This post might come across as slightly irritated, because frankly, I am. I am just going to do a tell all here rather than continue spend hours on the phone with people who a) buy the food and quit or b) never even try. Then why did I even bother spending my time trying to help you?

So, here goes.

1 year ago I weighed about 170 pounds. I say “about” because I stopped weighing at 160 pounds but from looking back at pictures I think 170 is a conservative estimate.

Today, May 3 2012, I weigh 119 pounds with no exercise. (Click picture for full size)

Here’s the secret. Medifast. You can read all about it at their website. In fact, I will just only tell you about my experience with it. If you do it, good for you. If you don’t, that’s your choice.

I started Medifast because I got a severe ankle sprain. I have loose ligaments meaning I can do several of those double-jointed tricks. The downside was I had no idea until AFTER this injury.

• I started out by counting calories. What I found, though, was that my large sweet tea from McDonalds was taking up more of my calorie “budget” than I wanted so, I was drinking my calories and was missing out on the protein/carb balance so I had to change that habit eventually. I probably lost about 10 pounds counting calories.

• Then I started using the Wii Fit and lost about 10 more pounds. The Wii Fit requires you to do it barefoot. Seeing as I have no arches (due to the loose ligaments as I found out later) I sprained my ankle something FIERCE. It was a 8-9 month ordeal. I saw 2 orthopedic surgeons. Both told me I would have to have surgery and that it would be 12 months before I could walk again.

I decided that I had to keep losing weight so I could at least have a chance at recovery through physical therapy. David, my husband, had seen someone’s Medifast results in a forum once and did it himself with amazing results so I though I could give it a try.

With his encouragement, I ordered a full month’s supply. I kicked and screamed over it though. I loved food. I didn’t want to quit eating whatever I wanted. But I knew I needed to.

I was a sweet tea or coke a day kind of person before Medifast and now it has been 1 year since I have had sweet tea OR a full strength soda. Now, lots of people say sugar substitute causes cancer but you know what? I have bad genes as it is and we’re all going to die one of these days I might as well die in the body I want!

So here’s the deal:

Medifast is a 5 and 1 meal plan. You eat 5 of their meals and 1 lean and green meal a day. There is a chart that even tells you the leanest of the lean to the fairly lean meats.

1.  I ordered the pre-selected foods on the women’s plan. My advice- try the bars, shakes, puddings and brownies.
2. The peach tea is TERRIBLE. The soups are okay, but they take too long to make. The eggs are actually good but, again, they take time to prepare. The oatmeals were tolerable at first but then I began to hate the taste of them- they also take time to make.  (see a trend here?) I wanted a quick, easy solution and the bars and such fit the bill.
3. The hardest part was the first 3 days. Your body has to adjust to the lower calorie intake so I suggest starting the plan on a Friday.
4. David was VERY supportive and we went through and donated any pastas or otherwise unhealthy food/snacks we had left.
5. I began to really get into the My Medifast forums. You will find lots of tools, support, recipes, and the like. Reading and connecting with other Medifasters really helped me in the early weeks of the process.

My goal was to get down to 130 pounds.

I noticed inches coming off before I noticed weight. My clothes were getting baggy. I kept with it. I lost a few pounds at a time until they all started adding up. Down 1 dress size. Then another. And if I failed (and I did cheat ALL the time. My biggest fail was cheese dip) then I just ate my next Medifast meal on time. The weight came off and I kept going.

That’s the long and short of it. Commit to the program. Commit to eating the food. Commit to your own success and you WILL LOSE WEIGHT. I cheated, was physically unable to exercise, and actually lost MORE than my goal weight on Medifast.

And, for the record, I get paid NOTHING to tell you about Medifast. I want people to know that if I can do it (and I am one of the weakest willed people in the world when it comes to food) then THEY can do it.

I kept the weight off for 6 months without being on Medifast. I got down to 124 pounds.

• I ate the same concept of 6 meals a day- Egg whites and turkey bacon, a fruit, sugar free yogurt, a turkey unwich wrap (no bread, just lettuce) maybe some crabstick by itself, and then a lean and green meal.

I gained nothing back but I felt like giving Medifast another go a few weeks ago to see what other inches come off because I’m happy with what the scale says. With the inches lost a few more pounds did come off, though. Now I’m down to 119 and a size 7.  I started at a size 14/16.

I no longer have a craving for sweets, just salty foods from time to time. And when I get weak I use the My Fitness Pal iPhone app to look at the food I was considering. If I discover it is loaded with calories then I just choose something else, or only eat it without the bread, etc. This way I’m still in control of my cravings. I have them, but I choose what I do with them.

You can do this. Stop being afraid. After you’ve read this then decide for yourself.. do you want your life back?

I know I left some things out because I wrote this pretty hastily last night… if I failed to cover something you wanted to know about just let me know!

Here’s how I know… because every single one of these happened to come degree to the company (companies) I promoted from 2007-2011. I say companies because the owner of the MLM repeatedly changed the name and products and I got grandfathered in (and opted in) to the new opportunities after each change.

I saw 5 companies be born..and struggle. Most failed. 2 are still officially operating but, like most things in business that could always change at any moment.

1. Your company introduces additional products or services that seemingly have nothing to do with the name or culture of your company.

It could just be diversification, which is always a potential way to generate more income..but watch out. If new things keep getting added it could also mean that your company is unable to produce enough income from its main product or service alone..which means it is struggling

2. Your company NEVER meets deadlines (i.e. they fail to follow through) This includes payment deadlines, website launch deadlines, and the like.

If your company keeps saying “XZY will be launched on such and such date” or “Direct deposits will appear at so and so time” etc and they never do, or are VERY VERY late…that’s a huge red flag that there’s trouble. Missing a deadline once is bad, but still forgivable. Missing every single deadline? Get out while you still can!

3. Your company keeps extending exclusive advance-in-rank promotions. Over and over and over. 

This means that nobody is producing the way the company expected. Or nobody is producing AT ALL. If your company extends a promotion once.. awesome. Take advantage of it. If they keep extending it..and extending it…and extending it.. that’s a big clue that the company is struggling because people are failing to advance, which means customers and reps have stopped being gathered…which means money troubles for the company itself.

4. Nobody answers the Corporate phone number and/or returns your calls/emails.

DUH! There is something amiss here! If you’re paying them a monthly fee to be a distributor and they’ve stopped responding STOP PAYING THEM because it is very likely they’re about to disappear from the face of the earth.

5.  The name of your company keeps changing with very little (or no) warning.

This is also a big BIG red flag. Rebranding is difficult but sometimes necessary in today’s market,  but if you find your company is constantly trying to reinvent itself with little or no heads up to the field of representatives promoting that company then perhaps the company itself is trying to run from something. Could be reputation problems, money troubles, bad partnerships, etc. but seriously. Trust your gut here. If it keeps happening… run.

Did I miss any red flags of company failure? Let me know!

Moving on-

This is just a short-off-the-top-of-my-head list of things that this move has taught me or reminded me of:

1. I love making money! I started working part time at a tech support helpdesk and I love making nearly FT money at PT hours

2. It is doubtful that I’ll ever have a home custom built because if I am this sad over not being in our brand  new home (we are the first owners) then I am sure I’ll be ever more sad moving away from a custom home.

3. We had it so good and wasted so much money on frivolous things so I am happy to live in this less-than 1978 condo so that we can live “more than”..meaning that we can appreciate what we had, what we have now, acknowledge we wasted so much money (to the tune  5 years of my ft income because we used to have very little in savings), and be more mindful of our purchases now and in the future.

4. Whenever you go to move somewhere look at the crime rates in the area, Google street view the street, etc. We live in a lovely, safe area, it’s just that the condos are just a little older than I would normally have chosen.

5. If you have a choice of where you move look at local weather trends. We had NO idea how bad the wind was here and at times it makes riding a motorcycle more of a pain than a pleasure.

6. Use UrbanSpoon when trying out local eateries. I, and other users, tend to leave very helpful and detailed descriptions of our experience there.

Have you ever learned anything from moving? If so, please share your experience here, I’d love to read it!

My challenge to you if, if you NEED IT, to get in control of your finances this year. Some people are already on top of their money, but most people can always save or spend more wisely.

I have some homework for you- all of things things have helped me become even more financially mature.

1. Watch the Suze Orman Show every Saturday night 8 central on CNBC. You can also download the podcast for free on iTunes.

2. Take a look at these 20 ways to trim up your budget- things like ditching cable tv and using Netflix streaming instead, use coupons, use cash back credit or debit cards, shop online via eBates, etc.

3. Watch Till Debt Do Us Part every Saturday night at 9 central on CNBC if you DO decide to keep your cable.

4. Watch The Money Class on Oprah’s OWN channel that premiered 1/9/2012 if you keep your cable, or check out the online material.

5. Eat dinner at home! We did this last Monday-Friday and we saved at least $75  ($15x 5 days)

If you like a particular type of food learn how to cook it at home and be amazed at how much you save!

Our vice was sushi. We would send $35 or more plus tip every time we went out to eat sushi (about 2+ times a month) so, to lessen the financial blow, we picked up this tool called the Sushezi on Amazon, watched MySushiDaddy on Youtube and taught ourselves to make some pretty darn good crabstick based sushi- plus we’re saving a bundle!

6. Pick up every piece of change you see on the ground- I mean, come it- it’s free money!

7. BUDGET! It makes a difference! Try using this budget calculator 

8. Shop at your local thrift stores. I have purchased brand new looking clothes from names like Abercrombie & Fitch, Eddie Bauer, Gap, Ralph Lauren, American Eagle, Express, etc. just by shopping at thrift stores and I’ve saved a bundle of money doing it!

9. If you have stocks check to see if they have a DRIP program- (Dividend Reinvestment Plans) If so, enroll. This takes your stock’s dividends and automatically reinvests them in fractional shares of the stock, so, in essence, saving you money. Also take  a look at these no cost DRIPs.

10. Buy store brand instead of name brand at the grocery store. I have bought store brand for years and for most products I am unable to tell a difference in the taste and quality when compared side by side with a brand name product. PLUS they’re less expensive!

Here’s to a happy, healthy and prosperous 2012!

How do you intend to save money this year?

It dawned on me that a lot of women I know are looking for that special  someone in their lives and struggle to find that person. You may wonder why I’m saying person and mate- well, I’m an equal opportunity kind of person and while I’m writing this with a woman and man in mind, I imagine these tips could benefit the lesbian community…but I highly doubt these will work for men. If they do, let me know!

So, without further adieu, here’s how!

And yes, I really did do these things and I really did get hit on while doing them.

The 4 most successful semi-humorous semi-serious tips for attracting a mate:

1. Dress down: (this is the most important tip of all!)

Women looking for love- stop looking like you care about your appearance! I mean, wash your face and take a shower and such, but stop doing your hair, stop wearing makeup, stop looking like you care! EVERY time I get hit on it is when my hair is a curly mess, I have sweats or jeans and a t-shirt on, or am wearing scrubs. I wish I had pictures of how I looked when I got hit on but trust me, it was “What Not to Wear”-ish. I have no explanation of why this attracts attention but it does. Just do it!

2. Attitude is everything

Stop acting like you care about your appearance and/or about getting a mate. Very few people are looking to be in a relationship with someone who physically appears, gives off an vibe of, or IS desperate. Once you stop caring about how you look and stop caring about if you’ll get in a relationship you’ll start noticing a big difference! People are attracted to confidence. Since desperation is the total opposite of confidence you can see why desperate people (even those who just look like it or give off a desperate vibe) are single.

3. Be your natural self and stop looking for/expecting attention:

This goes along with dressing down and wearing no makeup. I get hit on ALL THE TIME when I’m a) not expecting it and b) being myself without even realizing that dude is paying attention to me. Still be aware of your surroundings because that’s just being safe but stop physically (or mentally) eyeing prospective mates from across the room.

4. Smile:

Smile at strangers, smile at service people, smile at mean people- just SMILE! Your happiness comes through to complete strangers when you smile and your dreamboat is looking for someone who is happy, confident, and kind. Besides, we all know smiling is contagious so share your joy with others by smiling.

Embracing these tips will surely help to attract love to your life, be it romantic or platonic.

Will it bright your perfect match? Perhaps- but if nothing else at least you’ll have more possibilities for romance!

What are your tips for attracting love?

Everybody is VERY nice and helpful. I’m a bit green with the big city driving but I know that will come with time.

I’ve picked up a couple of new skills, too: I can now fix existing websites made with web design software like Dreamweaver so if you know anybody who had a web designer that bailed on them  let me know because I can do that.

The other set of skills is pending. I got hired on at a big computer company doing a help desk project for a big airplane company so I’ll be doing some PT tech support. I’m just waiting for the start date next month.

In the mean time David and I are exploring our local area together which has been a lot of fun!

David seems to love his job, the kittens love the condo (the stairs are their favorite) but I definitely miss my cute little 5 year old house. This condo is older than we are so-yeah. It fits our needs, though, and the price was right.

Biggest difference between OKC and LR? The WIND! It is SO windy here! I am convinced THIS should be the windy city.  OH, and people are really REALLY into football.

Overall, though, I think we will like it here.

Favorite restaurants so far:

• Jersey Mikes
• Freddy’s
• Pickerman’s Sandwiches
• Mediterranean Grill
• Swadley’s BBQ

Favorite grocery stores:

• Crest- so far our #1 favorite
• Homeland was nice inside but the deals were lack luster.
• GFF in Moore had some good deals but it’s busy, the produce was so-so-, and it’s pretty out of the way for us.

Change is hard…but sometimes a change is what we needed…

Have you ever been through a big move, or one that FELT big?  Or do you know of a place in OKC that we need to check out? Let me know!

Recently my husband got orders out of state so I’ve been doing the best I can to find a home online (or at least discover what areas look good via steet view)

When replying to various Craigstlist and Trulia ads I have received no less than 30 fake scam responses. Most are exactly word for word, others use a bit of a different writing style.

I wanted to post one of the more generic responses I’ve received in an effort to just let other house hunters aware of what a scam looks like.

The big tip off: a nice house, or home in a nice area, for the same price as the less desirable areas. For instance, this came from a home that actually exists in Mustang OK. Those homes rent for $1,000 and above. This was for a 2200 sq ft rental for something like $650. The listing has since been flagged and removed or I’d post their ad, too.

I knew it was a scam and thought I’d mess with them a bit.

I sent a generic ”is this still available” email and got this:

Thanks for your email, I personally own the house, I want my property to be well taken good care of, and there are some rules and regulation in which I do give out to tenant willing to rent my house so please don’t disrespect my order But if you are still capable of renting my house the rules and regulation goes this way
You must keep my house clean including the surrounding, you must know the way in which you use the stove so as to avoid fire outbreak,you must not disturb the neighbor.I decided to rent out the property due to our transfer to (West Africa) on a Missionary Work in a church here named World Mission, so we are renting it out since we need someone to take good care of the property on our absent. Don’t be surprise if you find the home with another site and deference price, I have plan to rent it through Real estate before, but they are not serious simply because they have a lot of house to lease out And they added some money to the rent while there commission is not fair.
Have this in mind you must know the kind of person that I’m nevertheless I am giving you this rules because of what corresponded between me and my last tenant. the keys and documents are with us here in West Africa… So I will need to ship them to you before you can occupy the house But you can drive by the house anytime to take a look at the area and surrounding, You can also peek through the windows if you don’t mind.

let me know if you are still interested so that I can forward you the Rental Questionnaire to fill out…

Number of Bedrooms:4
Number of baths:2
Square footage:2,200
Pets are welcome!!!
Rent:$650
Refundable security Deposit:$600
House Address: [withheld]

Thanks and God bless you.

Donny R Morgan,

These types are the more sloppy emails I’ve seen. Some scammers use better writing which makes it more difficult to detect right off the bat.

The big red flags in this one are:

1. the broken english
2. the fact that the “owner” is out of the country
3. that pets are welcome (most high end rentals in this area do not allow pets)
4. and that they have to mail the keys to you.

I actually messed with another scammer for a long time-up until the point where they told me where to send the money (western union of course). The address he gave me for his flat in London? A LONDON COFFEE SHOP.

I seriously considered telling him I sent the money and for him to be waiting for it, etc. but got distracted and never did.

These scammers take legitimate MLS and FSBO listing information and pictures and post them as their own. Then when (and hopefully rarely) the unsuspecting renter sends their deposit and first month’s rent to the scammer that person is out the money and without a place  to live.

Tips to avoid a scam:

1. Google the phone number in the listing. See who or what company is it.
2. Aim to work only with property mangers. Their listings tend to have a phone number or website in the post.
3. Got an email address in the listing? Google it to see if what comes up
4. When dealing with a private party rental- BE. CAREFUL. Period. It’s more of a risk than renting with a property manager or real estate agent. If the price is too good to be true..it probably is.

Get informed, tell someone about this, and help keep yourself and loved ones from being scammed!

That’s just what happens.

If this has happened to you then you know how it is- all those people are now contacting you about their latest greatest comp plan, product, service, and/or company promotion.

Tip: If reps keep asking you to join and you really have no interest TELL THEM THAT. If the pitching continues then maybe you need to stop engaging in conversation with them for a while until they get the picture.

They want you to join.But should you? Well, that’s just up to you but never let yourself feel pressured to join a company just because “everybody else from the old company is doing it.”

That’s why I’ve passed on iZigg. It seems cool enough at first glance but I’m done with selling something.

I hate asking people to spend their own money to be my customer in a network marketing sales situation, which in turn earns me a commission. That just makes me feel icky. Now, some people are naturals in the selling department and there is nothing wrong with that. I just dislike how it makes me feel because I know I would be reluctant to spend my hard earned money on a product or service  that it a want rather than a need

Now, in iZigg’s case it is a tool for business owners to use so it’s less a “want” and more a need , but I personally think text-to campaigns are a bit spammy and I personally hate marketing texts to my phone.

Then there’s the Body By Vi 90 day challenge which is the MLM company ViSalus Sciences. Hulk Hogan is using and promoting their product, as well as some other celebrities. It seems to work, but here’s my beef- I already lost weight on Medifast (a non MLM product) and am in the transition phase.

I really want to avoid getting off one diet and getting on another health/diet product..and Medifast has been around since the 80′s..Vi? Not so much. I have trust issues when it comes to less established products.

I keep getting asked what I’m doing now..well, I’m waiting for something free or inexpensive that customers already use or actually need to come out that I can market in my immediate local area (that WORKS and does everything the company says it will) with proven leadership… until then, I’m finding other things to do to pass the time and earn some coin.

If you’re in one of the companies I mentioned or referred to and it’s what you want to do and you love it.. then  that’s awesome.. go you! This is just where I stand right now.

Carry on!

Then you start googling them or their company.

After what you find the realization that you’ve just been scammed begins to set in.

It’s a HORRIBLE feeling that I wish nobody would ever have to experience. I know because I just got scammed.

Here’s what happened. I got solicited from someone telling me they’ll put me on page 1 of bing and yahoo, etc.

As you know we just got military orders to move to Oklahoma City. This means selling our house and 1 car because we have too many vechicles and as renters in our new place we have to place to put it.

So, this means we are busy packing and showing the house. This guy called me and I told him we were right in the middle of it. I kept avoiding his sales pitches by talking about the weather, etc. He was GOOD. He kept saying “so what’s the billing address this will go to” and after the 4th time or so I fell for it. My brain went into online shopping mode and I started telling him my credit card number.

I KNOW RIGHT? What was wrong with me? I was in the middle of a stressful big life event and fell for his persistence, that’s what.

I called back 5 minutes later and asked him to cancel the campaign. He said okay but that I had already been charged the set up fee and that was non-refundable.

Well, then I start googling. He gave me a fake name. He told me he owned the company, when in fact his wife does and he’s nowhere on the corporate paperwork. Etc. Etc.

I tried calling him twice but he “just stepped out,” of course. Sent 2 emails-they went unanswered.

Well, he called me today. It turned into 14 minutes of me letting him have it in the most productive, professional way possible. He argued marketing and advertising semantics with me (bad idea, I was an English major) then I told him what else I know that he lied/deceived me about.

He did provide the work only it was incorrect. The ad title was for services, the copy and the link were for the business opportunity so there was the inconsistency in the marketing I was telling him about. He said as long as it redirects to the correct site that’s okay. I told him “based on your logic and business practices you can advertise puffy pink poodles and redirect to the client’s site that’s okay- do you see the problem with that?”

He even said he felt bad (I told him good that he should) and when I said I couldn’t believe I fell for it he said it wasn’t my fault. Interesting.

Long story short. He refused to refund me. It was not much money compared to what OTHER people have been scammed from but it’s the principle and I’m glad I at least fought.

I hope I put a dent in his day- at least a 14 minute dent- and that maybe he will consider the people he solicits and think of them as people not dollar signs.

I’m out that money but I hope this will encourage people to stand up and confront those who scam them, lie to them, and deceive them in the future. I feel better knowing I told him exactly what I thought was wrong with what he did and how he did it.

Even if they refuse to give you a refund maybe you made an impact on them somewhere deep inside their hearts. Karma will get them somehow if they fail to change their ways, anyway!

BE BRAVE. Stand up for what’s right. And if you get upset when you confront them that’s okay too. I was so mad I cried a little. Those who know me know that’s a rare, but it happened and I am unashamed.

It made me realize why I joined network marketing in the first place- it was to help PEOPLE. The thing that appealed to me was the fact I could impact so many people’s lives in a positive way just by being a leader and helping them reach their own goals.

“But what about the money?” Yeah. What about it? The money will come if you do right by other people. If you treat other people well and help however you can then the income will grow.

Network marking should be less about the company, the top earners, the products, the comp plan, the rah-rah meetings, or the promotions and more about helping people and learning life lessons!

With the epic crash and burn of a company I promoted heavily in 2009 I became a little jaded and had forgotten my real why. My why is about myself and my family, sure, only that is just a result of my REAL primary why- to help PEOPLE reach their goals and find the leader inside themselves.

So. Am I done with network marketing?

At this exact second I honestly am unable to answer that. If all the elements are right then I might choose to promote another company in the future. However, I’m too busy with our out-of-state military move to even give starting a new MLM a second thought.  Maybe after we get settled in to our new lives…

Have you ever become jaded about something, only to rediscover what you loved about it in the first place?

This post will be best suited for: a business owner trying to set up their own e-commerce site on WordPress or b: someone trying to do the above, but for a client.

(pre-steps 1. buy a domain 2. buy hosting 3. install wordpress)

1. Theme: There are several WordPress themes that are optimized for the various shopping cart plugins out there like wp e-commerce and eshop. Many themes will work, however, even though they make no claims to be officially optimized for those carts.

2. Merchant account, payment gateway, and shopping cart: Normally these would be 3 separate bullet points but there’s a reason why they’re together- keep reading!

The client is responsible for setting up their business bank account, their merchant account, and payment gateway but they had no clue (this was their first online e-commerce venture) and neither did I so we worked together on this one.

There are many merchant accounts to choose from. These clients were considering Paypal, or a local bank’s merchant account. There are also several payment gateways available. The most well known (and widely supported by WordPress shopping cart plugins) are Authorize.net and Paypal.

Luckily with the suggestion of a seasoned e-commerce entrepreneur we got the client set up with this WordPress compatible shopping cart, 1shoppingcart. This is all online and is easily integrated with Quickbooks.

This is NOT a plugin, however. You simple use the URL’s provided in the 1shoppingcart online interface within your WordPress posts or pages and you’re DONE!

1shoppingcart has a SSL built in and they also offer their own merchant account with a payment gateway built in, e-onlinedata.

The pricing was within my client’s budget and was fairly inexpensive especially considering that we got the merchant account, payment gateway, and shopping cart knocked out in one fell swoop.

3. Plugins used:

All In One SEO Pack

Contact Form 7

kStats Reloaded

Share and Follow

Shockingly Simple Favicon

w3 Total Cache

WordPress Backup (by BTE)

4. I ran free stress tests on the site via Loadimpact.com

5. I submitted the site to search engines for free  using this handy tool.

The client is thrilled and is already starting to show on page 1 of Google for some of their keywords. All in all, pretty good for my first time and the client and I are both happy with it.

Now are there better plugins out there for this application? Probably. There’s no way I could have found them all but so far these are working like a champ.

Got something to say? Know a better plugin that one I used? Leave a comment and let me know!

First and foremost I am in an ankle brace and am expecting to have surgery later this summer. No fun, but just one of those things.

I am also starting to build websites for small businesses in my area so that has been really exciting and interesting for me. Turns out all those blogs I’ve set up and maintained for free over the years (and we are talking several- like a dozen) helped me get fast at turning out a website for a client. Everything happens for a reason and I’m thankful for the opportunity to earn even more extra money from doing something I enjoy from my home!

Weight loss: after the loss of my dear friend in 2007 I started packing on the pounds. My husband and I are doing medifast together and have lost weight and inches. I am only 6 pounds from my weight loss goal which will put me about 10 pounds more than my highschool and college weight.

David might get orders for Oklahoma City or somewhere in New Mexico. We should find out in a few weeks. That’s a whole other can of worms.. gotta sell the house, etc. etc. if that happens!

So, as you can see- lots of changes going on in the Schnabel universe.

I am currently working 2 businesses aside from my personal website design business. I promote Ampegy and Nexcel. Nexcel is in pre-launch so I’ll know more about that after the June 20th launch.

Both opportunities are helping both the customer and rep base which is awesome! I am all for anything I can do to lower people’s bills and/or put more money in their pocket for every day expenses!

I hope ya’ll have a wonderful Sunday and are successful in whatever you do! Remember- keep it simple and keep it fun. People love referrals and sharing of information- they hate to be sold to!

1. The relationship with the customer is the most important thing. If you can make them feel good (and I encourage people to be GENUINE here) about their decision then they will buy and will buy from you again. This equals potential customer referrals, as well, which is always a plus.

2. In sales if you can get the customer to come to you your job is 1/2 way done. They are interested. They are looking to buy, price, evaluate, etc.

3. It is getting customers to come to you that most people struggle with because it’s a combination of skill, luck, BRAVERY, and timing. If you get your feelings hurt easily you’ll never make it. If you let rejection linger you’ll never make it. You have to remember that sales is a numbers game. Most will say no but a FEW will say yes. All any salesperson (or self employed business owner!)  needs is a few yes’s ever so often to meet their personal goals!

4. There is a way to create a sense of urgency without being pushy. For instance, in car sales: someone calls on the phone about a car you have in your online inventory. At the end you say “when are you ready to come test drive it? “When would be a good time for you to come down here and give it a spin?” etc. That requires an answer besides a yes or no on their part. See how that works?

Here is a personal example of taking  I had a totally random stranger send me an email through one of my business websites asking to get together and that she was very interested. I emailed her back that next business day. NO response for other a week. So I sent her this today:

Hi, XXXXXXXXX

You had emailed me last week asking about information about Ampegy. I emailed you back that next day. I just wanted to let you  know there is a huge momentum going on in your area (I checked based on your phone area code).

If you want more information be on this call tonight at 8pm central (6 pm pacific I believe)
1-605-475-4486, access code 62269

This will be my last attempt to reach you. If you’re interested, let’s rock and roll and make you some money!

————————————————————————-

I got a response back that same hour saying they would be on the call tonight and that they wanted to follow up with me afterwards. Now is this a guaranteed hot lead? No. It’s never a guarantee until they act, buy, join, etc.

But it’s a hotter lead than had I never tried to contact them a second time OR had I phrased it differently like “I’d like for you to see this but if you don’t like it that’s okay it’s not for everyone” etc.

I wanted to do something that helped people on a larger scale so I got hired on part time as a 911 dispatcher.

SPOILER ALERT: Now, turns out after 6 weeks I was progressing much slower that I deemed acceptable so I resigned but the long and short of it is we as citizens have NO IDEA what these officers and dispatch professionals endure on a day in-day out basis. THANK AN OFFICER AND A DISPATCHER if you know one. They are amazing and I was literally in awe to see them in action.

Now, back to the point of this post. I would like to share with you all my emotional responses to being back in the work force after 3 years of being on my own schedule.

I found this pattern so interesting and it made me reflect on how the majority of full time working people must feel. If you are employed think about your own job as I take you through my emotional experience. Do you notice any similarities?

• Weeks 1 and 2: These were great weeks on the job. I was excited. I got up excited and came home after work happy with so much new knowledge to share with David. I was learning, I was experiencing something new, and I was meeting new people.

• Weeks 3 and 4: This is when I realized I was struggling hearing and reacting to the radio traffic in a timely manner, which made the job stressful for me. I still went to work optimistic, was in a good mood at work, but when I came home it was like there was a big grey thundercloud was over my head. I was EXHAUSTED.  I was short with my loved ones. I barely played with the kittens. I wanted to do nothing but sit on the couch. At this point several friends were telling me I seemed “normal” again. By normal I suppose they meant “unhappy.”

• Week 5: I tried to deal with my bad mood at home by taking active steps to do things that made me happy and it did help somewhat but boy the fatigue and stress were starting to set in! Thankfully our bills are on auto draft because I never even opened my calendar or checkbook during weeks 3-5 because I was too tired to.

• Week 6: This was when I started to come to terms that 911 dispatching, while extremely fascinating to me, was not my calling. It literally is a CALLING. You are either born with the raw talent to do it, or not. Now I could have learned it eventually if I stuck it out but my stupid mistakes I was making was NOT worth an officer or citizen dying or being hurt because I was too stubborn to quit.

Turns out even my supervisors and co-workers noticed a change in my sing-songy happy personality and they were going to talk with me about it the same day I resigned but I beat them to it. Luckily everything ended on a good note and I was privileged to experience something most people never do by sitting on that side of a police radio.

I am at peace with the decision and instantly a huge weight was lifted off me when I put in my resignation. I came back home happy, bubbly, and basically the same old me.

AMAZING that 6 weeks of emotions can disappear in a simple decision. Now, granted, this was a part time job and my husband is the sole income earner so I am in NO WAY telling people to go quit their job without something else lined up but I DO encourage you to find something that makes you happy and get some interviews or opportunities lined up!

Do you know what that’s about?  Well, my friend, they are trying to get you to attend their network marketing at home product party.

Yes. It’s true. Here’s how it goes. There is a rep or consultant. There is a host who opens their home to guests. Then there are the guests.

People come to the party, the rep starts showing the products and people start getting themselves excited about the products they are seeing. Then they buy like crazy.

This is called a high peer pressure situation. All the other guests are happily whipping out their cash and credit cards to give their info to a sales rep they just met and everybody feels the urge to spend.

What this does is make people spend money on non-necessity items like cookware, vibrators, makeup, candle wax warmers, and the like which makes that customer’s own monthly budget tight.

How do I know this? I saw it first hand. I made the mistake once of saying “sure you can host a party at my house” and I saw co-workers spend money on outrageously priced adult items like they were going out of style.

One co-worker even complained later that week that she was unable to pay all the electric bill because of the large purchase she had made at that party. Why did they do that? Because of peer pressure, pure and simple.

Those companies who purposely disquise their marketing plans as parties cause nothing but harm to the American pocketbook because they invite guests under the guise of a low key social event, corner them into listening to a sales pitch, then put them in a high pressure and high peer pressure buying sales situation.

Now are these victims able to say no? Yes. They have a choice but I have never seen someone at an at home product party say “no, I really can’t afford it this month. I will buy next time” without the rep saying “oh, darn-well you should know these will go really fast,” “you deserve it- just be tighten on your budget next month,” etc.

Mary Kay, Passion Parties, Partylite, Avon, Pampered Chef, Scentsy- I’m talking to you. Stop deceiving consumers and luring them into high pressure sales situations! There are hundreds of other guilty companies. Too many to name, sadly.

Have you ever been a witness or victim of a high peer pressure buying situation disguised as an at home party? Please share your experiences with me!

So. Happiness is a choice. I choose to be happy and to see the bright side of things. Is it always easy? Heck no. Sometimes it’s downright difficult, like today.

Here”s how my day went:

Woke up before my alarm. David called saying he forgot something for work. I got up, got ready, took his stuff to work then headed out to UAMS for my 8:30 am standardized patient session.

I go to get gas. The machine won’t take my card for the first time ever. I have to run inside and it’s a problem with the machine. (I’m going to be late at this point)

Then when I got onto 440 I got a chip in my windshield. Then about 15 minutes later I narrowly escaped death. Seriously. I was in the fast lane and before I knew it a dump truck 3 or 4 cars ahead came to a dead stop and we were all going about 80 mph. I somehow slid my car into the left break down lane and ended up inches away from the cement barrier and at an angle into the left lane. I should have gotten clipped after the incident AND should have hit the car in front of me but somehow that never happened. Everything happened so fast and I KNOW there was someone right behind me so my only explanation is that someone upstairs was watching out for me.

I sit there a minute- regrouping. Then I get back on the interstate. I get to UAMS. The parking lot ticket machine is broken (we get our parking validated by the college of medicine).

Needless to say… just about everything that COULD go wrong did go wrong today yet I was just thankful to be alive and to have the opportunity to help others. Life is just too short to get mad or stressed out over the little things. Do I still get stressed? Of course. Everybody does…but the key is to stay in control and keep it from ruining your day AND keep it from changing how you treat people.

How do you deal with life’s everyday stresses?

The first awakening I can remember was about 6 months after my closest friend passed away unexpectedly.  After he died I went into auto-pilot. I truthfully have no idea how I completed tasks at my corporate home-office job or around the house for those 6 months.

Anyway- I distinctly remember sitting at my desk one morning at work and it was as if someone had removed a veil from my eyes. I looked around. Looked down at my desk and realized I HATED MY JOB. LOATHED IT. I am sure that I would have quit earlier had I not been mourning my friend those 6 months. I was promoting a travel company then on the side and shortly after that day I resigned to pursue the travel referral business full time. This travel company later morphed into what caused my second awakening.

The second major awakening happened just recently and is still in the process of happening. I started promoting a web-based shopping rewards company in 2009 and due to the bad press that one  blogger who specialized in SEO started it crashed and burned right after launch. I fought every day to publish positive content on 2 self-funded blogs about the company, and endured just about every other hardship you can imagine.  I, along with about 30 others who were just as dedicated as I was really shouldered a heavy burden that included the loss of friends and loss of credibility.

I only just recently started realizing that this ship may be unable to continue sailing. I could be wrong. It may have an awesome comeback, and I hope it does. This is beside the point. The awakening was this: I sold out. I sold out to a company (that I honestly believed in) when you’re really only supposed to sell out to your team and yourself in this industry.

Companies come and go. Trends change but teams- if successful teams stick together then they will make money in any company!

In this awakening I have a mixture of feelings- heightened maturity as I look back  but also some slight embarrassment and disbelief that I really acted that young and naive at ages 23-26. While I really WAS young and fairly naive I still thought that I would find my niche just by throwing myself into it because that’s how I achieved other things before.

I knew nothing about business, business relationships, or the network marketing industry and I never recommend approaching a business by totally immersing yourself blindly. That was a bad idea so I hope you learn from my mistakes!

While I have learned a LOT I also failed at A LOT. I will try to take that experience and move forward because you can only get really GOOD at something after you’ve sucked at it.

Remember- it is about the team. It is about sticking together. It is about making mistakes and learning from them.

What major awakenings have you experienced? Feel free to share!

My husband and I have known each other for 13 years this year and have been married for over 6 and if you ask us the key to a strong, happy marriage is definitely communication. Without communication the trials of marriage and adulthood can become too much to bear and then that precious relationship can easily begin to break down under those stresses. When people stop talking about their feelings and their needs the relationship is bound to become strained.  I have seen this time and time again, especially with younger couples.

One exercise my husband and I like to practice that enhances our communication is riding motorcycles 2 up. (meaning a driver in the front and a rider in the back)

Riding 2 up together on a bike effectively results in the rider being nearly perfectly in tune with the driver, especially when 2-way helmet intercoms are not used. and nothing says intimacy more to me than going 80 miles an hour on a motorcycle and trusting your driver with both your lives.

As a rider you learn to know what your driver’s body language means. Common non-verbal communication is needed to know when the driver is experiencing confidence or sports a dangerous situation ahead, when you need to duck down during acceleration or high winds, how to signal that you need to pull over, and even how to express joy or discomfort while riding.

Though I am writing from the rider’s perspective my observations are that, as a driver, you learn how to confidently handle the bike, the road, and the surrounding driving environment which makes your rider feel at ease, making the ride enjoyable for you both.

Being in tune with one another in this way is a feeling that I can not describe with mere words. It is something you have to experience yourself, only then will you understand. Once you have experienced it you will never forget the sensation. I can only liken it to some kind of cosmic connection- it just “clicks” when you’re riding with someone you trust and love.

How do you apply this to your life? Well, if you know how to drive a motorcycle or think you can learn then I highly recommend that you and your spouse or partner invest in a comfortable, more upright positioned bike and ride it together often because riding has greatly enhanced our marriage and the ways in which we communicate and know one another on a day to day basis.

If you apply this advice please let me know its effects on your relationship!

• MOST IMPORTANT. As soon as someone enrolls work on getting them their required customers to trigger the fast start bonus.

• Avoid focus on their domain name (if they choose to buy one), their dream board, etc. until they’ve got their customers!!!!!

Get them their customers. THEN roll up your sleeves and help them with the dream board, the strategy, the domain name, the sizzle cards, the business cards, etc.

• Consider making a new rep’s sizzle cards for them or get together and make and cut the cards together so they learn how but NEVER keep supplying them with cards because that does nothing for their growth. It keeps them infants in their business. Show them once then put the rest in their hands.

• Do just a few one-on-one presentations for your teammate’s leads and have them be a positive “back up” to the points you make in the presentation. Then switch roles from then on.  Requiring them to do their own presentations fosters growth and builds their confidence which also builds leaders.

So to be company-specific here’s the general guidelines to helping a new Ampegy independent representative get started:

1. First-help the new Representative get their required customers to trigger the fast start bonus

2. Get them to make a list of potential customers and reps

3. Make sure they have accessed their back office, set up their direct deposit, etc.

4. Help them with a dream board or dream list of some kind

5. Make sure they know the webinar/call times. Remind them the first 2 weeks- (tell them you’ll remind them just the first 2 weeks)

Got any team building tips you’ve learned along the way? Please share them by leaving a comment!

1. No matter how excited you are NEVER get something permanent to reflect your business because anything can change at ANY TIME. This includes vanity license plates, jewelry (unless given to you by the company), permanent signage, tattoos, car paint jobs, etc.

This is something that I both observed when spending time with Mike and Barb Lammons out in California AND have personal experience with. For instance, I got so excited about a company that I bought the license plate for the state of Arkansas.

The reason why this was a bad decision was because the company is just the vehicle. The industry is the stuff that makes the vehicle drive… YOU are the fuel. Brand yourself. Brand your team. NEVER tie yourself to a company in that way.

Now promote your heart out always in whatever company you choose..but never lose your identity along the way. Believe me it is easy to do. You get so caught up in the company and its success that you forget about you and the health of your team.

2. Never try to do it all. Ask your team to share some of the responsibility. Nobody can shoulder all the responsibility all the time.

3. Personally, I choose to never personally sponsor someone more that twice. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.

4. Never EVER buy someone in to your company. No matter HOW perfect you think that prospect will be for your team buying them in is NEVER a good idea because they have risked nothing therefore they can quit without losing any money.

If you buy someone in you’re basically asking them to quit on you. I also say this from experience. I have helped at least 10 people join my company and they are ALL GONE. None of them stayed.

5. Only go where the money is. Now-let me explain. If someone you know or meet says “hey, can you fly/drive out to X. I want to talk to you about the business.” Say, sure. Let’s talk on the phone first. If you still want me to come out enroll as a Representative and get me 3 other people to talk to while I’m there and I’ll come.

I have wasted SO MUCH TIME, MONEY, and EMOTIONAL ENERGY on people who asked me to come out to places as far out as Seattle ( I live in Arkansas) with NO intention of talking about the business. They just wanted to see me, catch up, or wanted to ask for money. This happened to me because I thought that, as a leader, I should go and because of this I wasted my time, money, and energy.  I hope you learn from my mistakes.

If you apply these 5 things to avoid to your business I believe that you’ll notice a big change. My hope is that this helps at least one person grow and become more successful.

Have you made a mistake that I left out? Please comment and share it so we can all learn from it together!