Hive Member Spotlight - Irene Macias - Las Vegas, NV

I am Irene Macias from Las Vegas, NV living with Sandy, my domestic partner of 5 ½ years, Jonas, my 11 yr old son and three dogs (Shih Tzu/Maltese mix, Cock-a-poo, and a senior lab)—yes, we are a full house of diversity in my home! :-P

I “stumbled” upon UB when I went to WAHM.com. I was going to advertise my other business venture. I fell in love with the concept and knew that this was indeed a unique business opportunity. When Shawna filled me in on what entails the business start up kit, I knew that this was just a venture that I simply could not pass up! In as much as I wanted to click that “Sign Up Now” button and start in December, I had to hold myself back and waited to come onboard in January.

I had been seeking a venture that I could be passionate about. In the process of me seeking, I got in quite a few at home ventures. Thus, when UB came along, all of my family pretty much gave me a groan and a half of skepticism and a mile long lecture and warnings about how this might be a scam, except for Louie, my sister and Sandy, my partner. They understood that for one to succeed in his or her business, one must be passionate about the products that she or her will market. They both know that I love anything that smells good and unique. They also are very much aware that I have this strong, obsessive desire to have my own business and succeed in it. Thus, they just fully supported me when I said I wanted to join Urban Botanic.

To my fellow hive members, by us sharing our different approaches in the business really is a huge support right there. I thank you all for the willingness to share.

My personality test results are Floral: 21% Fruity: 19% Herby: 14% Leafy: 17% Spicy: 19%Woodsy: 10%. I see myself growing and succeeding with my UB business. I see myself having 7 members in my team. :-P I think my ability to face challenges head on, determination and passion to succeed in this business will be the two major factors of my success in this business.

(Shawna's Question) What was your life's biggest success thus far?

Biggest would be….hmmmm….my relocation here to Vegas (I lived 9 years in San Jose, CA) and the 360 degree change I created in me and my son’s life. (getting rid of the drama, re-establishing my peaceful life, etc.)

Hive Member Spotlight - Aimee Aikens - Sacramento, CA

Hi, I’m Aimee! Originally from Grand Rapids, MI, (home of Amway—Kelsey and I had a funny discussion about this), I lived in Portland, OR, and am now in Sacramento, CA for a couple of years. My birthday is September 2, and I suppose I really wanted to be a Virgo since I was supposed to be born right around August 8. I am not married, but Ian and I have been together for six years as of March 5, and eventually we’ll get married. (Ian is in law school right now, so we really have NO extra cash which is the main reason we aren’t married yet.) No kids, no pets right now though we are trying to get our apartment people to let us get a kitten. We live on the law school campus, which is great for Ian but crappy for me, since my commute to work is 40+ minutes most days.

I work as a Key Account Designer for Harmon Homes (any of you in the Seattle area may have seen our magazines, or a lot of places really, we do 40+ different areas in our center). I have a BFA in studio art from Michigan State University, with a concentration in design and photography. I do a lot of ceramics, hand building only right now since I don’t have a wheel, and I’ve been doing some letterpress classes in San Francisco. When Ian gets out of law school and we are more settled, I am going to open a chocolate shop/dessert bar—modeled like a combo of Pix Patisserie in Portland and Vosges in Chicago (all of our friends/relatives get chocolate for the holidays--one year I did white pepper balsamic, apricot lavender, and black currant sage, and my coworkers were too afraid to try them! Punks!). I love to cook, I love to bake and I make a supremely excellent apricot tart with lime/lavender cream.

Note from Shawna: We'll have to have her do the desserts for our convention!

I saw the UB post on Something Old, Something New, took the personality test, thought it sounded really neat, and asked Kelsey for more info. I was reading Shawna’s and Kelsey’s blogs, and got more excited and Kelsey was so encouraging and enthusiastic and I decided not to wait!

I am sort of marooned out here, no family or anything. We have a pretty decent sized circle of friends, some of whom are excited about my UB venture, some apathetic. However, I don’t really care, since I want to be successful and won’t let anyone stand of the way in that. As far as support to and from the Hive, just ask! We won’t get anywhere without communication, and I am not afraid to ask for help and more than willingly to give it in anyway I can.


My results were:
Floral 22%
Fruity 12%
Herby 16%
Leafy 19%
Spicy 11%
Woodsy 20%

Which makes floral my strongest by a small margin. I do agree with most of it—I am a perfectionist, sensitive to moods of the people around me, and I absolutely have a healthy appreciation of the finer things in life, as evidenced by my Kaboodle wish list. Also, I am most drawn to scents with a strong floral note—I wear jasmine and geranium a lot. I do have quite a bit of the woodsy and leafy characteristics too—I am very independent, ethical, and creative. I do seek out information pretty much constantly, and I am very good at organizing said information. I do also agree with the idea that Leafies like solitude when they are stressed out—that is totally true for me. I need a little time and space to decompress sometimes.

My ultimate goal for my UB business is to earn enough to pay off my student loans and upgrade my Mac in the next three years. This means I will need to bring home about $30,000-$35,000, eek! I think I totally will be able to achieve this with the support I have gotten already from the Hive and Kelsey personally! At this point I figure I have nothing to lose by trying.


I think probably my creativity will be most helpful. Having a background in design really prepares you for handling crises with grace and efficiency, and trains you to look for solutions in unexpected places. Plus I am pretty good at persuading people to do things, so that should also be an asset.

If I were a dessert, I would be an Amedei Porcelana chocolate bar, because it's the most delightful experience you could ever have; simple, elegant, and refined! And dark chocolate is extraordinarily good for your health. :D

When I was a tiny child, I ALWAYS wanted to be an astronaut. Until I found out astronauts had to have perfect vision (my vision is really really terrible). Then I decided I would be an engineer, which is kind of a strange choice for a child, but I really was into science fiction (like Ender's Game) so maybe that was the influence there. But now, if Stephen Hawking can go into space, I figure I will have my chance someday!

Hive Member Spotlight - Angie Davis - West Virginia

As I mentioned in an email to the group, Wednesdays are going to become Hive Member Spot Light Days! This will allow us to get to know people on our team better and relate with those that can help us achieve our personal goals!

This week's spotlight is on Angie Davis our Hive Member in West Virginia!

I am married to my soulmate, VJ, and we have two gorgeous kids, Luke (5) and Cassidy (will be 3 on Easter). We live in Fairmont, WV. My birthday is Sep 24, never mind the year. I’m very, very busy right now with several “projects” at once. I babysit 3 days per week, I work at a toy store 1 day a week (and get to take my kids to work with me), and I volunteered for a major project involving a prison ministry that is demanding a lot of my time. I promised God that I would do His work and let Him bless my UB biz! I also have Noah’s Ark on the side too, I wanted to quit, but then I got a few calls and my husband will not let me turn them down.


When I saw UB for the first time on wahm.com I was interested because Cheryl the moderator of wahm was involved and I figured she knew a good thing when she saw it being so involved with wahm. Then, when I saw what it was, it was love at first sight! I raised the money on Ebay to buy my kit and the love I have for UB is growing steadily!!


My friends and family are not very supportive. It’s because I’ve tried so many businesses previously and had a couple “train wrecks”. My husband has not been onboard and has jabbed negative statements in frequently. However, we have had a recent breakthrough! We watched the movie, Facing the Giants, this week and I related the movie to how I viewed my UB biz and he admitted to being negative and said that he would start praying for my biz instead! Now the in-laws I will just have to ignore!


I am definitely a business builder! I am a free spirit who wants flexibility of a home biz! On the one hand, I get to be with my kids and on the other, I get to be ME and achieve goals which is great for building self-confidence! I think women have a tendency to accept their circumstances and they also forget that they aren’t just someone’s mom or someone’s wife, etc.

What is one personality trait you have that you think will help you be successful at UB?

Hmm…I think honesty. Honesty as in being real. I think that people respond to someone who doesn’t put on an act, but is truly real about the product and opportunity. I will tell the good and bad—not that I have any “bad” for UB.

If you could be any superhero who would you be and why?

Well, Wonder Woman HAS ALWAYS been my favorite superhero--I use to fight every week with my sister over watching it (she didn't want to) back when homes only had one TV. I really don't know if I care so much about her powers as much as I would like looking like her WHILE I fight crime! I need to be much taller (I'm 5'2") and now I also need to be much skinnier to fit in the suit.

An embarrassing moment happened when I was wearing that costume. It was a snowy Halloween and I had to wear a long coat. When I got home with my roommate and her boyfriend, I stood over the heating vent and opened my coat while talking to them--not realizing that my boobs had fallen out. My roommate actually lunged toward me to shield her boyfriend from seeing the sight.

Fun question from Shawna:

If you were on a deserted island what 5 items would you bring?

My family (I'll count them as one "thing" since it's my questionnaire), my Bible, fresh water, a fully furnished tree home, and a Target store.

Hive Member Spotlight - Kelsey Foster - Washington

Hi Ladies! We're starting out with Spotlight Wednesdays on my blog and I wanted to begin with one of our great Hive Members Kelsey Foster! Please ask her any other questions using the comments feature!

Read below to get to know Kelsey EVEN BETTER!


1. Tell us about yourself! Are you single, married, kids, where do you live, when is your
birthday, etc. etc.

I’m Kelsey Foster, born and raised in the Seattle area. I currently live in Edmonds in a house with my two kids (daughter Quinlon age 5, son Deacon age 2.5), my husband Jeremy, and our three cats Cheerleader Party Cat, Baby Tippy Toes, and Digit Louise.

My birthday is St. Patrick’s Day, March 17th. I’m a Pisces but you probably couldn’t tell unless you really get to know me – lol.

I have a Bachelors of Science degree in Business Administration and an Associates in Applied Art in Graphic Design. I’ve been working as a professional graphic designer for 10 years. Currently I’m the marketing communications director at a private school in Seattle. I’m also a partner in a pet accessories company called PetCandy.

I love designer handbags, cooking & decorating, chocolate, Cosmopolitans, good coffee, Mediterranean and Middle Eastern food, singing karaoke, and playing Texas Hold’em poker. Along with spending time with my darling kiddos, good friends, and family as much as possible.

2. What caught your interest in UB and what made you decide to pull the trigger and SIGN
UP NOW!?


I stumbled onto UB one day when I had Googled an old friend and somehow ended up clicking on Shawna’s page on a business networking site. I spent about a half an hour looking through her UB website and fell immediately in love with the concept and the business model. My gut instinct was to sign up as fast as possible.

3. What kind of support network do you come from? Are your close friends and family excited
for you with Urban Botanic? Skeptical? What can fellow hive members do to support you
or gain support from you?

My parents were skeptical at first but seeing the success I’m already starting to achieve, they are coming around. However, I wouldn’t necessarily count on them to be supportive (they just like to hear the good stuff). My husband totally believes in me and that I’ll be successful at whatever I put my mind to. My cousin (who is also my business partner in PetCandy) is very supportive and believes in me as well. Between the two of them, they help with my children when called upon so that I can focus time and effort on my UB business.

4. What were your results on the personality test? What is your strongest scent family and
do you agree with the results?


I’m a total Type-AAAA personality and a bit of a drama queen. So it was absolutely NO surprise that I came out as a Spicy followed closely by Woodsy (except for the outdoorsy stuff – I don’t really “do” outdoorsy). Then in descending order was Herby, Leafy, Fruity, and Floral. By contrast, my mom was lowest in Spicy and Woodsy….hmmm…it explains a lot about our relationship.

5. Where do you see yourself with Urban Botanic in the next year? Are you a business
builder, in it as a hobby, or somewhere in between?

I see myself going very far with UB. Being part of such a young company, I feel like there is unlimited potential for all of us. I am very serious about building my UB business and being an active member of the Hive. Ideally I would like to not have to work for someone else (if I choose to) in about two to three years and just do UB along with PetCandy.

6. What is one personality trait you have that you think will help you be successful at UB?

I can’t just pick one. I’d say my sense of humor, my business acumen, and tenacity. Along with being a people person, enthusiasm, and competitiveness.. and… (just kidding, I’ll stop now).