I’m a Virginia girl, born and raised alongside my THREE brothers (yes, I was the princess of the family!) I had amazing entrepreneurial parents who were honestly passionate about their business. My parents lived and breathed their work and showed me that I could make a living doing something I loved. They created success while modeling a great work ethic for me.
But as a child, I remember having a different kind of parents from others my age. They didn’t have a lot of TIME to go to my gymnastics meets or to drive me to girl scout meetings. My mom would not have been the homeroom mom. My dad wouldn’t have been the little league coach. However, it was nice having money to live a comfortable lifestyle, including, having a new car upon high school graduation and no college debt. I am forever grateful for my parents, and the life they provided for me.
But did a life exist where I could provide for my own children the way my parents provided for me while also giving the kids the most precious of commodities… TIME?
When I went to college, I was not interested in living a life consumed by a family business, as my parents did. So, while my brothers all went in that direction, I decided to become a teacher. Little did I realize the extent of the demands placed on teachers and the time required to spend with other children and their parents. Don’t get me wrong, it was fun because I was operating in my passion, but when I had my first baby girl, it hit me that her sitter was going to be the one to experience all of her “firsts” and not me.
Again, I asked myself, “Is there a life where I can provide financially for my family while being there to enjoy these precious moments that come and go so quickly?
I’ll spare you the long story that led me to take a leap of faith. When my daughter was 2 years old, I decided to walk away from my teaching career to fully embrace a higher calling… mom. It was a difficult decision! I know there are many mothers out there faced with the same struggle, and asking the same question, “How can I make this work?” With another daughter on the way, we desperately needed the consistent income my job provided!
On a funny yet serious side note… being at home was no piece of cake! I thought being at home was SIMPLY keeping a clean house, daily exercise, Martha Stewart meals, and lots of fun playgroups with like-minded moms. If you’re a professional homemaker, I can see you shaking your head at me right now! If truth be told, my home was never messier, it was difficult to find the time to get a daily shower, much less exercise, and I soon found myself drowning! Although I was now with my daughters 24/7, I had never felt so isolated!
Then, a neighborhood friend shared with me about her little at-home business. She was not pushy. She simply asked me to see if it might be a fit. I was skeptical, but I trusted my friend. A home-based business? Isn’t that what I DIDN’T want? Working all those hours, and giving all of my time away? But we needed MONEY. I wanted to be HOME with my daughters, but I also found myself wanting TIME with other like-minded women.
So, I dove in head-first and did all I knew: my parents’ model for success. Soon I found out that this was not required to have a successful home-based business. After about 2 years of doing it the wrong way, living and breathing work-work-work, I realized that a direct sales business didn’t have to be the same as OWNING YOUR OWN BUSINESS. In fact, it was quite the opposite when done properly.
Doing it the right way revealed a life that prioritizes my priorities while providing for my family financially, emotionally, and spiritually. I could build my own dreams instead of working tirelessly to build someone else’s dream. Since that pivotal decision to work smarter instead of harder, we now have time and money to do all the things that are truly important to us!
The funny thing is… when I started, I didn’t even tell people I SOLD anything. I would simply say, “I TEACH people how to do X and Y.” You see, I didn’t want to SELL; I was an EDUCATOR! I wanted to SERVE. I also didn’t want to RECRUIT, but I DID want to help other women find the RESOLVE to go for their dreams. When you have a great product, you have the opportunity to do both! You get to focus on serving, being helpful, and simply pointing people in the right direction. A great product is always the key to any successful business, and I represent the best products on the market!
