My Network Marketing Story

People who see me around always assume I’m at stay at home mom.

I don’t leave my house to go to work. I’m here to bring my kids to school each morning and pick them up each day. I’m available anytime the school nurse calls to tell me one of my kids is in her office, yet again. I don’t need to stress about taking time off work for all the orthodontist appointments, dentist appointments, doctor appointments, soccer practices, cheer practices, taxi-driving, and social activities, etc. that come with being a mom of a ton of kids. I have the freedom to just be available for my kids all the time.

I cannot count how many times I’ve said, “If I had an actual JOB where I worked for someone else, I’d be fired after the first week!” I truly would. These kids are neeeedy! Hardly a week goes by without some type of interruption in the normal routine with some appointment or school meeting or call from a school nurse.

The fact is I am a single mom supporting my kids 100% on my own, very comfortably. I’m also a stay at home mom. I have the best of both worlds.

Wait….that doesn’t make much sense. How can a stay at home, single mom also be the sole income provider for a large family???

Well, chances are you won’t believe me, but I’m gonna tell you the truth….Network Marketing.

Yep, the big, bad MLM.

The maligned and hated business model that even has a documentary now shouting to the world all its evils.

I have to admit, there have been times in my network marketing career that I’ve let the haters get to me. Times when I have even been almost embarrassed to tell people what I do for a living for fear of judgement or fear that they would mistakenly think I am trying to “recruit” them simply by answering their direct question of what I do for a living.

Friends, that’s nonsense! I am proud of creating success in this industry where people say it can’t be done!

The long lasting financial rewards this business has brought to my family and to so many others I care about has easily shut that hater nonsense down! Now I LOVE to shout it from the rooftops that I have created a successful business in network marketing despite the fact that so many people claim it can’t be done. Umm, yes it can.

I’m proof that it CAN be done, it doesn’t take any special superpowers, and it doesn’t bring on all the hell and brim-fire that the haters love to claim it does.

Who am I and how have I become that small percentage of people who actually make a great income?

First of all, when I started my MLM biz I was a stay at home, homeschooling mom of 4 kids. Within 2 years of starting my business we adopted our 3 youngest kiddos and I was suddenly a mom of 7! Then a few years later, I was divorced and raising my large crew on my own.

The only sales experience I had was working at a retail clothing store in college and getting promoted to assistant manager at age 20. From there, I became a full time nanny. Then I became a full time mom, part time midwife’s assistant, lactation counselor, childbirth educator, and began my lifelong passion of working with mamas.

I’m a little introverted and often shy when I first meet people. I’m ultra-independent and way too self-reliant which makes it a challenge for me to be a Leader of a team and work collaboratively with others. I prefer to do things alone. I’m ridiculously busy being a mom of seven kids. I am pretty much always craving more quiet and peace and space in my world filled with LOTS of family, LOTS of team members, LOTS of customers.

But I’m also an Achiever (have you done StrengthsFinder yet?). When I really want something I WILL get it, no doubt. I have been known to work long hours on a project that lights me up and feel great while doing so. I’m a Learner. I seek knowledge all the time and know that if I don’t know how to do something, I can find where to learn about it and figure it out. I am a Future Thinker. I always have a vision in my mind of what I want to create for my life 6 months from now, a year from now, 5 years, 10 years and I know that life doesn’t just “happen” to us. We create our future by the actions we do today.

Did I crack some kind of special code or perform some magical unicorn feat that is out of reach for 99.9% of humans?

Nope. I simply worked really hard, stayed committed, and chose to not give up when it felt like I wasn’t making any progress. I saw the long term vision and worked tirelessly toward the big goals I had. I stretched myself beyond what I knew was capable for me knowing that we all have way more untapped potential in us that we realize. I had realistic expectations, took ownership of my actions, aligned with amazing partners in the business, and made it happen.

Did I hound all my friends and family to buy my stuff and join my team until they all wanted to hide when they saw me coming?

Absolutely not! I did let my loved ones know that I started a new business selling some things they might love as much as I do. Some were interested, some were not. That’s totally okay.

Did I have to invest a ton on money and make my family bankrupt to build my network marketing business?

Nope, not at all! My business can be started with as little as $35! I purchased the products I wanted to use for my own family each month (consumable products that we love and that work!), shared my experiences with people, helped those who wanted to buy stuff, and trained those who wanted to do what I was doing. When I started earning a paycheck, I would always invest that earned money back into growing my business.

(Of course, there are big product packages available for those who want them in my company. But they are not necessary to be successful and I almost always suggest the smallest start. I personally bought a big product package and, although I loved and used all the stuff for my family, it did NOT give me any advantage over others who started with just a few things and grew as they earned.)

Sidenote: If someone tries to get you to join an MLM that requires a large financial investment, don’t do it! There are bad apples in this industry, just like everywhere else in the world. Be wise. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

Was it easy for me to build my network marketing business?

Heck no! But is there any business that is foolproof to make money and is easy to build? I don’t think so.

In this business model that everyone and their mother swears NO ONE can make money at and that the vast majority of people lose money, I have managed to grow an amazing income that I would NEVER have been able to create with my college degree in Humanities or my work experience. And better yet, I have sustained that level of income since I first attained it in 2015 (7 years and counting).

It is true that in the industry as a whole, it is only a very small percentage of people who actually do make a decent income.

Why am I in that small number? Because I saw the long term vision of what is possible, believed I could make it happen, aligned with like-minded people, refused to quit, and worked really hard.

My first year in the business, when I was working in any pocket of time I could manage to grab, I was earning measly little paychecks that made me feel like I was wasting my time. But I knew what was coming. I was spending that time in the trenches, with seemingly no reward, building a pipeline. I knew that I could spend my life hauling buckets (trading hours for dollars). Or I could build a pipeline that would flow income to me for years to come! I chose to spend a few years working hard, with very little immediate gratification, for a future purpose that would reward me in ways beyond my current imagination.

So I kept trudging away, building my pipeline for my future. I reinvested my paychecks into gifts for my customers, incentives for my team, and into travel. I stayed consistent in doing all the things my company trains us to do to be successful. I invested hours every week into personal development. I kept teaching classes, even when no one showed up. I had lots of “no-shows” and instead of getting discouraged and quitting, I would use that time to move my business forward in other ways.

Three years.

Three years is what it took for me to reach my personal income goal. Three years of really hard work that I’ve now been benefitting from for the last seven years and counting. That’s what I mean by “pipeline”. I built my pipeline so I no longer have to trade my hours to earn dollars. I have a pipeline of income that flows to me regardless of how many hours I work in a week. Don’t get me wrong, I still work hard. I support and train my team, I coach my builders, I provide excellent service to my customers. I do “all the things” to maintain my business and I do what I choose to do to grow it even more. Now I have CHOICE. I only need to work part time hours and have all the time freedom I need to be there for my kids 100% and also pursue other interests I have.

And THAT is why I feel the need to shout it from the rooftops, my friends! Because I am NOT more skilled, more savvy, more experienced, or more capable than anyone else.

I am a dreamer, a doer, and stubborn as hell. I go after challenges full on and if someone tells me it can’t be done, I work even harder to show them that there is no such thing as “can’t”.

If you have the same kind of fire in you and have been drawn to starting your own home based business, don’t let the MLM haters scare you away. Are you statistically likely to succeed. No. The numbers don’t lie. The vast majority who try, do fail.

Does that make it impossible for you? No way! I believe NOTHING is impossible!

If you are a dreamer, a doer, and stubborn as hell like me, I encourage you to find a company you trust, whose products you LOVE and would use regardless of making money on them or not, and get started. Don’t be stupid and dump a lot of money into it. Start small and grow as you earn. Make your plan, work it, and don’t give up. Keep focus on your long term goal and prove those nay-sayers wrong! You got this!

I’m always growing my team of amazing dreamers and doers! If you are into natural health and want to align with a company of world-changers, click here to learn more!