Today’s special Elite Leader Interview is with Angela Small. Angela is one of the top Paparazzi Jewelry consultants. She is an awesome team leader and mother and she has some great information to share with us today on the Papa Rock Stars Podcast.
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Today I am excited to welcome to the show Angela Small. Angela is a fashionista with Paparazzi Accessories. That is an Elite Rank. She has achieved Crown Club 10 and Life of the Party Bronze. Angela is the leader of Angela’s Angels with nearly 900 consultants under her.
She does Paparazzi full time. It’s her only Full time job and her love. Angela lives in Maine with her husband of 10 years and her 7 year old little boy. Now, if you were in the Dominican Republic with us or if you’ve seen pictures, you will see her whole family there with her.
I actually got to take a snorkeling excursion with her and her little boy and it was so fun to watch him splashing around in the water. She says he is now addicted to snorkeling thanks to Trent Kirby.
Her ultimate goal with Paparazzi is to retire her husband so that they can be free to live the life that they want to live and so he doesn’t have to punch the clock.
Angela, Did I leave anything out?
Angela: You didn’t! Thank you so much for having me! I have my own channel? My own like extension? Slash Angela? I feel so special.
Awnya: Of course, of course! We have to highlight you!!
Angela: Wow!
Awnya: Well, let’s jump right in!
What got you started with Paparazzi?
Angela: Well, for about 10 years or so I was working at a job where I was very unhappy. I was going pretty much nowhere in the company. I worked for the government. Each day I got out at 4:30 and my son’s daycare closed at 5:30 leaving me very little time to get there.
And one day, stuck in traffic and construction, I had to go the bathroom. My gas tank was on empty and it was very apparent that I was going to be getting him late.
I showed up at his school and there he was outside, alone with his teacher. Waiting for me. The last kid there. And seeing him there, standing there waiting for me, with me all flustered, I had said, “This is enough. I’m tired of this. I’m tired of living my life around a job I hate.”
I was just tired of missing out on so much of his life just to be a slave to the corporate world. I was gone for 11 or 12 hours every single day for what?? You know?! I knew something needed to happen.
We couldn’t afford to miss out on my paycheck but I really couldn’t continue to live like that. That moment, I said, I’m done. Money has a way of coming around again but time doesn’t.
A few months later without any kind of safety net, without any backup plan, without any support from anybody- including my husband- I quit my job. So long story short, money was running out, time was running out. I needed to find a job fast and that’s kinda when I found Paparazzi.
Even though I hate Direct Sales, I can’t stand them. I don’t like buying things I don’t need and can’t afford. I saw my former co-worker, Christy, having a Facebook sale, a Facebook party for Paparazzi and somehow this beautiful pink necklace “All the Trimmings” popped up in my newsfeed. I bought the necklace that day and I signed up to sell that night.
I didn’t have the money, I used Paypal line of credit to finance the $299 kit. I paid off that kit with my profits within a week. I was promoted to Director in a couple of months. I promoted to Producer in less than a year. I had more than 200 team mates in my first year. And now 2 1/2 years later, I have a team of, I think, around 900. And it has completely changed out life.
We’ve traveled the world. I make triple what I used to make working for the government and I am literally happier than I have ever been. I don’t miss out on any part of my sons youth. We live and enjoy our life how, when and where we please and it’s all because of $5 jewelry. It’s pretty amazing!
That’s my story!
Awnya: That’s very similar to my story! I was working graveyards at McDonalds and I missed my son rolling over for the first time. It was pre-Paparazzi.
You hit that point where you are like, “Something has got to give. Because I’m tired of missing out on my children’s lives. I’m tired of missing out on things that I can’t get back.”
You know, you can always see a movie later or go out with your girlfriends later, but missing those important moments in your child’s life, you can’t ever get those back, right?!
Angela: No. No, and my other feeling was this- when I wasn’t at work, I felt like I was always stressed because when I was home, I was trying to get done everything I couldn’t do during the week. I just kinda felt like, after all the money you pay in daycare and gas and tolls and the time from sunup, the time you leave your house till the time you get home, you’re just working, working, working.
And the time you are home, its being spent catching up on the un-fun things like housework and cooking and all of that. I just didn’t feel like I was enjoying my life. I would rather be broke than not enjoying my life.
And thankfully now, I’m never broke and I love my life more than ever.
Awnya: So powerful. Okay, so let’s jump into the next question.
What is your Paparazzi why? Why do you do Paparazzi?
Angela: It gives me a purpose, you know. I feel like I am so much more than just a wife or just a mother. I am like, now, I am a leader. I am a friend. And I have found true joy. All while contributing financially to our family. I would say that I do it all for my family, but I don’t really. I do it all for them and for my own happiness. I feel like it’s really rounded out my life.
Awnya: Now, has your why changed a little bit from when you first started Paparazzi till now?
Angela: Yea, my original why was that I simply just needed more money. I needed money for my family and it’s turned into far more than that. As you know, being in the family that we are in, cuz you and I are sisters too. We’re Papa-sisters!
I don’t have a sister, but you know. But now, I have them all over the country and I’m traveling all over the world to see them and I have a sense of pride that I’ve never experienced before.
I mean, it’s true! It’s so much more than the money. It’s so much more than jewelry.
Awnya: There’s so much that Paparazzi has to give us besides a little bit of money on the side. Like the sisterhood that you were talking about. The feeling of accomplishment. I love the recognition, I mean, I wish somebody was standing there after I finished loading the dishwasher and was like, “Good job! Way to go! Here’s a certificate!”
Being a mom, being a housewife, it’s kind of a thankless job. So that’s one of the many other things that I love. You get that recognition. You get that pat on the back from your leaders.
Angela: My husband, you know, he is an amazing, hard worker. He has been working at his job for 25 plus years in management. And he literally works 5-6 days a week, all day long. Puts in overtime. Weekends, evenings, holidays, the whole 9. And he’s never gotten a thank you gift in the mail. He’s never gotten a Christmas bonus.
He works way harder than I ever do and I feel like I am constantly showered in praise and thanks and love. And it’s really awesome. And I don’t think anybody outside of our little Paparazzi world can truly understand how wonderful it is.
Awnya: I completely agree. We’re gonna take a little bit of a shift, a little bit of a change here because we want to talk about your worst Paparazzi moment. Now, we’re not bashing on Paparazzi because if you guys can’t tell, we have passion for Paparazzi. We love it with all our hearts.
But everybody has that moment where you feel like giving up. Where you feel like the whole world is against you. Where you are just the lowest of the low and this question is designed to let everybody else in Paparazzi know that even those Elite leaders, the ones that are the highest ranking in Paparazzi, have had those bad moments too. So Angela,
Take us to that moment in time that was your worst Paparazzi moment.
Angela: Even the best jobs have the worst days, you know. I mean, yeah. I get it. Actually, my worst Paparazzi moment was fairly recently actually. I always encourage my team to go outside their comfort zone and I did and I went live on my personal page. And I had friends and I had teammates watching and I didn’t sell a darn thing. I was discouraged but more than anything, I was so embarrassed.
What did you learn from that?
Awnya: What was the take-away?
Angela: The takeaway is, if you aren’t successful in something, whether it be in business or in life, look at the situation and figure out what it is you are doing wrong and watch people who do it better than you. I tried to evaluate in that situation, why I was not successful. And what I realized was that I did not have a lot of enthusiasm for each pieces. In addition, I did not build up the party. I did not plan ahead, I did not advertise it. It was pretty much just an on a whim thing.
I did not build up momentum in the party either. I did not display my products well and I did not showcase each piece as they deserved. And the worst thing that I did not do was that I did not interact with people in the comments. There were people popping in and saying, “Hi!” but I was too busy talking to myself that I didn’t talk to them.
Thankfully, when I went to Empower Me Pink, I learned so much! I took notes, not only for my team, but for myself, which I will be applying to my next live event, which I am slowly working up the courage to do again.
Awnya: I love that you say that. You are working up the courage to try again. Cuz you’re not just going to quit. You’re not just going to say, “This live video is for other people. It’s not for me. You’re ready to go at it again.
Angela: Absolutely! I learn from my mistakes! And I’ve also been studying people who have wild success. I have people on my team who sell 95% of what they show. I give great advice and I’m now going to be taking my own advice and I’m a very strong believer in that.
Awnya: So for the Live videos –
- Plan ahead
- talk it up
- get people excited just like you would with a home party
- invite people ahead of time
- Enthusiasm
- showcase each piece and make it look good
Right?
Angela: Absolutely. Describe each pieces’ qualities, you know. I did a live video, I’m really big into live with my own team in my own private group, and I was showing off this pieces. Long story short, I have this belt that I bought in the Dominican and I wear it as a necklace and as a hairpiece. And one of my girls kinda said that she didn’t like it and she was kinda picking on me, which was fine. And I said, “Okay, well,” and I held up the necklace and I said, “Here’s the necklace and it’s $5. Made of shells…multiple colors. $5.” and then go onto the next. “Does that sound good? Or how does this sound?”
“Look at this piece. It is a necklace, it is a belt, and it is a hair-tie.” And then tie it in your hair. “It’s made of shells. Check out the detail on these shells. Handmade in the Dominican Republic. It’s got colors. It’s got purple. It’s got blue, beige and it think there’s some green in here. I have only one of these folks, if you want it say SOLD”.
Even if I thought it was hideous, which it very well could have, I never lied about the product. I never said it was absolutely amazing. You don’t have to lie. But showcase a pieces’ best quality.
Awnya: Something that I’ve been doing to prepare for my live videos next, and you’re going to think that this is so dumb. I’ve been watching QVC. Instead of Netflix binge-watching when I’m doing laundry or whatever, I put on QVC, not to buy things, but to listen to their descriptions.
QVC, they have been selling for years! People buy like crazy on there, and there’s a reason. There’s a formula that they use on there. So if you want to research for your live videos, the listeners, go ahead, tune into QVC, tune into the jewelry gem network or whatever it is. See how they describe things. See how they talk about things. See how they pull you in.
Like, they were describing this jacket and it was like this horse-hair… honestly it was kinda ugly in my opinion. But in the middle of it, they have this girl modeling and they said to her, “How’s your baby doing?” and then they tell everyone, “She just had a baby 2 months ago. Doesn’t she look fabulous?! This looks so good on her because it can hide those flaws. It can hide the post-mommy belly.”
Number one, they are pulling in that personality, they are describing the product and afterwards I was like “I have 7 kids. I need that ugly horse-hair thingy for $250!” and then you can evaluate and you’re saying “Wait. When I first tuned in, I did not like this at all but by the end, they had me wanting to pull out my credit card and spend $250!”
Angela: It’s crazy that you say this cuz there’s a girl on my team who I said in that same exact live video, this girl she’ll work for QVC because she could sell ocean-front property to someone up in Minnesota.
Awnya: But it’s true! I mean, there are other consultants who do great live videos with Paparazzi. So, if you’re nervous, do some research before you jump into it, because live videos are the future if you do them right.
Let’s jump into the next question.
What is a habit you have that contributes to your success?
Angela: Most of all, I’m extremely personable with my customers and my team. I’m very human, I’m very vulnerable. I think the word that best describes me is transparent. And I think that my customers and my team mates very much appreciate that about me. So they feel that they can come to me with anything they might need.
I feel like positivity is extremely important. Sometimes we think that if we are too positive that you become un-relatable. Like, “I can’t come to Angela with a problem because she is going to downplay it.” and what-not. I feel like people can come to me with issues they are having and the way that I handle it makes them feel much more uplifted but realistic, if that makes sense.
Awnya: Absolutely. Being approachable, being real. People buy into YOU when they join your team, when they’re buying jewelry from you. They’re buying into you, so they need to trust you. They need to like you. Being transparent, that totally makes sense.
Angela: That’s why I love your question about “What was your worst moment?” because people need to understand that Elite representatives do have bad parties. We do have bad months. We do struggle. And I think it’s really important that they know that. But on the flip side that we learn from that and that we grow.
So I think that my habit is that I really make a huge habit of offering great customer service not only to my customers but to my teammates who are, in my opinion, the ultimate customers.
What advice would you give to a brand new Paparazzi consultant just getting started in their business?
Angela: Use your resources. There’s a lot of information in your back office and through your upline and on YouTube and on Pinterest. It’s easy to get overwhelmed with all the information. Don’t feel like you have to know everything right now, but never stop learning and growing and adding to your shopping group.
Never stop partying. Never get discouraged. If you feel that you’ve run out of parties, don’t say, “I’ve run out of parties.” and just give up. Talk to people who are maybe good at what you are not good at. Play on other people’s strengths.
Awnya: I love what you said there. “Never stop growing. Never stop partying.”
If you could suggest 1 thing to a consultant who is feeling stuck in their business, what would it be?
Angela: Play on your own strengths and if you have a weakness in a certain area, learn from the best. Kinda like I was saying earlier with Live. I did not have a good live party at all and I’ve been watching people who are amazing at it and I went to EMP where they had awesome training on it and I’m taking that and I’m running with it.
Another thing is to rub elbows with those that you want to learn from. So if you know that somebody has great success with something, watch them and take notes and duplicate what works. Also, never stop showing your love and your passion for the jewelry. Talk to everyone about the opportunity.
But most importantly, and literally, it is the most important thing ever, is to be positive. Even if you are not feeling positive because just as negativity is contagious, so is positivity. It’s very courageous. And if you truly show that you are a part of what it is that you do, then others will to.
Awnya: I’m just going to re-cap what you said there, cuz there was so much good in there. You said to:
- play on your strengths
- learn from the best
- rub elbows with the best, the people that are better than you
- Show your love and your passion for the product, that’s contagious
- And also being positive which is also contagious.
Angela: Right, totally. If you show that you really love what you do, others will too. They’ll want to be a part of it. It’s hard sometimes when we are feeling negative and we’re feeling down. It’s hard to break out of that rut. And when you show your happy attitude and you show your love and you show your commitment to your product and your team and your work, people will want to be a part of that.
They’re not going to show love and they’re not going to show interest if you are “ho-hum, woh-is-me.” So it’s really important that no matter how you feel, even on Facebook, just type something encouraging and remind yourself what it is that you are typing. Fake it till you make it!
Awnya: So I have a little analogy that I thought of as you were saying that. Think of yourself as a magnet. So on a magnet, there is 2 sides, right. A positive side, and a negative and either side is attracting.
So if you are being the positive magnet, you are going to be attracting the positive things to you. If you are being that negative side, you are going to attract those. But here’s the thing, if you are being the negative, the positive does not come. Does that make sense?! You know when you are trying to push the magnet together…
Angela: It pushes away!
Awnya: Yeah, that actual resistance. So if you are wanting your business to grow, which all of us should be wanting our business to grow. If you are trying to attractive that positivity but you are in a bad space and you are being negative or you are just feeling down, you’re not going to be attracting those go-getters, those people that are wanting to grow their business.
You’re going to be attracting more negative. So if you want that positive, if you want that growth, you need to make a switch in your life and be positive. Whether you are faking it till you make it or whether you find something make that shift. Order more jewelry. Talk to your leader. Get on a call and say “I’m really struggling with this, help me out…”
But you’ve gotta make that switch so that you are attracting instead of pushing that stuff away. Does that analogy make sense?
Angela: It’s absolutely perfect. You know, Trent said something at EMP that was incredibly powerful. He said, “You become like the 5 people you spend the most time with.” And if those people are negative and they are soul-suckers, and whatever- insert negative adjective here- that’s what you are going to be like. And if you are like that, that’s the kind of person you are going to attract. So it is very, very important, that you hang out with, especially in the Paparazzi world, the people that you want to become.
What is a quote that inspires you?
Angela: I have 2 quotes that I love. 1 of which is,
You are always going to have detours in life but the destination should always remain the same. So that’s one that I like. But,
Awnya: That brings new perspective into anything. If you think of what you are doing as a calling instead of a job or instead of just something that you do, it brings new clarity, new definition to it.
I haven’t heard that one before so that’s a neat quote!
Awnya: We’re down to the last question. Here on the Papa Rock Stars Podcast, we like to do a weekly call challenge. So,
What is 1 think you would challenge the listeners to do in the next 7 days to take action in their Paparazzi business?
Angela: Do something in this business that scares you. Maybe you are terrified to go live, you know. Maybe the thought of approaching a stranger with your business card horrifies you. Maybe calling a team mate who hasn’t been active in several months intimidates you.
Maybe you are totally afraid to approach that person that you think would be awesome about selling. Maybe you are afraid to approach them about joining your team. The magic happens when you go outside of your comfort zone, so my challenge to you this week is to go there.
Awnya: Go outside of your comfort zone and do something that scares you. I love it!
Thank you everyone for tuning into the show today and thank you Angela for joining us!
Show Notes
Angela Small: Paparazzi Jewelry Elite Leader Interview – printable show notes