MLM
Woman Issue 55
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From the Desk
of the Editor
Welcome to the 55th issue of the MLM Woman Newsletter.
I hope everyone is enjoying the summer and taking some time to relax
and regroup. August is the perfect time to reflect on how your business
is doing and to plan for the last 4 months of the year. This month
I've included 4 articles to help you in the reflection process.
Enjoy,
Linda Locke, Editor
MLM Woman
Top Ten Most
Important
Things to Do Today
By Michael E. Angier
This is my list. They're the ones I've selected for
my life at present. Consider them suggestions for yourself--ideas
to help you generate your own top ten list. By getting clear on and
acting upon YOUR most important steps, you'll be moving toward and
experiencing your highest and best.
1. Practice gratefulness. Reflect upon the things in
my life for which I'm grateful. If I appreciate more of what I have,
I will have even more to appreciate.
2. Write out my three most important goals and visualize
how my life will be when I have achieved them. FEEL it. EXPERIENCE
it in as much sensory detail as I can possibly imagine.
3. Take some action steps toward each of the three goals.
4. Exercise my body and monitor carefully what I eat
and drink. Reduce fat and caloric intake while expending more calories.
Eat only small amounts at one time.
5. Read something educational, inspirational or entertaining--preferably
all three.
6. Meditate. Empty my conscious mind and listen to the
Super-conscious.
7. Have fun doing something I love to do. Experience joy.
8. Write something--anything. If not an article or part of my book,
then write in my journal.
9. Perform some act of kindness. Do a thoughtful, magnanimous thing--anonymously
if possible.
10. Finish something. Do something I can call complete.
Bonus Step: Make something work better--Practice ADS: Automate, Delegate
and Systemize.
Copyright 2001 Michael Angier & Success
Networks International.
About the Author
Michael Angier is the founder and president of Success
Networks. Success Net's mission is to inform, inspire and empower
people to be their best--personally and professionally. Download their
free eBooklet, KEYS TO PERSONAL EFFECTIVENESS from http://www.SuccessNet.org/keys.htm.
Free subscriptions, memberships, books and SuccessMark Cards are available
at http://www.SuccessNet.org
Guide For First Time
Network Marketers
By
Karen Kosel
You have searched the internet to find the right business
for you. You have signed up, and possibly ordered a business kit.
What do you do now? Hopefully you took time to research the company
that impressed you.
There is a big majority of internet business that fail every year.
Possibly the number one reason for failure is the lack of BELIEF.
Belief in yourself, the product, the company, or this industry all
together. The second cause of failure is the lack of willingness
to do what it takes to succeed. A business is not built overnight.
You need to have PATIENCE, BELIEF in yourself and your product,
and a true VISION for the future.
What should you do first? Get yourself a 3 ring binder,
or maybe some colored folders. Some people prefer to print information
off so they can read it anywhere instead of the computer. Remember
that anything you purchase for your business, save your receipts
for tax deductions. Don’t let any little thing go unnoticed.
It all adds up.
You might label your folders for TRAINING, or PROSPECTS, or BUSINESS
INFORMATION, etc. What ever your business calls for.
If you are serious about having your own business I would suggest
getting a separate e-mail account for your business. Possibly your
server offers a 2nd e-mail address, or you can get them on many
different websites such as Yahoo, USA.net, MSN.com and many more.
You want to separate your business e-mail from your pleasure.
Get yourself a daily planner, or make yourself one off your computer.
Use it. Treat this like a real business and set definite hours you
want to work. Try to get organized in your day. Because if you are
a stay at home mom, you still have the kids to take care of, meals,
and laundry. The beauty is you can SET your own time you want to
work. Whether you have 1 hr a day or more. This is a COMMITMENT.
This is going to take work and some time. Don’t get discouraged
and give up too quick.
Next thing to do is get a spiral notebook and start a journal. First
write down your goals. It's easier to keep focused if you can read
your goals in writing. Next, write down some short term goals. You
don’t need to look at the whole picture.If all you think of
is "I haven’t made $5,000 this month", you will quit.
Possibly your first goal will be to get organized. Next, learn everything
you can about your business. If it helps, print the most important
information off for future use. SUCCESS doesn’t happen immediately.
Work with your enroller as much as possible. Get to know some of
the other team members if possible. Hopefully they have a training
program available. USE IT! They know what they are doing.
One word of warning. There is so much information out there. Your
head will feel like it is swimming in a sea of information. You
can easily get overwhelmed. My best advice is to take what YOU need,
and leave the rest. Follow your team’s advice and training.
Take your business ONE STEP AT A TIME, ONE DAY AT A TIME. Single
daily actions are the most important. Keep a positive attitude.
If you start to get discouraged call your upline and get some help.
YOU DON’T HAVE TO DO IT ALONE.
Believe in the company you choose, and the product they sell. Believe
in your upline and the training they give, but mostly Believe in
YOURSELF!
About the Author
Karen Kosel, author/editor of Creating Success
Online News, operates a Home Based Internet Business. Her Main goal
is to help train others to reach success through her dynamic online
marketing team: http://www.athomeworking4me.com.
If you would like to subscribe to Creating Success Online News send
to CreatingSuccessOnline-subscribe@topica.com
Advice from A-Z
Can
It Work When
One of Us Is the Boss?
By Azriela Jaffe, copyright 2001
A 21 year old college student writes to me with a perceptive
question:
"Does it ever happen where a husband or boyfriend is
not a partner with his wife in business, but a true subordinate employee,
who follows his wife's direction, doing a employee task, while his
wife owns the business and makes all the decisions? What advice would
you give to someone who is about to be employed by his girlfriend?"
It isn't easy, but it certainly can work! The fact
that you are asking the question tells me that you have some concerns.
They may be as follows:
Will I be a henpecked husband, being treated like a
slave from my girlfriend, and not respected as an equal partner?
What will other people think of me, if I take orders
from my girlfriend?
Will they think I'm a wuss?
Will she and I fight when I don't agree with what she
wants me to do?
How will we resolve it when I disagree with something
she wants at work, but she's my boss and I have to do what she says?
How will working for my girlfriend affect our sex life?
What if I want to quit my job because I don't like it?
Will it wreck our relationship?
And the questions continue. . . .
Here is the very first set of questions you want to
answer, before you even get to addressing any of the above.
Is this job you are considering something that you really
want to do?
Would it be work you'd enjoy even if it wasn't working
for your girlfriend?
Are you likely to be really good at it performing the
work?
Are you 100 percent behind what she's trying to accomplish
with her business?
If you took a job just because she asked you to do it,
and it wasn't work you really liked to do, it would be a set up for
failure.
You'd be resentful before long, and if you weren't performing
well in the work, it puts your girlfriend in a very awkward situation
as your boss.
Are you taking this job because she's begging for your
help and you are figuring, "what the heck, I might as well give it
a try and help her out", or, is she offering you a job that really
excites you?
How you answer that question will have a lot to do with
whether this arrangement can work. You are going in to it eyes wide
open that this is NOT an equal partnership, but an employee arrangement.
It will be awkward working for your girlfriend, so you want to avoid
tension as much as possible. Your odds improve if there is an excellent
fit between what her company needs, and your skills and desires. Also,
there must be a match between her expectations of how you accomplish
the work -- the hours you work, where it is done, and how much freedom
and flexibility you have to do it your way. Otherwise, you are both
in the worst of circumstances -- an employee discipline problem between
lovers. The second question you must answer is related to the quality
of your relationship with your girlfriend.
Yes, this kind of arrangement can work just fine --
BUT -- it will require superior communication skills and a mature
relationship that can handle conflict and stay committed when it gets
difficult. How do you resolve conflict now? It's not a good sign if
one or both of you avoid it entirely or leave the room in a huff whenever
something difficult arises. You must be able and willing to talk with
one another about grievances, and to come to a resolution you both
can feel good about.
Can you talk now about potential difficulties, before
they even happen? For example, how does your girlfriend expect she'll
deal with any complaints about your job performance? How do you plan
to introduce your relationship to any other employees? How will you
deal with it if you make a suggestion and she doesn't go for it? If
you can't talk hypothetically about these potential sticking points
before you are actually troubled by them, you'll have trouble resolving
the problems when they do arise. So far, I might have sounded somewhat
pessimistic.
Although this road is fraught with tension and potential
calamity, it can also be a tremendous foundation for a happy and prosperous
marriage. You'll have an opportunity to test what your relationship
is made of, and to work out some of the difficulties that are bound
to come up in any marriage. You'll form a bond much tighter than many
couples who operate most of the day in separate universes. By becoming
a part of your girlfriend's dream, you will understand this aspect
of her life with much greater acuity than if she was just telling
you about her work at the end of the day. She may also feel indebted
to you for helping her achieve her goals. And who knows, with your
help, perhaps she will even exceed her current dreams and grow the
business in entirely new directions!
So, in a nutshell, working for your girlfriend requires
strong self esteem and superior communication skills, as well as knowing
who you are and what you want to do in the world. It also may turn
out to be the best job opportunity of your lifetime. Be sure you are
paid what you feel you are worth, know that if your relationship goes
on the rocks, you could be looking for a new job, line up a mediator
or marriage counselor in case you need it, and don't lose your sense
of humor!
Try it as an experiment, and if it stops being fun,
don't do it anymore. You can find another job easier than the right
life partner.
About the Author
Azriela Jaffe is a syndicated
columnist and author of the book "Starting from No: Ten Strategies
to Overcome Your Fear of Rejection and Succeed in Business" and
several other self-help books. She welcomes reader response and questions
to PO Box 209, Bausman, PA 17504 or az@azriela.com.
For free online newsletters for entrepreneurs, visit her Anchored
Dreams website at: http://www.isquare.com/crlink.htm
Sacrifice
By Lisa M. Wilber
Sacrifice is a part of every new business -- at least
every successful new business. The new business owner must sacrifice
his or her own personal time, money and creature comforts in order
to get the business off the ground and heading toward success. How
long and to what extent will you have to sacrifice to make your
goals and dreams a reality? I suppose that would depend on how big
your goals and dreams are!
Personally, my dreams are B I G -- and getting bigger.
My initial goal of "Million dollars in assets by age 40" seems small
compared to the possibilities I see for myself now. And not just
in physical possessions -- but in every aspect of my dreams. How
much money I can earn in a year, where I will travel, who I will
meet, what I will learn. When I began to believe in myself and believe
that anything is possible, it opened up my horizons in a way that
wasn't possible before.
As my horizons opened, so did my creativity and ability
to overcome the hurdles towards those dreams. But today, like so
many of you reading this; I am struggling and sacrificing in order
to secure my future income and lifestyle. Yes, I know sometimes
I take it to extremes -- but that is how deeply I feel the passion
of my dreams.
The company I represent is sending me my downline earnings
check this Friday for over $9,200.00 -- and that's for two weeks!
Yet, as my husband and I sat huddled in front of our 10 year old
air conditioner over the weekend -- the heat during the summer in
our 12' x 72' trailer can be compared to a tin can in an open field
-- I couldn't be happier.
I no longer spend time waiting each month for the electric
man -- waiting to catch him with my cash payment so that he will
not shut my electric service off again. I no longer dread hearing
the phone ring -- knowing that no bills collectors will be calling.
We have food in the refrigerator, gas in our vehicles
and for the first time in 14 years -- medical insurance! Yet --
we make sure to be as frugal as possible, spending the majority
of the income from my downline back into the business to insure
that our past won't repeat itself.
We laughed as we sat in front of the air conditioner
-- because every few minutes I had to get up and thump the side
of the 20 year old TV. A button is broken in the control panel,
but the TV still works when you hold the button down -- so my husband
came up with a solution -- he propped a plastic container against
the button and held that in place with a rubber boot against the
cable conversion box. Voila! No need to purchase a new TV!
We now enjoy this kind of sacrifice. It's like a badge
of honor we wear knowing that our future will be secure -- knowing
that we are happy and have all that we truly need today and are
saving and investing for those great adventures of tomorrow.
Have you read the book "The Millionaire Next Door"?
I rest my case.
About the Author
Lisa Wilber has been involved in Multi-level marketing
since 1993 and made it to the top of the pay plan with Avon Products,
Inc. within 15 months of joining the program. She has earned 12
Avon National Honors trips and is currently ranked # 6 in the country
for Avon's MLM program entitled "Leadership". She is the author
of two books - "Marketing Ideas for the Wild at Heart" and "Support,
Support, Support: the three most important things about multi-level
marketing". To reach Lisa, visit her web site at www.winnerinyou.com
or call her at 1-800-258-1815.
