Do you understand "Residual Income"?

I get overwhelmed at the thought of how many beautiful women are in direct sales/network marketing- who don't have a clue about residual income! It blows me away!

Definition: Residual Income
Passive income is an income received on a regular basis, with little effort required to maintain it.


When you join a direct sales company, usually- someone sponsors you in. Meaning you have an up-line. An up line is whoever is between you and the corporate office. You have just become someone, or a lot of some ones- residual income. 

When you add a team under you, you will train them, and teach them how to make sales and grow their team. If you are effective in your guidance, you will see a steady residual income begin to form. 
As your team grows and continues to make sales, they will re-order products to restock their displays. You will earn a percentage from their purchases. 

There are some companies out there, who think/teach/give the appearance that your team is your enemy. Your....dare I say it?.....competition. Ew. What an ugly, nasty word! 
Let me tell you one thing. If you are in a company that has trained you to think this way....you are in  PYRAMID SCHEME! Get out! 

If you are in a true MLM/network marketing/direct sales company- you will be taught that everyone can have success and can outrank anyone else. And, you will see that your team is not your competition. 
In direct sales ( a company that allows you to keep inventory, and sell face to face)- you will likely have an inventory that is completely different than another consultants inventory. This creates a unique experience for a customer. In this case, a customer can spend money with you AND the consultant down the street- giving you both success and sales. This is not a bad thing. A customer can very well be loyal to more than one consultant! 

You also will not have the same social circles. If you are still working outside the home, you will likely both have completely different routines, friends and opportunities. This means- there is room for both of you. 
If you are in the same area, this can benefit you greatly! If your company allows it, team up for events and double your inventory! The more you have, the more you sell and this benefits BOTH of you! 
Also, if you were to get sick for a party or an event- rather than losing the sales all together- call your team! They can cover for you! 

And, if they are making sales, they are re-ordering, so that is bringing you guess what>! Residual income! 
Train your brain better! Start thinking in terms of teamwork! Stop thinking everyone is out to get you and start believing we can all have success! 

Be Confident!

Growing up in a Christian home, I often heard these words "pride is a sin".  I had it pounded into my head that pride is sinful. It was a bad thing. But, I missed the point. I didn't understand, that there is a difference between sinful pride and pride- and ultimately, noone told me there was a difference between pride and confidence.

I grew up with zero self  confidence. I did not claim who I was. I did not stand tall and I definitely was not strong. This is a huge problem!

Since becoming a mother, and also having my own business- I've learned something. Pride, has many forms. I'm proud of my kids- they drive me crazy- but, I'm proud that God gave them to me and trusted me enough to raise them.

I'm proud of my husband. I know, I am not easy. But, he still stands by me, believes in me, pushes me and is my crutch when I can't stand any longer. Without him, the whole would would collapse and I'd be totally the woman who stays home and never goes out, with 22.5 cats and a dog.

But, most of all, and this is HUGE.... I am proud of me. I have grown up into a confident woman. I now realize that I am strong, I can do whatever I put my mind to and that's ok!

If you are in business for yourself, it's important to be confident that what you have is enough. Whether it's inventory, personality or talent. It's ok to grow more, be more, do more- but be confident with what you have right now. Be proud of where you are, how far you've come and who you have surrounded yourself with. It's ok to move slowly, as long as you keep moving.

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Party!

Have you ever wondered how people get parties so easily? Do you want more parties in your business?

Well, have you watched those people? I mean, really watched them? What all do they have in common?

Passion
Excitement
Goals
Determination

First, you must love what you do!! You need to really enjoy your job. If you don't love it, people will see that!!! Nobody wants to host parties for miserable consultants. So check your attitude!!

Get excited! Whatever it takes to pump you up, whether it's music or laughter or talking to your sponsor- do that thing and get fired up!!

Make a goal to book two at every one. Book two parties at each party, or event. If you make it a goal and write it down- you will have a larger success rate! This means you need to ask EVERYONE at every party and event WHEN they want to book a party (not IF)!!! The more you do it, the easier it is! So keep doing it! Every no, is closer to a yes!

Do not give up. Just keep going- use each no, as a propelling step to the next level! I have some prospects, clients and future hostesses that I've been nurturing for nearly 2 years!

The key is action. You have to talk, you have to move out of your comfort zone. You have to do the legwork You have to pick up the phone and call. You might even have to call people you don't like. Don't let them be the reason you don't succeed! Let them be the reason you soar to greatness! No one can do it for you, so get out there and do all the things you don't like to do! You have the power of success within you- reach down deep and unlock it!

Business Opportunity Calls

Interested in what I do? Join me any Thursday night at 8pm on an opportunity call!  I'd love to have you join me!

Grow your Business!!

I recently attended a webinar that offered 25 tips to grow your MLM business. When you stop learning you stop growing- so, never stop learning! I read books, attend webinars and attend as many corporate sponsored trainings and events as I can.

In this post I am going to cover a few tips I found the most helpful. Some of these are so simple, your going to smack your knee and say- now why didn't I think of that?!

Have an accountability partner.  If you don't have a supportive spouse, you need to find someone to talk to often and brainstorm with. Someone who will call you up and say- are you working towards your goals? In my company, we call these people Business Building Advocates.  And, it's ok- if you have more than one accountability partner. In fact- the more people holding you accountable for your success, the better! Because, face it, we DO care what other people think!

Talk to people! This is one of those knee slappers. It's brilliant! Imagine a world where people stopped texting for a minute and actually said hello to the person next to them. That's the original network marketing strategy. It's timeless, and still the most effective way to grow your business. Just say hello.

Don't throw up on people. Say hello, and then LISTEN. When you know what they need, you will be at the best advantage point to help them!  Be confident in your abilities and believe in your business! Noone likes a wishy-washy consultant. And, noone likes a spammer- online or in person. Remember, spammy is trashy.

Don't quit. It's ok to go slow and steady, but it's not ok to quit. And, it's ok to be quick and furious, too. That's how movements happen. And, that is where you'll make the most valuable amount of money.

If you don't like your leader, become the leader you desire. You will attract other leaders like you, so decide now how you will behave and duplicate.

Stop making excuses. I recently read a quote: "Excuses are more expensive than solutions."
 ~ I hear all the time, "I can't do {activity} because, I have kids."  Well, a babysitter is more expensive than teaching your children how to work. Give them some responsibility. Teach them that your business is and can be a family business. After all, you are doing this to spend more time with them, right? Who ever told you, you can't bring your kids with you? And, if you avoid working because you don't want to pay a babysitter, that's a monetary loss as well. You can't move your product if you are not out there showing it.

Be genuine, but be genuinely out to help people. Help others succeed and mean it! Even if they are not in your leg/team- just be real and help others! The blessings you receive from being selfless will come back to you ten-fold. Don't get a big head, be humble.

Follow up on leads, and do what you say your going to do. If you say you'll call, call! Be professional!

You don't have to be pushy, but you still need to offer the opportunity to everyone. Be indirect, say- "I know you are not interested in this opportunity right now, but could you think of 3 people who might be?"  This takes the pressure off them, and allows them to open their mind and give you hot leads.  Always follow through!

Go for No- Go for No- Go for No. It's just a step closer to yes. And, no does not mean no never, just no not right now. So, follow up!

Chances are,  if you are feeling unhappy in your business right now, you are making it too complicated. Keep it simple, be yourself. Take away the hype and spam and negativity- and you'll be amazed at the business you will begin to grow.

Running a business is a lot like pushing a car up a hill. It's hard at first, then as you crest the hill, it gets a little easier, and when you get over the hump, you gain momentum and soar!  Don't quit! Just keep pushing!

Sometimes, people just want to know their value!

Has anyone ever "unfriended" you?  Did it sting just a little, or did you just laugh it off? 

I have found through social media, that our reactions are so different, than if we were to experience that situation face to face.  For example, when I clean out my "friends list" on Facebook, I often remove 50 to 100 people that I have never even "met". And, sometimes even ones I do know- but feel have drifted away.  I almost always expect at least one of them to message me and say, "What happened? Did Facebook glitch and take me off your list?".  Facebook is about to turn 10 years old. In the past 10 years, not a single person has sent me a message like that. So, for me- it kind of hits you right in the ticker. I often think to myself, "was my friendship even valuable to them? I mean, they didn't even notice I was missing!" or, I find myself thinking ~ "Wow, I guess we weren't as close as we thought we were!". This may not be the case at all. Many times, we don't even notice that we've been removed, misplaced or lost. Not until that person goes to clean out THEIR list, and you aren't there. Or, when they do think of you and want to ask you a question. Then, you become noticed. And, sometimes- they just plain take offense at it all, and post something snarky about it. But then, it's pretty well confirmed that you weren't valued, but rather they thought they were the bag of chips in the relationship.

I've also been on the other side of it all. I've been removed, blocked and forgotten- and never been more pleased about it. Of course, it's usually done by a person who never uplifted or supported me to begin with. 

What if these things were to happen in person? What if you were just hanging out one day, and the person you were chillin' with, just got up and left? Wouldn't you go after them? Wouldn't you do everything you could to salvage that relationship? It's not so easy to just laugh off.  Social media, kind of numbs our hearts, sometimes. 

But, how can all this apply to business, anyway? Well, In my almost 2 years in direct sales- it pretty much means everything. I quickly added so many people to my private profile, I began to feel very out of control in my life. People I didn't really know were liking family pictures, commenting on sensitive situations- even stealing ideas! But, I felt like I was obligated to be their friend. My whole life is about helping people, it's what I was born to do. But, no one took the time to teach me how to do that in business. How in the world can I be "friends" with everyone in my business?

I felt like I needed to friend all my customers. Even though, I had a fan page. I felt like I needed everyone in my up-line and down-line, as a friend. But really, what I was doing, was forcing my family and friends, into a corner. I began to neglect them! I can't have that! I needed to make a line. To draw a boundary. So, I cleaned up.  I did the routine yearly Facebook cleanse, and removed anyone I had never met in person, and those whom I felt had "drifted" away from me. I kept my fan page for my customers, and created a blog for my business friends. Oh boy, was I in for it now!

Did I get the emotions previously discussed? Absolutely! When I thought certain ones didn't notice, it hurt. When, maybe they did notice, and not message me or ask- but rather, make a very public post about it (whether it was about me or not, I'm not sure, but it was about the same situation- so naturally, I assume-). A post, maybe, that was filled with a shaming of sorts- one that kind of stung. Oh, I should let them have it!!! Right? Negative.  

I could get mad. I could let my hurt take over my emotions. I could throw a tantrum. But, as a leader, a business person- as a friend. I stay professional. I still extend a hand of encouragement, and take a moment to uplift and support. Because, honestly- what does Facebook know about friendship? Certainly, nothing. It holds no bars around my heart. I am still free to be friends with anyone I please on or offline. And, I will continue to take notice of people gone missing, and extend a hand of encouragement. Because maybe all they really want to know, is how much value they hold in my heart. Maybe they just need to know they meant something to me. And, who am I to deny that they don't? They were there for a reason to begin with- after all.  Everyone needs to feel and know their worth.

You matter, even if Facebook doesn't say so. 

So keep shining. You are a diamond- And, I value you.