Category: Miscellaneous

Entrepreneur Life & The Direct Sellers Association

by My Closet Journey

As a small business owner there are so many things I’ve learned over the past few years, how to properly find an accountant, how to invoice properly, how to time-block & most importantly how to find a good community and network like the Direct Sellers Association of Canada.

When I was younger, I was always confused as to what I’d end up doing, but I did know one thing for sure: I wanted to work for myself. I wanted to be my own boss, set my own hours, decide when I went on vacation and be able to fully support myself. Being able to run my own profitable business has allowed me opportunities that I never would’ve been able to achieve in a standard “corporate job”.

Recently I found out about DSA aka the Direct Sellers Association, they’re the recognized voice for the Canadian Direct Selling Industry: think Arbonne, Mary Kay & Brands like Pampered Chef. What do bloggers and Direct Sellers have in common? We are passionate about what we do, we’re experts in being entrepreneurs and we all work for ourselves.

When I started running my own business, having a community like the Direct Sellers Association would’ve been such an advantage. It provides a membership directory to help people find a great company to partner with, and from there you can become part of a network of like-minded people, which is so key to running a successful business. The DSA provides important resources to help you build a profitable business on your own.

The DSA works to educate people not only about the industry but about their options to work for themselves, as well as educating their members about the benefits of Direct Selling & ensuring customer protection by enforcing their Codes of Ethics & Business Practices.


The DSA has also been able to connect me with other AMAZING entrepreneurs in the community like Patricia Roy-Pagé –  A Mary Kay Independent Beauty Consultant for almost 7 years! She started as a university student with a dream: she wanted to work for herself and own her own business, sound familiar? Patricia says that by running her own business, she has learned that you need to be willing to put in the work and learn from both your successes and your failures.

“Effort is everything. If you put in time and effort and work with passion, the sky is the limit!” – Patricia

If you’re considering becoming an independent consultant within the direct selling industry, I suggest looking into companies that are members of the DSA, as they’re held to an extremely high standard of business practices.

You can visit DSA.ca to learn more about direct selling and #FindYourCommunity

*This post is sponsored by the Direct Sellers Association of Canada, as always, all thoughts and opinions are my own. *

Zappos X UGG: Your next Holiday Hero

by My Closet Journey


This season I’m doing the Holidays a little differently and I’ve teamed up with Zappos X UGG to show you how I dress for versatility while still being cute for the holiday season.  Recently we headed down to the GORGEOUS west coast of California, and I thought it would be the perfect place to bring along my Uggs shoes as it’s the birth place of the brand.

When I pack for travel I look for on trend, practical and fashion forward pieces– my forever go-to for travel pieces is Zappos. It’s fast & FREE shipping, they have an incredible return policy, they have everything you can possibly think of under the sun and the customer service is PHENOMENAL! 

I’ve used Zappos for quite some time now and I honestly love the experience through and through, their site is very user-friendly & I’m always happy with their products. For my trip I picked up two pairs of shoes from Zappos X UGG and got myself the Fluff Yeah UGG Slippers (that I’ve been wearing out and about because they’re just TOO CUTE to keep as slippers) and the Adirondack Boots. The boots are amazing for hiking and keeping your toes warm while being out at night! 

If you’re in need for last minute gift ideas, I’d definitely recommend checking out Zappos and taking a look through the Zappos X UGG collection for the fashionista in your family. 

*This post is in partnership with Zappos, as always all thoughts and opinions are my own. 

Kijiji: How I’ll be saving BIG this Christmas.

by My Closet Journey

 

When I think Christmas I generally cringe. Yes, you read that right. Not because I don’t love Christmas or Christmas movies, I basically LIVE for that stuff but because of how costly it can be. 

 

Every year my list of who I have to buy gifts for seems to get bigger and bigger and it becomes such a costly endeavor. This year I’m committed to making Christmas a huge success WITHOUT breaking the bank, and to do this I’ll be selling and buying things using Kijiji.

Kijiji is a site for all things second-hand  and new – from smalltrinkets to rental home vacation places. It’s basically a one stop shop to findevery single thing you can possibly think of. Need a vintage lunchbox for the collector in yourfamily? They’ve got it. Need a Gucci belt for the fashionista in your life? They’ve got it– and at afraction of the price. Need a PS4 for your tech loving son? You guessed it, they have that too.Not only is Kijiji a more cost-effective way to shop but you can also put moneyback in your pocket while doing it too by selling your own stuff!

As a blogger I’m constantly receiving clothing, gifts and goodies as well as buying my own pieces, with an ever-growingpile of stuff I’m consistently looking for the best way to purge my closet while still getting moneyback & keeping my closet RELATIVELY sustainable (the fashion industry isone of the BIGGEST contributors to waste but is also a top buying/sellingcategory on Kijiji). In fact, according to the Second-HandEconomy Index (a study by Kijiji) found that those who sold items in the second-hand market EARNED $1,134 last year.

Kijiji has been my go-to for quite a few years now, it’s convenient (they even have a mobile app), you can easily get in touch with seller or buyers, it’s local, it puts money back in my pocket and previously loved pieces in someone else’s hands. As if that wasn’t enough, if you ever have any issues Kijiji’s customer service is absolutely FAB. 

Let me know in the comments below what’s yourfavourite way to SAVE during the ChristmasSeason, have you ever used Kijiji? 

*This post is sponsored by Kijiji Canada, as always,all thoughts and opinions are my own.

How-to-flatlay.

by My Closet Journey

14536904_10209465307324673_333143947_oLet me start this post by saying I am in NO WAY a flatlay queen, unlike a few friend’s and bloggers I know and love to follow myself.

I have struggled with the so called “flatlay” for an INCREDIBLY long time, not because I don’t know what a great flatlay looks like but because I honestly had NO CLUE where to even start.

Apart from being so entirely lost I rarely photograph anything myself unless it’s food or I absolutely HAVE to.

Over the past few weeks I’ve learned some magnificent tips and tricks from Ana from March and May blog , she is a friend and a total FLATLAY queen and one day I hope to be as superb as her.

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How-To:

  1. Find a BIG window with great lighting, this way the lighting is natural and not overpowering. **tip–flatlays are best to be done on overcast days, it creates a “buffer” so the lighting is perfect.**
  2. Use a thick piece of cardboard and wrap it with white/colored paper or whatever you choose — this creates that flawless white background everyone tries so hard to achieve.
  3. Make sure you have some Instagram worthy props.**tip– the dollar store, micheals and party store are GREAT for this.**
  4. Place things on the white board by the window and organize however you’d like!
  5. Take a lot of pictures, make slight changes and use different angles so you have a lot of photos to choose from.

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Now comes the hard part– EDITING :

After trying a few different photo editing apps on my phone Snapseed and VSCO have been my winners, Snapseed for editing and VSCO for filters.

  1. Upload your photo to snapseed– then tune image.
  2. Adjust the exposure — I usually end up brightening the exposure.
  3. Contrast– Add contrast this will make the colors more prominent.
  4. Add Saturation.
  5. Cool the temperature of the photo or warmth– I usually do -10.
  6. Sharpen the details of the image.
  7. Save and upload to VSCO !
  8. Once you have picked an Instagram filter and saved your photo with vsco congrats ! You hopefully have an Instagram worthy flatlay !

Thanks to Daniel Wellington I finally have an Instagram worthy watch !

You can shop my watch here or use the code “MYCLOSETJOURNEY” for 15% off your order!