My Arbonne Business

The Juice Lady...

2006-11-07T00:33:00.000-08:00

Today, I received an email from a woman who sells this stuff that I can only describe as being perceived as some kind of "wonder juice". Anyway, this lady sells this stuff that's supposed to cure all that ails you...and it should! This stuff is like, $60 for a one litre bottle!

Anyway, this woman has been sending me emails about this stuff for like, the last 6 months like clockwork. Every other day I get another email telling me about the wonders of this juice and why I should buy it. So, today, as the clock kept ticking, I received another email from her with an invitation to listen to a doctor somebody talk about the miraculous capabilities of the wonder juice. It was a long, drawn out ad with a picture of Dr. Whoever in the centre of the message.

I clicked on "reply"...and proceeded to write about the company that I recently started working with, Arbonne International. I talked about the product lines, as well as the Arbonne business opportunity. I figured that she'd sent me so many emails, I could return the favour by sending her just one. I included an invitation to my Arbonne Business Launch Party, and told her that if she had any other questions, she could feel free to call me anytime. I included my phone number :)

I wonder if she'll reply, or even call. Maybe she'll actually come to my party! Suh-Weeeet!

I'll keep you posted on this too.

Debbie.

Here Comes the Launch...

2006-11-07T00:01:00.000-08:00

Okay...I'm so excited! I've scheduled my Arbonne Business Launch, and have invited all of those people who have expressed an interest in the products or the business aspect of this company.

So, you wanna hear something trippy?

I was getting car insurance last Friday, and as I was waiting at the insurance office for some paperwork to be faxed in, I started a conversation with the insurance agent, who happened to be a young woman, probably in her mid-20's. The conversation turned to work, and I asked her how long she'd been in the insurance business. She told me that she's been in insurance for about a year, and that she found it quite boring. She gave me her business card. I took this opportunity to give her my Arbonne business card. She curiously looked at the card and asked what it is that I do. I explained how I started using Arbonne products, and that because I liked the product lines, and what the company stood for among other things, I decided to become a Consultant. I proceeded to tell her about my Business Lauch Party, and gave her an invitation and some RE9 samples to try in the meantime.

After I did my little 'speech', she said,"Omigawd...this is freaky! I read my horoscope this morning, and it said that someone would be inviting me to an event today, and here you are." She went on to say, "I'd love to come to your party. I'm almost finished taking the Makeup Artistry program at [a school which shall remain nameless], and I'm opening my own studio in January! I've been looking for a line of skin care products to carry in my studio, but haven't yet found anything that I like."

My jaw dropped. Wow. This is so very cool! I think that she'll do very well with this company, should she decide that the products are what she's looking for. I'll keep you posted.

Later!

Debbie.

So...

2006-10-14T18:00:00.000-07:00

I gave some samples of Arbonne's Nutrimin C line to some friends. One is someone that I used to work with, who has told me in the past that he hates shaving because everything that he uses burns his face. As a result, he doesn't shave that often, and has a perpetual 5 0'clock shadow. He's 21.

So I gave him a sample of Arbonne's NutriMen C line to try. It includes a shave gel that I thought might work to solve his problem. I saw my friend yesterday, and his first words to me were, "It didn't burn." I replied with, "Huh?" as I had no recollection of what he was talking about. "The shave gel that you gave me didn't burn my face. What's in it, and how can I get some more?" He asked that I bring him an Arbonne catalogue and an application form today, as he'd like to purchase more of this stuff, and would also like to become a consultant so that he can sell it to people like his best friend's husband, who also has the same problem that he did.

I then gave the Nutrimin C package to a woman that I once worked with. That was about a week ago. Today, she told me that she tried the samples (she has a little bit left), and "the wash feels like silk." She wants a catalogue and a price list. I'm so excited! She loves it!

Okay. I know that I love this product line, but to hear others saying the same thing is awesome! They're buying because they really do love the product. That makes me feel really good. I hate "selling". I was looking for an awesome product that was capable of selling itself.

Looks like I found it.

Thanks for reading!

Debbie.

A Little More Information...

2006-10-14T01:25:00.000-07:00

Okay, so...where were we? Oh! I remember...we were out for dinner...

As we sat down to dinner, we talked about all kinds of things that women talk about when they're catching up after a short absence. I asked about the products in the cute bag, and how she made the decision to become a Consultant.
She told me that it wasn't actually the potential to make money that drew her in. It was the results that she was getting from her use of the product. Add to that, the fact that she despises her job, and would love to quit and find something that she loves to do to replace that income, and you have a Super Consultant in the making.

Now, at this point, I wasn't sure that I'd like all of the products, but I'd give them a try. It was the experience that I was after. For the record, I'm not expecting to be making thousands a month in two weeks, but I'm doing this to find out if it is possible to make a better than decent living doing this. To be completely honest, my goal is to sponsor and train as many others to sell skin care that they love, and be as successful as possible doing it.

As I understand the Arbonne Consultant's manual, my first priority is to learn about the products that the company manufactures, teach others about the benefits that those products can provide, learn to sell the product successfully, and teach others to do the same. Sounds fair. All I have to do, is make sure that I sell my personal retail volume of a mere $100 per month. No biggie whatsoever. I can do that in my sleep. The products sell themselves, what do they need me for? :)

I took home the little bag of treasures that my friend had given me, and tried them all. They were sample sizes (which the previous woman at the party didn't tell me were even available), and I liked them. I wanted to purchase them for myself, and I did, but if I became a consultant, I could at least buy them for less. Buying for less is always good.

I did some internet research on the company and the way that it's organized, etc., their products and beliefs, their consultants, and even some consultant success stories. I looked for scams related to the company. What I found was no proof that this company is a scam, just some cheezed off ex Arbonne-ites who didn't put in the time, and make use of the products the way that they can be, spouting off at the keyboard about their distress at having to sell $100 worth of product a month. Honey, if you can't sell $100 worth of a consumable product in 30 calendar days, you're in the wrong business. Quit bitching about how the world owes you a living, and go find something else to do.

Debbie.

Copyright 2006 Debbie Burgin All Rights Reserved.

I'm so excited!

2006-10-13T23:40:00.000-07:00

Let me start by saying that I'm a card carrying believer in the theory of Network Marketing. I believe that in theory, being a "franchised individual" (thank you Robert Kiyosaki) should be one of the few ways to really make more money by working smarter AND harder, enlisting the teamwork of others to build a network of individuals who work together to achieve a common goal, and teaching those individuals to do the same. I don't subscribe to the belief that it is advantageous to start ones own company from scratch, working 20 hours a day to get done all that has to be done just to make ends meet. I don't believe that at all. Trust me. I tried it. Not worth it.

I decided that I wanted to start my own business. I want to start a business with an already existing product line, and a proven effective system already in place. As I said before, I've done the 'starting my own business from scratch' thing once already. It's a ton of work. I want to try something else. There has to be something better.

I decided to join a network marketing company, and stick with it, bust my hump with it, for one year, documenting every step here, in this blog.

A little about me; I'm a divorced mom of three children ages 17, 13 and 10. I used to own a handbag design company, and was doing quite well with 38 stores across the country distributing my product. After 5 years I grew tired of doing all of the work by myself, and decided that it was time to try something new. I was exhausted, and needed to find somewhere else to put my energies and make some money.

But there are many, many network marketing companies out there. Which one would be what I was looking for? Essentially, I decided to look for a company that wasn't so big, that it would be difficult for me to find clients who weren't already using their products, and purchasing those products from a Consultant who had been with the company since we've had fire.

I was first introduced to Arbonne International about 6 months ago, through someone who was already involved with the company.

Arbonne International is new in Canada, and as I write this, the company hasn't even yet had it's Canadian launch. So far, this sounds as though it might be what I'm looking for, as far as size is concerned.

She spoke at length with me about the Arbonne opportunity at a party one evening. That conversation got me to an opportunity presentation at the home of a member of her team, a very refined, credentialed woman, who actually knew her stuff when it came to skin care. I was impressed, but something about this presentation didn't sit well with me.

I listened to the presentation, waiting for the "catch". It came not too long later, in the form of the great "opportunity pitch". Here it is; If I purchased a mere $1000 worth of product (in the form of 4 of the company's anti-aging product kits), and paid $39 (I'm in Canada) for my Consultant start up kit, I too could become an Arbonne Consultant, and make more money than I'd ever dreamed was possible.

It doesn't take much to turn me off, and this turned me right off. I don't have a thousand dollars to throw into something that at the time, I knew very little about. One thousand dollars is quite the commitment for someone in my position. This was someone that I'd known for quite a few years. Our kids were in the same class...she wasn't a stranger to me. I decided not to join their team.

Fast forward four months later. I was at the home of a good friend. We hadn't seen each other in about 2 months, and had decided to go out for dinner one evening. When I got to her house, I saw that she had this big box on her kitchen table, full of forms, catalogues, and nice smelling things. I recognized the product bag, and said to her, "I've seen this stuff before! Someone tried to get me into this about 4 months ago!"

Now, my friend had acne as a teenager, and was generally on the hunt for something that would smooth out the acne scars that she had remaining from that time. All she said to me was, "Look at my face." I did. And I said, "It looks much smoother. What did you do?" She started telling me about this line of skin care that she had been using. She told me about how a high school friend of hers introduced her to it, and that she was very happy with the results that she was getting. She wanted to be able to purchase the product at the discounted price, so she became what they call a "personal use consultant", buying the products mostly for herself, and to give as gifts to friends and family. She gave me a cute little bag with some product. No hard sell. Just a bag, some information to read, a catalogue, and some product. We went to dinner.

Debbie.

Copyright 2006 Debbie Burgin All Rights Reserved