Behind the Scenes of Starting Something New

I am not even sure how to summarize this chapter, without writing a novel ...even the Podcast episode was a long one, because there are just so many pieces! So I am going to do my best to just try to keep it light, and tell you all of the main pieces.

So! It all started on a random Friday morning at the beginning of August in 2022 - when I learned that the company I was with would be shifting gears. They would be moving from a Network Marketing model, to a direct to customer model. While there would be an affiliate program, meaning I would be able to earn a commission on products I sold to my customers ...they would be eliminating the leadership piece of the comp plan.

Which in one word is devastating for anyone who has truly built inside of one of these business models. It wasn't as bad as closing the doors completely, but there were some moments where I almost wondered if it was worth. It just felt like I had become redundant. Everything I had done, everything I had built - gone. In the blink of an eye.

Or, to be more exact - in 3 weeks.

To say that i was in shock, is an understatement. I didn't even know that companies could do this. It seemed unreal.

But, let's skim passed part ...to the part where I had to make a decision on what was next for me.

I felt like I had a few options:

1. Sign up with a new company and take whatever I could over there
2. Give up Network Marketing entirely, and focus on my coaching business
3. Stick with the affiliate program to see if I could make it work

While sticking with the affiliate program solely really wasn't an option (too much work, for too little compensation) ...but I figured I could keep sharing the products with my current customer base, if I didn't sign up for a competing product. So, I kept that in the back of my mind.

If we are being honest, I was leaning heavily to just allowing this to be a sign that this chapter of my business was coming to a close, and this was an opportunity to go all in, on my own business. I had been less and less involved with S&D for a couple years, and it was feeling like it was time.

But regardless, I made 2 lists:

1. A list of the companies that I used and loved products from (that I would be open to selling)
2. A list of what I wanted out of the next company, if I was to sign up and start something new

That second list, was the most important one of all.

You see, when I started with S&D I hadn't started with the business in mind - so I didn't look research anything before signing up. And even more honestly, I didn't know anything about the industry, so even if I had of done research, I wouldn't have really known how to compare comp plans. I started for the products, and for the discount. So I had found that there were things that I wish I had of had, in the 8 years I was with them. 

So in that list, I put all of the things that I loved from my first endeavour, and all of the things that I wish I had, had and would want from something new.

Here's that list:

(in no particular order)

• A true consumable - I say 'true' because there are lots of consumables out there that sit on shelves and only need to be ordered a couple times/year. I wanted to sell something that needed to be ordered every month.
• Products that I used and loved
• A simple comp plan, with high income earners in the company - I wanted to know what was possible for me, when I got to the top (I say simple - because I didn't want all of the hoops of needing to check a million boxes to hit a promotion, I wanted something based on volume)
• Something that didn't require me to be a selling machine until I was 85 ...every month in my first company I started at 0. I would need to figure out how to bring in my own sales, and how to get my team bringing in their sales. That never felt like something I was going to be able to do (or more accurately, would want to do) until I was 85. So I wanted something that I could go hard in for a few years, and then be able to maintain and still have it growing
• Incentive trips 

And that list, almost became like a manifestation.

Like I said, I had been leaning heavily towards just hanging up my Network Marketing hat ...but there were a couple things that stopped me.

#1 being - I love this industry. I believe whole heartedly in passive income, and I had worked really hard to build what I had built up until that point. I wasn't sure I was ready to just walk away from all of that.I loved my customers, I loved building and leading a team ...and maybe I hadn't been as lit up about those things in a few years, but it was still in my soul.

So every time I thought about just walking away, there was something that stopped me.

And then when I made my list of other companies that I could see myself selling for, I would feel into my energy for each one ...see if I was excited and inspired, and then have a look at their comp plan. And honestly, nothing was resonating.

I came close to signing up with another jewelry company. So many of my Stella sisters went that route - and it made so much sense on paper. And they were absolutely loving it and super excited for it.

But again, my heart just couldn't connect to it.

And then a friend sent me a message.

She had approached me about this company about 6 months prior, told me I should take a look at their comp plan, that it was different than anything she had ever seen before. But I had told her I wasn't interested. That I simply had too much on my plate, and wasn't looking for something new. (And if I am being super honest - lots of people ask me to look at business opportunities, and 99% of the time, I don't entertain them because I have always been on a path I was happy with.)

But inadvertently, I had found the products that she was talking about on my own. And I had fallen in love with the collagen.

So, when she messaged again, to say that they had just launched in Canada, the same week that my current company had changed everything on me - I took that as a sign.

And without thinking twice, I took a leap of faith.

And friends, what I can say is this - write this list, know what it is that you want from your business ...and the answers will find you.

It was like this company was founded on exactly what I was looking for.

And the fact that they had just launched in Canada, was the icing on the cake, because I had always wanted to get in on something at the ground-floor level. And I love a good challenge.

Everything in my body told me that this was made for me. That I had found something that was going to change my life.

And now you're up to speed, and I have set the stage for the rest of the story to fold. As I am going to take you behind the scenes of building my new venture. Starting a team from scratch, creating resources and systems and learning to sell in a brand new category.

It's been an absolute ride, one that I am really only in the beginning stages of - but thank you for being along for the ride! My hope is that these blog posts, and the podcast episodes will help you to get inspired and moving inside your own business journey. That through my growth, you can find your own path.

I'll see you in chapter 4, where we will chat about launching.

To listen to this episode on the Podcast, CLICK HERE.