Friday, April 27, 2007

Josh Travels China II Volume 1

April 26, 2007

The flight from SLC to LAX was pretty easy going. It only had about 30 people on it. My ears were really giving me some trouble on the flight from the pressure. I never have trouble with my ears on planes. It seriously felt like my right ear drum wanted to explode. I was willing to let it do so if the pain would just go away. Of course this all happens before I switch planes at LAX for my 16 hour flight half way around the world. I was thinking this could really be a terrible trip if this doesn’t go away.

The majority of the pain went away when we touched down at LAX. My ears were still hadn’t popped even after getting off the plane. After getting into the terminal, Ashley and I walked up to the flight board to see which gate we need to go to for our connecting flight. We were headed to Taipei, Taiwan from LAX. For our flight, the board read TBT. We looked at each other and wondered why the board said our gate was “To Be Determined.” We had three hours till our flight departed, so we decided to get some food. Yes, I know… TBT is not the acronym for “To Be Determined”…. But more about that later.

We sat down at a Mexican Restaurant in the terminal. We finished eating, and the board still said TBT. Since the flight left in about two hours, we thought they would have decided the gate by then. We sat around probably another 15 minutes before we came to the conclusion that TBT didn’t mean “To Be Determined.” In fact, it meant Tom Bradley Terminal. We were in the totally wrong building waiting for the gate to be posted.

We finally made it on the plane. It was a pretty smooth ride. Our plane was late landing into Taipei. We had to walk straight off of the plane and right on to our connecting plane to Hong Kong.

The flight from Taipei to Hong Kong was just under two hours. We took the train from the Hong Kong Airport to meet up with Scott, Becky, and Paul. We arrived at the hotel around 11:30am. Ashley and I were jet lagged pretty badly this time. So, we rested while the rest finished up some meetings. We met up for dinner at Dan Ryan’s Chicago Grill. It seems to be a tradition while in Hong Kong.

The next morning, we left for Shenzhen. Shenzhen is in China, just outside the Hong Kong Border. We visited a couple candle factories and their showrooms. The showrooms are always impressive. However, I love to see how the factories operate. I've heard stories about factories in China, but have never been able to see it for myself. So, now I had my chance.

I was amazed on how many people work in the factory. People are everywhere. Almost everything is done by hand one piece at a time. It was amazing to see the factory operate. Everyone had their own job.

After our factory visits, we headed to Guangzhou by car. When we left Shenzhen to head to Guangzhou, it started to rain. This wasn’t the normal type of rain. I am talking serious “buckets at a time” type of rain. This took the “when it rains it pours” saying to a whole new level.

So, our trip from Shenzhen to Guangzhou was supposed to be an hour by car, but it was four instead. After the journey, we finally arrived in Guangzhou. Guangzhou is where the huge China Export Fair is located. At this fair, you see anything and everything you can possibly think of to buy. I am not kidding. They have everything you could possibly imagine. This fair is located in huge expo halls in many different locations around the city. We use the METRO (subway) to get around the city to see the different halls.

We have walked the show the last two days and have one more day to go. There will be more to come I am sure!

Thursday, April 26, 2007

Employee Appreciation

We appreciate our employees at For Every Body. Each one has an important roll in the process of making and selling our products. From the beginning in the product development stage to the end when we sell our candles, air fresheners, lotions, etc., every employee makes a difference.

For the past two months we have given our employees coupons to use at our outlet stores in Utah. We have two outlet stores. One in Lindon at 400 N. Geneva Road, and one in Draper at 416 E. 12300 S. Employees are able to go to the stores and choose any candle they would like.

Wednesday, April 25, 2007

Employee Spotlight #4- Melissa

Name: Melissa / Missy
Job: PPP Assistant
What you like best about your job: Creating Stress for Customer Service. :) She also likes the People she works with, and the challenge of learning new processes and making them better
Born: Provo, Utah
Education: She graduated from Orem High School, and Utah Valley State College in Medical Reception/ Office Management
Places lived: Provo and Orem, Utah
Favorite candle: She loves a candle that is free, but her favorite fragrances are the oatmeal cookie and citrus.
Favorite place to shop: Las Vegas twice a year
Last good movie: Whats up Doc. With Barbra Streisand
Likes to watch: Football, or Grey’s Anatomy, and Deal or No Deal on TV
Favorite pig out food: CHOCOLATE w/ nuts, caramel and or Peanut butter
Favorite music or artist: country
Person you admire: She said she looks up to so many it’s hard to choose one. She looks up to people with strong work ethics, and values. People who have strong convictions and live what they teach.
Three words that describe you: Loyal, helpful and fun
Likes to do in your spare time: Travel and hang out with her family and friends
I've learned something in life, it is: Life is not fair, but live each day with no regrets and have a FUN doing it. Everything happens for a reason.


Tuesday, April 24, 2007

Visit to Japan

Becky, our founder, Paul, our CEO, and Larry, our international director went to Japan last week. They had a very successful trip. They met with two large potential accounts. They gained valuable insights into the Japanese market and will be targeting these opportunities during their upcoming visits to China and Vietnam.
While they were in Japan, they stayed in an authentic Japanese Bath House. This helped them understand the Japanese culture better. They said the hotel walls were made out of rice paper and they had sliding doors throughout the entire building. There were mats on the floors and they were only allowed to wear slippers on their feet. Almost everything they served them at their meals was raw. They have a lot of stories to tell when they get home!






Monday, April 23, 2007

China Wedding


For Every Body's president, Scott, will be getting married in China on May 3 to Zhang Qian (Coco). Congratulations Scott and Coco!

Friday, April 20, 2007

Motorcycle License

Congratulations to Jenny, For Every Body's Human Resource Assistant, for passing her written motorcycle test! With a lot of intense studying, she passed it with a 92%. She studied for about a week every day to prepare for her test.

Her husband surprised her with a Harley Sportster 1200 a few weeks ago. He has been riding bikes for about three years, and he wanted her to be able to ride with him.

She wants to ride her bike around town at first, and then take road trips with her husband. Her husband was so excited she was going to be able to ride with him that he took off the normal pipes and put really loud ones on to make her a "really cool motor cycle babe." She said it was too loud so she made him take them off. ;)
She'll be able to start riding after she takes her safety motor cycle class at Harley Davidson in Orem.

Thursday, April 19, 2007

Employee Spotlight #3- Missy

Name: Emily, Melanie, Millie aka Missy
Job: Graphic Design / Illustration
What you like best about your job: the people
Born: a year called 1978 on the best day January 6
Education: College Graduate: Two degrees in Graphic Design, and Illustration
Places lived: Salt Lake, Centerville and Bountiful, Utah; Toronto, Canada
Favorite candle: whatever Anita (one of our graphic artists) creates
Favorite place to shop: Wherever and everywhere. I love shopping for furniture!
Last good movie: The Three Amigos
Likes to watch: The Office
Favorite pig out food: finger foods from veggies to chips 'n salsa, shrimp n cocktail, I like food!
Favorite music or artist: Ben Harper, Amos lee, and lots more
Person you admire: Ghandi
Four words that describe you: honest, creative, funny and random
Likes to do in her spare time: run, read, play, draw in my color book
If I've learned something in life, it is: Hang loose! No matter the circumstance, things can always get much worse! Also, you are what you think you are.

Wednesday, April 18, 2007

Walking Club

We started a Walking Club at For Every Body last week. Employees who want to join can go walking at lunch everyday. It is a great way to have fun and exercise at the same time! Great company and exercise. We have four members so far and we are continuing to grow! We only have two more weeks left in the Biggest Loser contest. So we need to get going!

Tuesday, April 17, 2007

New Trailer

It was another exciting day at For Every Body. We made soy based candles as usual, attended meetings, sent emails, and worked on our computers. But, something happened that was out of the ordinary. Josh, our International Project Manager, bought a new trailer. It is pretty cool if you're into that sort of thing.

It is big enough to carry four wheelers and six people. He picked it up before work today from a little town called Roy, Utah. He woke up at 5:30 a.m. to pick it up, and then drove it to work. Anita and I had a tour earlier today.

The trailer is white with black and red writing. It is pretty "pimp" as Josh would say!

Monday, April 16, 2007

Changes on our Website

We made several new changes on For Every Body's website recently. We changed our shopping cart to make your shopping experience easier. We also changed the layout of our website slightly. Please send us your feedback to let us know what you think of the changes.

We also changed the front page to our Gardener Collection, the Candle of the Month page to our New Home Baked Sugar Cookie, and our clearance section to our new Tiny Temptation cupcake candles.

Visit our website to see all of the new changes! www.foreverybody.com

Wednesday, April 11, 2007

Concerns or Problems

Thank you for your feedback. We appreciate your comments. Please email our customer service department directly if you have experienced a problem with our candles or have any concerns. You can reach them at customerservice@foreverybody.com. Kristie is our customer service manager. Thank you again for your feedback!

Tuesday, April 10, 2007

Employee Spotlight #2- Jenny

Name: Jenny
Job: Human Resources
What she likes best about her job: I love the people I work with at For Every Body. It's like they are my pseudo family.
Born: Missoula, Montana
Education: Bachelor's degree in Integrated Studies with an emphasis on Business Management and Behavioral Science.
Places lived: Montana, Utah, Illinois, Arizona, California, Oregon and Japan.
Favorite candle: Watermelon or Orange Citrus
Favorite place to shop: Tuscan Gardens in Sandy/So. Jordan, Utah
Last good movie: The Holiday
Likes to watch: CSI, any detective or mystery shows
Favorite pig out food: White cake from Target
Favorite music or artist: The Rolling Stones or Fleetwood Mac
Person she admires: Jimmy Stewart
Three words that describe her: Happy, nice and a good listener.
Likes to do in her spare time: Decorate
If I've learned something in life, it is: We all have our own lessons in life to learn and it's our job to master those lessons for the good. If we don't learn the first time how to deal with them in the right way, we will get the lesson over and over again until we get it right. I'm still trying to get it right. :)

Friday, April 6, 2007

Sundale Research Report #3

Most Popular Places for Candles

The living room is the leading place in the home where candles are burned most frequently. In 2005, approximately 43% of candle users burned them most frequently in the living room. This percentage is expected to remain the same through 2010. Candles make the living room feel more comfortable and are often the focal point for home décor. The outdoor part of the home, a place where candles were infrequently used, is now a popular place to burn candles. Approximately 21% of candle users burn them most frequently outside. As mentioned above, the trend of “outdoor rooms” is growing at a significant pace. In 2010, 23% of consumers are expected to burn candles most frequently in the outdoor part of their home. The kitchen and bedroom are also popular places to burn candles. In 2005, about 17% of consumers burned candles most frequently in the kitchen, with approximately 15% burning the most in the bedroom.

Visit www.sundaleresearch.com for more information

Thursday, April 5, 2007

Diet Coke Campaign

Some people like diet coke and others LOVE it. Well, we have a few For Every Body employees that absolutely LOVE diet coke here. One employee is in our sales department. Her name is Ashley. She cannot go a day without it.

On the other hand, Sue, in product development, is more on the "like" side. She likes diet coke every once in a while, but not every day. A couple of weeks ago, Sue and I went to a "Fit and Fabulous" seminar. After that, Sue decided that diet coke wasn't for her anymore.

Sue and Ashley share an office. Everyday Sue tells Ashley that she is drinking "diet poison." This does not stop Ashely. She still LOVES her diet coke.

Other employees like Anita, one of our graphic artists, have also tried to stop Ashley from drinking diet coke, but no one has done it yet.

We'll keep trying to help Ashley kick the habit. I don't know how successful we'll be, but we can try! Let me know if you have any tips.

Wednesday, April 4, 2007

Biggest Loser Contest Winners

We would like to congratulate the winners of the Biggest Loser Contest for the guys at For Every Body. Because the contest was so close, we decided to have two winners.

Most percentage weight loss: Nathan, purchasing- 11.1% (25 pounds)
Most weight loss: Justin, engineering - 40 pounds (10.2% weight loss)

Congratulations! We will presented their $40 Target gift cards to them today. The girls' contest has been extended until Wednesday, May 2.

Tuesday, April 3, 2007

The Biggest Loser Contest

For the past three months we've had a "biggest loser" weight loss contest to see who could lose the most weight in percentage weight loss. A couple of guys have lost quite a bit of weight! They've been exercising a lot and eating healthy. One guy lost over 30 pounds. We planned to end the contest tomorrow, but we decided to extend it for one more month. A couple of people had concerns, and so we extended the contest for the girls until May 2. The guys will end tomorrow. I'll let you know who wins!

Monday, April 2, 2007

Employee Spotlight #1

Name: Josh
Title: Director of Project Management
What he likes best about his job: the people he works with. Every day is different and has something new.
Born: Salt Lake City
Education: California State University, Chico- bachelor's in marketing and management
Places lived: Utah, California, and Oregon
Favorite candle: Minus Wicks, fresh peach scent
Favorite place to shop: Pac Sun
Last good movie: Pursuit of Happiness
Likes to watch or read: KSL updates / current events
Favorite pig out food: Ben & Jerry's half baked ice cream
Favorite music or artist: country
Person he admires: parents because they taught him everything he knows
Three words that describe him: coolest guy ever
Spare time: snowboard, wakeboard, ride dirt bikes at the dunes
If I've learned something in life, it is: Proper planning prevents poor performance (the 5 P's of business)