Feature Friday: RN to the Rescue

I met Averill Reynolds Mount last month at a Fantasia Home Parties Power Train Meeting in Cleveland. She quietly slipped into the room, and listened intently to everything, and everyone. I wondered about her unassuming nature…could she really do well standing up in front and selling our products to women at parties?

So, when I got back to my office, I looked a little closer. Wow! This sweet quiet woman was a powerhouse! She just started her business earlier this year, and yet she had great sales every month, consistent, never needed or asked for guidance, or complained. And her Facebook one-line updates cold rival those of Rodney Dangerfield:

“The penalty for masturbation in Indonesia is decapitation. But it’s all good in the USA. To book your Adult Toy Party and get free stuff give me a call.”

When people ask you “what do you do?” how do you describe your business?

Well first off I always say I’m a “Romance Consultant” for several reasons. It makes them ask questions about the meaning, and it is a term that can be used in any crowd. Then I try to work in one of my favorite sayings: “I do Tupperware with a twist, I sell the latest in rubber-made”. That kind of warms them up to the type of bomb about to be dropped. Remember girls, we are a rare breed, it’s not everyday you meet someone in this line of work! Then I usually say something along the line of: “I do party presentations in your home with a full line of spa products and various adult items for the bedroom. Would you like to book a party?”

What is the funniest story or situation you can think of involving what you sell?

One of my hostess invited her cousins to the party and someone let the cat out of the bag. Her grandmother and her grandmother’s sister showed up! OMG, these two ladies are in there 70’s and loving every minute of my party! So I am passing around samples of Nipplicious and I tell everyone to put it on theire nipples-or their lips if they are uncomfortable. The grandmother hears the nipple part, but then watches as someone put it on their lips, and says in a LOUD voice: “Did she say lips or tits?”

Her sister replies just as loud “Lips and tits.” The whole party just lost it!

Besides family and Fantasia Home Parties–what else are you involved in? Do you have a day job?

I have been married for 5 years to my wonderful husband who gave me this great last name, thank you Mr Mount! I work full time as an RN in the ICU unit at my local hospital.

What personal goal is your Fantasia business helping you to achieve?

When I started it was just to get out of the house for a few nights a week to hang out with gals and enjoy adult conversation. But with the economy the way it is now the pay has come in handy for all the little luxuries in life that I might not spring for with my other paycheck. Plus with my buying discount, Christmas will be a breeze this year!

What’s your favorite part of being a Fantasia Romance Consultant?

All the joy I bring with my products and the help I give people. I became a nurse so I could help people in a different way but now I have all kind of strangers calling just for sexual advice. If I don’t know the answer I look it up and get back with them hopefully with some literature I have printed out on the topic. I remember a woman at one of my parties told my she couldn’t find her clitoris or her G-spot. So I looked up a little diagram and instructions on the Internet and put it in her order bag. At the end of the day no matter what job I came home from I get to say “I helped someone today.”

This RN has real heart! RN to the rescue!

—Rina Valan

Once upon a time, in 1984, a woman named Rina Valan was frustrated about the limits placed on women in the business world and in their personal relationships. Back then, you literally had one choice: raise a family or have a career. In addition, if women complained of lack of pleasure with a partner, it was just assumed she was ‘frigid.’ Those choices were just not acceptable to Rina, and so her mission because clear to be that champion for the financial and personal well-being of women and their partners. With a $10,000 loan from her mother and drawing out all her cash advances on credit cards, in August 1984 Rina started Fantasia Home Parties in a small dusty warehouse in Elizabeth, NJ. She loved her 3 year old daughter so much that she could not bear to leave her with a sitter, so she took her to work every day. In the evenings would train new consultants so they could sell at home parties and be able to support their families AND be there to take care of them too. Today, Rina and her daughter, Emily, still work side by side. So 30 years later, Fantasia Home Parties stands as the pioneer and leader in romance home parties. As one of the founding member of CAHPA (Certified Adult Home Party Association), Fantasia continues to forge the trail and we make it possible for women to be equals in matters of the heart, personal pleasure, or providing income for themselves and family. Some of us do it in pink high heels or sneakers, some are single or married, some are single moms, or some of us are even taking care of own moms. With over 33 years of executive experience in the Home Party and Direct Selling business, her personal attention and real life experience is the backbone of our team. It is not unusual that she shares her working experience daily by coaching and with personal support with both new and experienced consultants.

Rina Valan, President and Founder of Fantasia Home Parties