How did you hear about SimplyFun and what made you decide to join the SimplyFun team?

I heard about SimplyFun by accident. I decided one day that I wanted to do something to keep busy, but I didn't want something that everyone else was doing. I wanted a challenge! I get bored easily and wanted something to keep me on my toes. I searched online and found a list of about 15 different consultant opportunities. I researched and took it down to three. I showed my husband and he said, "This one is you, you love the whole learning thing". I looked more into SimplyFun and sent in my request for more information. Not long after Nicole called me and told me all about SimplyFun. I was headed down to Vegas and she wanted to meet up so she could explain it in person. This was great for me because I am a visual person. I met Nicole and she explained the whole business to me and my Husband. He listened to numbers and I listened to how much free stuff I could get. I decided I wanted to join and would give it my best. How could you go wrong with educational games free stuff and a sponsor like Nicole. So I dove right in.

How do you feel you have grown personally from your business?

The best way to explain how I have grown is just how I am getting more comfortable around people. My husband told me the other day that he wasn't sure if I was going to be able to do it because of how shy I am. He started to laugh talking about how I get so excited when I am on the phone with my customers. And he's right. Although I'm not 100% where I want to be, the more I do this business, the better I am getting and the more my confidence is building.

What are you most passionate about in your business? What are you most excited about?

I am passionate about all the parts to SimplyFun. I have met soooo many wonderful people, and learning about how our games help their kids that are struggling and how they have so much fun UNPLUGGED!

I guess the best part is how my 7 year old and husband get to help me with my business by playing the games.

Are there any unexpected rewards/benefits that you are realizing?

There are sooo many rewards. I remembered when I started Nicole was talking about Fast Start and I was just beginning to understand what I needed to do. Then I saw the Dream Pig promotion and all I had to do was become a Sr. Consultant!! All I wanted was the Dream Pig. I even had the picture on my fridge. I hit all 3 fast starts and I didn't realize how many rewards I would receive for achieving the Fast Start goals. But it was more than just the Pig. I did it and earned it. What better reward can you get than realizing that you worked so hard to get what you wanted and it really wasn't that hard after all.

Where do you see yourself at next year at this time in your SimplyFun business?

Next year at this time I see myself as Team Leader with a great Team. I have a great start and would like to build it bigger. I also see my social skills improving and being scared to talk to people on the phone will be a thing of the past. I'm not giving up and I know I will hit many bumps along the way, but they're just bumps.

How are you sharing your SimplyFun business with your friends, family and community?

I'm sharing my business with as many people as I can. I have worked with a couple schools, therapists, but most of my success is from events. Right now that's where I'm comfortable. I post many things on Facebook and have hung tons of flyers around my community. I travel to Salt Lake and try to meet new people. I also leave catalogs at rest stops along the way. I also have pull tab flyers I keep in my truck with thumb tacks and tape. If I'm somewhere and they have a board it gets a flyer posted on it! I have also become a member of the Chamber of Commerce. They do a monthly get together for all members and it's great for networking. With 4 kids during the summer I use that to my advantage to hang up flyers. They will do it for ice cream so I'm pretty lucky.

How did you hear about SimplyFun and what made you become a SimplyFun consultant?

I found out about SimplyFun through the advertisements in the MOPS (Mothers Of PreSchoolers) magazine, MomSense. I was curious about a company that promoted a strong family base through playing together. After my 2nd daughter was born last June (Father's Day, June 19th, 2011!), I didn't get very long stretches of sleep, so I started poking around the SimplyFun website when I had a few minutes of quiet. My husband and I want to foster strong family bonds and I found that SimplyFun's products fall right in line with our own family building philosophy - create fun and cherished memories while developing our own "Team Linstid".

I decided to become a consultant to bring some variety and new opportunities to my friends. Where I live, it can be tough to get a variety of items to play with the family that are different and fun while still having core educational value. We have big box stores and some smaller establishments, but nothing geared toward kids and families - I wanted to bring variety to my friends and help everyone "unplug" and spend some face-time with each other.

I grew up playing games and have seen first-hand how beneficial playing games with people who are struggling through sickness, general life circumstances, and even shyness can make people feel better. Connecting with each other is huge - not just virtual connections, but real, in-person connections - where you have the opportunity to read facial expressions, pat someone on the back, lean over and whisper something to your partner, and laugh all the while, life becomes so much richer... and fun!

Are there any unexpected rewards/benefits that you are realizing?

One of the reasons I started SimplyFun was to play some new games with my 2 year old daughter... maybe work on some new puzzles together. I did not expect to want to play Sumology with my husband after the kids went to bed! I am a word-person... not a numbers person (I asked my 2nd grade teacher what I could do when I grew up that didn't have anything to do with math... she never did enlighten me in that respect), but the Hubs is a total numbers guy. However, I have found that trying to put the tiles together to figure out equations and trying to use what is already down is rather fun! Maybe I am a bit of a numbers person! If only I had this in 2nd grade, I may not have asked Mrs. Schrom my burning question regarding my future endeavors...

How are you sharing your SimplyFun business with your friends, family and community?

First off, I reached out to my MOPS ladies - every single one of my MOPS friends has such a deep heart for building the best families that they can. We all rally around each other and encourage one another. I also spoke to a friend who has such a great heart for kids - she runs a music program for toddlers and their parents and is opening a pre-school this fall.

Another friend is a consultant with another company and offered to have a party as soon as I mentioned SimplyFun to her. Essentially - I opened my mouth and got the word out. I think that people are hungry for the concept of "Smarter Kids and Stronger Families" and a tangible, doable way to achieve that goal, so they are happy to listen to, look at, and experience what SimplyFun has to offer.

Whats your favorite Game so far? Whats the next game you want to add to your collection?

I think that Hello Friends would be my favorite so far - and I don't think it will move far from my heart any time soon, either. When I got my SimplyFun starter kit, both my (then almost) 1 year old and 2 year old were out and about. Upon opening the box and removing the packing paper, my 2 year old grabbed the Hello Friends game and squealed, "Oh, Bunny! I love you Bunny!"...she then ran to get her little lovey (aptly named, Bunny) and showed the box to him. The next morning, I was getting the 1 year old up and I heard the same little voice come running in the room saying "Konichiwa, Mommy!" - the Hubs and my daughter had been playing Hello Friends and she was impressing me with her new linguistic skills. Yeah...it would be tough to top that one. The fact that a donation goes to the My Stuff Bags Foundation is also such a wonderful statement by SimplyFun, that my appreciation for the game is even higher.

The Hubs and I have family all over the US and are expecting plenty of road trips in our future, so I'm creating an arsenal of travel games - Let's Drive, the Our World Puzzle Set, and the Are We There Yet are on my list. Can we hit all 50 states with the kiddos? We shall see...perhaps we'll develop our own Let's Drive expansion kit in the future!

SimplyFun is a young company with an amazing future. We understand that today’s parents need our help in giving their kids every advantage in life. Our award winning products build academic, social and emotional skills in children that are the foundation for resiliency and success in adulthood. And, when we say "award-winning", we aren’t kidding.

Since the beginning of 2012, SimplyFun has won 21 product awards from groups such as Parents Choice, Parent Tested Parent Approved, Mom’s Choice, Great Dad Recommends and Tillywig just to name a few.

Our products provide so many solutions for parents, grandparents, teachers and educational therapists, as well as families that just want to have FUN! And, they fit into so many places from public, private and home school classrooms to daycares, preschools and activity centers. All of those places, in addition to the MOST important place, which is in your family.

We understand that your time is valuable, so our games are designed to fit into your busy life, and our business opportunity, as one of our Playologists, is unstructured and flexible. We get it! For those of you attending our Playology events around the country, you will be hearing much much more about this. Even if you are not part of our family today, you are welcome to join us to learn more about how we plan to build our SimplyFun to be YOUR SimplyFun!

Look at our growth. See our awards. Come shape our company. Join us as we make SimplyFun the company of the decade.

Patty Pearcy
President and CEO, SimplyFun

What are your current goals, now that you are a Team Leader?

What inspires you?

I’m a very goal oriented person, so having trips to work toward is very
inspiring for me. Because of SimplyFun, we will now be able to take
my youngest son to meet his favorite person in the whole wide world
on his 3rd birthday. That has been my biggest motivator.

I also really enjoy being able to work with my team and watch them grow their own businesses. I am also inspired by the stories I hear from families who play the games and then tell me how much they enjoyed them.

What do you attribute your success to?

Do you have any tips to pass on to the rest of the team?

Build your business a little every day. Build your team a little every day. Treat them as flowers that you must tend to enable them to grow...without daily water and sunshine they will wither.

Play it Forward month is one of the most special times of the year for SimplyFun as we work with you and your hosts to bring SimplyFun play in the lives of those in need. Our program benefited organizations as diverse as the Montana Child Development Center, Happy Kids Day Care, Flint Elementary PTA, Warren Elementary School, Bunde MOPS, Lemmon SAFE communities, Dept of Health and Welfare, Alpha Christen Children's Home and many many more...

And we are thankful to all of you who made these gifts possible. How good does it feel to know that you helped a child! We know this means a lot to you so we put out a little internal challenge to be one of the top three play if forward pack givers this in February. And the winners are (drum roll please):

#3 Terri Lambing – with 6 packs
#2 Teresa Rosado – with 7 packs
Both earning $150 gift packs to give to the organization of their choice.
And our top Play it forwarder this February was...

Wendy Kenyon with 10 packs who is receiving a $250 gift pack for the organization of her choice.

February was a break through month for so many Playologists, growing their businesses and seeing success. Consistency Challenge winners, Parties Held and Personal Sales winners, Fast Start winners! So much activity! So many families connected! So many kids building skills to help them succeed in life! It is your Playologist spirit that makes the SimplyFun light shine!

Here are some tips shared by Wendy, Teresa, Charissa and Tara. Please take a few moments to listen as they share how they are driving their business forward. There is still time for Disney! There is still time for the Consistency Challenge! There is still time for Fast Start! You can do it!

Wendy's tips:

Charissa's tips:

Teresa's tips:

Tara's tips:

We have heard from many consultants that have held parties that benefited the organizations of their choice. Some highlights include:

Wendy Kenyon - Lynnie's Day Care
Betsy A Manteufel - Nami Fox Valley
Ani E Janbazian - Pasadena United Reformed Church
Mercedese Hervey - MOPS Monrovia
Rachel Barfield - Each Coast Christian Academy
Sara Yates - Ronald McDonald House
Jane Kurschner - Warren Elementary School
Diane Fernholtz - MOPS Bunde
Jessica Lauer - La Leche League of Space Coast Florida
Kaitlyn Buckley - Cooking with the Troops

Who would you choose? If you have an organization close to your heart that could benefit from one of the three great prize packs, schedule a party for a cause! Learn more about hosting a SimplyFun party. The Play It Forward promotion ends February 29, 2012.

Jenica shares the secret to her success on the January Celebration Call. Hear how she got hosts so excited about having a party! What does the SimplyFun's Host Award Program look like? Check it out. As Jenica, and all of our Playologists know, you can help your friends build smarter kids and stronger families through play. It feels great to host a SimplyFun party. Hear it in Jenica's own words.

Download MP3 version

]]> http://blogs.simplyfun.com/successshoutouts/2012/02/09/wahoo-to-you-jenica-lawrence/feed/ 1 http://blogs.simplyfun.com/successshoutouts/2012/02/08/look-whos-going-to-disney-world/ http://blogs.simplyfun.com/successshoutouts/2012/02/08/look-whos-going-to-disney-world/#comments Wed, 08 Feb 2012 20:10:36 +0000 admin http://blogs.simplyfun.com/successshoutouts/?p=622 Congratulations to these Playologists for earning trips to Disney's Yacht Club Resort!

Trevor Sparrow and Senior Consultant, Kristen Sparrow, of Pocatello, ID
Team Leader, Teresa Bevens of Meridian, ID
Team Leader, Nicole Clark of Las Vegas, NV
Senior Consultant, Karen Rombauer of Mount Vernon, IN

Who will be next? There is still lots of time to earn your points. Check the Walt Disney World flyer in the back office for the details and track your progress on your Trip Tracker. Wahoo!

]]> http://blogs.simplyfun.com/successshoutouts/2012/02/08/look-whos-going-to-disney-world/feed/ 0 http://blogs.simplyfun.com/successshoutouts/2012/01/12/winner-of-the-december-tibbar-promotion-with-my-stuff-bags-foundation/ http://blogs.simplyfun.com/successshoutouts/2012/01/12/winner-of-the-december-tibbar-promotion-with-my-stuff-bags-foundation/#comments Thu, 12 Jan 2012 22:00:37 +0000 admin http://blogs.simplyfun.com/successshoutouts/?p=615 In December, for every Tibbar product sold, SimplyFun donated one of our adorable, unofficial, floppy-eared mascots, Tibbar, to the My Stuff Bags Foundation. We had a wonderful showing of support and donated 136 Tibbars, with 52 consultants participating.

So, who was the consultant that sold the most Tibbar products? Kashka Bryson!
Kashka is a busy mom! She is an architect and home schools her sons ages 8, 6, and 3.

Attending a home school conference in Pasadena, CA, she came across the SimplyFun booth. She was drawn to the games to keep the energy up and monotony out of her classroom. She loved the quality of the products, learning aspects and felt that she could give these as gifts.

So, she bought her starter kit. “Right now, my SimplyFun business plan is to focus on open houses and fundraisers. It is the best fit for my family. If our circumstances change, then I can always adjust my business plan.”

What are some SimplyFun favorites at Kashka’s house? Walk the Dogs, My Monster and Pickles’ Pig Tales. “We keep a log book in the Pickles’ Pig Tales box and write down our story after we play. We underline the words from the cards and then read them to Daddy when he gets home.”

Sharing SimplyFun games is something that Kashka feels good about. “My friends don’t need more lipstick, but they can always use more time with their kids.”

]]> http://blogs.simplyfun.com/successshoutouts/2012/01/12/winner-of-the-december-tibbar-promotion-with-my-stuff-bags-foundation/feed/ 0 http://blogs.simplyfun.com/successshoutouts/2011/09/20/playologist-profile-emory-haire/ http://blogs.simplyfun.com/successshoutouts/2011/09/20/playologist-profile-emory-haire/#comments Tue, 20 Sep 2011 23:08:37 +0000 admin http://blogs.simplyfun.com/successshoutouts/?p=677 Tell us a little about yourself.
I am married to a wonderful husband, Daniel. We have two children, Dylan, 9 and Darby, 7. We also have two furry children Daphne, a 4 year old long hair dachshund, and Donovan, a 6 week old short hair dachshund. Our priorities in life are first God, then family and learning. What better company to work for than one that promotes learning and connecting with our families?!?!

What got you interested in being a SimplyFun consultant?
I first discovered SimplyFun at a CHEK (Christian Home Educators of Kentucky) conference in Louisville, Kentucky, 3 years ago. This was the first time I had ever seen anything like this. With our dedication to our family and learning I went home that weekend and discussed with my husband the opportunity I would have as a consultant. He was enthusiastic about it as well, however with the busyness of home schooling and ministry I couldn't find the time.

Then this year, I attended the CHEK conference again. While I was there I once again came across the table and saw all of the fun products and the urge to become a consultant resurfaced. I talked with one of the consultants at the event and told her I would love to be a consultant and would sign up after discussing with my husband. Once again I returned home, spoke with my husband and we decided this would be a great business for me to start in our area. So, with that said, after three years of contemplating I decided to dive right in and get started on my journey as a SimplyFun consultant. We no longer home school, but still believe learning and connecting together to be essential for not only our family, but others as well. I personally like the old adage, "Families that play together, Stay together!"

What was the best thing a customer has ever said to you about the product or their experiences playing with their family?
I have had so many great comments about our products that it is hard to pick just one.

My Daughter and Son both agree that they are "FUN!!!!!" to prove this point, when I got my starter kit, my two kids, my nephew and myself sat down and played games for 4.5 hours!!! I actually had a customer tell me this just today. "I have never gotten Christmas shopping done this early; I don't know what has gotten into me. I guess I just got so excited about the games and stuff that I was sitting there trying to figure out what I could get for everyone on my list! These games aren't just for family; you can give them to friends too! I can't wait to get home and play the games we got!"

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