CONTENTS
PERSPECTIVES
5 LEADOFF
Inspire Us!
Ashley Aliprandi To attract Millennials into your business, share success stories, show them an easy win, set the right expectation, and offer a platform to make an impact.
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LEADERSHIP RECOGNITION Be a Friend We conduct business differently than we did 10 or 15 years ago, says Amber Voight. Leading a global sales organization of over 105,000 (mostly) young entrepreneurs, Amber learned a few lessons about doing things “the Millennial way.” After sharing her best tips, she asked her top leaders for their #1 success secret.
11 OUR TIMES – PART 1 “How do we evolve network marketing for future generations?” • Ali Mehdaoui, The Fearless Generation • Michelle Van Etten, Our with the Old, In with the New • Joshua Peart, Rather Die Than Be Unpopular
FEATURES 16
September/October 2016
NT INTERVIEW Leading the Next Generation David Anderson and Mark Nathan are Millennial entrepreneurs from very diverse backgrounds. David worked on Wall Street and at the White House and is currently the CEO of KeepGlobal.com. Mark was born into a family of Burmese and Filipino immigrants, paid his way through college as an actor, and has been a full-time network marketing entrepreneur for the past seven years. David and Mark are the coauthors of The Delusion of Passion: Why Millennials Struggle to Find Success. Their goal was to clear up some of the misunderstandings about their generation while helping Millennials understand themselves and pursue their purpose with passion. 1
CONTENTS
FEATURES
2
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HEART OF BUSINESS Falling in Love with Iran In October 2014 Payam Moghim became our first Networking Times subscriber from Iran. Payam discovered networking marketing in 2004 and cofounded the Hadi Business Institute to promote entrepreneurship and network marketing education. Hosting seminars with business leaders from all over the world, Payam invited John Milton Fogg to speak at Iran’s first generic network marketing training event in 2015. In May 2016 Margie Aliprandi accompanied Payam and John on a speaking tour in Tehran and Isfahan. Being there to help shape the profession and train its top achievers was a life-changing experience for all.
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CEO CORNER The Beauty of Social Selling Why would a New-York-based cosmetics company that has been successfully selling makeup through retail channels for over 60 years decide to open a network marketing division? Founder and CEO Michele Mallardi Gay says it started with her desire to reward customers for referring others and being brand advocates.
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RISING STAR Grow Your Mind Born and raised in Puerto Rico, Ricardo Jimenez immigrated to the U.S. in 2000 to start a new life. After struggling with addiction, Ricardo had some run-ins with the law due to drugrelated infractions. He knew he had to change if he wanted to live his purpose and be a good role model for his children. When he found network marketing, he saw it as a vehicle to turn his life around.
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RISING STAR Finding Freedom Leisa Cutler moved from Canada to Texas to follow her husband and start a family. She joined a skincare company in 2013 while being a full-time nurse. Within six month she built an income that gave her the freedom to quit her job and stay home with her four children. Her passion today is helping other women create that freedom.
CONTENTS
FEATURES
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RISING STAR 1,000 Mommy Millionaires Kemisola Ajetunmobi is a highly educated young mother of two who is making a name for herself on social media by empowering other moms around the world to build successful businesses. Nigeria’s top earner in her network marketing company, Kemisola wants to help 1,000 moms to become millionaires from home.
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RISING STAR Thoughts Become Things Heather Baker had worked in the publishing, marketing, and advertising world for almost 15 years when she realized building someone else’s business was not going to fulfill her dreams. She missed spending time with her family and knew there had to be a better way, which she found in 2015.
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RISING STAR A Life-Changing Opportunity Ana Cantera is a Millennial mom who leads a global network marketing organization from her home in the Dominican Republic. She has been building her business full time since 2011 and joined her current company in May 2015. Ana and her team want to help 1,000 families achieve financial freedom.
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RISING STAR Faith Trumps Fear Ellen Marrs is a homeschool mom, network marketing trainer, published author, and marathon runner who inspires people to pursue their dreams. Despite a difficult childhood, Ellen has a thriving business and a “life of dreams come true.” She lives in Arizona with her husband Rick and their seven young children.
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RISING STAR Offer a Solution Based outside Toronto, Canada, Melissa Barlock is raising her two young children while building a global business. After a health challenge put an end to her corporate career, she became a stay-at-home mom but felt incomplete. Looking to contribute beyond her family, she found the perfect vehicle in network marketing. 3
PERSPECTIVES 74
OUR TIMES – PART 2 “How do we evolve network marketing for future generations?” (continued) • Maria Ghaderi, A Way to Thrive • Zachary Gafford, Purpose-Driven Entrepreneurs • Wes Linden, University Dropout to Universe Traveler
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THE CLOSE A Millennial State of Mind Lisa Faeder Grossmann Socially connected, tech savvy, and hungry to make an impact, Millennials force improvement on all levels and this serves our profession well in these ever changing times.
Cofounders Dr. Josephine Gross Chris Gross Global Prosperity through a Philanthropic Economy® Gabriel Media Group, Inc.
Publisher Bob Proctor
Chief Executive Officer Chris Gross
Publisher Emeritus Frank J. Keefer
Chief Operating Officer Reed Bilbray
Founding Editor John Milton Fogg
Chief Technology Officer Brad Morrison
Consulting Editor John David Mann
Controller Yan Teng
Editor in Chief Dr. Josephine Gross
Board of Directors Michael Cunningham, Chris Gross (Chairman), Dr. Josephine Gross, Glenn Head, Don Karn, Bob Proctor
Design and Web Editor Yan Z. Hughes
Networking Times is published six times a year by Gabriel Media Group, Inc. Copyright © 2016 Gabriel Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
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Digital Content Manager Ramya Chandrasekaran Contributing Writers Ashley Aliprandi, Zachary Gafford, Maria Ghaderi, Lisa Faeder Grossmann, Wes Linden, Ali Mehdaoui, Joshua Peart, Michelle Van Etten, Amber Voight
www.networkingtimes.com | editors@networkingtimes.com Toll Free: 866-343-4005 | Int’l: 818-727-2000
LEADERS RECOGNITION
Be a FRIEND
B
By
AMBER Voight
usiness is different than it was 10 or 15 years ago, and the way we do business has also changed. I remember as a little girl watching my dad work. He was the best salesman I knew. I aspired to grow up and be a salesperson like him, which I did. However, the methods he used, although effective, look nothing like the methods I use today.
We are in the time of the Millennial. On the next few pages you will see some of the top leaders in our company who are on my team. Together we have built a sales organization of over 105,000 distributors (we like to call them sisters) in less than three years, and the way we did it was with the power of technology. Technology has grown so important in today’s network marketing world. There’s no way my dad could have had a face-to-face conversation with
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someone in Hong Kong from here in the U.S. before social media. Now we can, with the help of Skype! There was no way to talk to and prospect several individuals all at once. I love how technology has opened the doors to the entire world, however as Millennials we should never forget the “old school” methods, because they are still vital today. Let me explain. I love social media, but I also see network marketers doing it poorly, actually pushing people
Networking Times
away with how they are working their business on social media. For instance, the other day I was scrolling through my Facebook feed and seeing several distributors posting things like, “Looking for a few good people to join my team” and “50% off Sale www.postmywebsite.com” If you’ve found yourself posting this kind of business ads on your timeline, it’s okay—you can still turn it around. The way I go about using social media for my business is just like my dad would work with people back in the 90s. Except, I do it online. Our business is still about people. Unless you connect with people, you don’t have a business. Instead of posting random, directed-at-nobody posts on your timeline, use technology to reach out and get to know some new folks; talk to them, find out what their hobbies are, find out what their needs are… Don’t shove your business in their face. Instead, be a friend. I can assure you, most of the time people will tell you about a challenge they are having. At that time, you can offer a solution to their problem with either your product or opportunity. Instead of posting “Join my team,” share something positive about your life. For example, my biggest recruiting post was a photo of my son at the park with the caption, “I love creating my own work view.” I said nothing about my business, yet got my biggest response. Another common social media mistake I see people make is venting. Many people let off steam on social media, as if it was their personal journal. Please re-
September/October 2016
frain from doing that. Once it’s out there, you can’t take it back. (Even if you delete it, it could still be out there… gotta love screenshots!) You must be positive at all times on social media. People are attracted to positive people. Also, you’re now the CEO of your own business. Think before you post. Ask yourself, “Would this be something a CEO of a successful company would share?” Another great technology tool my team and I use is Zoom. You can download the Zoom app on your phone and have a phone live video conference with several people all over the world. It’s been extremely helpful in training out-of-state or even out-of-country team members. My dad recently joined a network marketing company and he is now learning to utilize the technology ways of the Millennials. The other day I was showing him some tips on attraction marketing, and he said, “Amber, if only we had the power of social media back in the 90s, things would have been so much easier!” I told him, “We have it now, and it’s never too late to get onboard. I don’t care about your age, your computer skills, or how long you’ve been in your company, you can build your business using today’s tools and learn to master them. There are countless trainings out there showing you how. Go study them, use them, and most importantly, have fun meeting new friends from all over the world!” n AMBER VOIGHT is a mother of three young boys, a wife, a friend, and a mentor to many. Amber has been a network marketing professional for over 10 years and is a top achiever in her company.
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NT INTERVIEW
Leading the Next
GENERATION DAVID MARK Anderson & Nathan 16
By Dr. Josephine Gross
Networking Networking Times Times
D
avid Anderson and Mark Nathan are Millennial entrepreneurs with very different backgrounds. Born in 1985, David worked on Wall Street and at the White House before cofounding School Loan 411, a student-loan advisory firm. He is currently the CEO of Keep Global North America, the U.S. division of a Chinese multinational. He was inducted as a Global Shaper with The World Economic Forum and is the Senior Advisor to the Honorary Consul to the country of Moldova. Mark Nathan was born in 1982 into a family of Burmese and Filipino immigrants. He paid his way through college as an actor and started his entrepreneurial journey launching a film festival at age 21. He worked in the corporate world while building a network marketing business, until he became financially free to quit his job. Today Mark speaks globally about goal-setting, personal development, team-building, and creating culture. Both based in Chicago, David and Mark met almost 13 years ago and recently wrote a book together, The Delusion of Passion: Why Millennials Struggle to Find Success. Their goal was to clear up some of the misunderstandings about their generation while helping Millennials understand themselves and pursue their purpose with passion.—J.G.
Tell us a little about your background. DAVID: I come from humble beginnings. My mother struggled with physical and mental illness, so I learned to be responsible early on. I always looked for opportunities and mentors. While studying at the University of Illinois, I met Dr. Charles King, who was a marketing professor. One day he said, “You should call my good friend Mark Yarnell.” That day changed my life, for many reasons. I didn’t know at the time that I was about to get mentored by a giant of network marketing and the author of several bestselling books. Mark Yarnell started putting books in my hand: sociology, psychology, religion, finance—
September/October 2016
you name it, I was reading it. I devoured 10 to 15 books a month, did that for about four years. I didn’t know I was developing myself for everything that was to come. This was in 2005. I was working at Starbucks and other odd jobs while taking care of my mom and two young siblings. Mark never pushed me to join the network marketing profession. He believed I was meant to do something different with my skill set and talents. He taught me an entrepreneurial mindset and warrior spirit. That took me from Wall Street to the White House to where I am today. Thanks to Mark Yarnell, I learned all about leadership, starting with leading myself.
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HEART OF BUSINESS
FALLING IN LOVE WITH
IRAN
with PAYAM Moghim and MARGIE Aliprandi By Dr. Josephine Gross
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Networking Networking Times Times
O
Meeting PAYAM Moghim
ne of our favorite topics to research and report on here at Networking Times is the powerful positive impact network marketing is making globally. Our mission is to inspire entrepreneurs around the world with stories of freedom, joy, growth, and transformation. To see how we are doing, each morning I can’t wait to go online and find out who else joined our community or subscribed to Networking Times “overnight” (relative to our local time zone). One October morning in 2014, I noticed a new digital subscriber by the name of Payam Moghim from Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran. I immediately welcomed Payam with a personal email and some burning questions: “Are you new to network marketing? Is your company domestic or international? Is network marketing popular in your country? Would you be willing to share your story with our readers?” Payam replied right away. “It’s only been three years since network marketing became legalized in Iran. However, I have had some experience and studied the business for the past 10 years. My Master’s thesis was on the feasibility of using network marketing in the distribution of cosmetics and personal care products in Tehran. I’m currently in a nutritional company. We only have 11 companies and all of them are local. We could say network marketing here is virgin. Let’s work together to grow the profession.”
I asked Payam to stay in touch. A few days later, he sent me a letter, which you can read on the next page. In 2015 Payam left his nutritional company to better serve the entire network marketing profession. He cofounded the Hadi Business Institute to promote entrepreneurship and network marketing education, hosting seminars with business leaders from all over the world.
September/October 2016
Payam is also a cofounder of Iranian Direct Selling News (IDSN), the first Persian publication devoted to direct selling and network marketing. In November 2015 Payam and his colleagues at the Hadi Business Institute invited John Milton Fogg to speak at Iran’s first generic network marketing training event. Payam knew John as the author of The Greatest Networker in the World, a book that was so pivotal to his understanding of net-
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CEO CORNER
the
BEAUTY of
SOCIAL SELLING MADISON Mallardi and MICHELE Gay
W
hy would a New-York-based cosmetics company that has been successfully selling makeup through retail channels for over 60 years decide to open a network marketing division? Founder and CEO Michele Gay says it started with
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Networking Times
her desire to reward customers for referring others and being brand advocates. When Michele’s niece Madison caught the vision and joined the program, she quickly became the new face of the company thanks to her blog and social media presence. The direct selling model combined with social and content marketing turned out to be the perfect way to engage the new generation. What gave you the idea to add a network marketing division?
September/October 2016
MICHELE: Our makeup artists, who are our primary customers, were referring their clients to us. We thought, “There has to be some way to reward them with some form of commission. We wanted to show them that we appreciated the business. We looked at affiliate programs, but eventually figured out we’d all be better served with a direct sales model. Madison and I are from New York, which is probably as unfriendly as you can get towards direct sales. My sister-inlaw joined a company about eight years ago, and she has had a phenomenal journey. She’s probably one of the top five sellers worldwide in her company. I watched her work hard to get to a six-figure income, then a multiple-six-figure income over time, all while
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RISING STAR
B
orn and raised in Puerto Rico, Ricardo Jimenez immigrated to the U.S. in 2000 to start a new life. After struggling with addiction, Ricardo had some run-ins with the law due to some drug-related infractions. He knew he had to change if he wanted to live his purpose and be a good role model for his children. When he found network marketing, he saw how it could give him the tools to turn his life around and make his mark on the world.—J.G.
GROW Your MIND RICARDO Jimenez Acquire KNOWLEDGE and Compress TIME 44
Networking Times
Speaking to 22,000 people at company convention in Dallas
When Ricardo arrived in the U.S. at age 23, he had no money and no friends in Texas where he settled down. Thankfully he found a job right away stocking shelves at a big box home improvement retail store. Eager to grow, he worked his way up to manager in just a few years. He became an expert at managing people and applying systems, and subsequently opened eight new stores in the Dallas area. In 2011 Ricardo was introduced to network marketing by a friend he had met through a personal development program they had attended together. “We knew each other’s families,” he says. “His kids are the same age as mine. He knew I had leadership skills, because I ran a store with 150 employees. He was always telling me, ‘You would be great in this business.’ I was not interested, because I’d heard a lot of negativity about the profession. Call it ignorance on my part, but I thought it was a business where people work hard and make very little.” Ricardo wanted nothing to do with the business, but he agreed to try the product, which was coffee, something he was already consuming daily. One day his friend invited him again to a meeting, and Ricardo’s wife said, “Why don’t you go and take a look? You never know.” Ricardo followed her advice, and that’s when his eyes and mind opened to the power of residual income. What interested him the most was the idea of earning 1 percent of one million people’s efforts, versus earning 100 percent of his own efforts. Ricardo joined his friend’s business while continuing his job as store manager—until a few months later, a dramatic turn of events made him say goodbye to the employer he had served for 11 years. “My brother who was 29 went to work in the morning on his motorcycle and around 8 AM a lady
September/October 2016
ran the red light and killed him in an instant. Unable to handle the situation, she fled to Mexico, and our family was devastated. “That day I needed to be in the store at 3 PM. I called in and told my supervisor what happened, and he told me this wasn’t his problem, and that I needed to be there. This was after opening eight stores and taking my store in north Dallas from #27 to #1 in the company in three and a half years, ahead of any stores in California and New York. “I accomplished a lot in that company and made a ton of money for them. When I called them and heard their response, that’s when it hit me: I knew I needed to do something else. I didn’t want to be an employee all my life. I realized employers were not going to treat me differently because of what I had done for them. I knew if I could take
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RISING STAR
Finding
FREEDOM
LEISA Cutler
O
Hold On to Your Vision
riginally from Canada, Leisa Cutler moved to Texas to follow her husband and start a family. She joined a skincare company in 2013 while being a full-time nurse. Within six months she built an income that gave her the freedom to quit her job and stay home with her four children. Her passion today is helping other women create that freedom.
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Networking Times
Leisa was born and raised in Alberta, Canada, where she lived with her family until she was 30. “I grew up with low self-esteem, but with a passion for helping others,” she says. “My life took a turn when I got pregnant at 19. I became a target for people’s negativity. Everyone expected me to fail, so I wanted to prove them wrong. After I had my daughter, I wanted to become a nurse. I wanted to show the world I could still get an education with a child—and I did it. It was hard, but I completed nursing school.” Natalie, Charlie, Vallen and Maxwell
In 2008 Leisa met her husband who was on leave and in transition from the Army to the Coast Guard in her hometown. Once they got married, Leisa started the process of immigrating to the U.S. “I was pregnant with my second daughter when we moved to Texas in 2010,” she says. “I stayed home for a year while going through the process of becoming a licensed R.N. in the U.S. and a permanent U.S. resident.”
September/October 2016
In 2011 Leisa went back to work in a Neurosurgical ICU and in 2012 she had her third baby. Five months after he was born, she resumed her job, this time working night shifts so she could be home in the day with her children. In early 2013, the military relocated Leisa’s husband to Alabama. “I looked into some nursing jobs and found out my salary was going to be half of what I was making in Texas,” she says. “We agreed that during our three years in Alabama, I would just stay home with the kids.” With husband Lane enjoying incentive trip to Banff, Canada
Meanwhile, an acquaintance in Texas had introduced Leisa to a skincare company in the spring of 2013. Leisa tried the products for a few days, then jumped on the business opportunity. “I said yes without hesitation,” she says. “It felt like the change I was looking for. I was excited to partner with an established brand that had been selling successfully in retail stores and was now transitioning to a network marketing model.”
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RISING STAR
ONE Thousand
MOMMY
MILLIONAIRES
Kemisola Ajetunmobi Our World Is ONLINE & MOBILE
B
orn and based in Lagos, Nigeria, Kemisola Ajetunmobi is a highly educated young mother of two who is making a name for herself on social media by empowering other moms in Africa and around the world to build successful businesses. A top earner in her network marketing company, Kemisola wants to help 1,000 moms to become millionaires from home while raising their children.
Before network marketing, Kemisola had a career in the aviation industry for close to 10 years. “I had worked for three different airlines and was proud of my achievements,” she says, “but in 2014 my job became so demanding I sometimes had to travel every week of the month. I often saw my son only two days a week and was missing him so much that I knew I needed a way out. I also had to battle with
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unpaid salaries which became another major challenge. If I wanted to take a vacation, I was forced to work around my colleagues’ schedules and had to wait for approval from the HR department.” Eventually Kemisola tried her hand at a couple of businesses, but they took her even further away from her son. One day, on a sunny afternoon, she sat down to think about her ideal life and how
Networking Times
she would design it. She thought of all the businesses she could get involved in without leaving her son behind. She dreamed of time freedom and financial freedom, and network marketing came to mind, as she had seen several friends and family members succeed in it. “I knew it could be the solution,” says Kemisola. “I gave it some more thought and I began to read about it. I had seen many people making lots of
“As soon as I made up my mind to start a network marketing business, I came across a post on Facebook announcing that my present company was opening Nigeria. I emailed them and they replied with an invitation to attend the founding members training.” During the training, Kemisola got so eager and excited that she began posting on social media and recruiting people even before she was
Arabian themed welcome party at conference in Lagos
With an MBA lecturer (L) and an architect (R) turned network marketing pro’s
With team members at Golden Tulip Hotel in Lagos during Managers seminar
With Magnus Pettersson, Hanna Einarsson, and other leaders from Northern Nigeria
money in the business, and I wondered if I would be able to do this myself. I decided to study it to see if I could wrap my head around it.” Three months later Kemisola felt she had developed a pretty good understanding of the business, so she started searching for a company. It happened to be the perfect time to join her current company, as it had just launched in the Nigerian market.
September/October 2016
able to register herself. She created a Google form for registrations, as well as a Facebook group for her team, so she could hit the ground running as soon as her registration became active. Kemisola quickly discovered that there was a lot more to learn. She first put her focus on acquiring a wide array of social media skills. “I had to be creative,” she says, “because there
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RISING STAR
©Ashley Murphy Photography
Thoughts Become
photo credit: Joe Epstein
THINGS
Heather BAKER
Our Business IS Simple, NOT Easy
H
eather Baker had worked in the publishing, marketing, and advertising world for almost 15 years when she realized building someone else’s business was not going to help her fulfill her dreams. She missed spending time with her family, and she knew there had to be a better way. In 2015, she came across an opportunity that would turn her life around and change her family’s future.
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Networking Times
At age 23, Heather became a publisher for the “Is this real?” The product provided instant results. Arkansas Times and started an automotive news- She started tossing around ideas… “Could this be paper. “That’s how I met Joel, my incredible hus- the Plan B I have been looking for? I could market band of 15 years,” she says. “He was one of my first this product to everyone. It could be huge!” clients in the car industry. We have two amazing Heather knew nothing about the company, or kiddos, Hunter and Savvy.” the pay plan, or the other products, but she took A few years later, Heather created a hunting a leap of faith. On January 25, 2015, she joined and fishing magazine called Arkansas Wild. She her company and went full force with it. She hit also created Savvy Kids, a publication designed to bring families closer togethOn safari with her husband Joel, son Hunter, and daughter Savvy er and focused on children with learning disabilities. “My plate was full,” she says. “I loved what I did, but I was building a business that in the end would never be mine. My family is my #1 priority. I love every moment I get to spend with them. Working in traditional business left my kids in childcare during the day. I missed field trips, school functions, and sports events because I was working. I knew if I could create success for someone else, I could do it for myself.” Over the years, Heather had come across many network marketing opportunities. People constantly asked her to join their teams. Every time she went on social media, there it was: Buy my product! Join my company! This product cures anything and everything! It wasn’t all hype; the first three ranks in a matter of hours, before she knew several peers and friends who were do- she even received the products. Three weeks in, ing well in network marketing. They claimed to she hit the first leadership rank in the company, have the key to what she was wanting—making which is Sapphire. good money while having time freedom. The ques“At that point I learned we had a binary systion in Heather’s mind was, “Could this work for tem, and I had no idea what that meant,” she me?” She had no idea… she was too busy working. says. “Running and gunning so hard without a plan, I lost my team members as fast as they were In early 2015, a friend called Heather and asked coming in. I did promote again to Elite, and then her to watch a video. He had actually been email- I got stuck. My direct upline decided to leave, but ing and texting her links for months. This time, she I knew this company was the real deal. I had the finally slowed down to watch it. “Wow,” she thought, will, so I had to find a way.”
September/October 2016
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RISING STAR
a LIFE-CHANGING
OPPORTUNITY OFFER Daily
ANA Cantera Education and Inspiration
A
na Cantera is a Millennial mom who leads a network marketing organization in Latin America, the U.S., Spain, and Portugal. She has been building her business full time since 2011 and joined her current company in May 2015. Today her team totals more than 20,000 people and her mission is to help 1,000 families achieve financial freedom. Ana was born and resides in the Dominican Republic, a Spanish-speaking country that’s part of an island in the Caribbean Sea. The Dominican Republic is the secondlargest Caribbean nation (after Cuba), with just over 10
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With husband Julio Marmolejos and daughters Maria Victoria (5), Isabella (3), and Amelia (2)
million inhabitants, three million of whom live in the metropolitan area of its capital, Santo Domingo. Ana grew up in Santo Domingo in a family of entrepreneurs. Her father owned several businesses, including a franchise that sold games and lottery tickets. Ana always dreamed of being a business owner like her dad, so when it was time to go to college, she majored in Business Administration. By that time, Ana also had her first baby. Going to school, she was also working for a local company in the HR department. She quickly figured out that being an employee was not for her. Looking to create a life of greater freedom, she started a little beauty salon on the side. Working a job and a business, her schedule was so full she had to quit school. Ana found network marketing in 2011 when she was 23 years old. A friend invited her husband Julio to a meeting, and when he heard the term home-based business, he immediately thought, “This is the solution for Ana to spend more time with her daughter!” Julio told her about the opportunity and together they joined. Knowing nothing about the business, Ana went online to look for information. “It was love at first site,” she says. “I felt I had found the vehicle to achieve my dreams—and help others to do the same. Immediately I understood the concept and believed I could do it. I quit my job and closed my business that same month to dedicate myself 100 percent to network marketing.” The friend who had brought Ana and Julio into the business was a total novice and had no idea how to help them get started. Again, Ana went on-
September/October 2016
line to educate herself, watching videos, reading articles, and listening to stories of people who had already achieved the success she was looking for. “Once in a while, I would talk to one of my upline leaders in the U.S.,” she recalls, “but we were pretty much on our own. I made my contact list, invited over 50 people to my first home meeting, and only one showed up—my friend. I think she felt bad for me. She joined my team with the smallest pack, but I was happy because I had made my first commission!” After that day Ana began presenting the business to everyone she knew. She went to their houses, offices, met friends on their lunch breaks, and did meetings every night at her mom’s house. Working nonstop, she quickly started to see results and her team grew rapidly. In less than a
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RISING STAR
FAITH TRUMPS Fear
ELLEN Marrs
Learning to DREAM Again
E
My Vision • To inspire and encourage people to live with faith, passion, and perseverance. • To teach others how to live intentionally, generously, and compassionately. 66
llen Marrs is a homeschool mom, network marketing trainer, published author, and marathon runner who inspires people to face challenges and pursue their dreams. Despite a difficult childhood, Ellen developed an unbridled passion for life by using her past hurts to propel her growth. Finding network marketing allowed her to dive deep into personal development and build her inner strength. Today Ellen has a thriving business, a happy family, and a “life of dreams come true.” She resides in Gilbert, Arizona with her husband Rick and their seven young children. Born and raised in a small town in northeast Georgia, Ellen was the middle child of three and only 11 years old when her mother passed away from cancer. This traumatic event, along with the fact that her stepfather no longer wanted to raise her, had a dramatic
Networking Times
impact on her emotional development. “A few months following my mother’s death, I was dropped off on a family member’s doorstep after being told that no one else wanted to take care of me,” says Ellen. “I had a choice to either stay with my uncle and aunt, or go to a home for ‘troubled girls.’ Fortunately, my aunt and uncle decided to raise me as their own child. However, that didn’t repair much of the damage that had been
Five years later, Ellen’s employer (a pastor at a different church) asked her to try the product as part of her job. To Ellen’s surprise, the same woman who had presented the product to Ellen five years prior, had given her pastor a free product sample. As soon as Ellen saw the positive reactions of those who received the product, she knew there was something special about it. When people started asking her how they could begin using it
To learn more about the Marrs family, visit LifeonPlanetMarrs.com.
done to my self-esteem and body image. Growing up, I didn’t realize how much these things would affect me, until I started seeing the negative patterns in my relationships.” Ellen reached adulthood troubled by fear of abandonment and feelings of unworthiness. In 2007, Ellen was working as an administrative assistant for her church when Barbara Starley, another church member, made a product presentation for the church staff. “I wasn’t interested in a greeting card service at the time,” says Ellen. “I didn’t think I needed it personally or professionally.”
September/October 2016
themselves, Ellen referred them to Barbara. “At that point Barbara explained to me how I could earn free product if these people became my customers,” says Ellen. “I initially signed up as a distributor in my company for the free products I could earn.” Little by little, Ellen developed an interest in and started learning about the business opportunity. Because of her past, Ellen says she brought “a truckload of emotional baggage” to her network marketing business. Being abused as a child and abandoned on someone’s doorstep had taken its toll on her confidence. Worrying about what others thought of her was a constant challenge. She
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RISING STAR
OFFER a Solution MELISSA Barlock
B
Pushing through OBSTACLES
ased outside Toronto, Canada, Melissa Barlock is raising her two young children while building a global business from home. After a health challenge put an end to her career in corporate sales, she became a stay-at-home mom but was missing part of her identity. Looking to contribute her gifts beyond her family, she found the perfect vehicle in network marketing. A week before Melissa got married, her life was suddenly turned upside down when she was diagnosed with a brain tumor and epilepsy all in one day.
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“I lost my job and my independence,” she says, “and I was faced with a decision: I could let life’s circumstances defeat me, or manifest with positive thoughts.” Two weeks later, Melissa’s younger sister came down with a rare disease and died within two weeks. Despite all the hardships, over the next year Melissa’s health stabilized and she became pregnant. “When my son was born,” she says, “I realized how precious life was. I knew I didn’t want to go back to work and put him in daycare.” Two years later Melissa’s daughter was born. Melissa loved staying home and seeing her chil-
Networking Times
dren grow up, but she also felt a part of her was missing. She called it her “financial and emotional independence.” In 2011 Melissa received a thank-you card in the mail from a local friend, who shortly thereafter invited her to an opportunity meeting. Melissa told her she was too busy with a one-year-old and three-year-old, sleep deprived, and couldn’t imagine adding anything to her plate. She also had been pitched “everything under
Melissa skipped going out after the event, because she could not wait to get home and tell her husband what she had found. To her surprise, he was less than amused and asked, “Is it one of those pyramid things?” He told Melissa she could try it, but that she would never make any money at it. Melissa took this as a challenge to prove him wrong. Having never done anything like this before, she wasn’t sure how to get started. “My sponsor
With her company founder and mentor Kody Bateman
Celebrating an incentive challenge with her friend Jordan Adler
the sun” and was not interested in “one of those things.” Her friend bribed her and promised they would go for a girls’ night out after the event. Forever grateful to her friend for making her go to that meeting Melissa says the presentation blew her away. “I saw how for a minimal investment, I could start a business from home that would allow me to work when and with whom I wanted, in the pockets of my time around my kids’ schedules.”
did not have a clue either,” she says. “I was the only person she’d ever sponsored. I simply followed the system and shared my excitement with my friends, many of whom joined as customers.” Melissa was comfortable showing the product, but had no idea how to share the business opportunity. One day as she was signing up a customer, the lady asked, “What’s this option here?” pointing to the distributor link. “Can I make money with this?”
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