Lifestyle Generation

I’m watching President Obama and his State of the Union Address – say what you you will, he’s a good speaker and has terrific speech writers.

Well… I don’t have a speech writer or a copy editor but I have some things to say – no.. not about the politics of the US – about home based businesses in 2010…

This is a very interesting time for those of us who are network marketers, small business owners, and entrepreneurs. One in Ten people in the US (alone) are out of work and are desperate for a way to make income for their families… this presents a certain set of issues for us as professionals in our industry.

In addition, unlike any other time, our industry is open in a global market faster and more connected than ever before.

First you might think – yah! Loads of prospects flooding the market everyday – nice problem to have! But let’s really consider what kinds of prospects these people are.

Never before has our industry had more opportunity to change lives but with that comes a tremendous responsibility. The new prospects coming to us are from all walks of life and now, more than ever, they are displaced laborers as well as white collar and executive level employees. There are more and more men in a traditionally women dominated industry.There are more and more young adults, not just stay at home Moms. There are more and more retirees. There is a diversity of educational levels, basic skill sets, ethnicity, and economic means.

The speed of our business has changed dramatically even in the last year. Internet Marketing was still more or less a “buzz” at the beginning of 2008 and now it is part of our everyday language. Business and Product Launches are practically a business in themselves. An explosion of “mentors”, “coaches”, “leaders”, “gurus” at every turn, in every niche it is truly the industry of opportunity and opportunists… it is this later group that we, as professionals, MUST be aware of and help to guide the new flood of prospects away from.

We, as professionals, MUST protect our beloved industry from those that WILL “set up shop” and woo the desperate into thinly veiled money laundering schemes and scams – these kinds of things have always been around the edges of the home business industry but the “BOOM” here will have the same effect the real estate boom did – anyone that could fog a mirror could get a real estate license but they were not professionals and would not survive the bust… the same is true for us. Anyone creative enough to put up a flash site can draw in paying customers, take their money and be gone before anyone knows what happened.

But let’s also consider our own responsibility to the people we speak to each day. There are going to be many people that probably really NEED income and there are no jobs for them… but that may not mean that they are really suited to being in business for themselves. Yes, we are supposed to focus on duplication, and yes, there are always people that get started and do nothing, but I think it is our responsibility to say “NO” to prospects that really have no business putting up money for an opportunity they are never likely to succeed with – and you can tell who these folks are – these are folks that really need a job – not a business.

So… treat your business like a business – you wouldn’t let just anyone represent your business, your story, your name – there are a lot of people in need of what we have but, as one of my early mentors was fond of saying: “Life rewards for deserve, not need – if you do the do, good will come to you”.

Go Forth and Build and Remember… Enrich Yourself And The World Around You,

Peace,
Leanne

If, for some odd reason, you are still not involved in social media because you thought maybe it was a flash in the pan.. check out this LIVE counter and then re-think the place of Social Media in your marketing efforts!

Hey Friends,

My family and I watched this new show on ABC last night called “Find My Family” and you know it was pretty good. The two gals that searched for family members did have success and there tearful reunions and it really got me thinking because my own Mom was adopted. In fact, she was literally left on a doorstep as an infant with a note attached to her blanket – see her parents were basically carnies or circus people – they traveled constantly and really had no means to raise a baby. As a teenager I finally got to meet my grandmother (my Mom met her in her teens as well) … the resemblance was so striking it was just wild!

I can’t imagine trying to find a long lost family member but I do love learning about family history – when I lived in NYC, my Mom and Dad came to visit and we went to Ellis Island. I remember walking around just sort of taking it all in and coming across a huge photo of a Russian Peasant Girl looking right into the camera and I stopped dead in my tracks. My father wandered up behind me and asked me what I was doing and I managed to stammer “She.. she… she looks just like me!” And he said “Yes! She does! Your Great Grand Parents were Russian Immigrants”…. I never knew that! It was startling to me how much our eyes looked alike.

Before my Mother passed away she had begun a genealogy search on her family – it was not an easy task – sadly, I have not been able to locate the work she did so I’ll have to start all over again. Oddly (or not), I came into possession of an ebook about ancestry research last night – seriously, I was not looking for this book, it just sort of “appeared” so right now I am able to offer it to any fellow family historians for a great price and you get get it right HERE….

I sincerely wish you all the luck in the world as you embark on your journey – I’ll let you know if turn up anything good on mine!
Peace~
Leanne

Consider the EGG.  The construction of the egg is undeniable in it’s simplicity and yet there is nothing easy about it. The shape is amazingly strong and incredibly fragile at the same time, the purpose of the egg is astonishingly complex – to grow a complete life-form.  Yet, it is “just” an egg.  Simple. But not Easy.

Read the rest of this entry »

I was tagged by Thomas Bartke to complete the 25 Things questionnaire a few weeks ago… So.. here it goes, the 25 Things You Don’t Know About Me!

1. I always wanted to be an entertainer and I have done the following things: Danced the Part of Jelly Lorum in CATS (off, off Broadway), played the part of the March Hare in Alice in Wonderland, Danced on a Fundraiser Telethon, Backup Singer for a Country Band, Lead Singer in a Rock Band, Karaoke Host! LOL! And other such things… I had a lot of fun doing all of it and would do it all again in a heartbeat!

2.  I was a competitive equestrian as a pre-teen riding English Hunter/Jumper and Cross Country.

3.  My very FIRST job was developing film in a family owned photography business. (not my family, just a mom and pop shop).

4. I have one sibling, an older brother, who is the funniest, smartest and most talented person I have ever known.

Read the rest of this entry »

Hey There…

Been working on the BLOG a lot – you might notice that I have a new theme now; needed space for my logo – do you like it? I remember when I was a kid I would watch Laverne & Shirley and think that it was cool that Laverne had capital, cursive “Ls” on her sweaters So.. as I said I have been working on the blog and as part of that work I decided to revisit my “tag line”. When I did that I discovered a phrase tucked away in my brain “Lifestyle Marketing” And this is what I want to talk about today.
Read the rest of this entry »

Okay.. Luke CAN lick HIS elbow...

That’s right.. you can try but you can’t do it; you can’t lick your elbow! Most of us already know this and most of us don’t try. But why, then do we spend so much time, money and energy on other things we we can’t control when it comes to our online business? We stubbornly pursue marketing that doesn’t work thinking “if I just stick with it, eventually I’ll get results”. We blame our pockets for not being deep enough, we blame the program we are promoting for not converting, we blame the gurus for cornering the markets, we blame ourselves for not getting results, we bang our heads against the wall looking for answers.
Read the rest of this entry »

Can't. Type. Any...more.

Who doesn’t love a three-day weekend? This weekend, of course, we are to celebrate “Labor Day” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Labor_day) here in the USA and for us it does usually mean a lot of backyard Bar-B-Ques, Beer Drinking and Parades. We rejoice in the end of summer, the kids going BACK to school and generally have a grand old time! So… I want you to share your weekend with me! Tell me what you did? Where you did it and with whom! (PLEASE – G-RATED STUFF ONLY – this is a FAMILY SITE!) If you took photos or videos – post your links! I’ll be posting mine so keep your eyes peeled! (YIKES!!! That sounds sorta creepy!)

CHEERS!! ~
Read the rest of this entry »

Okay… that may only be partly true but how many of us really think that what we do is what defines us as a person? Is what you earn a living at the same as what you think your calling in life is? Recently I was listening to MLM Great, Paul Orberson and he said [paraphrase] “you cannot make your living with your calling because it’s a conflict of interest – built in” …. HMMMM, I thought, how interesting.
Read the rest of this entry »