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Arbonne Success Stories
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SUCCESS STRATEGY:

“Sometimes it's a marathon and sometimes it's a sprint; have the courage to do what it takes!”

It's a beautiful thing when living your best life by writing your own story is how your life looks! Our family of five lives that way now. We've worked hard for it and we've earned it, but I am still in awe of it all when I think about where we've been and where we are now able to go. What a gift this Arbonne business has been not only to me, but also to my husband, my boys and our new baby. We have just welcomed our youngest son, Cedar Grayson Ingram, and only four years into my Arbonne business, he is just one of the many gifts this opportunity has afforded our family.

My husband and I met in theatre school. What a setting! Idealism, creativity and faith in the future at its finest! When we were still dating, I asked Todd, “Do you believe that two artists can get married?” He said, “Yes.” I asked, “Do you believe they can support a family?” He said, “Yes.” I said, “Really? How?” He said, “I don't know, but we'll figure it out.” And with that, we began. If only we knew how hard it would be. A new mortgage, a new car payment and two little babies later, suddenly our day job wages simply didn't cut it, so we had to shelve our creative lives for a later time.

When I stumbled onto Arbonne, the idea of having a third baby wasn't even a possibility. Our family was struggling. We were two mortgage payments and a car payment behind, the phone rang continuously with various creditors, and all of us had a need that there simply wasn't enough time or money to fill. Todd worked two jobs, I worked 30 hours a week, and still we couldn't make it.

It's a stressful place to be, when doing your best doesn't provide. Pretty soon, our situation began to chip away at our marriage. Having another baby was simply not an option. We couldn't afford it — financially or emotionally. So once again, another dream was shelved and I was heartbroken.

At this time, when everything looked impossible to change, my neighbour, Dr. Gultaj Somani, invited me to one of her Arbonne launch Presentations. You can imagine how thrilled I was about that. I didn't even know her well enough to pronounce her name correctly! But she got me on the phone, and so I politely said, “Sure, I'd love to come.” Yeeeeeesh! Please. No thanks. I didn't even use skin care, and I couldn't afford to buy any!

At 10:30 on a Sunday morning, I went to Gultaj's. “I have 20 minutes,” I said, as I walked in. Lucky for me, Gultaj is incredibly gracious and in just that little bit of time, I heard everything I needed. I quickly saw what this business could offer. I also saw that given where I was, I had absolutely nothing to lose.

In network marketing, it's always up to you. You are your own boss. You choose what you risk, what you commit to, and the results you create. You are in charge of your own future, and my husband and I desperately needed that again. I fully embraced the opportunity. I was in the market for something that was up to me — something I could direct — and on July 15, 2005 I jumped in and had my first launch Presentation. My idealistic and romantic self did it again ... I ran headfirst into it and like many other decisions I've made, I never looked back.

Three and a half years later, I became an Executive National Vice President!

First things first, becoming a District Manager for me was something that happened by simply doing what my upline told me to do. I followed the system. I launched with eight Presentations. I gave out business packs. I followed up, and lo and behold, after sponsoring my first leader, now NVP Lenka Stolar, in two months I became a District Manager. Earning the Area Manager title also came quickly due to the sheer momentum I created through launching strong and sharing this opportunity with others, and that's how I sponsored my second leader, now ERVP Sue Sands.

Becoming a Region was much harder and a definite rite of passage for me. It was the beginning of the person I see myself as today, and the leader I continue to grow into. The first thing I had to do was adjust my personal beliefs about my worthiness of this opportunity and the incredible perks that come with it. Who was I to drive a beautiful Mercedes-Benz? Who was I to receive the kind of recognition Arbonne gifts us with? Who was I to think I could lead others? While still in the midst of answering those questions, on December 31, 2006 our team became a Region and I learned never to doubt my abilities again.

Just over a year later, in February 2007, I decided to do what it took to build our team into a Nation. Becoming an NVP was a challenge of endurance for me, and not just because I would get tired, but because I didn't know myself as someone who could sprint to the finish line. In this business, there are times when you jog consistently, when you stroll, when you coast, and then of course, times when you run, or even more, when you sprint! I would call myself a natural jogger. Marathon style doesn't frighten me. It's my natural rhythm and absolutely my preference of business style. But after six months of jogging and staying in qualification for Nation, I knew that something had to change ... I needed to sprint and I needed to adjust my mindset to believe that I could!

I was nervous, but I jumped in once again and went for it. In doing so, I grew my next leaders: AM Rhonda MacWilliams, AM Amy Buchanan and ERVP Jocelyn Mullen, with her outstanding team. To become a Nation, I had to change the way I saw myself. Going Region, I asked myself, who am I to deserve this? Going Nation, I asked myself, who am I to sprint? What if I don't make it? What if I run out of breath before I get there?

One of my favourite quotes states that our biggest fear is that we are more powerful than we can imagine, but as we let our own light shine, we encourage others to do the same.

Who was I to question? What if I could change the way I saw myself?

I understood endurance and stamina. I had built up my strength while growing my business this far and without even consciously choosing to, had passed that on to my team. We were ready to make this sprint together. On October 31, 2008, after seven months in qualification, our team became a Nation! What a celebration we had! The best part about this story isn't the “me” part, it's that my running partner, Lenka Stolar, had her sprint in gear too and became a Nation the following month. Some of the greatest gifts in this business are the people who teach you how to grow. I now have team members in Ottawa, Toronto and Hamilton, Ontario; Vancouver Island; Canmore, Alberta; the UK and more. Who am I to limit myself? By doing so, I limit others as well.

I am forever grateful to my upline, Dr. Gultaj Somani, who has always seen greatness in me. She has often been the breath of belief for me when mine was missing. She is the lighthouse for so many of us and with my independent, creative spirit that often tries to do this alone, I have relied on her light many a time. As a driver, I am completely navigationally challenged, and as an Arbonne Independent Consultant, sometimes I'm not much better! But with Gultaj and our outstanding upline — Dr. Tanis Gaitens, Marlene Telesford Gardham, Linda Parker and Cecilia Stoll — as my navigation team, how could I ever get lost?

I came to Arbonne for the opportunity to create an income that would take the pressure off our family. What has come back to me is so much more. The challenges have been monumental in the shaping of the person I am today — the woman I am, the mother I strive to be, the leader I am growing into and the artist inside. Someone I love once gave me a book of poetry with a title about becoming the woman you want to be. I have loved that title for years, and with the gifts and challenges of my Arbonne business, that is what is happening for me. Who would you be if you could become the person you've always wanted? How would you write your own story?

Today, my family's future is wildly different. We have moved to Bowen Island, a small island off the West Coast of Vancouver, British Columbia, where my husband, Todd, has a garage ready for whatever classic car he chooses to fill it with. We will raise our three beautiful boys and they will have the opportunities they deserve, to become the men they choose to be. And as for me? Well, Arbonne was a surprise, and what a blessing it has been. So how would I know what is next? But if I had to guess ... my bet is, I'll be learning how to play piano with my son Angus, I'll make some more quirky films with my best friends, I'll write, I'll learn to paint with my son Connolly, get to know and love our baby, Cedar, and enjoy the adventure with my dedicated husband, Todd.

What a gift this Arbonne business is. Fulfilling the dreams of our family, but even better, enjoying the privilege of helping my team achieve theirs by writing their own story and living their best life. That is the absolute best part.		  
       
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