Sort of. If you’ve ever worked in a corporate office, you’ll know what Hawaiian Shirt Day represents. It was the predecessor to business casual.

I’ve never owned a Hawaiian shirt, and yes, I’ll even admit I know people that do (um.. did). Somehow, it was supposed to be a privilege awarded to employees for a job well done.

Attaboy! (or) Attagirl!

I left corporate America right as business casual was becoming the norm, instead of the exception, and on my quest for “My Ideal Day”, I can tell you, it did not include “Hawaiian shirt day”.

So, what does your ideal day look like?

Do you wake up ready to embrace the day?
Or do you wake up dreading the commute and your company’s “Hawaiian shirt day”?

Enjoy the clip.

We can offer a better way.

I didn’t include this in the list above because it stands out as probably THE most important thing you can do and that is…

If there are other family members in your household, discuss your vision and ideas with them. They will be affected, too. The more involved they feel, the better they will understand what’s happening.

We have covered the top 5 things you must do before starting a network marketing career, but this is just a very basic start. Make sure to subscribe to this blog to continue to get updates.

We are determined to make a difference in our own lives and in the lives of our families and others. That is my mission and the mission of our team.

Your Next Step

Are you ready? Are you ready to stop thinking about it and finally take action?

Do you want to learn from someone who’s made the successful transition from a 9-5, (40 year) plan to being a network marketing professional with a 3 – 5 year plan? Someone to help you avoid the ‘knee scrapes’ and lead you step by step?

Only you can make that decision. However, think about this. Tomorrow will be here and so will next week and, before you know it, next year.

Your ’someday’ will never happen unless you make it happen.

Ask yourself right now where you could be one year from now if you got started today.

Ask yourself where you will be one year from now if you do nothing.

Network marketing is about inspiring and empowering others to create the time and income freedom they are looking for with a company and product that makes a difference.

This is what I absolutely love to do and what I teach. If this sounds like it’s something for you and if you’re ready to learn more about my company, then let’s talk.

This is Part 5, and the last step in our “Your Great Escape” series of transitioning from the corporate 9-5 job to a network marketing career.

Imagine having a business that you can take anywhere. Imagine making enough money to do the things you want when you want. Imagine becoming debt-free. Imagine being able to donate your time and talents to a worthy cause and making a difference.

Everybody has different ideas of what success is and dreaming big is a part of running a successful home business. Whether your idea of success is an extra $200 a month or $2,000 a month, your dream is just as important to your business as the research and planning.

Dreaming big isn’t always about the money, either. It can be making sure your kids never go to daycare or helping other people to be able to stay home with their kids, too.

It’s not easy to dream big at first, but after a while you’ll get the hang of it. Dreaming big means that you have the vision to see what lies ahead, so embrace the idea and before you know it, you’ll be on your way!

There’s trouble ahead for Blockbuster video stores.

- Blockbuster lost $435 million in the 4th quarter of 2009, usually its best quarter.
- In Sept. 2009, the company announced it was closing 960 under-performing stores… the ONLY video store in my town was one of them.
- Blockbuster’s main competitor, Hollywood Video, filed for Chapter 11 protection in February 2010.

In a nutshell? Nine years ago, nobody heard of Netflix and now they are leading the way in the change of the video rental industry.

Netflix and Greeting Cards…Different, Yet the Same

Five years ago, nobody heard of Send Out Cards. Send Out Cards is to the greeting card industry as Netflix is to the video rental industry.

Where do you think Send Out Cards is going to be four years from now?

Can you see yourself being a part of it?

I am leading a fun and amazing international Send Out Cards team. So, if you’re ready to climb on board, or just want to know more to make an informed decision, let’s talk.

Contact Me Here > >

Before we talk about why benchmarks are better, it’s important to understand what a benchmark is.

Everybody talks about goals and goals are important to your success, right? If you don’t set a goal, you don’t know where you’re going.

However, what happens when you don’t reach that particular goal?

Does it have an impact or consequence? Or, do you just say, ‘Well, I’ll just try harder next time?’

It’s Like a Marathon

For example, if I decide to train for a marathon, I know that I absolutely have to run a certain number of miles each day if I want to be able to run the full 26 miles on race day.

There is a training schedule to follow with the required mileage for each and every day. There are no make-ups. If the schedule calls for running 3 miles for 4 days in a row, I can’t skip 2 days and make up that mileage later. It just doesn’t work that way.

There is an absolute minimum that MUST be accomplished each day if I want my body to be ready to run 26 miles on race day and I can not settle for anything less.

Did You Catch That?

Let me repeat.

“There is an absolute minimum that MUST be accomplished every day and I can not settle for anything less.”

That is a benchmark, creating a minimum standard that absolutely MUST be met every single day, and nothing less will be accepted.

Do you see how that is much stronger than a goal?

There will be various types of benchmarks in your business, income, number of contacts, sales, etc. Each one will be different depending on the company you have chosen. Regardless, setting benchmarks is crucial to your long term success.

Instead of saying, “I will contact 5 prospects every day”, say this instead…

“I will not settle for anything less than contacting 5 prospects per day.”

Setting benchmarks and your plan of action to achieve those benchmarks will get you to where you want to go and will help hold you accountable to your plan.

One of the biggest mistakes a lot of people make is not saving enough money FIRST before quitting their job.

I know in this economy, a lot of people have lost their jobs, but I’m not referring to them. I am referring to people who get so excited about their brand new venture, (and believe me, I know, I was that excited, too!) that they give their boss their 2 weeks notice without seriously thinking about the financial ramifications of leaving their job too early.

First, let’s get clear on one thing. You are starting a business. There are start-up costs and ongoing costs, just like in ANY business. While some may have more than others, you need to financially prepare for your business as it will take time before you are generating revenue or a profit.

Your monthly recurring and variable expenses will be depend on the company you choose. It’s as simple as creating a spreadsheet and list all these items and their monthly cost and any additional items you will need initially.

Don’t Skip this Part. Don’t leave anything out and also allow yourself a financial cushion of 30% for unexpected items.

From here, tally out a minimum of 6 months worth of these expenses. I highly recommend one year, but again, it will also depend on your effort you put into your business. I have seen too many people start their business by not taking the time to plan financially, then they run out of cash and wonder what happened.

They usually wind up going into more debt than they should or start using credit cards just to maintain monthly expenses before they are generating any income. Unless you are opening an offline brick and mortar business, there should be no reason to go into even more debt in the first few months.

You may be saying, “o.k. This is all well and good, but I don’t have 6 months or even one year of cash for this.” If you don’t, then don’t quit your job until you do.

Take your 6 months or one year total and divide by each month to determine how much money you need to put aside in savings until you have enough. Review your initial financial picture to see where you can make adjustments.

The beauty of network marketing is that you can start and work your business part time in the evenings and on weekends. When you start to see some consistent income coming in, then you know you’re getting closer to your goal of being able to leave your day job permanently.

Next: Benchmarks versus Goals – Why Benchmarks are Better and How to Create Them and Keep Them

Welcome to the very first episode of Greeting Card Connections! Video is a little fuzzy, my apologies.

With so many of us scattered around the country, sending a heartfelt greeting card is something family members will cherish for a lifetime:

Question: Do you have family far away and how do you make those special moments happen for them?

This is one area that is most often overlooked.

Many people, especially those just starting out in network marketing, simple don’t realize that they should be interviewing their potential sponsor.

While you are ultimately responsible for your own success, partnering with the right team is important.

What To Look For?

- Is your potential sponsor a network marketing professional or someone who views this as a hobby?

Granted, many people have been involved in different companies, (trying to find the right fit for them), but if your potential sponsor is involved in more than one network marketing company at the same time, this is a red flag because it’s very difficult to devote the attention required to more than one company.

Important to Note: Your potential sponsor CAN be a professional while transitioning from a full-time job or other career to a career in network marketing.

How can you tell?

He or she will be serious about their career change, will be devoting consistent time & effort to making the transition AND will be genuinely interested in helping you.

Remember, a full-time income in this business can be achieved through part-time hours. So, just because someone is working their business part-time (for now) that doesn’t mean they aren’t serious.

Next week we’ll look at Financial Planning for your business.

Last time, we talked about things to look for in choosing a network marketing company.

This time, we’ll be looking at things to stay away from.

Some Things to Stay Away From:

- Stay away from anyone promising you overnight riches or ‘pie in the sky’ claims. We build our business based on integrity, trust and being a professional.

- Anyone promising to build your business for you. There’s no such thing.

I recently received an email from someone trying to market to me to get me to enroll in their business. First, I’m not recruitable. I am perfectly happy with the company I’m involved with and have no intention on leaving.

Their email really struck a chord with me, though, as the resounding tone was this..

“Just point people in our direction and watch the magic happen. We’ll build it for you.”

Really? Listen, if you ever receive an email like that or visit a website with a similar message, run away as fast as you can! There is no such thing as “we’ll build it for you.”

- People promising you that it’s ‘easy’ or that all you have to talk to just a few people are either very inexperienced, naive, lying or all three.

After all, this is a business. Imagine if Colonel Sanders only talked to just a few people.

Next Up.. Interview Your Potential Sponsor: Red flags to look for and questions to ask.

In this part of our “Great Escape” series, we look at the direct sales / network marketing profession.

While there are some similarities, there are also big differences.

There are numerous companies in a variety of industries within this profession. How to choose?

Choosing a network marketing company and team to partner with can be a challenge. Here are some key things to look for:

Some Things to Look for in the Product:

- Unique, consumable product that people can’t get anywhere else or that is delivered in a new way and that they will use over and over again. Why should people buy your product when they can go to WalMart to get a similar product?

- Strong company management team, leadership and vision for the future.

Important sidebar to note: Some companies are publicly-traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). There are distributors of publicly-traded companies who use this as part of their marketing, somehow thinking that it means the company is more reputable.

A publicly-traded network marketing company does not necessarily mean that there is strong leadership and vision. It doesn’t even mean they are financially stable. All it means is that the company decided to go public in order to raise capital for expansion.

- Would you use the product even if you weren’t thinking of joining the opportunity?

Your business should have a good balance of retail customers as well as business partners, so if you wouldn’t use the product, you couldn’t expect anyone else to.

What About The Opportunity?

- What is the opportunity for new business partners looking to join your company?

- How is the compensation plan structured?

- Is it set up for long term leveraged passive income?

If you’re looking for financial security with time freedom, the only way to achieve that is with a compensation plan structured for leveraged passive income.

- Does the company, and team you are considering partnering with, have a solid training program in place for you and your team to follow?

*This is my no means a complete list or the only things you should look for, although it will give you a great start with a lot of things to consider.

Next Up: The top 3 things to stay away from when choosing a direct sales / network marketing company.