That was exactly where I was several years ago while working in corporate America. My husband and I were newly married and even though kids were far from our thoughts, I already knew going to a 9-to-5 every single day was not something I wanted to do for the next forty years. I felt like my life was on hold while I answered to someone else every single day and was allowed only 2 weeks of vacation every year. I cried every Monday morning on my commute to the office and lived for the weekends. I tried to convince myself to get over it since this was reality for so many people and yet I couldn’t ignore the voice inside that told me there had to be a better way.
"I cried every Monday morning on my commute to the office and lived for the weekends...and yet I couldn’t ignore the voice inside that told me there had to be a better way."
Searching for an Answer
I wish I could tell you I found my answer back then but the truth is, my journey was just getting started. I researched many ways to start my own business and be my own boss but everything I read told me that I would have to invest a ton of time and money into any endeavor I pursued. While I absolutely craved the entrepreneurial lifestyle, I didn’t want to take the risk so many new businesses owners take when they choose this path.
And so I decided put my dreams of business ownership on the back burner and instead return back to school to pursue a degree in physical therapy. I took a year to fulfill the requirements for the program I was planning on applying for but in the end I didn’t get accepted. I wish I could say I was sorely disappointed but the truth was my heart wasn’t completely sold on the idea of working for someone else in ANY capacity. My first priority was owning my time and finding a way to make an income from home. I knew there had to be a way and yet I had zero clue where to even start looking.
A New Adventure - Expanding Our Family
The whole quest for the ideal working situation took a breather when my husband and I were expecting our first child in 2010. We decided I would be a stay-at-home mom while our family grew and would revisit the idea of a career change after our kids started school in a couple of years. Little did I know that the babies would keep coming and in the summer of 2014, we had two young kids, I was pregnant with baby #3 and still had ZERO interest or desire to even contemplate going back to the workforce one day.
"My first priority was owning my time and finding a way to make an income from home."
Our Dreams Grew, But Our Income Didn’t
In 2014, my husband and I started dreaming about the future for our family. We started talking the vacations we wanted to take and even the possibility of building our forever home one day. My husband came one day and told me he found the perfect piece of land for sale and that I needed to check it out. I was so scared to take a step in this direction because I knew money was super tight. We were on one fixed income and at that point I had no idea what I wanted to do career-wise. This is when my wheels started turning in my head - I knew there had to be a way for me to make a healthy monetary contribution to our family while still spending my days at home.
The Answer
After my husband and I purchased the land and were determined to pay off the loan as quickly as possible, I started noticing a social media acquaintance talking about her network marketing business. I honestly thought she was crazy at first and figured she would be done with this endeavor in a few weeks. This was my only experience with friends who joined network marketing businesses and I thought she would be the same. But month after month I saw her business grow - she was promoting, earning bonuses and making a side income that I knew would tremendously impact our family. I soon became a believer in the industry and the company, but it took me a while to see myself as someone who could have success with it. I was stay-at-home mom who rarely got out and I figured I just wasn’t cut out for it.
But August of 2014, that all changed. I was tired of watching and wondering and I knew sitting there wasn’t going to help my family earn a paycheck. I knew I owed it to myself and my family to find out if this was something that could work for us. And so I joined the business and immediately saw the huge potential this could have on our future.
Today
It has been 3 years since that courageous August day and today I am living a life I could only imagine during my dark days in corporate America.
My paycheck in my network marking business went from $300/month to now a six-figure annual income (more than I could EVER make in corporate America).
I’m able to stay at home with my 4 kiddos without an end in sight.
We are able to travel every year. And we are now living in that house we dreamed of building.
We have fallen in love with products that have drastically improved our health and I am part of an incredible team of women who lifts each other up and encourages others to follow their dreams daily.
The best part is I get to help others do the exact same. I often times wondered why I had to endure the frustration of jobs I hated for so many years but I truly believe it was to fuel my fire to help others who are also looking for a better way.
. 