12/02/2008

Tales from the Field

A New UnFranchise® Owner’s success story: Cheryl Hajjar



I’ve been involved with fitness and healthy living since the age of 16; in my twenties I was a finalist in the Ms. Fitness America Nationals and continued on as a Reebok fitness model and host of a local aerobics/exercise television program in the years since. So as a lifelong fitness junkie, proper health and nutrition has always been an integral part of my daily regimen! It came as no surprise that I would fall in love with Isotonix® and Market America’s other wonderful health and nutrition products; as I became a faithful user of the products and introduced them to my family – my five-year old son not only asks for OPC-3® by name, he recommends it to all his friends at school – it was only natural that I would also take a closer look at the business opportunity.

The business model made sense right away, possibly because I’ve always been an entrepreneurial type. In addition to my fitness work, I’m also a singer-songwriter-producer, author of children’s books and co-owner of a company called “Indigo Magic.” You could say that I had been trying to create my own 2- to 3-Year Plan long before I ever even heard of Market America!

But after attending two meetings and assessing the opportunity, I was hooked. Here was a business model that played to my strengths: I’m a natural networker & people-person, and my fitness background gives me the right disposition for products that promote healthy living. My initial plan was to major in Health and Nutrition, and possibly even expand into nutraMetrix® if things went well.

So I began to build my UnFranchise® Business, and have thus far been fairly successful in both retailing and recruiting. Finding receptive audiences has been easier than expected.

But life has a funny way of throwing curveballs: although initially focused on building my “Health & Nutrition empire”, I had the opportunity to attend International Convention and network with several influential Motives® majors. Their enthusiasm was contagious! I was so inspired that I quickly underwent the Motives training, bought some product and booked a space at a big fashion event. Even though I didn’t yet feel like an expert, I was lucky to have a few in my organization who are Motives experts & offered to help. (This is exactly what’s so great about Market America, by the way: teammates and teamwork!) So with just a hint of apprehension, I jumped in and worked the booth.

Well, I’ve been working Motives like gangbusters ever since then. I had NO idea how powerful and popular these cosmetics would or could be: my calendar for the next two months is packed completely full of Motives Parties, Days of Beauty, another large trade show event and several wedding consultations!

It wasn’t quite the path I was expecting, but the results are impossible to miss. My advice to other new Customer Managers is simply to keep your minds open: allow yourself the flexibility to grow your business in whatever direction it takes. A registered dietician might expect to promote Transitions™, but finds instead that PetHealth™ has the greatest demand in her area. Be open to it. A Home & Garden expert may find instead that the WebCenter solution is the easiest way to generate impressive retail profits. One must simply be aware of the demands in the marketplace & be willing to match products to them. That, after all, is the essence of One-to-One Marketing!

I’m very grateful to have found Market America; not only has it given me a pathway to financial and time freedom, it has also allowed me to pursue my other passions (songwriting and children’s books) and spend more time with family and friends. My Rolodex is bursting with new contacts and it seems like the sky’s the limit!

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