Today we’d like to introduce you to Dana Loukanis.
Hi Dana, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
For 20 years, I have been a National Sales Manager in the Hotel/Resort Sales industry. I loved it, but always knew I wanted to do more, and be my own boss. I found myself in a position to simply get a discount on home fragrance and decor items when my best friend and her husband began a Direct Sales Company called Pink Zebra Home. Again, simply in it for the discount because I LOVE home fragrance, and I love decor. Decorating is one of my favorite things to do.
After a few months in, I began to realize the potential of making this a real business and earning a good income. I never really knew anything about Direct Sales, other than people didn’t typically take it seriously. What surprised me was that in addition to finding a lot of joy in sharing the excitement of our products, I truly got so much from the team that began to build with me. Seeing how lives were changing took me by surprise. Including my own! Lives change when people are given the tools. In our business, some are thrilled at the opportunity to earn some extra money. Moms that get to stay home with their kids and still contribute to the family income. Or a new empty-nester needing to find something to engage in since their lives were around the kids that are now on their own. I’ve also seen people totally step out of their comfort zones. Whether they are speaking in public for the first time or encouraging other team members and finding joy and confidence from that. I see so many that have built up their confidence, or that didn’t realize how much they loved being on stage or earning awards. Or the pride in knowing that you’ve helped a single mom with our HEROES program.
We also have people that have never gotten to travel before and for the first time, earn an incentive trip and go to some amazing place! There are just SO many things to love about this kind of business. I’ve built a big team and we encourage and support one another. I’ve also learned so many different ways to share my products with customers. Some on social media were somewhat out of my comfort zone at first. But I continue to learn! I’m a little old school in that I love in person selling. Events, networking, all the things to build relationships at the same time. At the beginning of sharing my business, I found time on weekends and evenings to do what I needed to. Then in my 6th year of Pink Zebra, I was able to leave my resort sales position and focus solely on my company. The freedom that gave me has been incredible. I loved it! I’ve been able to travel more, be more involved in networking groups, and more events, and have even been on a radio business show! Having freedom and choices is an incredible thing!
Then, as my 10th year approached, I decided I wanted to add another level to my career. I’ve always been one to love learning and doing new things, so I reached out to a friend to see if she wanted to give it a whirl and we started our own Women’s Apparel Boutique!! For now, it is online, but we do private events and Runway Shows where we can even come to you! We plan to add a decked-out trailer in our near future to be able to easily travel to do more “Home Parties” and events. I love that it allows me to continue building my Pink Zebra business too! It all flows together very nicely, and my favorite things are what I get to do every day! Home fragrance, Decor, clothes and accessories! Fortunately, I’m very organized and have my schedule down to allow me to focus on both of my companies and I’m loving every minute. I can’t imagine doing anything else or having more fun than I’ve been having!!
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
Not always smooth! When I was still working my hotel/resort sales job, I worked 50-60 hours each week, so in the beginning, when I decided to make a go of my Pink Zebra business, I stayed busy around the clock! As soon as I was done with my day job, I kicked into gear for my own business. Weekends I spent doing events or parties. I was very fortunate to have my husband come and do events with me too! He’s been a huge support for me. Also, in the beginning, not a lot of people had heard of Pink Zebra, so it took consistent effort to get the word out. But we did it! And still have so much room for growth too! There are still people that have yet to hear of it!
Another challenge for me was when I first left my sales position and turn my business into a full time one, I ran into challenges with managing my time. I found an incredible Motivational Speaker (Brendon Burchard) who I connected with and even did some coaching, and learned SO many things. Now I feel like I’m a master of my time. It definitely helped me to level up and become so much more productive, which in turn makes me happier.
As for the boutique, it has been a bit bumpy too! FUN, but bumpy. Having to learn about being a buyer, and working with vendors that sometimes aren’t the best in customer service. Or ordering clothes we think will be a big hit and they aren’t. Or not having enough of what everyone DOES want. Learning the ins and outs of this business is still ongoing. And with the economy currently taking a turn, we are learning how to navigate that as well! We are coming up with some out-of-the-box things we can do to stay top of mind with our customers while also engaging with new ones. We are grateful to still be having success even during the rough patches, thanks to our amazing customers and some big determination on our part.
As you know, we’re big fans of Pink Zebra Home and Bella Moods Boutique. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Pink Zebra Home – I’m an Executive Director, an Independent Consultant and we specialize in Home Fragrance and Decor. We use non-toxic soft soy fragrance wax to make our Sprinkles, and you can melt them in a warmer. We also have a liquid version that can be used almost anywhere! Whether it’s used as a spray, or you pour it into a WallHug, it’s easy and makes just about anything smell better! We also have beautiful decor pieces that have a dish that you can put the Sprinkles in, but the decor makes for a beautiful accent in your home instead of just a typical warmer. We do have warmers as well, but I love decorating with our Accent Shades. There are so many other things we carry, but these are what we are known best for! I’m very proud of the brand because Pink stands for women and Zebra’s are stronger when they are together (because their stripes hide them from their prey). We support single moms with our Heroes program by donating days of daycare to them. We support the soybean farmers in the US along with places like Lavender Farms for the oils we get to make our lavender soaks. The company gives back in so many ways and it’s something I’m very proud of!
Bella Moods Boutique is a boutique that I own with my business partner. We are a great team! She’s in her late 20s, and I’m in my 50s, and we both LOVE fashion, so we look for pieces that are just perfect for both of our age groups to make women feel beautiful every day. We pride ourselves on being on trend but also having the classic pieces that stand the test of time. We look for high end without breaking the bank. We began our boutique during Covid so it is currently online, but we do offer in home parties and we do shows and events as well. Even Runway Events if someone would like! We also love showing our customers how they can take a couple of pieces and add them to their current wardrobe to completely change it up and give it a new and gorgeous feel! When they feel beautiful, we are happy!
In both of my businesses, I pride myself on customer service. I do all that I can to be timely and offer the best customer service possible!
So maybe we end on discussing what matters most to you and why?
My family obviously, but in business, what matters most is quality products and the customer experience. People can purchase from anyone and anywhere these days. I want to provide exceptional customer service in hopes they will continue coming back to me. I want them to want to refer me to their friends when they know someone is looking for home fragrance, decor, or clothing!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.bellamoodsboutique.com / www.shopdanalea.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bellamoodsboutique/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BellaMoodsBoutique
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0nsghDCmf_R1gdKkjumtrQ
