Farewell LuLaRoe!

For those of you who don't know, I recently ended my journey as a Retailer for LuLaRoe. I've been thinking up this post for a long time, even before deciding to start my new space for mommas on Instagram! But I'm glad I did, to have an avenue for this entry to be shared!:] I had taken a VERY long break from this blog in light of the time, effort and work I was putting into my LLR business for nearly 2.5 years and I wanted to share with you what I learned during my journey, and also get this blog up and running again! I spent all weekend before "launching" my new Instagram, making over this blog and transitioning it to this new chapter! If you'd like to read my older posts all about my Tongan and I {and a little about our first little} just go back to the timeline between 2013-15! :]

LuLaRoe CHANGED my life, for the greatest!
If you were looking for another post about all the negative things going around lately, you're in the wrong place! I will forever be indebted to LuLaRoe, my little business, and the LLR family, for absolutely changing my life and the way I think about things!

Drew Dudley, in a Ted talk about leadership says:

"there is no world. There's only six billion understandings of it. And if you change one person's understanding of it, understanding of what they're capable of, understanding of how much people care about them, understanding of how powerful an agent for change they can be in this world, you've changed the whole thing."

LuLaRoe changed my understanding of the world and made me a better person. I will name just a few!

What I learned about myself...

At first it was the clothes! When I was pregnant with my first son, I had spent my whole life extremely insecure, incapable of understanding my self worth and who I am as a Daughter of God. I put these clothes on a felt BEAUTIFUL! Something I can't say I'd ever genuinely felt in my life, or as long as I could remember. I began to find confidence. I began to find myself. I began to LOVE myself. I am a curvy girl, always have been in the XL sizes and never could find clothes that fit the right way. These were flattering, fashionable, and well made! I learned that I was wanted. I learned that I was loved. I learned that I belonged and that I had SO much worth. It was in that time as well, that I found a true understanding and appreciation in the body of a woman who is creating LIFE! And I accepted myself in a whole new way, a way I'd never dreamed I would! Then I began to want that for others.

What I learned about others...

Of course as I began my business, I quickly came to an understanding that I certainly wasn't the only one who had the same feelings as I did when I found these clothes and this company. In starting and building my business, I found woman who were in need of something to make them FEEL beautiful {regardless of their size}! And I was watching them come out of dressing rooms and having their eyes light up! Watching all their friends around them RAVE about how cute they looked and how flattering the pieces were on them! It was incredible. I found PURPOSE! I found that I was helping change worlds! I was helping woman walk out the door of a Pop-Up, completely different than when they walked in. It was life-changing, and PRICELESS! My Pop-Up's were successful and SO much fun. I am an in person type of person and I wanted that in person interaction! And I wasn't alone....

What I learned about building a team....

It happens whether you want it to or not! When you BELIEVE in something and LOVE something, people are drawn to that. Both in a way of purchasing and being a part of the movement. I didn't SELL a single piece of clothing my entire journey, I sold myself, and the clothes came with it! I was expressing the love I had for the company, the clothing, and the people! Soon enough I had girls looking to me for guidance and I spent hours helping them, worried about them, training them, wanting them to succeed! They were drawn to the business in many different ways but the most common being my hostesses for Pop-Up's! They saw first hand the {small} amount of work it took to get ladies in their home, excited about and trying on the clothes, and having FUN! And then of course the money I made un just 2 hours of being there because when you put the pieces on, you fall in love! It was an absolute blast and I came to love every single person to join my team and look to me for training!

I'm sure you're reading this and thinking, then why did you quit? Here's a quick, brief answer to that. I never NEEDED the money I made from LLR. I had the privilege of being a stay home mom without that extra income but I did it because I loved it and it was fun! It gave me a reason to get out of the house, connect with adults, and flaunt my new found confidence in myself! Also, with a 3 month old babe, I needed the time away! It was PERFECT! Mind you, when I started as a retailer, I was in the first ONE thousand! I had AMAZING opportunities because of it! For example, I consider every single member of the original home office team (The LLR family and Patrick himself) personal friends! I love them dearly and I ALWAYS will! My first leadership training was attended by 52 of us and it was incredible! We got personal one on one time with the family and Patrick and that's how I grew to have those relationships with them! And my first convention there was about 1,000 of us, and THAT was a big deal! You can only imagine how awesome it is to see the growth of the company when you've been a part of it from the beginning! But with growth of course comes growing pains and changes! The ease of finding and keeping business was becoming too much for me to handle, compared to what I thought was worth it. Since I didn't NEED the money, I found I was spending way more time than ever away from my family, unnecessarily! It began to be stressful, and very very hard on us! Now with #3 on the way, I feel even mores that we made the right decision as a family, to let our cute little business go!

I will ALWAYS be thankful to LuLaRoe!!
The things I learned about myself and others, are lessons I could not have learned anywhere else!! I am forever grateful for my amazing journey with this company as a whole, and the people I met along the way! I gained lifetime friends that I wouldn't otherwise even know, if it wasn't for LuLaRoe and all of our amazing events! If you read all the way through, thank you! I hope you enjoyed, and that you go find yourself a good LuLaRoe Retailer to shop from! There are some incredible ones out there who have built a livelihood from this company and support their families solely off their little incredible businesses!

To LuLaRoe, and DeAnne,
THANK YOU, for letting me play in your sandbox! I'll forever be grateful, for the change it made to me, my life, and my family! I love you!

xoxo, McCall