Lifestlye Design for You!

Welcome to the Community! I am so excited to have you join us here! At The Wellman Group, our only goal, and the only way we measure our success, is to work hard to help our clients, our business partners, and our online community, find their purpose in life and then set their course to fulfill that purpose. While we are very happy when anyone in … Read More

Three Key Ingredients to MLM Success

May 20, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Plymouth Business Model P5 Business Coupé 1938

Plymouth Business Model P5 Business Coupé 1938 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

You know, when someone starts to write about success in the MLM industry, people seem to flock to read whatever is said. Seems that most people in the industry love their product/service but don’t really understand what it takes to build a long-term sustainable business. So, whenever the see an article titled, “Three Key Ingredients to MLM Success” it gets lots of readers.

That said, the industry failure rate is still really high (over 80% with some estimates as high as 90%). Why do you think that is so? Is it all your fault, the fault of your sponsor/upline, or is it that most people in MLM just don’t know how to build a successful business?

I lean to the last thought. I know when I got in MLM more than 20 years ago, the business training was mostly about sponsoring people and nearly none (and I’m being generous here) was about what it takes to build/sustain a business. In my ensuing efforts in the industry, little training about “real business” was forthcoming.

So, here, today I am going to seek to explain what I feel are the three key ingredients to MLM success. These five keys will not be typical “MLM keys” but will help all MLMers looking for sustained growth and long lasting results.

  1. Stop reading self-help books and instead read books on entrepreneurship, business development, and marketing. If you do not understand the way business works and how to make money and use what you make to make more, you are not going to last long in this business model (0r any other for that matter).
  2. Become a marketing expert. Learning how to get people to come to you for your skills and expertise is a whole lot simpler (and more rewarding I might say) than harassing your family/friends or chasing down strangers in the mall! The online world is filled with genuine people looking for real businesses that can be successfully built anywhere. You hold the key if you only know how to use it!
  3. Learn to build a referral based business model. Referral based businesses are built in every industry by people who recognize that making and maintaining a great customer base of raving fans not only makes for consistent orders of products/services but also brings in new business by successful word of mouth.

When you believe that you have a great product/service sharing it with people isn’t hard. What is hard is learning the balance that makes people want to come to you above all others rather than run from you at first sight! Be a real, strong, and solid business person and draw people to what you truly know and they will listen intently buy your product/join your business with confidence that they have made the best possible choice!

Now its your turn. What other ingredients do you think are necessary to build a successful MLM business?

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Filed Under: Building Success, Network Marketing Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

Right Industry – Right Time

April 10, 2013 by 1 Comment
Coach

(Photo credit: williamnyk)

With the world economy continuing along its shaky past, many people are looking for that one great idea that will help them put their lifestyle plan together. It seems that having your own business seems to many to be the way to go but even with making this decisions the question becomes, “What is the right industry and is this the right time?”

I have a suggestion for both halves of that question:

  1. What is the right industry? This is a really good question. My answer: Network Marketing! Why? Because you can find a company, product, and compensation plan that fits your lifestyle design, learn as you go with only a small financial risk, and you can help others meet their life goals and plans!
  2. Is this the right time? This is a harder question to answer. Timing is a more about you and your circumstances than about anything else. People build successful businesses in hard times while others fail in a great economic climate. The right timing for you should be determined by your own lifestyle design plan. That said, I believe that if you are ready to create a business that can give you the freedom to live out your life plan, the timing is as good now as it has ever been.

The final question you need to ask yourself is: “Am I committed to what it is going to take to create and live out the life plan using this new found business model to get there?”

One cautionary note. Don’t let anyone pressure you into something that you haven’t carefully considered and don’t really understand. The best option for you is the one you can wake up to everyday excited to build and grow. The decision needs to be yours and the company/product/industry must fit your lifestyle design plan to produce your definition of success!

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Lifestyle Design – Because Life is About More than Money

February 25, 2013 by Leave a Comment

The TracksHave you ever noticed the way the entertainment world presents life today. It seems that everyone drives Mercedes, Jaguars, or even Ferraris. They live in homes that rival the castles of Europe and they travel to anywhere in the world at the drop of a hat. Now don’t get me wrong, I am not opposed to people enjoying the fruits of their labor, but I do have to admit that I have come to the place in life where things like this are not as important as I once thought.

As a lifestyle design coach, I try and help my clients (and anyone who will let me babble on) understand that life is about more than money and things! I don’t know how well the message plays, but it is one that needs to be heard more and more in these crazy days when people just seem to never be satisfied and always want more!

I look around the community that I live in and see so many things that need to be done and that bring real peace and joy that either don’t have the monies to operate or are considered to by “just not worth the time” by those caught up trying to make that next car payment or get that next shinny thing!

Lifestyle design is a way to look deeper and see clearer. Deeper into the true purpose for living and clearer in finding the right way to live out that purpose. Sure, making money and living life comfortably certainly play a role, but what is the root purpose, what is the real essence of your life? Where can you go to find out? What will you do once that purpose becomes clear?

It is my opinion that everyone should take some time to consider this ultimate life purpose. In that purpose is real peace, true hope and a sense of “real” that cannot be found in the fleeting moments of happiness that money alone can purchase. As you consider your own life, the path you choose to live, where does real purpose fit and how can you get there?

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Long Time – No Write

January 18, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Happy new year

Happy new year (Photo credit: Amodiovalerio Verde)

One of the first lessons I ever learned (and have taught to others) is that the success of any blog/website is the consistent addition of great content. Well, since the first of the year I have been guilty of violating that very important principle. I think that I just had a brain cramp and couldn’t get moving again after the holidays. But, to be completely honest, I don’t really know why there has been virtually nothing new here. I have lots of things to write about and am excited about the possibilities of the new year. So, my plan is to begin the new year with some new stuff that I hope you will enjoy and will help you move along the journey of your life.

Along with the blogging I am going to begin to create some training modules in some very specialized areas of life and business. I hope that you will enjoy them as they make their way on to the site and that you will pass them along to your friends.

I am really looking forward to what this year is going to bring, I just got a slow start on the whole thing! Excuse my laziness and let’s get this party started!!

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Discovering Your Lifestyle Design – Phase Three

December 22, 2012 by Leave a Comment

To this point in the discovering of your lifestyle design, I have suggested that you answer the question, “What does perfect look one_waylike?” and then asked you to consider your unique and personal definition of success. Today we are going to add phase three of the process and begin the journey of creating a plan to get you from where you are to your definition of success.

I will have to admit to you from the start that this stage of the process is the most difficult for me. While the reasons for this are varied, I think that the basis for the difficulties is that I get bogged down in the details and don’t allow myself the room to live day to day in the freedom of my lifestyle design.

I understand the fact that planning is necessary and that “The Devil is in the Details” but, as you begin this process, I would like for you to consider the following ideas:

  1. Start broad and work to narrow. Your life is the way it is right now and with rare exception you cannot just walk away from what you are doing now to create “the perfect life.” Because of this you need to consider a transformation that might well take a couple years with the possibility that it might well take up to five! So, as you plan, start out with the more broad and simple changes you can begin to do now and work your way, over time into the more narrow segments of your plan.
  2. When you get bogged down by the planning, take a break. As I said in the previous point, you should have a 2 to 5 year outlook as you begin. Finishing some thought on a strict timeline may be just the thing that causes you to abandon your design. Keep things loose and take a break from the planning when you need to!
  3. Don’t get stuck with one way of doing things. Plans and promises are great things, but don’t forget that every plan of man needs to be reviewed and revised along the way. You cannot possibly understand everything that life will throw your way along the way to your “perfect life.” As things change, you need to review and revise your plan, adapting to the way things are in real time. As long as you realize what perfect looks like and have a clear definition of success, your plan to get you there can change without altering the end result.

As a creative entrepreneur who would rather dream the big dream and leave the details to someone else, I understand the difficulty of creating a working and workable plan. However, if you don’t I also know you can drift aimlessly for years, know where you are supposed to be and finding yourself year after year no closer to achieving you life-long dream. Once you have your dream set, and you understand success from your perspective, you have got to create a plan of your own making that will get you there!

 

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Great Time to Take a Break

December 20, 2012 by Leave a Comment
English: merry christmas

Photo credit: Wikipedia

With just a few more days to the Christmas/New Years holiday I think that it is a great time to take a break. With the end of the year upon us and the need to finalize plans for the new year ongoing, taking a break makes a lot of sense. So, have a great time and enjoy every minute of the time you get with family and friends.

Here at The Wellman Group, we are taking a break as well. Monday afternoon my family and I are flying out to enjoy a week with family in the much warmer climate of southern California. When we get back, after this restful time away, the new year will be full of new challenges and new projects that I hope will help greater numbers of entrepreneurs than ever before.

So, for the next few days, I will be “out of pocket,” taking a quiet break and preparing behind the scenes for a great new year. My prayer for you it that you can do the same thing!!

 

 

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from The Wellman Group!!
May your 2013 be the best year of your life!!

 

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The Devil’s in the Details

December 17, 2012 by 1 Comment
English: The Devil's Fireplace, detail- the Devil

English: The Devil’s Fireplace, detail- the Devil (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

One of the most difficult things for a Creative Entrepreneur to do is to get engrossed in the details of a project or a long-term business entity. We creatives can always take time to “dream big” and to “consider the possibilities” but often time just don’t care about the details necessary to keep everything together.

There is an old saying that seems to attack creatives at every turn. That saying is: The Devil’s in the Details! Those very details that drive creatives to distraction are an unfortunate, yet very important part of getting things done. So, for the creatives out there I have three pieces of advice:

  1. If you don’t want to handle the details, you must find someone who will. In my first year in real estate sales I found out the hard way about the importance of the details. In the end, things worked out fine, but the lesson that I learned was that I needed help making sure that all the details of every transaction were completed on time every time. My solution? I hired someone to make sure that everything was done in proper order and in proper time.
  2. If you hire out the work of the details you still have to check to make sure things are being done correctly. In another circumstance in my business life I did outsource some very important work. I trusted the person I had hired only to find out that while they were beginning the work successfully, they were not finishing the work as required. In the end, I had to take over again the details that drove me crazy, just to make sure things were done.
  3. Don’t let your excitement over the next project cause you to get your eye off of the one in front of you that is already making a profit. Too often, creatives only work on what is in front of them until they can set another project in motion. That eye for the “next shinny thing” may work in movies, but in real life it can cause major problems. It’s ok to think about what might be next, but don’t let what’s next cause you to loose sight of what is!

As much as it pains me to say so, I have felt the sting of not taking my own advice more than once. Forgetting that the Devil’s in the details is costly and can cause irreparable damage to the efforts of a Creative Entrepreneur who forgets to pay attention! Don’t be that creative – Remember “The Devil’s in the Details!”

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Discovering Your Lifestyle Design – Phase Two

December 14, 2012 by Leave a Comment

 

Another rehab success. :-)

Another rehab success. :-) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I originally posted this under the title “Define Success to Design Success.” With some tweeking, it really fits into this discussion. Hope you enjoy it as a part of the whole discussion about lifestyle design!

Phase Two – Define Success to Design Success!

Success is a personal expression of an individual’s life, the fulfillment of his/her purpose and an expression of who they are at their core. For one, success may be the fast-paced life of Manhattan, relishing in all the happenings the city has to offer. For another success might be a quiet night in small town America, with kids in the yard, burgers on the grill, and an early night’s sleep in preparation for an early rising the following day.

When trying to design success, its best to first define success. You should really spend time with this thought before you get so deep into your pursuit of someone else’s definition of success you find yourself stuck in their dream.

Here are three questions that might help you define success for you:

  1. What is your true life’s purpose? Don’t blow this question off. Knowing what you really want to do with your life gives you great insight into who you are at your core and how the “core you” views success. This definition of success would likely include financial, personal, family, and community success.
  2. What things do you value in life and what price are you willing to pay to gain value? When you get down to it, there are usually only a few things that you value in life and living life for any other reason does not make sense. Identifying them is important so that you can work to bring them into your success mix. Determining the price you are willing to pay to bring those valued things into the mix helps you keep other distractions out of the way.
  3. What actions are necessary to bring your life’s purpose to reality? You see, it is not enough to know your life’s purpose or to even understand the price you are willing to pay to bring your purpose to fruition. You must take whatever time is necessary to put together a plan that will take you from where you are to where you want to end (success according to you). Those of us who have been guilty of adopting a “leap before you look” approach have had to spend many a day cleaning up our messes rather than moving toward success.

OK … now its your turn. What other questions might you ask yourself in pursuit of your personal definition of success? What answers have you come up with that you are willing to share?

 

 

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Smaller With Purpose

December 12, 2012 by Leave a Comment

On Monday I wrote an article entitled “I Don’t Want to be Rich” in which I outlined the Biblical reasons why I want to measure my life by things other than how much money I make. As I thought about that post and listened to the comments that I received, I remembered that in my “business only” days I wrote an article in a similar vein that I want to re-post here. I hope you enjoy it as well!

As I talk with business owners about their businesses, I am concerned when they seem more concerned with the size of their business than they are with the quality/purpose of it. I recently read the book Rework (affiliate link) by David Heinemeier Hansson. In his book he talked about his company being “small on purpose.” I was impressed with this thought and have thought about its implications in my own business and in those that I consult.

I have taken this thought a little further though and now ask my clients to consider being smaller with purpose. Not because I want to limit the success of any of my clients, but because if your business becomes your life, then you life will be lived without lasting purpose. Money comes and goes, businesses rise and fall, but life lived with purpose changes things, makes things better, and creates opportunity for more people to live their dreams!

As you consider the creation of, re-creation of, or restructuring of your business model, maybe you would consider this idea of being smaller with purpose. In order to do so you need to consider a few things:

1. How much is enough? How much profit? How much adulation? How much ego? How much does your business supply you with the things in life that mean the most to you?

2. What part does my business play in my life’s identity? I received a business card from a potential client a few years back and was surprised to see a family picture on it as well as his title listed as “Loving Husband and Father.” When I quizzed him about this, he said that at one point his business desires had nearly destroyed the rest of his life. Now, he worked from home and his business created his life rather than being his life.

3. Do I want a quantity business or a quality one? With all due respect to the big box stores, their business is based on quantity and as such they have to be open 16+ hours per day and they have to sell product at minimal margins and have to run volumes of business through the store each day. When entrepreneurs and small businesses run this way, they can easily loose sight of the dream they had building a business for themselves. This type of business leaves them worn out and vulnerable to unmanageable levels of stress. Not good for life away from business!

4. Can I create a business built upon building relationships? Referral business is still the best kind of business. (The conversion rate is about 80%) That being said, it seems logical to make relationship building an important part of your business model. People who are fans of your business because you take good care of them will always be ready to send their family and friends your way. Limiting your business to them will make you healthy and happy and your clients will always see the value you bring!

So, being smaller with purpose just might be the model that allows you both the business success you need and the life you crave!

What do you think about the size and scope of business?

 

 

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Charting Your Own Course

December 10, 2012 by Leave a Comment

When you set out to start your own business, you did so for reasons that were your own. You either didn’t want to be stuck building the dream for someone else or you thought you had a great idea that you could cultivate, promote, and sell. What ever your reasons, you decided on charting your own course. I for one commend you on that choice.

Too many people today seem to want things given to them by someone else. They are willing to set aside personal freedom and gain for the security that they believe exists by aligning themselves with an “established” company or job title. You, on the other hand, were challenged to be different. You were challenged to stand up and make your own way. You were challenged to chart your own course.

I remember seeing a picture one time in the office of a friend of mine. It was a terrible storm on the ocean. You know what I mean; terrible winds and waves, etc. There in the midst of this terrible storm was a little wooden boat. The caption said, “So you want to start your own business!”

But you did just that and in doing so you set sail on an incredible adventure. Sure there are dangers along the way, there are perils to contend with, there are trials around nearly every corner, but there are also great thrills and rewards. You are a business owner, a solo-entrepreneur, someone who has accepted the challenge and stepped out to change your world.

This post is just my way of saying congratulations to you! Without people like you this country would not have become the world leader it has and we would not have retained the freedoms that cost such a high price to attain.

So …. congratulations once again for accepting the challenge and for charting your own course!

(This article was originally posted on my personal site www.davewellman.net)

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