I've Gotta Brag!

I have working this business since August 9, 2011. That is a mere 17 months that I have been working 100% from home. I started out working just five (5) hours per week, until this past September, when I upped it to 10 - 15 hours a week. I'm still working from home, mind you. And look at what I accomplished:

Booyah. I can't wait to get my check.

That is all.

The Power of Marketing: Car Exercises

Many people lump sales and marketing together. Without marketing, sales would be lower-- After all, who would buy soething they never heard about? Without sales, marketing still exists. It doesn't matter if something is sold or not-- Of course, sales means that marketing is effective.

 

Marketing and advertising should go hand in hand. In layman's terms, marketing is telling people about something or bringing attention to something. Successful marketing means that people participate in whatever the marketing message is: Sales, travel, protests, etc.

 

I am going to do two exercises in marketing: one WITHOUT any money and one WITH money, so you can see what I ramble about in this blog. It has nothing to do with my business, but will demonstrate to you how effective marketing works.

 

Before I even go on, let me explain to you my basis of these exercises. As you know, my husband was in a massive car accident on January 11, 2012. He was hit, head on, by a drunk driver:

 

We were leasing the Tucson, and had $5000 to go. Unfortunately, our car was totaled out and we are still waiting for the payment from the insurance company after they pay off the lien. I think it's $5000. You can't get a car for $5000, and we aren't going to go into debt to get a car. Right now, he's still tooling around in a horrible rental car, until we get that check. (And Lord only knows when we're going to get that.)

 

FIRST EXERCISE:

 

In 2005, a guy named Kyle MacDonald created something called the Red Paperclip Project. In this project, he started out with a red paperclip and traded up to a house. The cool thing is that he didn't even try to market his project. People just picked up on it and ran with it. He traded up from a red paperclip to a house in Sasketchewan, Canada.

 

So, I'm going to do something in the same vein as Kyle, but I'm going to change a couple of things up:

 

1. I am starting out with a 1" green, metallic paperclip.
2. I will trade for ANYTHING worth more what I am currently holding.
3. I will NOT travel to you to make the trade, unless you pay for my travel expenses or if you live within 3 hours of me. All other trades will be done through the mail, UPS or FedEx.
4. My final trade will be to a "new" car made in 2012 or later, and in excellent driving condition. (I don't need a house.)
5. Everyone that trades will receive a "plug" on this blog, including a link to the website of their choice. (Sorry, no porn.)
6. All trades are final.

Yep, I'm starting with a paperclip, too. And here it is:

 

 

What do you have that you will trade for this paperclip? As soon as I receive an offer of a trade, I will update the blog. When the trade is complete, I will take another picture for the next trade. You can either post in the comments section, message me on FaceBook, or email me.

 

EXERCISE #2:

 

I don't have information on this, as I am waiting for approval. I will update this blog as soon as get the approval. However, Exercise #2 will last just 90 days.

Sarcastic Responses to FAQs and Comments I Get About Working From Home

If there is one thing that you've learned about me through my blog is that I'm brutally honest. I'm downright blunt. I don't sugarcoat things, to say the very least. I have known my friend Sally since we were about five years old. She is on virtually all of my phone overviews, and she knows HOW I want to respond sometimes. She can tell you that I've gotten a lot more... diplomatic? Tolerant? I don't know the word. However, she has had to interrupt me a few times.

I just thought I would give the folks on my team a laugh with this blog entry, and perhaps make some people that are thinking about it realize that their fears and doubts are unfounded and maybe contact me for more info. (You can email me at CandyCain(at)wedeliverwellness(dot)com or call my voicemail at 631.954.1919 and leave a message-- I promise I will call you back.)

This is a pyramid scheme.

No, it isn't. Pyramid schemes are illegal. Our CEO sits on the US National Board of Ethics as well as the US National Chamber of Commerce, and the company has carried an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau since 1987. But thanks a lot for trying to make me seem like a scam artist and my livelihood appear to be a joke.

You know, just for doing that, let me point out how YOUR current job - or the job that you used to work - is a pyramid scheme. Oh, you worked in corporate America? Yeah, it's still a pyramid scheme:

With my company, you have no limit to the amount of money that you can earn. You can make millions, if you work hard. You won't make it overnight or even in a month-- But you CAN get there. Can you make millions working as a lingerie associate in JC Penney? No, you can't. Trust me-- I was one. But, if you're satisfied living in your fear to just fold panties for the rest of your life, we probably wouldn't work together very well anyway.

Do you really make money with this?

No, I do it for fun. I have twin four year olds, own a travel and event planning company, amd very active in my kids' school, and my husband is a cop who works non-stop, so I figured I would take up marketing as a hobby. I do it for free. The company tries to send me checks, but I tell them to keep them.

Here's a check from almost exactly one year ago, when I worked maybe 25 hours in January 2012:

Yes, it is less than $700, but that's because I only had this check scanned on my computer. And, if you do the math, that breaks down to $27.69 per hour completely from home. No sales, no inventory, no parties, no investments, no risks-- No kidding. I do my business how I want, when I want, and work my schedule around my family.

And, yes, I really do get paid for it.

There's gotta be a catch.

(Insert sarcastic font here... They really need to develop one of those.)

Yes, there sure is a catch. If you want to work full-time with me, you have to spend eight hours a day here in my location, and I will give you one hour for lunch. You must be here no later than 9am and leave no earlier than 5pm, which means that you have to spend at least one hour in your car per day, on your own dime and your own time. You must spend upwards of $4000 per year to pay for your own gasoline to drive to and from work. You must dress nicely-- No jeans or sneakers. You must do what I tell you to do and meet all of your deadlines. Your starting salary will be $10 per hour, and I will review your performance in six months to see if I think you deserve to make extra money. You must provide your children with your own childcare, as there is no daycare at work. And, no, I will not give you any money towards it-- You can pay that through the money that you earn working for me. I must approve all of your vacation time, and you can have two weeks per year. No, you can't have holidays off, since there are others that are senior to you. You have ten sick days that you can use each year, and you must have a doctor's note to prove you're sick, because I don't trust you. If you don't provide a doctor's note, you will be docked pay and perhaps even terminated. You will have a cubicle next to Ralph, the creepy guy that still wears pocket protectors and won't stop talking about his grandma's cornbread.

Come on.

I know someone who works the above job that I typed out. She got a raise and is earning $13.50 per hour. And Ralph indeed talks about his love affair with his grandmother's cornbread at every turn.

Want to see a picture of my "co-worker" in my office? Here you go:

Incidentally, that's my daughter, Catherine. She's my coach. Both of my kids are, really, but she actually looks at my business reports and whatnot. I reach my goals FOR my kids, because I set a business goal and they choose a reward that they get. For example, I hit a big goal that I was striving for, and I'm taking my kids to a dude ranch on the 18th. I answer to my family, because I ask them to hold me accountable. They don't breath down my neck.

And they don't even like cornbread.

I hate sales.

Well, thanks for that little tidbit about yourself. I hate sales, too. It's a good think I work in marketing then, eh?

I don't know how many times I can say it: No sales. No inventory. No quotas. No investments. No risk. No parties. No deliveries. You don't handle other people's money.

I explain everything on my phone overview, if you'd like to call in. Again, just contact me.

This sounds good to be true.

You know what is too good to be true? Dishwashing. I love dishwashing. I really do. No one in my house is allowed to fill the dishwasher, because I have total OCD over it. If it isn't filled correctly, I completely freak out, unload the dishwasher, and reload it. And pots and pans?? I view them as a challenge! I do some of my best thinking when I'm scrubbing grubby pots and pans.

Can you believe that they actually pay people to wash dishes at restaurants?? How cool is that! And they actually get paid for washing dishes!! Talk about too good to be true!!

*sigh*

Here's the thing, folks: If this sounds too good to be true to you, it's probably because you are or would be really good at marketing. There are some people that complain that this job is too "hard." Some people can't do it. I like washing dishes. I obsess about washing dishes. However, I would never work as a dishwasher.

You're nothing but a cellphone to me.

Someone actually said that to me on a call!! Sally and my sorority sister Kristy (who also works with me) still refer to it!!

No, I'm not a cellphone. But, thanks for the interesting insult. I've never been called a cellphone before. I'm a real person, just like you. However, I might just have a few more brain cells...

Am I allowed to quit if I don't like it?

No. Never. You start working with me, and I own you forever. I even get your soul when you die.

People actually ask me this!!!

A few things: Would you go to a job interview and ask them if you're allowed to quit if you don't like the job? Secondly, asking me if you're allowed to quit makes me not want to work with you. It makes me think you're going to half-ass this job. If you're already thinking about quitting, do me a favor and move on. We're probably not going to get along.

Yes, you can quit. Don't even ask me if you decide to give me a call. If you're not happy, you can quit. Hopefully, you see what I see and stick with me, my team and the company for a while.

Just to give you an idea about my background, that's me getting makeup put on in the photo. With my other company, Candy Cain Travel, I work in paradise. I even had a television show about destination weddings in development. My company is extremely successful, but you can't measure happiness in dollars. I want to bring this marketing business to a point where I don't have to do travel anymore, if I don't want to. I don't have a background in marketing. I have a degree in Dramatic Literature from The George Washington University. I'm a sister of Alpha Delta Pi. I'm a mom. I'm a wife. I'm an entrepreneur. Can you relate to any of that?

Life Happens.

It has been over a month that I have written, but I do have good excuses.  My first excuse:

Please don't drink & drive

Now, I'm not going to get on a soapbox about drinking and driving... My husband was hit by a drunk driver on the night of January 11, just before midnight. He had just left work and was coming home, and some stupid kid was driving northbound in the southbound lane. He smashed into my husband's Hyundai Tucson - HEAD ON - and totaled our car.

Seriously, don't drink & drive. Please.

Fortunately, my husband walked away from the accident. He's still in pain and going to doctors and getting different testing-- Let me tell you, that is NOT a call you want to get at 11:58pm. You see that smash in the windshield? His hand went through it. The EMTs on scene thought it was his head. Very, very, very scary for our family.

Not to give working from home a plug, but you have NO idea how comforting it was for me to be able to drive him to the hospital and the doctor and the lawyer and so forth, and not have to worry about calling in sick to a job. I have some amazing people on my team - Sally even came with me the night of the accident so I wasn't alone - and they picked up some slack for me. It was just really, really, really comforting.

FYI - The drunk wasn't hurt, either. As a matter of fact, he was released on $500 bail the next morning. No comment.

The second reason why I wasn't around was because I wanted to spend some quality time with my kids:

I thought I had other pics of me and the kids on this computer, but I don't... I took them to Disney. You see, you never know when it's your time, and you need to make every minute of your life count. Do I want my kids to remember me as always being away? Or do I want them to remember amazing times that we spent together?

Last year, I went to Mexico 14 times for my travel business, Candy Cain Travel. I also went to the Dominican Republic, Vegas, and Minneapolis for travel work. If you add up all of the time I spent away from my family, it was about three months. Was it lucrative? Sure. However, working this business from home can (and will) be even MORE lucrative. Last year, I had 26 destination weddings on the books. This year, however, I have one that I am personally doing. Unless it's a REALLY special wedding, I would much prefer to focus on working from home. (This wedding, however, is going to be AMAZING, and I'm thrilled to be a part of it in May.)

My husband getting into the accident and me seeing all of the time I spent away made me realize that this could have happened while I was out of the country, and not able to do ANYTHING - except cry and panic - from where I was. Not only was I able to take the time I needed for him, but my business has been going so well - I was #4 in the company last month - that I am going to purchase a car and get reimbursed from the company!! I don't have to get a Pink Cadillac-- I can choose whatever car I want, and I get $400 per month for it. As a matter of fact, my husband and I started picking out the car three days before the accident... We're revisiting what we want to do and will come back to it after the dust settles.

The bottom line is this: Life Happens. However, where exactly will you be when it does? I know where I want to be, and that is with my family. Because I work from home, I'm able to spend time with my kids. I'm able to do goofy stuff like this:

That's a centerpiece for the Father-Daughter Dance at my kids' school. I'm a co-chair, and am able to contribute TONS to it, including coming up with the decorations. (Incidentally, my mom made those. I just found them on Pinterest, with the help of my friend Molly.) I'm also helping with their Chinese Auction.

And I'm taking my kids to a dude ranch for a couple of days in February. And I bring them to Gymnastics every week. And my daughter goes to twirling every week, and I'm the one that takes her. And... And... And...

Even if you don't have kids, this is totally something that you can do to save for a brighter future: No debt, world travel, everything you could ever want or need-- And you can provide it for yourself, just by working from home.

December was a light month for me. I earned $1403.95 for 61 hours of work. That breaks down to a little over $23 per hour. Not too shabby, considering I literally work in my PJs after I put my kids to sleep. If you want to learn how to do what I do, or just find out more about it, either shoot me a message, get me on FaceBook, or call 631.954.1919. I'm happy to give you details.

Even Technical Difficulties Can't Keep Me Down!

My last blog entry was on October 20. I had to leave for Mexico (for my other business) shortly after, and then we got hit with Hurricane Sandy on October 29, the day after I returned from Mexico. I lost my phone and internet from 10/29 - 11/11. (For those of you that don't know, I live on the south shore of Long Island, in a quaint community called Brookhaven.) Then Thanksgiving came and went. Then I went to Strasburg, PA with my family for our current tradition of riding the Santa Train. (I say "current" because I know it will change as my kids grow up.) Then I got sick. So, here I am now-- Still recovering from bronchitis and a sinus infection. Fun!

Even though I was knocked down for a bit, I still received this check for the work I did in November:

To be honest, I'm a little disappointed with it. I was anticipating MUCH more, but things that were completely out of my control happened, and I didn't finish as I hoped I would. HOWEVER, over $1000 really isn't bad for a stay-at-home-mom of pre-K twins--- Not to mention all of the stuff that was thrown at me at the end of October and all throughout November.

NOT ONLY THAT... My Google Voice Line was all messed up and had a busy signal after I posted it here. Please call me if you are interested! 631.954.1919 - Leave a message and I will certainly call you back. I've recorded a brief message about my business, what I do and what I don't do. If you read my blog, though, you have a pretty good idea about it.

I'm not the only one making money like this. Look at what Vicky made during the month of October, her first full month on my team:

Plenty of people on my team earn checks like this on my team. I can help you earn one (or more), too! Just message me for details, or leave a message on my line. Heck, you can even comment here and I'll get back to you.

Putting Things Into Perspective

I own a travel and event planning company, called Candy Cain Travel Co. I built this business from the ground up. I work very, very hard with it-- TOO hard, in my humble opinion. There is an enormous amount of work that goes into it. I travel quite a bit WITHOUT my family. Worst of all, I only get paid AFTER people travel. I can price quote for HOURS for people, and they end up booking their trip through Expedia or Travelocity or something to that effect-- Even though I tell them that I can easily beat the price of ANYTHING that they find online. If they don't book through me, I don't get paid. Period. In September, I made less than $300 with my travel business. In October, I'll make about $1000. In November, I will bring in upwards of $10,000. It is VERY frustrating because budgeting becomes difficult since the money just isn't consistent.

 

MANY friends of mine work for other people. Take my husband, for instance. My husband is a police sergeant. He has a set salary (not including overtime) for working 40 hours a week. He leaves an hour before work in the morning and it can take him up to an hour to get home in the afternoon, so that is actually 10 hours a day-- 50 hours per week. Let's say that we take 2 weeks of vacation throughout the year: That means that he works 50 hours a week for 50 weeks in the year. If you do the math, that means my husband works 2500 hours outside of the home each year. This does not include his second job nor any overtime.

 

I don't work outside of the house, except when I travel for my travel business. And trust me, dear reader, that travel is going to be coming to an end VERY soon.





My daughter at Disney - August 2012

Speaking of vacation, let's talk about my husband and anyone else that might work outside of the home. If my husband is sick, he has to call in to work to let them know that he isn't going to be there. If he wants to take vacation, he has a set amount of time that he is allowed to take AND that has to be approved by someone else. If he has a bad day and doesn't feel like going in to work, he doesn't have a choice-- He only gets a couple of personal days during the year that he can use. If one of our kids has a recital or graduation or something and he isn't approved the time off, he doesn't get to go.



NO ONE tells me how I can spend my time. (Sure, my mother will offer her advice, but whose mom doesn't??)

 

One more thing-- My husband fills up his gas tank twice a week. He spends approximately $80 per week to fill the tank of our 2007 Hyundai Tucson. As I said before, he works 50 hours a week. Therefore he is spending $4000 per year to go to work.

 

Know how much I pay to go to work? $0. I roll out of bed and walk downstairs. I'm at work!

 

Working from home as an independent marketing executive for an international wellness company, however, has proven to be a bit more consistent and lucrative. Plus, I don't have to spend $4000 per year to work. I set my own hours and work from home. I also work from the park, my backyard, and even when I travel. (I'm going to Mexico next week, and I can stay connected online.) I don't pay a dime for daycare. I create my own work schedule around my kids. My "co-workers" at home are my four year old twins, who cheer me (and my team) on in our success. I have a team of AMAZING people all over the world. My best friend is the one that got me started. I work with my mom and my neighbor. I've met extraordinary people that want to change their lives from all different places and a variety of walks of life. We all want the same thing: A change.

 

So many people ask me, "What's the catch?" Let me put this in perspective for you. What would you rather do:

 

A) Pay $4000 per year to drive to and from work, spend 5000 hours away from your home and family, have a set salary with no incentives except overtime, and have someone tell you when you can and can't take off work

 

OR

 

B) Work from home on your own schedule and earn an income equivalent to the work you put into your own business

 

It's a no-brainer for me, really. I can draw up a road map for every single person on my team each month that they can follow to earn the amount of money that they want to earn. I can do the same thing for myself. I know what people NEED to do to achieve their goals, and I help them get there. This is a business that absolutely ANYONE can do. No sales, no inventory, no quota. You just need to be at least 18 years old to do so. I make the business VERY simple for people-- All you have to do is set appointments. Two other team leaders and I do group presentations throughout the week-- Set appointments for people to call in and listen to the presentation. If they decide that they want to join our team, they are enrolled below you. Of course, you are more than welcome to do your own presentations once you feel comfortable enough to do so. We give you PLENTY of training, but on your own time.

 

If you are interested in working with me and making some money - even if it's just for the holidays - contact me. You can send me an email or call me at 631.954.1919. I made $10,075.86 in 12 months, working 5 hours a week. That is $193.77 per week, which means $38.75 per hour. Are YOU worth that? Are you worth MORE? Let me help you earn your worth.

 





Money For The Holidays

I remember this time of year before I started working with the company I work with now. I used to do direct sales with Aloette, Mary Kay, Avon, Pampered Chef and PartyLite. In October, I would do whatever I possibly could to get my friends and family to have parties just so that I could meet my quota. When it was all said and done, I ended up making less than $200 in profit. That really wasn't the kind of money that I was looking for when I signed up to do direct sales. Pairing that with the fact that my upline did NOTHING to help me, it was outrageously frustrating.

So, I tried to go the retail route. I worked at JC Penney, Macy*s, Bath & Body Works and Old Navy during various holiday seasons. I was on my feet for hours, working with rude people, trying to keep the inventory in the store neat, and making minimum wage. I would wear myself out and not get paid what I was worth. Talk about frustrating.

I know that there are a lot of people in this world that want (and need) to make extra money for the holidays. Fortunately, I am able to help a lot of these people. As a matter of fact, I can help you, dear reader, earn money from home. You can start earning cash for the holidays NOW, if you really wanted to. No begging your friends to have parties. No pressuring loved ones to "just buy something" from your catalog.

I have phone overviews every weeknight at 9pm EST that you can call in and listen to. I'm the one giving the overview, so you'll be speaking to me on the other end. I will answer any questions you might have-- No obligation. And I will help you earn some holiday cash. Heck, I can help you build a business to last a lonnnnng time, if you want. I will teach you everything.

If you are interested, either email me or fill out the form below.