I missed working over the weekend! June 1, 2009

View over the pond

I went camping with my daughter’s Girl Scout troop last weekend. It was a ton of fun, but exhausting. Imagine wrangling 12, 2nd grade girls into doing anything, let alone doing things like cleaning a campsite, and you’ll have a good idea of what I’m talking about. I think it was a great experience, not just for the girls, but for myself, my troop co-leader and the mom that came with us. I felt that I was able to bond with the adults and the girls more than I have in the past.

We worked on several great projects including creating bird feeders out of pine cones and solar ovens out of pizza boxes.

Solar Ovens cooking s'mores

I learned to make something called “gimp” (aka lanyard, aka boondoggle) which are neat woven things made out of plastic lace. My co-leader is a master. I only aspire to become as good at it as she is, but I’m a beginner and am pleased that I was able to figure it out at all! (Anyone needing a 3″ long gimp key chain, you just let me know! I’ve made quite a few already!!)

Gimp keychains & link to instructions

Ruby practicing gimp

The cell phone reception at camp was spotty, at best. Every once in a while, I would walk into an area with good reception and my phone would start downloading all my various messages. Bleep, bleep, bleep! The girls all thought it was very funny that my phone would randomly start chirping. The other two adults probably thought it was annoying! To me, it was an awesome reminder that work was being done, even though I was off camping. I don’t think I have ever had a job that continued to produce for me even when I wasn’t actively working on it. It is a very liberating feeling, let me tell you! I have gone from slaving away at a restaurant management job to working from home at a job that’s fun AND truly does continue working even when I’m not!
I know there are a lot of people who are skeptical about network marketing, but I am a believer. I know that what I am involved in is legitimate and rewarding, both personally (I meet great, supportive people and become friends with them!), and financially. Even though I was having a terrific time camping, I missed work! That’s a first for me! I hope the rest of you out there are as satisfied with what you’re doing as I am. I am truly lucky!

Hello and Thanks for Visiting! May 11, 2009

I’m glad you stopped by to check me out.  I would love to tell you a little about myself, what I do and how I’ve become a successful network marketer and business owner.

First of all, my name is Suzi and I live in Portland, Oregon.  I am originally from Peoria, Illinois and have also lived in Arizona and California.  I’ve been married to my husband, Philip, for 16 years.  We have twins, Ruby and Gus, that were born in July, 2001.

I opened my first home-based business in Santa Monica, CA in 2000.  It was called The Beech Agency and was a talent agency where I represented cinematographers, production designers and film editors for feature films and television.  It was a great business.  The thing I enjoyed most about being an agent was helping my clients grow and expand their careers.

After a long battle with infertility, we became pregnant with our twins.  I loved being able to work from my home office during my pregnancy and after the kids were born.  It was so nice to be able to see them throughout the day and to have the freedom to manage my time as I saw fit, rather than working in an office somewhere or for someone else.

In 2002 we decided to relocate to Portland.  We sold our house and moved in February of 2003.  The kids were not yet 2.  In hindsight, there are things I would’ve done differently regarding the move, but it’s not a decision I regret in any way.  I didn’t work for the first year we lived here, which was great.  I loved being home with the kids 24/7 and spending so much quality time with them.  It also gave me the opportunity to join local Mommy groups and develop friendships in our new hometown.

I went back to work in 2004 for a well-known Chinese Restaurant chain.  I started as a part-time food server and ended, four years later, working 70+ hours per week as a manager.  I missed out on way too much of my life, my kids’ activities and achievements, spending time with my husband…even my pets suffered.  I felt like my life wasn’t even mine anymore.  It was all work, work, work and for what?  A meager salary with mediocre bonuses?  All the Chinese food I could possibly eat?  Well, it just wasn’t a fair trade in my book.  I knew I need to make a change, but what would I do instead?

Philip was also dissatisfied with his j.o.b. and wanted to go into business for himself.  After much research, he chose a franchise and the Portland branch of Home Video Studio was opened.  There is something so satisfying about building your own business, as Philip is now finding out.

That still left me looking for an opportunity for myself so I could, once again, be my own boss and work from home.  I was doing the marketing for Home Video Studio, but really wanted something that I could call my own.  Enter the wonderful world of network marketing!  I have been a fan of Web 2.0 and social networking and that, combined with my other marketing experience, made this enterprise very appealing to me.  But, the question of whether or not I could make any money still remained to be seen.  Luckily, I entered into a company where the steps to becoming successful were already mapped out for me.  You can see about it for yourself here.

My intention of writing this blog is to help others (maybe even you!) learn how to be successful with network marketing, too.  I hope you’ll come back to see how I’m doing and read some tips and tricks I’ve learned!  Until next time…