Win A Prize for Reading My Blog!

Me having my makeup done before addressing the camera.

I'm a really fortunate person. I always have been, and I count my blessings for that every day. Yes, I work hard, but I love, love, love entering contests and competing. After all, if you don't enter, you can't win! Throughout my life, I've won jewelry, trips, cash, clothes... Tons of stuff. I offer contests and incentives to my team, because that is what motivates me. Every time there is an incentive offered by corporate, I do my best to hit that incentive. I just want to win.

You can imagine my delight when I received an email from My Memories, offering me a prize to give away to a blog reader as well as for someone on my work-from-home team. How fun! They gave me the $80 scrapbooking suite, plus a $20 coupon for their website. So, if you would like to enter to win this prize, please leave a comment below. If your name is drawn, you will be contacted.  This contest ends on October 31. I'm so excited to award a prize to someone!

Incidentally, I cashed out another Direct Deposit of $139. Talk about excited! Here is the tally of what I have earned towards becoming an armchair millionaire:

MONEY RECEIVED: $1,036.26
AMOUNT REMAINING: $998,963.74

Yahooo! I am over $1,000 on my way toward my goal! I can't wait until checks are sent out on October 15. If I did my calculations correctly, I will not be hitting Director III this month, but Dionne just might hit Director IV. Danielle should still be at Director, and a couple of other people on our team are soooo close to being there. It is so much fun to watch everyone earn money and change their lives. If you would like to join my team, please send me an email and let me know.

Money, Money, Money

This is just a quick post because I got my bonus check today... $206.06. Truth be told, I thought it was going to be more. I didn't realize that the advancement bonuses are paid over three months. Oh, well-- Forced savings, I guess! Regardless, I'm really excited. My birthday is on Friday, and I'm taking a bunch of my gal pals out to brunch on Sunday. I'm really looking forward to it, and this check is going to pay for it. Happy 35th birthday to me!

I just wanted to update my million dollar tally....

MONEY RECEIVED: $897.26
AMOUNT REMAINING: $999,102.74

Priorities, People.

I am so sad and angry and frustrated right now. One of my best friends (who, by the way, just joined my team two days ago) found out yesterday that she has a pre-cancerous lesion inside her uterus and needs a full hysterectomy ASAP. However, she isn't going to get it done unti mid-December. Why? Because she works for one of those home party companies... You know, the ones where you do "skin care parties" and people shop for cosmetics and skin care. She is a Director for this company and doesn't want to let her team down, lose her productivity, and fail to meet her quota, which would mean that she would lose her car bonus and take a big hit financially.

She is going to risk CANCER to maintain her at-home business.

WTF is the point of working from home if you have to get surgery - LIFE SAVING SURGERY, no less - and have to worry about "losing everything"??? I'd rather work a 9-5 desk job where I could call on the Medical Leave Act and protect my rights. I'm so, so, so upset for her, with her and about her situation right now, I can't even express myself to you. I was hoping that writing this blog entry would make me feel better, but now I'm just crying on my couch, and I have to pick up my twins from pre-school in ten minutes.

I've known her for ten years. We've been with each other through thick and thin. And she's letting her freaking garage inventory put off this surgery. That's just not okay with me.

My FIRST Priority, no matter what.

I found this all out last night. I could barely sleep. I have been thinking about it since getting off the phone with her. And, I started taking inventory of my own life. I have three year old twins, Catherine and Charles. They are the biggest priority in my life. They are number one (I can lump them together, because they are twins). I need to be here for them, at least until they graduate high school and can stand on their own two feet. I'm overweight and don't take the best care of my health, and I'm turning 35 a week from today. I need to get my act together. I actually did start taking vitamins that I ordered from the company that I work from home for a few days ago, so that is definitely a step in the right direction.

I want my kids to have a GREAT life. My mom raised me and my sister by herself, and we had a GREAT childhood. In retrospect, I can see how difficult that was for my mom-- a divorced woman on a teacher's salary with two kids that didn't get child support from their deadbeat dad. It must have been one helluva struggle. I don't want to struggle. That's why I try so many different businesses, I think. Sure, I've got a successful travel and event planning company, but I don't ever see myself bring a millionaire with that. So, I dabble elsewhere. I write. I teach seminars.  I mystery shop. I do everthing I can in order to bring in more money for my family. I work hard. Maybe I work so hard because I have that inherent fear that my kids are going to lack something in their lives, and I want to make sure that I am able to provide them with whatever they need, until they can work for it and get it themselves. Even then, I don't want them to have any school loans or other debt as they enter adulthood. Money has always been a stress for me, and I refuse to talk about it. I'm just taking care of it myself. I'll tell everyone how I eliminated my debt when I do, but, until then, mum's the word.

When my twins were born, they were seven weeks early. I nearly died three times during delivery. They stayed in the NICU for thirteen days. I had an incredibly difficult delivery, then got into a car accident when they were six months old and had to have shoulder surgery. I relied so heavily on my husband (who is a police officer) to pay the bills. It was an unexpected and unfair position to put him in, and I feel outrageously guilty for it. Why? Because I've never had a steady salary. I don't have a pension like him. I don't have a 401K. I don't have an IRA. I don't even think I'm going to get social security when I'm old enough. Seeing what sacrifices my friend has to make in fear of financial issues - perhaps even the ULTIMATE sacrifice - has shaken me to my core.

By now, you must be wondering why I am writing this blog entry in this business blog. Well, I've been doing quite a lot of research about this business I've joined, and I have learned a lot about it that is going to help with my entire family's financial future. I know that there are MILLIONS of people that do not have jobs in the USA and Canada right now that are looking for something-- for some way to make a change. They have to do something to get off of unemployment and build their future. I've never, ever, EVER been on unemployment - not that there is anything wrong with that - but I know that I need to change things in my life. I'm 35 years old. Yes, I have life insurance, but what happens when that life insurance policy runs out? Will my kids be able to go to school? Will they struggle? My Aunt, whom I loved very dearly, was killed at age 39 and left four kids behind. She had a big life insurance policy, but she died 11 years ago, when they were young. What do they have left from that policy? Not much, if anything at all. My friend's cousin just had to have quadruple bypass surgery-- at the age of 40. FORTY! You just never know when it's your time, and it is my responsibility to make sure my kids are prepared financially, should that (God forbid) ever happen. I'm writing this in my business blog because I think it is going to change the perspective of a lot of people that read this entry.

I have only been doing this work-from-home business for about six weeks. I love it. I can honestly see myself selling my travel and event planning business (although I'd still do some destination weddings, because I love them so much) in a few years, dependent upon how much I am actually making with this company. I know in my hert of hearts that I am going to be a success. This company makes it easy for ANYONE to succeed at it. Here are the twelve success factors why (as named by their most successful work-from-home Marketing Executive, but described by yours truly):

1. COMPANY TRACK RECORD: This company has been around since 1985. It is an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau, and has even won the coveted Torch Award.
2. FINANCIALLY SOUND:  This company is completely debt-free and has never been late in sending out profit checks to their at-home marketing executives.
3. STRONG MANAGEMENT: The CEO has won many awards, such as 2001 Entrepreneur of the Year, and even sat on the DSA Board of Ethics. The management team is not involved in any "uplines" or "downlines," unlike those found in MLMs. Team is principle-centered and mission-driven. Many of the corporate leaders come from Fortune 500 companies.
4. UNIQUE CONSUMABLE PRODUCTS: They sell products that people are already buying, but are higher quality and better for you because they are all-natural. Many products have patents and/or are patent-pending. Marketing Executives don't have to create a need to buy; customers use the products in their homes every day.
5. COMPETITIVELY PRICED: The prices of the products sold by this company is equal to or less expensive than what people can purchase in the store.
6. HIGH REORDER RATE: This company has a 95% reorder rate. They even provide their Marketing Executives a business report every month.
7. LOW PERSONAL PRODUCTION REQUIREMENT: You don't invest anything into this company or purchase any inventory. You just switch stores.
8. LOW ENTRY FEE: It costs $29 to enroll, which is a one-time fee. The enroller is not paid a bonus on your enrollment. No inventory is purchased when you enroll-- The $29 is ALL you need to pay to enroll, and can be refunded if you aren't happy and cancel within four months.
9. LOW ATTRITION: In other companies, if the customer didn't order, they had to quit. This company has products with enough value where customers are repeat customers.
10. TIMING: You don't have to "get in early" to make a lot of money. People actually build a business, and don't have to "get in & get out" to turn a profit. "Green" is really "in", and this company has been "green" for over 25 years. Their products are already proven to withstand the test of time.
11. NO BREAKAWAYS: You don't get penalized if someone you enroll "passes" you. Your team can never be given to someone else. NOT a binary plan.
12. NO RISK: Everything - even the enrollment fee in the first four months - is fully refundable. No one can be hurt by the structure of the company. This is something that EVERYONE can do, regardless of education, socioeconomic status, location, age (18 and over, of course) or anything else. If you know the 80% / 20% rule, this business is something that the 80%ers can do.

Me and Dionne

Virtually everyone needs a Plan B. Know what? This is a darn good Plan A. My best friend, Dionne, realized that she wanted this to be her Plan A two years ago. I'm starting to realize it now. I can absolutely see how lucrative this business can be, and I am unbelievably excited about it. I want all of my friends to join my team, so that they can find financial freedom with me. I see the burdens of finances affecting too many people that I care about. Now to see someone have to choose between "losing everything" and risking losing their life... And actually choosing the risk of cancer ofer financial strain????? That just blew my mind. I never, ever, ever want to be put in that position. If you're reading this blog, you shouldn't put yourself in that position, either. Shoot me an email if you want to talk about joining my team. I'm determined to become a success. Aren't you?

As for my friend, please say a prayer for her. Please pray that the cancer doesn't mastaticize before her hysterectomy. Please pray that she made the right decision. While you're at it, please pray for yourself and that you will NEVER have to be in a position to have to make a decision like that, either.

For My Team

For some reason, the picture of the tree isn't loading properly into the FaceBook group for my team. This is how our family tree looks right now:

I don't know why it looks so small. I'm irritated I can't get it bigger. Grr. Well, you can see we're getting bigger. Very excited.

NO, IT'S NOT AMWAY!

I swear, if one more person asks me if this is Amway, I'm going to scream. NO, IT IS NOT AMWAY!!! Amway is one of the at-home companies I have never gotten involved with. One of my good friends actually works Amway, and has to lay out over $300 per month. This is ABSOLUTELY not that. No freaking way. I would never, ever, ever get involved in another business where I have to lay out hundreds of dollars per month to make maybe $50. Thanks, but no thanks.

A lot of people that listen to the webcasts that my team and I do say that it is "to good to be true." It's not. I just cashed out another $71 via direct deposit, bringing my total so far to $691.20. Checks are being mailed out tomorrow, which I absolutely CANNOT wait for. Even if I just earned the $691.20, that is far more than any other at-home business I've ever profited from: Mary Kay, Pampered Chef, Aloette, PartyLite, Monavie... I've tried tons. I wish I tried this first-- There would have been absolutely NO reason for me to do any of the others. Honestly, if I did this when I started Aloette back in 2002, I would most likely be living high on the hog right now. But, everything happens for a reason. It's all about timing, and this was the time that I was supposed to start this business.

When you advance with this company, you are rewarded. You can actually climb the steps of success and do very well. You start out as a marketing executive. Once you grow your team by eight, you become a director. Honestly, the business opportunity is so fantastic that I achieved the rank of Director in nine days. With that, I received a bonus of $200 (because I'm on pacesetter schedule) and had the opportunity to go out to dinner with some folks from the company-- and the company picked up the tab.

At this Director Celebration, which was held at a beautiful restaurant called Piccolo's in Mineola, I was able to meet several folks that have succeeded with the company. They welcomed me with open arms, and I was all by myself. It was awesome. At this dinner, I received my Director Certificate, pin and bracelet. (I've blocked out any identifying markers of the company because I don't want anyone to know what the company is, unless they ask me.) I was so proud.

What is really cool is that I actually advanced to Director II with the company, and will be able to attend another Director Celebration next month! I'll get my Director II pin and certificate. I'm moving right along, that's for sure. All this in less than a month. No magic, just talking to people. I love it.

I was actually caught off guard at the Director Celebration. One of my friends that enrolled made Director as well. No one was really surprised-- She's almost as social as I am. Well, I was acknowledged for developing a director, too! They gave me another lovely certificate, and acknowledged me in front of all of their team members. ALL of the team members clapped for me. It was awesome. I felt really accomplished. It made me want to do it all over again-- Which, I suppose, is what these Director Celebrations are supposed to do. I was bummed that Danielle wasn' able to go with me, but I'll be able to tell her all about it so she can go next month. After all, she is getting her congratulatory phone call from the company tomorrow. So, technically, she is becoming a Director in September. Everyone knew that I was a director in August, so I was able to go. I got my congratulatory call yesterday for becoming a Director II, so I know that I can go. My goal this month is to become a Director III. (Honestly, I'd like to hit Director VI by the end of the month, but I'm going to Mexico for a couple of days, so that might not happen.) Baby steps...

I took a direct deposit of $71 today. I wanted to let it accumulate, but I have a payment coming due for gymnastics for the kids, and I thought I'd pay for one of them with that. So, my tally for my million dollar goal:

MONEY RECEIVED: $691.20
AMOUNT REMAINING: $999,308.80

I can do it. Everyone can, if they have a strong team behind them. Why not join mine and come on my million dollar journey with me?

The Deal

I love my husband. I do. We've been married for six years, and we are completely opposite. COMPLETELY. You have no idea. He's rational. I'm creative. He's traditional. I'm contemporary. He's level-headed. I'm hot-tempered. You get the idea.

Well, with my first bonus payment of $620.20, I paid off our Lowe's credit card and closed the account. To celebrate, we went out to dinner. I told him about the company that I had been working with for the past month, and he said, "It's a scam." I explained to him how it's not a scam, and how I am poised to make a serious amount of money. "You'll never make more than $5,000 in a year," he said. "No one will be able to. These kids of companies just aren't set up that way."

On the way home, I had him listen to a CD that I had been listening to that I purchased from the company. (Incidentally, I purchased the CD because I wanted to, not because it was required of me.) he laughed out loud during the whole thing. He told me this morning that listening to the CD made the whole thing even worse for him, solidifying in his mind that the whole thing is a scam. I was so frustrated, especially since how I saw the company was working for me. I even pointed out to him that I earned $620.20 so far.

"Yeah, sure," he said. "How much did you have to spend to earn that?" Honestly, I spent $68.13. So, my profit this month was $594.07 just in my bonuses. Checks are sent out on the 15th of every month, so I'm not entirely sure what I am going to earn based on the commissions from everyone else's orders. I do know that I'm going to get half of my advancement bonus this month and the other half next month-- $300 each month. And I have $50 from developing a director. I don't know what else there is.

While we were talking at dinner, after he made the $5,000 comment, I told him that I was going to make it to the top tier in this company. Sighed and shook his head, as if to say, "Poor, naive Candice." he has seen me do Mary Kay, Aloette, Pampered Chef, Party Lite... You name it... And fail at it. I never turned a true profit. At least, not like this. And I had to spend upwards of $100 to enroll in each of them.

But what I am doing now is different. he doesn't believe me.

So, we made a little deal. With this company, when you advance to the highest tier, you actually given a big bonus check on the stage at the yearly convention. As I have mentioned in one of my very first blog entries, I saw two people receive these checks at convention One for $181,000 and the other for $163,000. I told my husband that when I make this tier, he has to open the check on the stage in front of everyone, after telling them what he said to me and about my business. He has to tell everyone at the convention that he told me that I wouldn't be able to earn more than $5,000 per year. And then HE will open the check.

Forget the million I want to earn. having my husband do that on stage is worth waaaaay more to me.

As I was driving to the bank, my regional director called me to congratulate me on that morning's new team member. I told him about the conversation with my husband on 9/10/11 and what I wanted to do. He made notes on my file, and told me that he would definitely make it happen. Needless to say, I'm more determined than ever.

So, to summarize the deal:

When I make the top tier for this company, my husband will be on stage with me to accept the check that is presented. He will open the check in front of everyone, then tell them how he said I wouldn't be able to make more than $5,000 per year with this company and how it was a scam.

Is it awful of me to make him publicly eat his words?

Armchair Millionaire

Have you ever heard the term "Armchair Traveler"? It's when people live vicariously through those that go on trips, or read about different lands that they want to visit, but never travel anywhere and just stay home. I have decided that I am going to become an "Armchair Millionaire." I am going to make one million dollars with this side business that I'm blogging about, without having to leave my home to go to work.

That's right. One million dollars.

I can do it, too. I understand the business model, and that's the most important thing. I think that people get too caught up in the products and view it as a sales job, like Mary Kay or Pampered Chef. (not that there is ANYTHING wrong with either of those companies, by the way. They're just not for me. I've already tried them, and I didn't make enough money. not my thing.) I don't want to carry an inventory. I don't want to meet a quota. I don't want to be penalized for not bringing in the business that someone else wants me to bring in. I want to run MY business as though it is MY business. Is that so wrong?

Fortunately, this company allows me to do just that. And I'm succeeding with it. I might not become a millionaire overnight, but I will certainly get there. So, keep track with me, folks, as I become an Armchair Millionaire. Even better, join my team and become one with me. I'll teach you how.

GOAL: $1,000,000

EARNED: $662.20

TOTAL NEEDED UNTIL GOAL: $999,337.80

** Please note that I am NOT using money from any other source of income. I want the $1,000,000 to come directly from this side business.

Some Days are Harder than Others

I had a rough day today.

I cannot begin to tell you how excited I am about my new business. I've been following my techniques that I wrote about in my book, Magnetic Marketing: How to Attract Clients & Dollars, to a T and the results have been phenomenal. I'm really proud of myself. My primary approach to my business is to post on FaceBook and let people that are interested in working from home tell me that they are interested, and then I tell them what the opportunity is. Last month, I personally added 26 people to my team. Unfortunately, two people changed their mind after I added them and they didn't confirm. (At least, I think they changed their minds... They still haven't gotten back to me. Talk about frustrating... And RUDE.)

I started September off with a BANG, too. On the first day of the month, I had four people join my team. Two were people I added myself. Another person was added by my director. The fourth was someone I helped someone else on my team enroll. Four people on the first day of the month. I was JAZZED!

So jazzed, in fact, that I set a goal to add six more people to my team today. Regardless of who on my team added the people, I wanted to help and get six new team members. I even stepped out of my comfort zone and approached people personally... Something I really don't have the time (or the tolerance) for. I'm not a "hard sell" kind of person. I like people approaching me, because I feel as though I have the upper hand.

I've known these two women for about four years. I chatted with one online about joining my team, and she told me that she wasn't interested. I said "okay, but please keep me in mind if you change your mind." After all, once someone says "no," I back off. A few hours later, she sends this email to me and my director (also a friend of hers) saying how she feels as though she's being pressured to join my team, pressured to buy things she doesn't want and as though her friendship is being taken for granted. I was totally dumbfounded and offended. First, I never asked her to buy anything. I never tried to sell anything. That isn't even my take on this business-- There's nothing to sell. She said no, I said okay, she asked me about pricing a vacation. That was the end of the conversation.

The second woman, I literally sent a chat message to saying that I'd love to have her on my team with the three other women that she knows. That's it. I then went to Physical Therapy. She hadn't responded. She then writes this diatribe in a group that we are in, saying how she isn't interested in joining my team, yada yada yada. Rather than saying, "no thanks," she publicly posts it. So I sent her a message saying that I was offended by what she did, and I would have appreciated if she had told me in a private chat that she wasn't interested. Long story short, the conversation ended with her telling me not to contact three other women in our group because they all told her that they weren't interested... And I had been speaking with one that day! I talked to the third girl and told her what I was told, and she said that she had just decided that she wasn't interested.

It felt like high school all over again. I was so upset and disheartened, I unfriended the second girl and left the group that I had been a part of for four years. I am so embarassed to have been treated that way. It was belittling, degrading, insulting and downright R-U-D-E.



My motivation.

 It ruined my day. I got into a funk I couldn't shake, so I closed the computer and took my kids mini-golfing with my husband, and then out for dinner and ice cream. The entire time, my mind kept wandering back to the two women that reacted the way they did... As though I was a salesman trying to sell them arsenic-laced cookies or something.

Then it dawned on me: Some people are just plain rude.

Unfortunately, I did not write a section in Magnetic Marketing about rejection. Clearly, I need to. Just because people do not want to join my team doesn't mean that I'm a bad person, nor does it mean that I have less value than anyone else. I am doing so well for myself and my family, and I let these two women take that away from me today. I felt completely devalued. I haven't been spoken to that way since my freshman year in high school, when I tried out for cheerleading. I didn't make the team, so I became place kicker and made those bitches cheer for me. (Excuse my language.)

My bonuses from 8/6/11 - 9/1/11

After I put my kids to bed, I logged into my account for this new side business and clicked the "PAY ME" button to get the bonuses that I've earned so far: $620.20. With that money, I'm completely paying off my Lowe's credit card, paying for gymnastics, donating to my church, getting a pedicure and stashing some away for a rainy day. Not bad for three weeks' worth of "work," and I've got a check coming in about two weeks.

I've gotta admit, it took writing this for me to see everything today clearly. You know what? Today wasn't so bad. I spent time with my husband and kids, made some contacts, weeded out a dandelion and cashed out a nice chunk of change that is going to make a difference in a few things.

Maybe today wasn't so rough after all.