Hello every one! I'm going to ramble a little about myself before I give you the steak and potatoes (or Tofu and vegies) in content ...
I'm a 29 year old guy from the Blue Mountains of Australia. Maybe you've heard of it ... most years we have raging bush fires .... this year was an exception!
I have 4 children and a lovely wife. All are my reasons for working from home and having my own business. I used to work 12 hours shifts as a police officer. I performed my duties for 5 years and enjoyed my time in various roles/tasks. I received awards from the Commissioner of Police for my service and enjoyed my part in adding value to the community.
During these 4 years I lived with my parents in the 'granny flat', a one bedroom apartment joined to the main house. Our three children were raised here and it got quite busy! BUT, I loved life and always sought to see the bright side of life.
However, I am a man who is always planning for the future. I could see that even though I enjoyed the police, the 12 hour shifts and our current lifestyle were not what I wanted 'long term'. I was starting to juggle employment with time being a father. A crazy thing that I noticed in the police were the alarming divorce rates among its members. I found that sometimes being with colleagues allowed for release of stress and a way to communicate what was on your mind.
The only problem with this is that by the time you got home - you just couldn't really have a 'family' life. You couldn't devote quality time with family ... and that ate me up.
I decided to surf the net and came across a home business opportunity. It appealed to me and so I joined up. I was fresh eyed and had dreams of making money, striking it rich. As long as it was a legitimate business I was giving it a go. I went to their meetings and learned the tricks of the trade. I learned their 'secret' : make a list of friends and family ... and annoy the s***t out of them! Hey, I saw many people succeeding using this secret method - so I attempted it.
My mentor was a champion and helped me each step - but I was getting rejected fast. I didn't understand it. Fantastic product .... didn't they want to get rich? When my Mentor could see that I was struggling he then suggested that I buy leads. WOW! The next BIG thing - Buy leads and cold call! So, armed with this training I set out to call.
Each day I would dial from morning to evening. I would do flyers in letter boxes/ handing them out personally in shopping malls. I would send emails and started up some newsletters, conducted surveys - I was doing what they were teaching me. Still, no success. I was then encouraged to buy more leads. By this time I was getting a little worried about my finances, but decided to listen and work even harder.
Maybe it was me? So - I burned my 'boats'. I quite the Police Force, went on an overseas training conference and upon coming back to Australia found that I still only got a couple of sales ... nothing flash. Still encouraged to spend $600 on phone leads and attend more trainings. Encouraged now to do MORE in home demonstrations and of course ring more people. I worked on my voice, on my presentation ... everything. My mentor said I sounded too serious, so I loosened up etc.
One day it just got too much for me. My mentor tore me down on how it was my fault that one of my members chose not to attend meetings. I was fuming. I had dug my self a hole and was kneeling in it. I needed to get myself out of it ... FAST!
I surfed the net - discovered information about marketing on the Internet. My eyes were slowly opening wide. No longer shut, I discovered that cold calling is DEAD. I discovered that lists with your friends and family was NOT the MOST effective way to market ... in fact one of the LEAST effective methods you can do. I found out that people who were making the money were Internet marketers!!
I then scrambled my money and gave one last dig with a company that had a STRONG reputation, a strong pay plan and a VERY good product. In fact I discovered, in my journey of marketing 'self discovery', for a business to take off you needed to firstly have :
1. A FANTASTIC product that people want and desire.
This made sense to me. Who wants to join a business with a lousy product. Further more, a business which relies solely on their 'business plan' is totally missing the point. Ever heard of leaving money on the table? Well, if you haven't got value in a product you are leaving it all on the table.
2. A Great Mentor
See, many people think you need a GURU. How far from the truth is that. A guru will not have time for you, a guru will rarely reply to your emails, a guru is too busy making MORE money!
What I received was a new mentor focused on helping me succeed. teaching me the cutting edge of Internet marketing. Why? Well, I'm sure he's a nice bloke (and he is!), but the Mentor needs to get something in return. You see - if the mentor gets nothing in return then - I don't care you you are - the mentor will not give their all to help you. Money speaks ... the plain and simple truth.
3. A Proven and Effective training.
This was essential for my growth in Internet marketing. In fact, I don't believe that you ever stop learning. You gain knowledge from all different sources. A major source of help for me was myself! Yes, I done the hard yards. If I heard about a new technique or a skill - I would then Google it and learn from online people. I plugged myself into the 5starsuccessteam and learnt more about web 2.0 . But the bottom line is - that no body will push you, except yourself.
I have been in my current business close to 5 months and I have enjoyed every minute of it. My family and I have moved out of the granny flat and I work full time from home. I am a successful Home Business Mentor and I am able to share my knowledge with others.
I advise others on what not to do too. I do not believe that anything is wasted in life. The time I spent doing things - the wrong way - actually taught me many things which have become invaluable.
I look forward to sharing my knowledge with you here on this blog.
Looking back from today's perspective I could see that I had 2 out of 3 key essentials for business success. I will share this a little later.
