Ask the Expert: Amy Applebaum Tells Network Marketing Moms ‘You Are More Powerful Than You Think!’
Amy Applebaum is a successful Woman-Preneur and leading women’s business coach. She motivates and guides small business owners so that they become as successful as her.
In this this week’s Ask The Expert, she gives answers some questions that seem to get in the way of most budding Network Marketers and direct sellers, especially struggling moms.
I’ve never owned a business and don’t have any “professional” experience. Most of my time is spent on being a mom. How are people going to take me seriously as a “builder?” D.K. San Antonio, Texas
AMY APPLEBAUM: People will take you as seriously as you take yourself! So, who cares!? You have to believe it’s possible. I didn’t have a business before I started. I didn’t know what exactly I was doing. I launched a vending machine company and failed hard within the first year. Then I started acquiring accounts and landed my first big Taco Bell account.
PEOPLE WILL TAKE YOU SERIOUSLY AS A BUSINESS OWNER BECAUSE YOU ARE A MOM!
You have to be willing to accept that there are going to be failures and, in fact, embrace those failures. Just as long as you learn from them and then pivot and shift gears.
Also, people will take you seriously as a business owner because you are a mom! That is a business! You are 
orchestrating your life. Orchestrating the life of your husband, that of your kids and your partner’s. You are part cheerleader, negotiator, saleswoman, coordinator, administrator, brand builder and so on. So at the end of the day, you are running a household of people and everything they need as a business. You’re just not given any money for it.
You have such a huge advantage in Network Marketing and direct sales because you have an established company behind you. You have their credibility and you’re representing their product or service. So build up confidence in the products or services and how they make a difference in people’s lives!
I try to work around my 3 small kids but I feel like I don’t have enough time left in the day for my business. Any ideas? H.A. Columbia, South Carolina
AMY APPLEBAUM: You have to approach your day like a business. The kids are the priority understandably. But the most important thing you can do as a working mom is establish office hours. You have to get creative with your office hours. They shouldn’t be in the middle of the time when your kids need you the most. But try and allocate some time for your business, even if it’s only an hour or two a day. You need to have a conversation with your family that includes your partner and children and set the rules. “Mommy doesn’t get disturbed during these times.”
“YOUR ABILITY TO BE SUCCESSFUL AS A BUSINESSWOMAN IS COMPLETELY DEPENDENT ON YOUR ABILITY TO HAVE NON-NEGOTIABLE TIME FOR YOUR BUSINESS.”
Make sure you have some sort of child care or do some sort of creative swap with your neighbor’s kids so that you can honor that time that you’ve given yourself. The key word is non-negotiable. It’s non-negotiable. If you say that 
you’re going to make calls from 10 AM until noon, then make calls and don’t let anything get in your way. You know how to do this already! Because you’ve done date nights, you’ve done things which have required you to leave your kids and let someone else take care of them. Your ability to be successful as a businesswoman is completely dependent on your ability to have non-negotiable time for your business. If you can’t do it, you won’t do it and it won’t happen.
We all have only 24 hours in a day. I spent time with my kid. My life isn’t any special than anyone else’s except that I set aside some time for business. And when that time comes, you don’t question it. You get into business mode and go for it and make calls. You do your thing. Now, if you’re making calls and they’re not successful, then you need to make sure you get a coach or somebody who can help you become more impactful and effective during the time you are working on your business because there’s nothing worse than feeling like you aren’t making any progress.
I’m involved in a weight loss company and have achieved great personal results. I am posting my before and after pictures on Facebook but I’m not getting any likes or comments. What am I doing wrong? T.C. Cameron Point, Georgia
AMY APPLEBAUM: My guess is that in a case like this you’re probably over promoting your business. They’ve seen it. Been there done that. And they are kind of past it. One of the most important things we can do in the social media space is expand our influence. Instead of marketing the same information to the same audience all the time we have to expand our reach.
“PEOPLE MISTAKE NETWORKING FOR POSTING, WHICH ARE TWO ENTIRELY DIFFERENT THINGS.”
The other thing is that you have to be creative and quick to build new relationships. So one of the biggest mistakes people make in the social media space is posting excessively. But they are not actually doing any business development or engagement. True engagement is you reaching out – liking other people’s pages and commenting on their pages, starting to build relationships.
Finding those groups and making friends by thinking about the type of partners and women you would like to be in business with. Networking is the key to success. That’s why it’s called network marketing. And people mistake networking for posting, which are two entirely different things.
