What’s the biggest reason you feel trapped in or won’t leave your job? Time, risk, resources….. same old.
I’ve always been an entrepreneur at heart
I always get excited by new ideas, see ways to improve things, think of ways to work smarter not harder, and I friggin love to learn, all the time. I could crush new books or material or videos or courses every day. I can’t get enough. I love cramming it all in there somewhere because I'll need a little piece of it at some point.... I'm like an info hoarder. I also always knew I wanted to run my own show. Apparently I was a 'strong willed kid' growing up which gave my parents a run for their money.
Once I hit 30, I was making six figures in my corporate sales career and quickly saw how much that success was wearing me down. The harder I worked, the more I succeeded in my paycheques, but also got more stressed out running on adrenaline and anxiety most of the time. On the climb it's always so exciting, but I spent no time taking care of myself or my relationships that really meant something to me, and I could see that each year this was only going to get worse. Oh I mean ‘bigger and better money’ rah rah rah!!! It just translated to crazier schedule and more stress and pressure which didn’t excite me once I got there.
Commission sales jobs by nature are an interesting game. Every month you go from hero to zero!!
Example: "Last month was the biggest month of new business from one producer this company’s ever seen, congratulations, it was all you!!!! Ok now let’s see if you can beat it this month"….. it's never enough! Not what I wanted to feel like for the next 30 years. I would like to actually build on something. You know like over time actually create something that won't make me feel like I'm in a vice grip or running on quick sand. That's how a lot of us in corporate feel. Like we're never enough. Run faster, faster, faster....
I knew I needed more control of my future. I’m honestly just not a fan of being told what to do at the best of times, and even though I was a commission salesperson doing really well, I still didn’t call my own shots in the end
I had tons of ‘perceived flexibility’ sure, I could come and go as I pleased, but there was still always a piss off factor with little things like when your boss gives you a snarky comment when you’re 8 minutes late in the morning, even if you were there working until 9pm the night before, and the whole weekend, and last month on your vacation…... That wasn’t the only annoyance of course, but little things like that made me question what the hell I was doing with my life. I am a grown-ass woman, I do not need to be scolded on my way into the office in the morning. Beat it bud!
One of the best compliments I ever got was that I am resourceful
I didn’t understand at first what my last boss meant by that, but she said: "you just jump on any problem and say I don’t know, but I’ll figure it out, and then you do.” And I always do. It’s who I am. I get fired up by a challenge.
So I thought screw it, I want a different life, I’m gonna figure this out too
So naturally I started to analyze all my options. I looked seriously into franchises, opening my own insurance brokerage, online businesses, creating an exempt market investment firm, I started investing in commercial real estate….all things that played into my strengths. I love business, working with clients, investments, leverage, and creating passive income.
I knew I could raise the capital and get a team on board with whatever I chose, and that I could figure it all out as I went. That part didn’t worry me. The issue was I didn’t want to spend 80 hours a week building a business when I wanted to have a family…..and quite frankly a life, and I’m not the kind of person who can put things down and go home because it 5pm you know what I mean?
So after looking at tons of options, I basically went 'hybrid'
Intrapreneurship was a perfect fit and network marketing landed on my radar. Someone had asked me 8 years earlier if I’d look at it with her and I firmly and politely said NO FRIGGIN WAY!!! I was a professional. Way too good for that. I remember thinking that isn’t even a real business and feeling so sorry for her.
But I educated myself about the industry, how the business actually works, how you work in it, and how it's actually not a pyramid scheme go figure, and 8 years later I called her up and took a real look this time. It didn’t hurt that I knew her personally, had sort of been watching her NOT be a creep all those years, and that she was not only still in it, but literally had the lifestyle I wanted including the income. That was the proof I needed.
I had to get over my huge ego
The one that said ‘I’m sure you’d love to have a salesperson like me making money for you’. Because that’s what I had originally thought when she had first asked me, but I realized that's not how it is. People go first in this business, they learn, then they lead, that’s it. They teach you as much as they know so you can run with the business, learn it and then teach someone else. They get paid a small percentage of what you do (a referral fee from the company for introducing you and training you on the company's culture, products, systems etc), so they don't make anything unless they help you succeed. Honestly.
Don’t do business with someone who gives you the ‘gotchu’ feeling. That’s just a gross feeling! I'd say that applies for all businesses and jobs out there.
I’ve actually had to unlearn how I used to sell, I don’t cold call and hard close anyone anymore
I educate and offer, and let someone decide if it's a fit for them, and I’ll tell you what, that’s a way better feeling for me as a person.
If you’re an entrepreneur at heart, you don't want a boss and you want your own schedule, but if don’t want to reinvent the wheel, you grab a successful system and run with it your own way. That's the beauty of this. You brand yourself.
You get the benefit of all of the resources of a successful company, with none of the traditional business risk AND you still get to run your own show
That's exactly what I wanted.
It is also an incredible jumping off point for any entrepreneurial endeavours you want to chase down later because if you build it the right way, you can build other things alongside it.
Now as for the elephant in the room when it comes to network marketing, I say any industry has a reputation, and every industry has shitty or shady people in them. It’s just how the world is
That’s how I felt about network marketing before I started, and honestly how I still feel about a lot of people who are in it from lots of different companies. But you know what else? I felt the same way about the insurance industry which I was in for over 10 years. And I got to decide who I was in that industry, and I get to decide who I am in this one, and you have that choice too in whatever you do.
People always make jokes about different professions and industries, they’re no different really. And if you can’t see past a stereotype and use your analytical brain when it comes to a business model or a profession, it only sucks for you. Just sayin.’ I learned that one the hard way ;)
Network marketing is making a huge comeback and is attracting tons of professionals who want to work differently. It is intrapreneurship at its best. You decide who you are in it. You can decide to be a professional. You decide to build a business that will change everything for you, or not.
I came in for the business model but it has literally changed me into a better leader, a better business mind, and honestly a better person………… and I’m only gettin’ started!!
If you’re a friggin go-getter and you wanna take a look, let me know. I am in the ‘here’s the info’ business, not the ‘sign here its so easy and you’ll make so much money instantly’ business. It's real and it's legit. You have to work!
If you’re even a little curious, I'm here. Reach out.
xo
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