Scentsy Generosity

Scentsy is all about generosity.

Try not to become a man of success. Rather, become a man of value. A successful man takes out of life more than he puts in. A man of value will give more than he receives.

–Albert Einstein

That quote is the key tenet of Orville and Heidi Thompson’s business, Scentsy, a company that sells wickless candles online and through Scentsy consultants nationwide.

It’s also the central theme behind the Meridian, Idaho-based company’s decision to give away $100,000 to 40 local businesses last July, to celebrate the company’s fifth anniversary. The couple settled on $100,000 because it was matched their first-year sales.

Scentsy gave $50 apiece to approximately 1,000 employees, family members and vendors to spend in selected stores. It was quite an undertaking. Getting $100,000 worth of $50 bills from the bank took a couple of days, Orville says. Teams of 50 people went to 20 stores at a time, and then to a second set of 20 stores.

“We made them spend it all,” Heidi says. “They bought gift certificates with the leftover money. They also spent $10,000 of their own money above and beyond what we gave them,” she says.

Scentsy Gives Even More

Now the Thompsons have stepped up their efforts a notch. The original concept was limited to internal company employees (numbering about 300), vendors and family members. But there was such a flood of interest from Scentsy Consultants across the country, the Thompsons created Contribute 2009. The campaign, with its separate website and special logo, calls on company consultants and the general public to pledge to spend $50 at a local small business on or around Oct. 12. The Thompsons’ goal is 100,000 people spending $50 each, for a total of $5 million.

But the Thompsons’ vision isn’t intended simply to send individuals on a small buying spree. Anyone can go into a shoe store and spend $50 on a pair of running shoes, Orville says. Consultants in particular are being encouraged to combine their efforts to increase the event’s impact. They are encouraging consultants to work with the public, friends, family and neighbors “and all do something meaningful together.”

“If I put on a T-shirt [that says Contribute 2009] and 20 of my friends [do it, too] and we all go in and buy $50 worth of shoes at the same time, we give hope and inspiration–and publicity–to that store owner for the same pair of shoes. We’ve contributed more because we did it in a slightly different way than we otherwise would.”

That’s what happened in July. Shu’s Idaho Running Co. in Boise, Idaho, was quoted in a story by Reuters. “So here’s a tiny little shoe company that caters to runners in the north end of town that has national exposure,” Orville says. Some owners were in tears. Others said they didn’t think they would have survived the summer without Scentsy’s help.

The event sent people to stores they had never frequented, including the Thompsons. The family bought a picture at a framing store and bird houses and a hummingbird feeder at another shop. “These were two stores I had never been in before,” says Orville, adding that he’s planning to go back to buy another bird feeder. “So now they’ve got a customer for life.”

Orville acknowledges that publicity surrounding the campaign benefits Scentsy. “But that’s not the point,” he says. “The point is to contribute. We needed to use Scentsy’s reach to make an impact.” He says Scentsy created the separate Contribute 2009 website “to de-link it from our marketing efforts.”

“We started in extremely humble circumstances and it was lonely and dark many times,” Orville recalls. “But as we’ve emerged from that, the burden that gets lifted. It’s nice to feel light. We hope Scentsy can be a light for hundreds of thousands if not millions of people.” Adds Heidi, “That’s what we want to spread.”