's so much freedom for creativity in how each consultant operates (and each part is different depending on the consultant's personality). I decided to go nuts and create my very own VIP Club!

When someone spends $75 or more in one order, she becomes a VIP and gets one duck punched. Then, for each future order over $35, I'll punch another duck (and yes, this post will more than likely pop up on 'animal cruelty' web searches). When the ducks are all punched out (that does sound kinda bad, huh), that friend will get a free $25 gift certificate to my Usborne Book Barn! (BTW, I just posted the new internet specials at The Barn, so be sure to check those out! I'm working on getting new content up over there, too, but there just aren't enough hours in the day right now.)

Did you know that YOU could become a VIP, too? Yes, you! My virtual duck puncher just arrived! (Actually, I just keep track in a spreadsheet. ;) ) Best part - there's nothing for you to keep track of! You don't have to email me and say that you just placed an order and don't forget to punch a duck. I've got it all covered. However, if you spend over $75 and become a VIP, I'll email you a card, just so you know that I've got you down in the VIP system. Get all your ducks (virtually) punched, and enjoy your free $25 in books as a thank you!
So, at my party, I had three good friends join the club! Thanks, ladies! I also had a couple friends become charter members of the VIP Club before the party even started. So great! Please know that I'm very thankful for your support! There are many places on the internet that sell Usborne, and I'm honored that you're here (and have read this far!), and I'd love to help you find the right books for your family - not once, not twice, but every time you need quality, award-winning educational books for your children.

Well, I hope you don't mind all the Usborne posts lately. Books are just something that I've always been excited about, and Usborne books really are the best on the market (and CC is over, so what else are we going to talk about?! JK!) Our family loves them, and I'm super-excited that I can now share them with you!
Here are just a couple of quick pictures of our newest Usborne additions today at Mary's 6th birthday party:

Anna got This Is My Monster, which is soooo adorable! The monster's little roar is priceless!

(Yes, Anna gets a 'sister gift' on Mary's birthday, and vice-versa. I know that my be controversial, but it is what it is.)

Nana gave Mary the Jonathan James and the What If Monster book and huggable-lovable, which were top priority on her list!

I hope you enjoyed this little sneak peek into an Usborne Books & More party! Molly did an amazing job with my kick-off show, and this Friday I'll actually be doing my first show for a dear friend. Eeeek! I'm beyond excited to share all of these great books with her friends and just hang out with some awesome ladies! Girls' Night!

If you're in the Huntsville, Alabama, area and want to get $300 in free and discounted books while having a fun night with your friends, send me an email and we'll get you on the calendar!
Wait, what?
$300 in free and discounted? I thought you said only $100 a few paragraphs up?! (Am I reading your mind?) $300 is what the average hostess gets in free, half-priced, and incentive books at her party - all of the hostess benefits! And, really, who's 'average' anyway? Not you and not me! I got $380 in free books, $250 half-priced, and other little incentives. Friends, if I can do it (with God's grace first and foremost), you can do it! 
Thanks again for sticking with me through this beast of a post. Check back soon when I share the best-kept secret of becoming an Usborne consultant. Really, it's pretty mind-blowing, and I'm not even sure I"m supposed to be sharing it! Shhhhhhh!