Before you begin reading any further, take a minute to pray about how this blog would speak to you and also how you would be lead in your financial decisions during your International Pageants Journey (and beyond).
Financial conversations can make many people uncomfortable and quite often is a topic of hot debate. Now with three different divisions for International Pageants we are all in varying stages in our lives. Regardless of whether or not you live at home, are a young professional in an apartment, or own your own home, some of these will apply across the board.
This blog is in response to a recent post about my “Dream Team” who was critical on my journey to Mrs. International 2014. The question arose about finances and it is completely appropriate to ask, so thank you inquiring minds. Without further ado, Mrs. International 2014 financial and fundraising best practices :)
With a strong business and fundraising background from my career experience, this is area is a strength for me. But what if it isn’t for you? I’m going to encourage you to make it one.
Early in college I took a job doing door to door sales. It might sound awful, but it was actually really useful and I continue to use lessons from it to this day. Here are a few key things learned:
Law of Averages: For every ten “no’s”, you will get one “yes”. Now, you might have a row of no’s and a row of yes’s, but that is why it is the law of averages. So if you start off with a lot of no’s, don’t get discouraged
Three E’s: Eye Contact, Encouragement, Excitement! You will notice, I have never, ever taken a picture wearing my crown, sash with sunglasses on as well and that is because one of my rules is no sunglasses…even if it feels like the sun is melting my cornea’s, no sunglasses. Eye contact with others is so HUGE and shows a great level of respect for the individual you are speaking with. Visual cues are important because people are either going to feel safe around you, or they are not. Be excited about your platform and
Have a Plan: When we are asking for financial support, we are really asking for someone to make an investment. What would you invest your money in to? If you were going to buy a car, would you buy it if the dealer had no information on it, you just had to make a purchase based on what it looked like on the outside? You had no idea what the mileage was, what options it had, etc? Ok….translation to pageants. Have information in hand when ready to ask someone to invest in you. What is your plan as Mrs. International, what goals have you set and which ones did you already achieve for your platform? How are you best representing your platform, and have you communicated well enough about International Pageants so they can see it is a system of lasting integrity with a purpose? When presenting to someone, bring visuals in to it and tell a story, and if they connect with you and your purpose, great….if not, then don’t be discouraged, keep trying☺
This was one of the pages includes in my sponsorship proposal, I wanted to communicate that they would be investing in someone who get results for their platform, has high visibility and is very marketable working with diverse market segments while being a part of the number one pageant system in the world.
I completely understand finances can be a challenge on your journey, for us, we had a plan and priorities of how to spend our finances, we are also two people who understand sacrifice very well and were committed to make life style changes for a bigger picture purpose (notice the “our”, my husband and I collaborated often as we went through the year). For me, if it’s important enough, there was a will and way to make it happen….we just can’t be afraid to work hard for it. Once I saw what was possible to advocate for Soles4Souls, it was my intention to show up 150% ready because that is what we can do, the rest is out of our hands and in the judges as one woman’s, or young ladies once in a lifetime dream comes true.
Good luck, pray often, make smart decisions and Never Give Up!
Live What You Love,
MaggiYour Mrs. International 2014
#GiveShoesGiveLove
#B4T
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