Have you ever looked back and realised that you missed an opportunity, did not understand what was being offered to you? Sometimes you are just not ready to make the leap into unknown waters, but luckily the opportunity can come round again. That is what happened to me – twice.
The first was AMWAY. Brilliant products but hard to sell privately alongside my retail business. I felt as though I was trying to run two businesses with a young family. I thought the arrival of the internet would make it so easy, but the UK needed time to get used to online ordering. Eventually Amway moved its UK Distribution Head Office into Europe where there were many hungry young entrepreneurs keen to improve their lives. What I learnt from Amway was how to be self-employed. I had tapes in the car to listen to on my journeys and I understood how to have the right frame of mind, to be optimistic, to be precise about what I wanted to achieve.
My next missed opportunity was when I started networking and Catherine Joyce, invited us to join a MLM business called Utility Warehouse Discount Club, part of TelecomPlus. It offered utilities such as energy and telephone. I was in contract and did not take up her offer being unable to switch at that time. I made the big mistake of receiving a letter that started:- “You do not have to do anything.….” shortly before the energy contract ended and so got rolled into a more expensive one with higher costs. When the contract ended I was ready to switch. I also by then understood that there was a business opportunity as well. I wanted something extra in my life that would give me financial security. I delved deep into Utility Warehouse, its directors, its structure, its ethics and I liked what I found, so I joined. But what if…….I had joined when I had first been invited? I would have been six years further on in growing a reliable monthly royalty income.
My earlier learning from Amway gave me a head start to set a goal. My first goal was to have an extra £200 a month. I soon doubled that and so I realised that although it is good to set realistic goals, it is also important to know that they will need to be re-visited and revised as you progress.
Of course life does not run smoothly. There are lots of obstacles and one of them is probably the worst and toughest obstacle just before you hit success. So many people fall short. The answer is never, never give up even if you have to step aside for a while and then resume a bit later, just keep going towards your reason, your why – mine was financial security. What’s yours?
Pamela