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I Could Make You a Celebrity Overnight: A perspective on the MLM world and why I left.


I would like to preface this with a disclaimer because it is 2019 and the last thing I want to do is offend anyone or cause a debate. BTW this is not up for debate because this is my story and my experience.

Disclaimer* I am not writing this to tear anyone's hard work or demeanor. If you think this is about you, it probably is. If you haven't had this experience, then you are free to go. In the clear. I am not writing about you.

Capiche?

Ok. Why did I start?

In 2015, I was moving across the entire country to a place I had never been with no one I knew in the area. All I had was Travis and my pups. I had canceled my crossfit and gym memberships and was nervous about becoming out of shape in the process of moving/ trying to establish my new life in WA from FL.

I had been trying to get "healthy" for a few years already (blog about that here ) and didn't want to lose all of my hard work I had put in.

In the process of moving and finding work, I had become inspired by an instagram page that I came across (scrolling like we doooo) and started chatting about my move with this person and how I wanted to stay in shape. I also expressed I wanted to become a "wellness coach" to keep me accountable and help a few people along the way get started like I did. I signed up the day after I moved to WA. I was that excited and ready for it. That was June 2015. I was a hairstylist and planned on doing that through and through. I was not leaving hair at that point to pursue "coaching full time". That wasn't my initial plan when signing up.

I instantly connected with this person on the internet and became fast friends. This also opened up a whole world of friendships and a community I adored in the area. I felt less homesick and the transition across the country became a lot easier. The community is exactly what I needed at the time and I am so grateful that was there for me in that moment in my life.

HUSTLE 24/7, you say?

Yes, from the beginning I was given a ton ( I really do mean a ton, it was overwhelming but I learned to look at it as an opportunity not overwhelming because overwhelming meant I was weak or not working hard enough) of information on how to become a successful coach. Files, emails, pamphlets, videos. The steps were simple, 1. be a product of the product (buying products monthly and using them), 2. personal development (reading or listening to personal and business literature or videos to help you get in PEAK PERFORMANCE), 3. inviting (messaging and connecting with people every single day, I did a lot of this and am guilty of sending copy/paste messages due to trainings I had had*GAG*) and 4. recognition (talking and cheering on your team mates or people working their business and seeing success). Since I really wanted friends in the area, I wanted to be liked. I wanted to do what my new friends were doing. Hitting goals, making sales and growing in this company. So that is what I did. From the very beginning I hit the requirements. I did so for 3 consecutive years, was in the top 200 out of 400,000 + coaches and helped hundreds of people get started on their fitness journeys. I helped others make an extra income for themselves and made some really incredible relationships along the way. Very few of them stuck, but that will come later in the blog. I was being praised for hitting these marks. Not only from our "recognition" which is typically a weekly flyer in our group pages but also by little prizes every once in a while not only from the company but from my upline. The recognition and praise was something that wasn't necessarily new to me but it felt very nice to be liked by my new framily (friend family). That feeling kept me going the entire time.

Back to the subject of hustling. I worked full time during half of my coaching life. I worked long long days in salon, very mentally taxing work and would come home every evening and spend a little bit of time with my husband, but also would dedicate a few hours to more work. Which would entail, creating social media content, hopping on leadership calls (at one point, I had 4 calls a week on my plate...4 nights consumed by calls but whatever I wanted to be successful so badly), checking in with my customers and then also returning emails from new prospects. Spreading myself thin? Yes. And I did have a few people on the internet call me out on that via email or DM which hurt and sucked to get bad feedback from people I wanted to work with but I let it go and worked harder. That was the motto. Don't let these haters get you down. Work harder. It is not the product or company at fault, its you. If you dwell, you will lose kinda thing. At night, I would take time away from my family to work a few hours in my office. I would literally shut the door to my office and spend time alone at my desk typing away. Entrepreneurs did that. Successful people did that. Business owners did that. That is what I started to want. I wanted to be more successful. Chasing the dream. Making big bucks and making my own schedule. Ya know? The American Dream. Right? Totally feasible and doable. As long as you don't give up and work really hard. We have all been taught that. I wanted it and there were enough success stories to prove that I could get there with this company.( BTW you are still working for a company, the only thing making you 'your own boss' is that you are 100% in charge of your taxes.) The one thing I take away from that experience now is that it is successful but only in certain ways and for certain people. Not for everyone. The successful people got more successful every year and every once in a while a rising star would come along giving all us worker bees some hope.

It is claimed that anyone can do it, but that is not the case. Not just anyone can do it. Takes a special kind of person to do this work and not everyone is wanting to do so. Cold calls. Sales. More consumerism. That is not for everyone. There are definitely those out there in network sales that have an amazing heart and have earned their success. I am not shitting on that. I guess I am just saying that the goal or dream is seems right around the corner but the business plan or motive isn't very clear and attainable.

June 2015 to October 2018, I worked and I worked my ass off.

Results? Does it work.

100,000% YES. The products and programs I promoted WORKED. If you did, just like anything.

One thing I have never done is promote something I didn't believe in or see results with. I loved working with the fitness and nutrition of it. Celebrity trainers came out with videos and content often to help you move your body. There were all levels, durations and types of workouts. It is what drew me to it. I loved loved the workouts.

The products were of insane quality. Very nourishing and full of all the good things that you would need. Preworkout, post workout, daily superfoods, green supplements, energy supps, vitamins, cleanses and so on. The products are of high quality and that meaning, high price. The price is not anything to dwell on because the results were there and so was the worth. We spend our money on stupid shit all the time so I don't think spending your money on your health is a burden. I will just put that out there. In that same sense, the price does make it exclusive and it was a privilege to afford it. When I first signed up, (I told you I moved across the country) I didn't really have the $$ but I did have a credit card and that is what I did. I charged it. I would also later on use that as an "objection statement " with prospects. I would boast about wanting it so bad that I made it happen by putting it on my credit card. But when I later on had a maxed out credit card...I realized how dumb it was to advise others to do that. Not only was it personal to advise, but it was manipulative. Sorry.

(we will talk about that more). You can see results with expensive products and programs and you can also see results with watching free videos online and using your grocery list. The hard part is the consistency. I could write a whole other piece on consistency.

FAME AND FORTUNE!

When starting in this business, you are given information on how to make money. This is by commissions from sales and from a residual income from other coaches underneath you or signing up. There are bonus cycles for hitting different ranks or 'levels' and that is marketed as unlimited. A never ending supply of $$ and NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH A PYRAMID SCHEME, or is it? Still unsure of this. I made most of my income from sales. From getting others started on packages that would help me gain points monthly and also rank advance depending on how they started. They would get a solution to their goals and I would make some $$. The commission is small in comparison to commissions that you would earn in any other job, like a salon but it was fine because your main push would be trying to hit bonus cycles from building your team. My struggle was, building a team and people sticking around. Very come and go. That was something that was hard for me to deal with, was to see people come into my life, create a relationship and most times they would ghost me. No hard feelings, it is just how it was. This feeling stayed with me though and I felt inadequate in building relationships because of this. But don't worry, there was personal development on that and I could push it away in my head as long as I kept on trucking and making new relationships. Another way we were rewarded was by prizes which was typically company apparel or products which was free but we also were paying for monthly fees and products... so was it free? Keeping us in apparel or on products is a great marketing strategy. Surrounding your life with the company. Then there is the trips that we could get awarded yearly. Typically to a tropical spot and that was something I was so hardcore into because I loved traveling and it was marketed towards me as an "all expenses paid trip" but what was failed to be mentioned was the airfare to get there and also the non refundable deposits you would have to put down on the room or lodging. Not free. This trip was earned by selling monthly and only certain people qualified for it. If you were making the company $$ then you would get a trip. It also keeps you drinking the koolaid. I did get to go on a trip, it was incredible. I took what I needed from it. So much fun and I had the best time with my friends (well friends at the time.)

No regrets.

THE GOOD STUFF!

Why did you stay in it for 3.5 years? Summer of 2017, I was able to quit my salon job after saving some money and seeing the potential in how I was able to make $$ monthly. It felt like the right decision. I had been coaching for 1.5years and knew what I was doing. I had learned so many amazing things with social media from trainings, had gotten in the best shape of my life and had met some really outstanding people. Some true healers of the world and women I still aspire to be like. Not all of these women were or are coaches, I learned a lot from my customers and felt truly connected to the ones that were open with me. That was real and I loved it. Some of those ladies, I am still lucky to have in my life and am truly grateful for it. So June 2017, I walk away from salon. I have freedom. I get to travel whenever. I went back home to Florida for a month to help my sister with her toddler and new born, October 2017 my husband and I packed up our Jeep to travel down the west coast, Spring 2018 I left the country for the first time, and a ton of other trips sprinkled in there. It was such a great time and I wouldn't change it for the world. I learned a lot about myself and for the first time in my working life, I had flexibility. I was able to learn and grow as a human and that is priceless. Some truly unforgettable life moments. I gained a following on social from sharing my life and my story. Social media connected me to YOU, yes you. I learned some really great business tips (forgetting the not so great ones..still loading lol) on how to evolve business wise, take no shit and found out what it was that I really wanted out of health and fitness. Nothing you have done in your life is a waste. It is either a blessing or a lesson and this was oddly enough both for so long...until it wasn't.

THE END

Why did I quit?

While being a full time coach from June 2017-October 2018, I was struggling financially. I hid this, like everyone online does. You talk about your strenghs. Not your bills. I learned to live with less, learned a lot about my spending habits and how to find the joy in life without making a consistent income. My income from coaching in this company was inconsistent and sure, that is on me but it sucked nonetheless. I was extremely stressed and am so thankful to make ends meet monthly, this meant my husband picking up the slack when he could financially and now I am super skilled in how to pay bills at just the right time or how to move them around. I racked up debt and am less financially stable based on my choices and spending than I was at 23 years old when I started. But that is totally on me. No one else. Monthly I was paying for products and it wasn't until October 2018, that I wasn't able to pay for this product due to my cards being maxed out. I picked up a seasonal retail position to help and was in a scramble. The breaking moment for me was when I couldn't pay for this product and that meant I didn't qualify for a certain consecutive title I had for 3ish years of hard work and consistency. It had been boiled down to a $109 payment I couldn't make and that hurt. I felt like a failure. I felt low and I felt stuck. I voice messaged my upline crying (she was great during this btw and that was cool) and feeling so embarrassed that I couldn't make it work. I was sorry towards her and I was broken by that vulnerability. Seems silly but it meant more than the rank. It meant that I had to 'pay to play' and that since I couldn't literally pay, I wasn't a part of the success. I was kicked out of the band kinda. That message was loud and clear and one I didn't want to contribute to any longer.

Anyway, I did a lot of self reflection starting October 2018. I became quiet in my teams and pages, helped my existing customers when I could and started to step on the brakes. I noticed that as I was fading away, no one really cared or asked how I was doing. That was deafening as well. The praise that I loved from hitting numbers was gone and my name was immediately being replaced by someone else's. I waited some time, but I eventually around Februaryish 2019 had a discussion with my coach before going public because I respect her and it went well. I felt a huge release. I had been harboring those feelings for months and that was hard. During that time I also got my hair license back (thats another stupid story lol MAJOR eyeroll) and was hired in a dope salon to pay my bills consistently. I didn't officially quit until a month later because I wanted to tell my customers and coaches/give them a plan on how to seek help once I was gone. Like when your stylist is moving and they refer you to another stylist. Like that. I went live in my pages and crieeeeed my eyeballs out and finally came out to them on what was happening in my life. They deserved that. The ones that mattered were perceptive and kind, which made it harder but also a good feeling of love. Once I quit...the questions started rolling in, from you. My internet friends and I am so sorry it took me this long to respond but as you may have picked up, it was painful to experience and I wasn't sure on how to talk about it. I didn't want to share too much in hopes of keeping my friends that were still coaches. This is how they make money, make a living and what they do for work. This is a community. Or so I thought. One of the main things that drew me to the community was the support and sisterhood but once I quit, that went silent. Some of my greatest friends quickly stopped talking to me, 'liking' my new endeavors and the majority of them stopped 'following' me. What a time to be alive...when a friend stops following you its like when you stop getting asked to eat lunch with them at school. A very 'you can't sit with us moment'. Some of these people were so close to me, they were even on my guest list. Some of these people I used to look up to, like a hero or a friend I wanted so badly but yet again I learned.

Oh ok, don't be bitter Kel...

you promised you wouldn't be.

I'll leave it at this. Starting in the MLM world was the best thing (ps I didn't really know that that is what it was when I started I will blame it on my gullible and brightside persona...but it was) and leaving the MLM world was the best thing. It served its time in my life, I gained from it and then I knew when to stop/quit. My life choices, are mine. We have all done things we would change looking back, but mostly we learned.

MAJOR CLOSE

How people view you is not your responsibility.

Do whatever the fuck you want and screw the rest.

Do no harm but take no shit.

Kelxx

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