Hi, this is Tasha with Emerge Sales Training, and today I have an interview with Alicia Simon, who has gone through some really hard life challenges and has continued to push through to make her business grow.
Here are some highlights/paraphrased thoughts from the interview. Please check out the entire conversation below.
~1:00
Tasha: As leaders, we go through stuff and if we don’t turn it into inspiration for others, it almost feels like “What was the point of it all?”
Alicia: I totally agree, and sometimes in network marketing all we hear are the success stories. We hear people say that it was hard, but we don’t actually get to experience the journey. So I appreciate the opportunity you give others a glimpse to see what it really takes for some people to get to the next level.
T: The “real life” of the business, the “middle-class” you could say, of network marketing. You are doing okay, then stuff happens, and these stories are so much closer to where people are.
So your story is pretty crazy…
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Alicia describes her start and how her business was doing well even with limited time but maximum effort when working, and how she was able to have her husband quit his job to stay at home and help run their business together as well as helping with their family. At this stage their business was bringing in $4-5000. Then some life challenges started popping up, to say the least. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~6:00
A: Our business was growing, we were traveling on a company program, but inside I was falling apart and I couldn’t keep it together. There were some other things going on with our company, and our business took a hit, and I started shifting my focus inward, on myself, because I couldn’t control my emotions. It wasn’t until about a year later in 2016 that our business started to climb back up. I could only do the basics, though, to keep it together.
7:30
T: So what does your business look like now?
A: We have been able to maintain and get back to where we were, but we haven’t been growing, which has been frustrating to me. But, in prayer and reflection, in the last two years were not about me building my business but about supporting the team that God had given us. It was more about supporting them so that they and the whole business doesn’t fall apart.
Around this time, I found Your Direct Sales Foundation. At the same time, my son’s trial, a month long trial, was going on. Through that time, I would go to the trial in the morning, and then listen to the coach’s replay in the evening. I wanted to do something that would keep me going, and even then life was not over. It kept hitting us.
Shortly after my husband’s health went south. We tried to manage it with our products, but he ended up in the emergency room, had emergency surgery, and was in the hospital for 30 days. I am now at home with 5 kids, my son is now in prison, and in the midst of that I hear, “Just keep going.”
T: So obviously you went and got a real job…?
A: No!!
T: Just kidding!
A: I’m crazy like that, no! Why would I do that? I have so much belief, but I think that would have stripped all of my hope that this business could work.
~11
T: What did you do through all of this to first get your business to maintain, and now growing?
A: I had to realize what wasn’t working for us. We had to rethink the way we were running classes and rethink how we were chasing people to be part of the business. But that is the power of the industry of network marketing: I could just do the basics of the business, personally, and personally focus on myself. I also had my team focused on the basics on what they could do.
Focus on personal growth. Do what you can and survive. We were on survival mode. It creates a sense of stability and loyalty that we can really do this. You find out in those times who is really with you or not.
~14:45
~~~~Tasha asks Alicia to talk about asking for help and how that helped her business to grow again.
Alicia answers that she didn’t want to lose what they built because of a challenge. The life circumstances were a challenge to her that she knew they would get through, but she didn’t know how, exactly. Alicia poured into learning to get help, and she did not quit.
A: I am not giving up on this. I can grow through this, and I can help someone else, eventually. These challenges allowed me to use my business as an escape from my mess and serve other people – pray for them, give someone that will change their health, lift someone else – maybe that will come back to me someday. I wanted to focus on the good.
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There are so much wisdom in this entire episode from Alicia. Please listen or watch the entire conversation. Thank you to Alicia for taking the time to talk to the Emerge audience and sharing your story of how you continued to work your business through life’s challenges.
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