Solstice Business Solutions

This job seems ideal, and great. I didn't even apply, they found me. And when interviewed, it seemed like the best job ever, I soon learned that is was awful.
This job is DOOR TO DOOR SALES. I was pretty decent at it too, but I heard so many horror stories from the people I worked with. 

There was a lot of talk at how to be successful, and it really confused me at how some weeks the "team leaders" would get really low numbers, but it was fine. Other members would not reach their goals and it would be an issue. Didn't make sense to me at all. 

The owner tell you that you have to be there so early... but for an hour, you play games like pictionary. Playing games is not the start of a career. Its wasting your time. I remember someone saying it "pumps you up", and ya a few times it could have be considered fun, but surely a waste of valuable time. 

The reasons I hated this job with a passion: 1. one week you could make lots of money, the next almost none. 2.You encountered horrible people, and it could honestly be unsafe at times. 3.The people are so smooth,they will convince you this is a great time,takes time, takes effort...blah blah blah... but then the owner will terminate your contract when she feels like you're not doing well... this one girl worked her butt off, needed a weekend off, the owner didn't like that, and got rid of her. 4. They want you to work every single day 5. I was constantly exhausted. 6. Bell sucks.. as a tech guy I can confidently say this and I was suppose to sell that?

I quit on my own, because I realized this was the worst decision I had ever made. The first weeks were awesome cause I had a crazy paychecks that I never thought I could have in this line of work. But the inconsistency in money, dishonest team leaders/ owner, and door to door sales made my decision to leave so easy. 

It also made me super uncomfortable how to owner was dating and I think living with one of the team leaders. We all had to be professional, but to me that was and is not professional.

I would highly recommend not applying or accepting this job. 

One positive note I can give is that they are really nice people. Professionally they weren't great people, but on a personal level, they were cool.

I am currently a team leader and have been working with Solstice for over a year.

Solstice takes on bringing entry -level account reps through the process of learning to become a standout entrepreneur who excels in people development, business production and standards, and the ability to replicate million dollar skills in any industry. 
So to begin they teach every new rep the necessary habits that are required in every successful business owner, and further demonstrate those habits and skills with a trainee on a daily basis. What they are able to show is how these simple habits develop the art of acquiring customers and closing sales. As being able to promote one’s own vision and generate sales is the foundation of any business, they start by making sure that every rep is able to learn and show those habits consistently in order to bring in revenue for themselves as well as earn a consistent living. Similar to lifeguard training, they want to make sure you can at least swim before being responsible for someone else’s career.
When you start, they walk you through their contractor’s agreement hand in hand and are very open about any questions someone may have. Everything is laid out simply, and there is lots of participation encouraged through both the orientation as well as training week.

If I had known a few years ago about the opportunity to work with a company that sets me up for the kind of success I want to see in my life, as well as the chance to network with highly successful and enthusiastic people; I likely would not have even attended university and started the path to becoming a first-rate business owner much sooner.

Disclaimer: Solstice is only looking for highly motivated people who do believe they have what it takes to add to a team and company culture.

Upon being hired, you are told you will be guaranteed a certain amount of money, you will be your own boss and you are an asset since its commission only.
It is not a guaranteed salary at all, they are many variables along the closing process that leads to cancellation- or you not getting paid. You are trained to exaggerate the price to make it seem as if they are saving more, and tell them you are their personal rep and there to answer any questions for them, however, we are told that there is nothing we can do most times and not to answer their phone calls while working. 
Even though you are told that you are your own boss, you are required to go in for two hours of meetings both before and after you go to the field, without being paid. You do not have the option miss any of the meetings, and are required to go in on saturdays and play games before hitting the field, also do not have the option to miss that. During these meetings you have to reflect on what you did wrong if you didn't hit standards, people not wanting the service or being tricked into buying it is not an option. You are told that you can make your own hours and have weekends off if you hit the standards, but even then are pressured to work, regardless of family or personal matters. Every thursday you are required to go out for "team night" and have to spend money out of your own pocket every time. 
In the contract we sign you are not allowed to have relationships within the workplace, however the owner lives with one of her promoting leaders. 
It is a very sneaky and shady business. 
There is a lot that you can learn and is mostly taught in the first week, however it is not related to running a business like you are told, it is just how to do sales effectively.

You'll have the opportunity to create a learning, teaching, easily advancing position for yourself. And you'll be helped, you need only ask. If you can see yourself spending a bit of time now to do yourself a favor later, it'll really pay off. I enjoyed making great friends/networking and wonderful memories with Solstice. I would recommend working here to anyone--it'll push you for sure, your coworkers will keep you accountable to yourself and your goals. Lastly it will be what you make of it. If you convince yourself that it's just a door-to-door job i'm sorry to say you'll lose %90 of the gold that's sitting there, waiting for you to take it. There are highly intelligent successful people ready to share what they know with you, and a crucible (working in the field, seriously there's so much to learn there) to turn you into a very business/sales savy person. Please don't we worried about such words as "commission" and "door-to-door". Those words may be scary at first, but give it a try! Seriously just say to yourself, "ok this makes me uncomfortable but I'm going to try for 5 weeks" or something like that. That's what I did and I'm glad for it! 

Remember if it gets difficult, "a pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty." [and allows themself to be willing to learn from it] Winston Churchill


(I left due to personal and medical reasons, nothing against Solstice)

Working for Solstice was an amazing experience for me. Although I was not there for a very long time it felt like a lifetime. All the people that work there are absolutely amazing and they will do anything to make you better. They will help you, support you and bug you until you become the best you possible. The days are long and sometimes the weather is not in your favour, but those people and their giant hearts are enough to keep you warm forever. If you love people and have the drive you can make it a long way. YOU have to put the work in. This job provides you with everything you need to thrive but you have to put your best foot forward and give it your all to be successful. Training every day, playing games every day, dancing in a circle clapping and ringing that bell every night was why I looked forward to going into work every day. The best people in the entire world work here and I love them to death. And I love them so much I moved to a position where I am still able to talk to them every day. I love you Solstice!

Pros:
Positive environment, friendly management, worthwhile basic sales training. Door-to-door selling certainly builds character.

Cons:
Extremely high turnover, often two new starts/departures a week. Little opportunity for work-life balance; immense pressure to work 50+ hour weeks despite promises of 'independence'.

New starts brought on as 'Independent Contractors,' exempting the company from having to pay a basic wage or provide standard workers' rights. Product training includes exaggerations of quality and savings, leaving reps to unwittingly mislead customers; in the event that complaints come back to the office, a contractor can simply be blamed and terminated, and the matter is considered settled.

Token promises of quick promotion to 'leadership' prepare people for an exploitative increase in time/workload without any raise in pay. Cult-like atmosphere drives conformity, stifles doubt.

The exploitative Cydcor (the opaque umbrella company) model clearly serves the owner well, but insisting that 'it's not a pyramid' is rarely a good introduction to the corporate structure.

Solstice provides a unique opportunity to advance both professionally and personally. Admittedly not for everyone, it is a wonderful opportunity to explore one's own aspirations and ambitions in life and provides a basis from which to achieve these. Highly motivated individuals and persons interested in advancement get the opportunity to interact with amazing people with amazing stories of their own in what becomes almost a family style work environment. Opportunities for advancement are dependent solely on your motivations and the work that you put into achieving goals set out by you, and that are reviewed by your leader on a weekly basis to help you achieve these. The hardest part of this job really falls down to the amount of work that you put into it, and is easily offset by the wonderful, caring people that you get the opportunity to work with in a fun, energetic, and highly motivated work culture.

If you're ready to work hard and grow both personally and professionally, Solstice is a perfect fit for you!

Working at Solstice Business Solutions was the best job I ever had.

It was challenging, but the people there made it all worth it.
Plus the pay was damned good for what you were doing.
I never had so much fun at a job, plus the advancement opportunity is amazing.


I'd still be there if it just didn't fit for me

I was and still am a full time student at the University of Waterloo while still attending a full time job. Solstice Marketing was 100% commission. I have done door-to-door, ran second interviews, trained others on how to sell to residential areas and teaching methods of the corporate business. The job was exciting and full of enthusiasm, everyone was helpful it felt like a big family.

This was an incredible place to be. The people here were absolutely amazing and is the one thing that makes me want to stay. They really know how to keep your mood up and will help you with anything you need, essentially at any time. The job itself is simple as it follows a very systematic way of doing things. Just keep your head up, and open up to these people, and you will have a wonderful time.

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