Right place, right time

There was a time, not too long ago, when I poo-pooed network marketing. Yep. Me. Miss “I’m so madly in love with what I do and with Arbonne”, because I truly am.

I wasn’t always. Wanna know why?… it was because I was completely uninformed and uneducated about this industry. First of all, I had no idea there was so many NWM (NetWork Marketing) or direct sales companies. I knew of about 3 or 4. And I didn’t like any of their products.

After doing extensive research and asking a LOT of questions to many different companies, I finally landed on Arbonne. I looked at many different things when comparing companies; how much to get started? Were the products in demand – do people need them and do they WANT them? How old is the company? How well known is it? (I wanted a company that was practically breaking ground, yet mature). Do I like/use the products? And are the products consumable?

Truth is, Arbonne met all of these criteria beautifully. 

1. It meets marketplace demands. The health and wellness industry is also EXPLODING!!! So, not only are you getting into the NWM industry, you’re also joining forces of an entirely different industry. In this case, 1 + 1 = AMAZEBALLS.

2. During the great depression there were 3 industries that didn’t lose out – in fact, you could probably find a statistic that these actually flourished during that time – they were; tobacco, alcohol and beauty products. Can you picture it? Folks standing in line for jobs for hours, but gosh darn it all, they were going to be smokin’, drinkin’ and lookin’ fabulous doing it! HA!

3. The company is overflowing with integrity. I NEVER have to wonder if they’re telling the truth about the products. They’re so transparent with the ingredients; where they got them, and why they put each one in the product. I’m excited to say that each product listing on the website includes the ingredient list. We have absolutely nothing to hide.

4. Arbonne attracts all different types of people. Men and women. What we all have in common is a desire to dream big, go for those dreams and help others do the same thing. We all have this freedom ‘chip’ installed in our hearts. It helps us make choices that benefits the whole, not just us. It pushes us to be our BEST selves every single day. Arbonne brings out the best in folks and helps them grow – and most of the time you don’t even know it’s happening.

Arbonne came to us at one of our very lowest points in life. My husband, children and myself are all different and better because that’s what it brought out in us. We prayed for a long time for this amazing gift and it was answered over a cup of coffee at my kitchen table.

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If it was easy, it’d be sleezy!

Rumors abound that Network Marketing is hard. Well, sometimes it is. A lot of the time it’s really not.

See, you have to really break down your own definition of ‘hard’. To me, when referring to work and earning a living to help support your family, hard is having to get up out of bed after a long night your child being sick and begging you to sleep in their tiny toddler bed with them and getting 2 hours of sleep – with one eye open of course. HARD is having to tell your family you can’t join them for Easter supper, or your Grandmothers 85th birthday celebration because you “have to work”. HARD is putting all this time, energy, sweat, sometimes blood, and tears into this JOB to barely pay the bills. Hence the term = Just Over Broke. And, on that note, all this time and energy is being spent making SOMEONE ELSE wealthy. Not you.

I’m not going to sit here and try to convince you that NWM is easy.  Anyone who tells you that NWM is easy is LYING TO YOUR FACE. Jus’ sayin’ 😉 Besides that, I’m not in the convincing business. It’s not my job to convince you to do NWM or to use Arbonne. If you don’t want to, well, frankly that’s your loss. There are thousands of people out there- men and women- who want what I have and my job is to let them know that Arbonne exists, how it can change their lives, to educate them and understand what THEY need.

If you got into a direct sales or network marketing/multi-level marketing, because you thought it’d be ‘easy’ you’re  not alone. Most people think it’s easy. And for some, it is. HARD TRUTH HERE: Those people don’t make any money. Well, they might make a little- enough to get groceries for a week. Maybe.

I know this only because this was me, about 2 years ago. Truthfully I only wanted to make enough money to put food on the table and if I’m ‘lucky’ make the car payment. I didn’t take it too seriously. I already owned a jewelry business, and THAT was not easy. I didn’t look at Arbonne as a true business, only as an extra fun thing I would do on the side. I had every reason to believe it’d be easy as pie. As they say. About a month in, I got a wake up call. Arbonne went from plan B (or E, for Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy) to plan A. I quickly realized this NWM ‘thing’ could actually be what is going to make all my dreams come true!

Everything of what I’m saying applies to all types of business. You go into any store, restaurant, law firm, wherever, and ask the owner if it’s EASY to own your own business. They will tell you no. Especially if they’re doing really well.

It’s simple: if you want to make a significant income with ANY business, NWM or otherwise, (I’m talking totally legal WITH your clothes ON 😉 ) it’s going to be hard. You’re going to have to do things you’ve NEVER done before. You’re going to have to step outside of your comfy bubble and go do what needs to get done. As Nike says – Just Do It.

To be successful at NWM you have to do some personal growth. Deciding to do this is the first step. Stop watching TV one night a week and read a personal development book instead. I think a great book to START with for anyone is ‘The 4:8 Principle’ by Tommy Newberry -or- ‘How to Win Friends and Influence People’ by Dale Carnegie. I could (and probably will) write an entire post about personal development, but this isn’t it.

I don’t know about other companies, but the plan that has proven successful over and over and over again in Arbonne is very simple. The idea of NWM is simple- you SHARE your products or service with others. You educate them and try to understand how it’s going to fit into their lives and show them how they can do exactly what you’re doing. The best copycat wins.

So, if you got into NWM because you want an ‘easy’ way to make a lot of money, you’re in the wrong business. This isn’t a get rich quick scheme. It’s not a pyramid and it’s not taboo anymore. It’s a legitimate way to make a lot of money over a period of time by showing others how to copy you. Not hard. Not easy. Just simple.

As former Arbonne President, Rita Davenport, says “If it was easy, it’d be sleezy.” 😉

I don’t “DO” parties…

This line always makes me chuckle.

I get what people mean when they say this, I really do. (I think) they mean they don’t enjoy having their friends and families pushed into buying a bunch of junk they’ll never use, need or want. I don’t blame them.

Or, maybe they know their social circle is low on money (aren’t we all?) and won’t be able to buy anything if they come to this “party”, and if said friend doesn’t buy anything to support the hostess, well then doesn’t that automatically mean they’re not a very good friend?!

Maybe they think they’re ‘above’ doing those “party things”. That’s cool. Everyone has their own vision of themselves, and besides, their mom’s told them NEVER to go to one of those things. They’ll get ‘roped’ into some cult-type thing and never get out alive!

Thankfully, it’s 2014 and 9.5/10 times this simply isn’t the case. We’ve evolved (thank God!) and we’re a wiser people now. Network marketing is growing, like, a lot- all over the world. Whether you like it or not, you’re going to be buying MOST of everything from a NWM company or another within the next 15-20 years, or maybe even owning your own NWM business.

Laugh………. go ahead……… I’ll wait…………

Okay, back to reality- you with me? Good! If you don’t believe me, do your own research- PLEASE!

Back to these parties- The only reason I do parties is to 1. Meet new people to share Arbonne with because we still only have 1% brand awareness, and 2. Because my time is valuable and it allows me to leverage my time (I can either say the same thing once to 5 people, or say it 5 times to 5 people,) and 3. because THEY ARE FUN!!!!

I’m about to be totally honest with you here….. When I do a “party” my goals are to meet just 1 person who see’s the value in owning their own business, and to book more parties…. That’s it. Notice how I didn’t say sell anything? Truth be told, the particular product I endorse happens to sell itself. My job is to teach people and show them how it can benefit THEM. If they want to buy it, GREAT! If not, oh well. I’m totally okay with that, too.

So, if you’ve been holding off on having a party because it’s not your ‘thang’, consider reconsidering. They’re a ton of fun! Hello?! Facials or foot soaks and WINE?!?! With your favorite people?! And you get free products (that actually WORK!!!) just for introducing your friends to Arbonne?! Seems like a no-brainer! You don’t even have to get food or a bunch of drinks (no, really, I mean that, please don’t go out and buy a bunch of food! Your friends won’t have time to eat! They’ll be busy getting pampered, thanks to you!)

Used to be that you needed 10 people at one of these things. Not with Arbonne. 5 people is plenty. I’m in this to make friends, not push a bunch of products on people. If you have a TON of people at your party I won’t have time to get to know them and chit chat, and I LOVE to chit chat.

So, call the girls, tell them to come over for an hour or two and get a free facial, and relax. I’ll take care of the rest.

Miss, put down that glue gun

One day I got out of bed and realized it was a payday, which is always exciting… well, normally… except when the paycheck is already gone because you have to pay bills, and you still don’t have enough left over for food, gas, or little tiny extra’s, ya know, like, renting a $2 movie. Most people are all “TGIF!!”, and I used to be all “Oh Lord, help me, it’s Friday again. Please let me get through this day.” 

It wasn’t just because of having to pay bills, it was because I had to go to work knowing I’d miss something at my daughters school, or I’d miss watching my son grow through his toddler years- like I missed seeing my daughters. It made me sad, angry, and resentful. Not only that, but I was putting so much energy into making SOMEONE ELSE wealthy. I don’t know about you, but trying to figure out that WHY makes my brain hurt.

So I quit. It was probably the worst time I could’ve quit my job. We’d just gotten a van we could barely afford WITH my paycheck, and I had nothing lined up. We were hardly making ends meet. Working to barely pay the bills. (Sound familiar?) JOB = Just Over Broke.

Here’s the thing, though: My heart couldn’t take it anymore. My spirit was bawling- hell, I was bawling- and I just simply couldn’t MAKE myself do that anymore. I KNEW I had to take that leap of faith. If I didn’t do it THEN, then WHEN WOULD I? And why wait? I just told myself we’ll figure it out…. and we have! It’s not been mildly easy. We’ve had to go through a LOT of junk since then: emotionally, financially, spiritually, and it’s been 100% worth it.

You see, I didn’t just quit because I was miserable with my job, and quite honestly, my life. I quit because of the possibilities that would open up for me. And they did… I was flooded with opportunity. The one I ran with is my Handcrafted by Heather business. I’ve always been crafty and truly enjoyed MAKING things. I still do! It’s my therapy… but it’s not something that’ll pay the rent…. and then one day this jewelry business led me straight to the foot of Arbonne, which is Swiss for beautiful tree.

I think about that often- usually when I’m making jewelry. How this passion and desire to create something unique and fabulous, this therapy, this outlet of creativity, led me to something so big, and powerful, and wonderful as Arbonne.. and I think of ALL the GREAT things I’m doing with this and all the amazing people I’m meeting and the lives that are going to change……. all because I trusted my heart, I listened, and put down my glue gun, and simply walked out.