A Community of Confidence {Six Months In}, #BecauseofLuLaRoe

In February of this year, Marisa and I made a HUGE leap and hopped into the queue to sell patterned, printed pants and in hopes of earning as many first dibs as we possibly could.

While standing outside of Italy in Epcot and videotaping my son in a mime routine, I received the phone call that would turn our life into this crazy rollercoaster and it seemed fitting that I did so while watching a juggling act and juggling things just to order our first round of inventory. (Coincidentally, I also met a queue pair there and they are basically our best friends and confidantes in this business – we love you, Sherri & Christa! Thank you for always pushing us to be our best selves!)

From the start, it was a whirlwind. Our inventory came just one day before Marisa left for Haiti and while she was gone, we photographed 350+ items and laughed – making jokes that “thank goodness, we would never have to photograph that  many pieces at one time” and six months later, boy, is the joke on us when it comes to the amount of inventory that we move and photograph each week.

The night before our first online launch party, I prayed that we would sell just one item – hoping that we had not just made the biggest mistake of our lives. My mom, my niece, Marisa, and I sat at the table and soon notifications were flooding my account and I thought, “WOW, we are really doing this – we are really selling clothes to women we don’t know!” (Another joke on us – some of those women have now become our most cherished friends and allies.) During that night, my mom even got outbid on a dress while searching for it saying, “Where is that greyish Nicole….” while my niece chimed in, “Oh, that sold!” much to my mother’s chagrin.

One week later, we had our in-home launch. I never left the couch since I was invoicing all night, women were dressing in every room, undressing wherever they could, and we survived with a SINGLE TINY rack from Target that I got on clearance for $7 ( and who says you need to go big to start!)

Again, we were blown away and soon, our party schedule was booked, our heads were spinning, and the talk of LuLaRoe became the forefront for those first few months. Our family sacrificed time and energy, we sacrificed time, energy, and sanity, and six months in, we can finally feel ourselves getting into a groove with a whole new set of awesome challenges to await us (Many thanks to Tammy and Mariah for always being our sounding board and letting us complain when the going gets tough!)

That Maxi was our first REAL official first dibs (and it was shared!) and we actually refused to even “keep” it until we met our sales goal for the month. 

We have had packages delayed, packages derailed, and inventory flying faster than we can say go. We have a Shipping Department (thanks, mom!), a bookkeeper (thanks, Susan!), a clothing stylist (thanks, Erin!), an Instagram maven (thanks, Sarah), and a party assistant (thanks, Julie!). Did I mention our bookkeeper also said she would help us, but would “never wear leggings” and now owns about six pairs + a closet full of Perfect Ts? They are a team of women that we COULD NOT DO this without – we truly LOVE YOU GUYS!

We have a team of 18 people – 18 women who said YES to the dress {and 300+ pieces of other inventory} and have embarked or will be embarking on this crazy journey that we call LuLaRoe and they make us laugh, make us cry (in good ways), and are daily reminders of why we do what we do. It is literally a different form of Motherhood and we are so blessed to be able to participate in this real life sisterhood. Thank you, Sisters-in-Leggings! You get us and we love you!

And let’s talk about our community. I cannot type these words without tears welling up in my eyes thinking of just how much these women bless us. Each day, we work hard to bring smiles to their faces and try to instill in them the confidence that every woman deserves to have about herself and each time, they are a true reminder of why we do what we do, and on really crazy days, it only takes someone posting about their outfit or sharing something to lift us up again.

A customer once came to pick up her stash and gave us these Tupperware bottles because she told her husband she was running out to make a Tupperware delivery so he wouldn’t know about the LuLaRoe. I haven’t stopped laughing.

On our one month anniversary, a customer sent us this message and it has stuck with me ever since:

Ok….so I wanted to share something with you. I know I haven’t met you…and only met Marisa briefly, but I really think you two are lovely people.

When I was added to this group initially, I was slightly annoyed as I avoid direct sales like the plague. I used to do Princess House and Party Lite…and it was awful, lol.

But it became clear to me, quickly…that this is SO different. I bought those first few items and after trying them on…i felt…different. More sure of myself? It sounds really cheesy. I have been struggling with losing weight for years. Injuries, strains, illness and life keeps getting in my way. I keep plugging along as much as I can. I am not happy with how I look….but I put those leggings on and feel like I transform somehow. Or the maxi skirt…i cannot wait to wear that! I feel like everything fits like it was made for me specifically. All the curves and bumps. 🙂 So, thank you. Thanks for doing what you do. I just wanted you to know. 🙂

And this business has transformed us more than you could ever know. To my real life first ever Sister-in-Leggings, Marisa. Thank you for deciding to do this crazy thing and sell patterned pants with me. Thank you for putting up with the crazy, demanding, bold, brash, and overly patterned/colorful me. For believing in me, believing in us, and believing that this wasn’t just a whim. You are the yin to my business yang, the pepper to my salt (I know how much you love your black and white), and the staple black leggings to MOST people’s wardrobes. I love YOU and am so blessed to be on this crazy adventure with you.

A month before we started, a woman from church shared with me that she thought that if Marisa and I teamed up, we would be like a spiritual, real life dream team (and if you know us, you know just how different we are). We won’t toot our own horns, but remembering that conversation has stuck with me to this day as we look back on these six months and we are in awe of what kind of ministry has been born out of a decision to share our addiction.

And in case you were wondering, these are the officially official first pairs of leggings that we took first dibs on. Five months after we started.

And with that,

Happy Sixth Month Anniversary to our little VIP Shoppe! We cannot wait to see what the next six months holds!

Join our Group for all the cuteness and a six month giveaway later today!

Message us on Facebook if you are ready to join in on the Sisterhood or even would just love to learn more!

Fashion Investment | Embracing Change | The Accidental Fashionista