“Being too busy is not an excuse not to believe in yourself.”~Tara Hofeldt
As a company, WineShop at Home understands how important it is to create a community of consultants and leaders who truly support and root for each other. This is one of the values that hooked Tara Hofeldt in December 2013 when she first joined WineShop at Home.
18 months, 5 promotions and 2 earned luxury vacations later, Tara says that WineShop was a “lifesaver” for her family. Read on to hear more of Tara’s story!
They Had Sworn Off Direct Sales
By the time WineShop at Home expanded to the Montana market where Tara lived with her husband and two small children, the Hofeldts had sworn off direct sales. In the past, Tara had worked for several other direct sales companies. Each time, the experience had been disappointing and taken much of her time and energy away from her family.
“When Betty Kaufmann called me and said that WineShop at Home was now open in Montana, I got excited. She said they would love to have me as part of the team,” Tara says. “I was taken by surprise but I was afraid to tell my husband because we had agreed: no more direct sales. I didn’t tell him. I just talked to her and said I would do it.”
When Tara finally told her husband that she had committed to another direct sales venture, he was upset about it at first. Eventually he came around, saying, “If you’re one of the first reps in Montana… we’ll try and make it work. If nothing else, drinking wine would be kind of great.”
“I started in December,” Tara says, “and had my first tasting after Christmas. It just kind of blew up after that.”
WineShop at Home was a “Lifesaver”
At the time when Tara joined WineShop at Home, things at home were difficult. She and her husband had gotten married young – Tara was 19 when they said their vows – and together with their two young children they lived in a small town near the family’s cattle ranch.
“I was going to school and working three jobs. I worked every day of the week. I felt like I was stuck in a small town with two small kids… I’m one of the younger moms here. All my friends left for college and did their thing, and I just wasn’t finding a job I liked. I was depressed.”
Tara shared that she considered leaving the small town and completing school elsewhere.
“WineShop has been kind of a life saver for our family,” Tara says. “It brought us closer together. He’s realized that direct sales isn’t a bad thing; I found something I was passionate about that connected me with other people and generated income.”
Don’t Slow Up
Tara explains, “I really doubted myself a lot when I started because I joined without my husband’s full support. I would often wonder, ‘How can I do this without him in my corner?’ For a while, my mom, my mother-in-law and my husband would comment on my work habits, saying, ‘You’re too busy, you’re wearing yourself out.’
“There were some nights when I was up late finishing projects, but I always told them, ‘It’ll pay off.’ It did, very quickly. I was able to graduate school in May 2014 and quit one of my jobs within 6 months of starting my business.”
Tara says that if she could offer any advice, it’s that, “Being busy is not always a good excuse not to believe in yourself.”
Thanks so much, Tara!