The number of women involved in Network Marketing is proof enough that this industry fits a woman’s lifestyle well.

Working Woman magazine recently surveyed nearly 6,000 married women in their 30’s earning between $35,000 and $75,000 per year in middle manager and professional positions in a conventional business environment. Their comments about stress reinforce just why Network Marketing may be the answer they are looking for:

  On a scale of 1 to 5, 92% rated their stress level at a 3 or higher.

  A 61% majority said most of their stress was work related.

  82% agreed that their jobs had become more stressful in the last 2 years.

  The first and foremost reason women cited for the increased stress was an increase in their workload.

When asked what changes would reduce stress for them, 61% said More Money, 56% said More Time To Themselves; and 48% said More Exercise.

Network Marketing offers the opportunity for more money and more time — for exercise or anything else! And the big bonus is LESS STRESS - good for your life and your health. (Source: Working Woman)

If you are a mom in business you should check out Home-Based Working Moms (HBWM), a national organization for moms (& dads) working at home or wanting to work at home. They have a monthly newsletter offering home business ideas, marketing tips, member profiles and more. If you’re looking for ways to share information and network, check out this group. You can view their website at: http://www.hbwm.com or send a #10 SASE to: HBWM, P.O. Box 500164, Austin, TX 78750 for more information. Membership dues include the monthly newsletter, two free classified ads and resource information for $34 per year.

Linda Locke, Editor

“I believe you can get everything in life you want if you help enough other people get what they want.” as quoted from “See You At The Top” by Zig Zigler

The benefits of your “support package” are tangible and measurable: increased retention, increased activity, increased productivity. All of these benefits boil down to more money in your pocket. You know how support will benefit your downline and your income, but what exactly is considered “support”?

Use this rule: put yourself in your new recruit’s place. What literature or information would help you increase your sales by finding new customers? What would you need to know to help you find your first recruit? What types of recognition would inspire you to aim higher?

Brainstorm new ideas often, so you are continually improving your support. Although you do want to concentrate most of your resources on your top sellers and recruiters, you also need to plan mailings and activities that touch every member of your downline. Below are four parts of my current support package. You can use these ideas as “thought-starters” when planning your own activities. Be creative! You can take part of an idea, add your own flair and tailor it to the needs of your group.

Idea #1: Newsletters

A newsletter is the perfect way for you to communicate with every member of your downline on a regular basis. Don’t be intimidated - your newsletter does not need to be fancy — it doesn’t even have to be typed! It’s far more important that your newsletter has valuable information to increase sales and recruiting and that you produce it on a regular basis. The frequency will have a direct impact on your newsletter’s effectiveness. Consider a monthly newsletter as an optimum - or quarterly at the very minimum.

Consider making recognition a main focus of your newsletters. One way to do that is to list your top sellers in order of sales volume: top five or top ten. You can also recognize new recruits since your last newsletter.

Feature short stories regarding successes experienced by downline members. Recognize your top recruiters and when downline members earn promotions. Express appreciation in your newsletter for downline members who helped you during the last month. Ask a different member each month to write an article on his/her specialty whether that be selling a certain way (party plan, fundraisers) or recruiting. Try to get as many distributor names in print as possible. Lavish on the praise, but be sincere.

Your newsletter should also contain any special company information that you would have that your downline might not have. For example: I go to great lengths to receive our company sales brochures months in advance, so that I can let my downline know what sales are coming. If your company is publicly owned, consider updating your downline on the current stock prices and latest company news according to Wall Street analysts.

Do you know where next year’s convention will be? Your newsletter is the perfect place to get the word out early so you have downline members working towards going.

Product information in your newsletters can help your downline understand the products better and sell more. Try having downline members give testimonials on a new product or a product which is being featured on sale in the coming month. Did a product from your company rank number 1 in a recent article in Consumer Reports or was a product featured on a TV news program or talk show? Tell your downline about it in your newsletter. Do your customers use your products in new and creative ways? Here’s a place to list those suggestions. Encourage your downline to use the company products themselves — once they see the benefits of a product, selling that product will follow naturally.

Your newsletter will help remind your downline members that only order sporadically that they are in business. Perhaps receiving your newsletter will inspire them to place an order when they weren’t going to. Have you ever been in a multi-level organization and never heard from your sponsor? Don’t let your downline say that about you! Your newsletter can be your link between you and them: a link of loyalty and closeness. It shows that you care about their success!

Idea #2: Award Certificates

Women and men love to see their name on an award certificate. I award certificates to my top sellers every two weeks. Before I owned a computer, I purchased my certificates at a local store that specialized in paper products. The certificates were for teachers to use and had blanks for you to fill in the name of the person you wanted to recognize. You will also find available in most office supply stores, a fine line of professional looking certificates for sales achievers.

You can pay someone to calligraphy the names and achievements on them or simply type in the information. If you own a computer, consider purchasing a program such as “The Print Shop Deluxe” by Broderbund. This program not only prints 100’s of styles of certificates, but also has programs for stationary, posters, business cards and post cards. I purchase preprinted parchment certificates that have borders already on the paper and I add the wording with my laser printer. Two companies that sell certificate papers are: PaperDirect at 1-800-272-7377 and G. Neil at 1- 800-999-9111.

There are also options to dress your certificates up including seals and ribbons. My best advice to you: start small and inexpensive and grow in professionalism as your group grows and prospers. A small gift included with their certificate can make their achievement even more special. I currently include a copy of “Salesmanship: Tips, Techniques and Strategies that Get Results” a newsletter published by Dartnell Corporation (for more information call 1-800-621-5463).

Dartnell also publishes other titles including: “New Account Selling”, “Successful Closing Techniques” and “Overcoming Objections: Your Personal Guide to Success in Selling.” These newsletters cost under $2.00 each copy and provide my top sellers with even more ideas on increasing their business. Other gift suggestions: promotional stickers, business cards, rubber stamps, letterhead — or any business builder.

Idea #3: Online Chat Meetings

With more Americans getting “wired” every day, the online services give you one more opportunity to connect with your downline. Both America Online and Prodigy have features which allow you to create a special chat “room” at any given time, so that you can prearrange chat meetings for your downline.

For over a year, my group has been meeting every Thursday night from 9:00 - 10:00 on America Online and Friday nights from 10:30 to 11:30 on Prodigy (both times Eastern standard). I publish my meeting schedule in my newsletters and provide instructions on how to get to the “room”.

Most nights the meetings consist of 10 or fewer people — but every person who participates is one more person that you can inspire to sell and recruit more into your group. Most people attending my meetings come with questions or asking for help on specific situations. The other people in the “room” always jump in and help. Just like a meeting held anywhere else, your expenses for these chat sessions are tax deductible.

Poll your downline today and see how many would be interested in this feature. If you need software for America Online call 1-800-827-6364 or Prodigy at 1-800-PRODIGY.

Also suggest to your long distance downline members that they have a group meeting at their home which coincides with your online meeting. That way the group can sit around the computer and meet with you during one hour of their meeting and use the rest of the time for local issues and events. Having access to a successful upline is important and impressive to most group members. It gives you one more chance to strengthen that all important bond.

Idea #4: Birthday Chocolates

Want to give your top sellers and recruiters something to remember on their birthday, but you always seem to forget to send it out on time? I use the services of a company called “Birthday Chocolates” (1-800-867-GIFT).

At the beginning of each month I fax them the name, address, and birth date of the people I want to receive a gift that month and they handle the rest. They make sure that the gift arrives on time and is wrapped in birthday paper all equipped with a bow and a gift card — you decide the wording on the card.

There are two sizes available: small for $2.99 and large for $9.99. I decide the size of the gift by the volume and consistency of the downline members performance over the year. By the way, the price includes shipping.

If you don’t know the birth dates of your top producers, you can usually get that information off their contract or directly from your company. When I receive a check every two weeks from the sales of my downline members, I ask myself: “What value did I provide this month to these members to deserve this and more?”

The only way your checks will grow is if your value to your members grows. In my opinion, simply signing up large volumes of new recruits is not enough unless you support them.

Let me prove my point to you. I met another representative who is also in Avon’s MLM program at a recent convention. She had 10 times as many representatives in her downline as I do — but only 2 times the volume!! She does not support her group at all and I support my group extensively. SUPPORT PAYS!!

Lisa Wilber has been serving customers and recruiting new representatives for Avon Products since 1981. She is an eight time Avon National Honors Trip earner and holds the title of Senior Executive Unit Leader, Avon’s highest MLM level. With over 1,000 representatives in her downline, her group sales during 1996 topped $2.9 million. To reach Lisa, write to: 174 S. Stark Hwy. 17, Weare, NH 03281 or call 1-800-258-1815. Lisa’s e-mail address is LWilber@aol.com.

The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company, a church, a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude. I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it. And so it is with you. We are all in charge of our attitudes!

It wasn’t on my agenda to write a column today. I’ve got a calendar full of “to-do’s” and other more urgent deadlines to meet. But my daughter, Sarah, had something else in mind when she stopped me in my tracks this morning and inspired my muse.

Sarah is two and half years old and her vocabulary grows every day. She and her younger sister Elana thrive in a daycare center up the road, where they have been since they were six months old. Long ago I came to peace with my decision to bring my children to outside daycare. The staff there love and take good care of them, and I am a better mom when I balance my life between work and caregiving. Though I don’t battle with the decision anymore, that doesn’t mean there aren’t difficult days - for me, and for my daughters.

On this Monday morning my daughter Sarah rebelled against the notion of going to daycare. Monday mornings are always the hardest as both she and I make the transition from spending a full weekend together. In the midst of her whining, she blurted out, “But Mommy, I want to spend time with you!” She pleaded with me, with her soulful brown eyes, and my heart melted.

From the mouths of babes - where did she learn such an expression? She had finally gotten old enough to express her deepest wishes, and her pain about my absence.

For a moment I froze, not knowing how I could possibly continue with the routine of bringing her to daycare, now that she had articulated her heartfelt needs. What kind of mother am I? And then, I gave her a big hug, assured her that we would spend time together at dinnertime, told her how much I loved her, sang her favorite “I love you” Barney song, and took her to the car.

Did I feel guilty? You bet - I would have been a stone if I didn’t. Her words have been reverberating in my head all morning. Thus the decision to write this column today, abandoning for now my other responsibilities. But guess what - I love my guilt! I couldn’t have it any other way. Heaven forbid it ever becomes easy for me to chose to be at work, rather than with my children. When I can listen to my daughters’ plaintive cries and feel nothing but frustration or annoyance because they are interrupting my work, then I’m in trouble. My guilt isn’t something I need to fix, but rather, a welcome sign that I am on the right path. My guilt tells me that I love my work, and I love my kids. Because I am passionate about both aspects of my life, I am bound to feel guilt from time to time when I can’t be in two places at once.

I’ve learned to tell the difference between healthy guilt and unproductive remorse. When I am physically with my daughters, but not emotionally present, and my mind is preoccupied with all of the work I think I should be doing instead, that’s the kind of guilt that doesn’t serve them, or me. As most home-based professionals or entrepreneurs, I struggle daily with putting the work away, so that obsession with my business doesn’t take me away from my family.

On the other hand, when I am trying to focus on my work, but am distracted by a nagging worry about whether my daughtersare doing OK in daycare, this kind of angst only serves to make me less productive, not a better mother.

So, my dear Sarah, you said, “But, Mommy, I want to spend time with you.” This may not be what you had in mind, but you’ve been with me all morning. Of course you can’t know how often I think of you, or how much I look forward to seeing you at the end of the day. Perhaps when you get a bit older, I’ll give you this column and you can read it. Then, you’ll not only know how much I love you, but how much I love my work, too.

As the daughter of an entrepreneurial mom, you will learn from me about choosing work you have passion for, and developing your creativity, and taking risks, and making a difference in the world. And you will also learn that being an entrepreneurial parent means making the toughest of choices sometimes, like saying good-bye to your favorite princess on Monday morning so that you can get the job done. It will never mean I don’t love you. It only means I love my work, too.

Azriela Jaffe, author of “Honey, I Want to Start my Own Business, A Planning Guide for Couples” (HarperBusiness ‘96), self-syndicated column, “Advice from A-Z, Family Matters for Entrepreneurs”, and free online newsletters, “Entrepreneurial Couples Success Letter” and “The Best Ideas in Business.” Founder of The Critical Link, P.O. Box 209, Bausman, PA 17504. phone (717) 872-1890, fax (717) 872-0963, email AzJaffe@aol.com or jaffe@lancnews.infi.net Website:http://www.isquare.com/ crlink.htm