Got Gratitude?

Proud Mom as my oldest is 2 weeks into the Gratitude Challenge.  Will you join us? Age, gender, location does not matter - all you need to do is committ to sending one card a day x30 days.... sending kindness & appreciation to thirty people.  Imagine the impact. 

Take a look at Zach challenging you - JOIN US!

No risk. No strings attached. And 100% money back guarentee if you complete challenge and are not satisfied.... Highly doubt it, but guarentee.

Help us make a difference!
Hugs, Danielle & Family

Invest in Your Future

‎Did you know....

600,000 companies shut down in 2010. The numbers are not yet out for 2011, but included in those numbers will be 93 banks which combined closed 457 branches.

Out of those, I wonder how many people, both business owners and employees, were told about the opportunity to invest in Netflex, iTunes and Amazon, but turned it down.... choosing to stick with Blockbuster, Tower Records and Borders.

Why do I reflect on this?  Because our company, SendOutCards has already paid out $50 million in commissions... in less than 10 years.  You know about SOC because of our family, our team and/or others in the same busines, but I'd be willing to bet your next door neighbor has not heard of us.... yet.

Would you like to have a part?  

As a mom who started in direct sales (network marketing in 2003), I am in awe of the success our family has had in one year with SendOutCards.  In no disrespect to the other company that I spent eight years with, I never saw the commissions, leadership bonus or incentive trips that we have been blessed with this year.

Just don't take my word - watch the videos at our business site, message me for a magazine, or email us for other's stories. We don't want to leave anyone behind as we shoot for the moon - join us. You'll find that we are your biggest cheerleader and take great pride in seeing your success and circumstances change for your family.

In no way am I telling you to quit your j-o-b, but I would encourage you to look at SendOutCards as a Plan B... as another stream of income that you can easily do part-time until it replaces the income generated by j-o-b.  The freedoms in time and finances is an amazing feeling - may you see the potential and experience similar blessings.

All my best! --Danielle & Family

Business Building Reminders from a 3-Year Old

Another day of fun with the kids and another chance for a lesson that goes waaaaay beyond learning to ride a bike.  Today our 3 year old wanted to ride a two-wheel bike (with training wheels of course), but has struggled with 'pedaling.' I took a lot of videos since dad was gone to send/text and show him.  During the playbacks of the videos I started to hear myself and the "wisdom" I was telling our son, trying to encourage him and teach him to keep going listen & remind myself of the same advice.

I thought there were enough "wisdom nuggets" to compile and share in this post.  So if you don't get tired of watching a 3-year old pedal, you might actually find some words that speak to you.

When You Get Stuck - Keep Going....

Practice - Practice - Practice...

Never Give Up....

Leaders Keep Moving too - Momentum....

END RESULT....

 It's funny that it takes someone so small to remind all of us in business (no matter your industry) what it takes to succeed.  Your success will not happen over night and you always need movement and action (not to be confused with "activity"). Make a plan and stick with it! As mentor, Adam Packard wrote "Stay the Course..."  Find your business, make a plan and have the best year yet....

Cheering You On As Your Shoot for the Moon - Danielle

Take Time for Your Mate & You!

For those of you who follow our blog, you know that my husband & I were MIA for a couple weeks with trips to Nashville and Las Vegas. Those two weeks were amazing and I gained so much insight, appreciation and fresh perspective for myself and my roles in family and business. I have a list of items/blog entries I want to write about from these moment.  And even though my girlfriend thinks I’m nuts “put [my]self out there," I thought this would be a good start...

Although it is one of those things you know, your closest relationship is with your mate.  And such is true for me, as my relationship with Tim. We’ve been married 12 years and counting and as you know the husband & wife relationship changes when you become father & mother.  In writing this, I don’t mean to imply the change is negative – it is just different.  And for us, it is exciting and fun to experience our adventures, vacations, life lessons and more as a group of five than solo.  I will be the first one to admit that we don’t take the dates and time away as a couple (as all the “experts” advise); however, we make other “dates” and prioritize our couple time over family time occasionally.  We don’t choose couple time over family time to be selfish, we chose it to flourish & strengthen our family time.

Since we don’t always make the true date (restaurant, movie, etc) out in the community, one thing we do is plan a date for a late dinner together at home.  We do this with take-out dinners (yep, even our favorite Hibachi restaurant creates meals for us) or late dinner for us when the kids go to bed.   I am a huge component of family meals, so we still sit/snack with the boys during their dinner to continue conversation, but save our dinner & dialogue for a little later in the night.

How do we have dinner or this quiet time? We’ve been lucky to have good sleepers, but we also encourage bedtimes around 8 pm +/- 30 minutes depending on the kiddos’ age.  Your ‘in-home’ dates don’t have to be perfect or expensive… perhaps it’s sharing a TV show, playing cards, dinner, looking at photos or just the simple conversations without being interrupted. 

Don’t let your business or outside stresses separate your relationship with your spouse. A great book is When Husband and Wife Become Mom and Dad by Elisa Morgan & Carol Kuykendall in which they share, “Hope comes in realizing that the chaos you’re experiencing in your marriage is perfectly normal.” And that is a reality.  In a life with kids (I’d never change that), we are rarely going to FIND time with our partner/spouse – we have to MAKE it. 

One thing I’ve enjoyed doing these last two years (and my parents are spoiling us) has been taking a solo (aka couple’s) trip with Tim for a couple of days.  We have no immediate family around us to call for a weekend sleepover or a quick babysitting favor, so true dinner and movie dates are far & few between as we’ve already stated.  My sister doesn’t know how good she has it w/ both sets of grandparents within a 1-3 mile radius. *wink-wink*  Our parents have been kind to offer up their time while visiting us in TX to stay with the kids so we could take simple, 3-day trips ALONE.  We’ve have been blessed to do this the last two summers as a couple… no parenting, discipline, cutting up meals, etc.  In 2010, we went to San Francisco & Napa Valley.  We spent time on the Pier, toured Alcatraz, and bicycled 16 miles around the wineries.  This year we went to Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon.  Both trips were amazing!  Yes, the sites were great; however, it was a time for us to reconnect, pretend we were newlyweds and reminisce our adventures – from courting in college to parenting. 

Both of us will tell you it has been the best thing we’ve done.  The memories of the trips are vivid in my mind.  If I close my eyes, I feel like I’m standing on the bottom of the Grand Canyon with the same overwhelming and child-like awe as I did that day.  Even after the trips are over, we chat about our time together, joke about the community pool’s similarities to the Venetian Hotel in Vegas (not!) or figure out how to buy another case of wine from our favorite Napa Valley Winery.  While I am enjoying these memories, I can’t help but let my mind wander for the ‘where’ of next summer. (Thanks Mom & Dad for the offer. This is the best gift ever!)

You may be thinking 3-days are still too much – for expenses or trust of another.  Again, you could do this with an overnight… maybe you go somewhere locally to stay overnight or maybe you schedule sleepovers for your kiddos and trade the favor with friends.  No matter what your budget allows, I guess the lesson of today’s blog entry is to find time for your mate!  I bet you are working hard at maintain your (girl) friendships; now just make sure to put the attention on your closest relationship with your mate or spouse.

You know me… your biggest cheerleader.  Sending hugs - Danielle

Don't Allow Fear Stop Your Success

FEAR – It’s a little word, but somehow has big power.  I noticed that today with my 6-year old and the trip to the dentist to have a cavity filled.  It was more his anxiety and fear going into the office than the procedure itself. Of course, rationalizing with adults and their business fears is easier than calming a 6-year old… most of the time anyway.

I once read some tips from Romanus Wolter, who is author of Kick Start Your Success and Kick Start Your Dream Business.  And what helped the business owners Wolter talked to did to overcome their business fears included the following:

1.      Taking baby steps with everything you do.  By taking baby steps with any new action you make it is easier to make changes or edit your plan.  This goes for goal setting too – have your end goal and break it into smaller tasks (goals) to achieve along the way.

2.      If you are in a direct sales business, ask yourself if the business can be duplicated to those you sponsor?  It should.  You should never feel like you have to recreate the wheel to be successful. What tools & education/training does your company provide?

3.      Surround yourself with people willing to help.  This is your team… your upline(s), your sidelines, your support network.  Join various business network groups or simply hang out with great business people – especially in other areas. You may find synergy partners or someone to give you insight on your business from another perspective.

4.      Live in the NOW.  You hear me share this in regards to your family and the events you want to do; that tomorrow isn’t promised.  This is my also a great method to overcome my business fears. I do focus on the future and make goals, but I put a lot of focus on the NOW and all the great things that happen to my business and my family every day.

How about you?

How do you battle your business fears? What do you do to overcome them and focus on going forward? Let me know in the comments or answer this as a rhetorical question. To vanquish these fears and devise an appropriate course of action, we must trust our instincts.

1. Be honest about the cause of your fear. Personal beliefs are extremely powerful. They form the basis for how we react in fearful situations.

2. Maintain a positive attitude. Don't let fear cloud your outlook. Get creative and turn the fear into an opportunity for growth.

3. Don't let what people say or do bring on self-doubt before you take action. Accept that rejection happens to all of us, but it will only impair your progress if you allow it to. You can use this to overcome obstacles in starting your business or overcoming your first ‘no.’

4. Anticipate bumps in the road. Acknowledge that you'll sometimes feel disheartened.   One of the best books I’ve read in my nine years of direct sales is “Stay the Course” by Adam Packard.  “Stay the Course” is a quick read by a great friend, mentor and leader in my business with Send Out Cards and contains many nuggets to improve your business. 

      If Tim & I can help you duplicate this business for you and your family, please let us know. We stumbled upon SOC as a business and definitely count our SOC family, income and adventures as a blessing.  We are here for you – we are cheering you on as you shoot for the moon. --Danielle