Life before Network Marketing

I have always believed we are each born with a unique set of gifts, talents and intellect. What we’ve been given is completely up to God, what we do with it is completely up to us. My husband and I wanted to be wise stewards of what we had been given, so we tried best to follow the advice we heard. Go to school, get a good job, live below your means, pay off debt, and invest for the future.

We had good jobs as esteemed corporate leaders, and a franchise we owned and built up.  But as time passed, we grew more and more frustrated that the advice we had followed left us feeling like we were working hard while not getting ahead.

Life in the fast lane left me feeling weary. I was completely worn out and felt “guilty” that I was doing only a mediocre job in my roles as employee, business owner, wife and mother. Because of my lack of time, I felt like I was giving less than my best to everyone, including myself. My home wasn’t organized, I didn’t take time to cook the healthy meals I knew were important, I cut back on my exercise routine, I wasn’t sleeping well, Forrest and I forfeited our date nights, we served little in our church, and my spiritual development became a story of the past. Most agonizing was missing precious time with my babies who were becoming little boys before my eyes.

Enter Network Marketing

Burned by small business ownership and professionally trained as a financial analyst I spent the next couple of months trying to tear the business plan apart. Deep inside I was afraid of making another move that didn’t work. But the more I learned the more I was impressed.  The facts spoke for themselves. From the product, to the leaders, to the training, it was all impressive. Men and women from all walks of life were involved with network marketing.

I was surprised to discover how little I actually knew about the network marketing industry. I had previously heard of “opportunities” but I thought they were nothing more than scams where only a few made out with all the money and glory. This time I was learning the legitimacy of the industry and its endorsement by well-known, respected business men and investors. I learned the difference between a legitimate opportunity and a pyramid scheme—they were not synonymous.

I knew if I wanted my life to be different I had to do something different. What did I have to lose? This was what we had been looking for. I didn’t have any extra time, but I found some nooks and crannies and committed to working our new venture consistently. I started telling people, “I’m working full-time on my job, but part-time on my fortunes.” I had new life breathed into me… a hope for our future. It fulfilled me to help my team achieve not just financial success but total life success as we grew into better parents, better spouses, bigger dreamers, and bigger givers. None of my previous professional pursuits made me feel such exhilaration.

The success we experienced in network marketing afforded me the opportunity to quit my corporate job, sell our franchise, and my husband and I enjoy being home together.

Disillusioned with Network Marketing (The Behind the Scenes Truth)

After two years of full fledged effort, I had “arrived” at the top rank where everybody wanted to be.   This was the place where I told my husband I had to get to before I could let up.

But things were not as they appeared.

This “amazing” business that I built started to change.  Things outside of my control started to take place that had a major impact on my business.  The owners and managers of the company started to make decisions that had a ripple effect across the company and into my organization.

I felt like I couldn’t be honest with my downline, my upline wasn’t being honest with me and I didn’t want to be a drain to my friends or team so I held it “together” by holding it in.

• I felt empty and worn out.
• I was always going, going, going.
• My husband and I were having stress in our marriage.
• I had worked full throttle for years and felt completely spent.
• At my lowest point, I felt like I had lost my mojo.  It was no surprise I couldn’t shake the pesty 24lbs after my 3rd baby, and my previous “operating system” (“mind over matter”, “If it’s going to be, it’s up to me”) wasn’t working to get me out of my rut.)

A Smarter Way to Build

I loved the idea of time freedom, of financial freedom and of leveraged-residual income.  At the time, I thought the only way to accomplish that was to build another network marketing company.  It was a painful decision at the time, but as my income from my original company was quickly dropping I had to do something.  I quickly evaluated my ROI (Return on Investment) of my efforts and concluded that if I had to take time away from my kids, I wasn’t going to do it to play around.  I had to make a business decision and so I moved on to looking at dozens of companies before selecting my second company to build all out.

This time around I learned some valuable lessons about what I was not willing to do that I did the first time.  I was sober minded that I was not going to brand myself as the company.  I was not going to sacrifice my kids to build for a company that may or may not be here in a couple years (no matter what anybody says… no company can guarantee you that).

I rose to the top again.  Top 10 income earner in the company within my first year–working less than I had before and without bringing my downline over.  Were there inherent things in the company and in the business plan that made it a better return on my efforts, ABSOLUTELY!  But I was wiser this time.  I had more Networking Savvy.  It was not luck… It was super deliberate about how I built.  Remember, I was a corporate financial analyst by trade before network marketing.  If I could turn the art of network marketing into a system, into a science that others could follow in an authentic and heart-centered way, that is what I wanted to do and that is what I’ve done.

Systems | Automation | Simplicity | Personal Branding | Leveraged Online Efforts

…they ALL made a difference.  And that is what I’m here to teach you…. How to pick a winning company and then how to set yourself up with a winning business.

One of the keys was to put my network marketing business as a profit center under my main brand, a brand that reflected my message and my gift to the world, a business that I truly owned and that made me feel alive.  Now, I have built a business that protects me from the volatility of network marketing. (Let me help you create Your Signature Program)

I have countless business associates in the industry that I absolutely love… but they have moved on to multiple network marketing companies and they are always calling me that they have found THE ONE. I tell them the same thing every time,

“I am officially off the network marketing rollercoaster, thank you very much.”

My Holistic Success Coaching business was born out of wanting to see others successful.  Not just in one area of their life, but in all areas.  For them to truly live their greatness.  Tapped into my true self and building a business around that allowed me:

• To get clarity about the life I really wanted to design: what I wanted and what I didn’t.
• To have a greater connection to my most authentic self, living uninhibited and integrated.
• To have even greater connection with people who lived from that same place.  People who were heart centered, principle centered, mission driven, entrepreneurially wired yet living from a more holistically-centered place.
• My husband & I began having the best communication and (can I say this?) the best sex we had had in our 12 years of marriage even while we were in the midst of business and job transitions and financial uncertainty.
• My business went on to triple within 6 months and I cut back on my working hours to spend more time with my kids.

I got asked all the time how I got certified and became a coach so now I teach others how to do exactly that as an umbrella to their network marketing business.

Now, I am building a life that I love so much I can’t help but break out in a jig! And helping others to do the same.  🙂

Bio

Known for her approachable, calm spirit yet tenacious business focus, Vanessa has demonstrated with grace the successful balance of the roles of motherhood, corporate executive, and business owner all in a day’s work.

• MBA with a focus in international entrepreneurship and marketing.
• Hired directly out of MBA program into a Fortune 500 management rotation program designed for grooming future top executives.
• Worked in corporate America for eight years in key positions impacting strategic and international direction of companies who help top market share in their respective industries.
• Recognized as an industry spokesperson at conventions with publications in business journals.
• Specialized in marketing profitability analysis and corporate development including due diligence and capital investment analysis.
• Owned a franchise recognized as top two of franchises in Entrepreneur.com’s annual Franchise 500 rankings in 2005.
• Rose to a top income earner position in her network marketing businesses in record time, bringing in a million in sales in just over a year while working a full-time corporate job and raising two boys under the age of two.
• Consulted Network Marketing companies on compensation plans and training both start-ups and established companies
• Recognized as a top leader and trainer within the industry
• Rose to top 4 income earner in her second company within a year of working her business
• Certified Leadership Coach.
• Married to the love of her life and life partner for thirteen years and counting
• Proud mother of three wonderful boys.
• Active in her church community.

Work with Vanessa