Entrepreneur Finds a Home in Network Marketing
The Journey Starts
All entrepreneurs know it. The road that leads to a successful business is not straight! Finding a home for your entrepreneurial spirit is a journey filled with unpredictable twists and turns. Our Networker of the Week Elizabeth Oliva is a prime example.
“From a very early age, I really wanted to be an entrepreneur, just like my father. I always had that desire so I took a leap of faith and quit my corporate job. When I did, instead of looking for another one, I started my first business.”
Elizabeth’s first try? Selling first generation cell phones at a mall kiosk.
“I jumped into that business without any idea of what I was doing. I learned on the job. It was a blast but I realized I was tied down seven days a week since I only had a few employees and long hours.”
As a result, she sold that business and got into outside sales. “It was a good hybrid because I was a little bit independent,” she said. Changing commission structures and salaries made her realize she was great at sales, but, still not fulfilled because she wasn’t her own boss.
Then, a life event changed everything. “I got married, sold my house and moved to North Dakota!” Elizabeth said laughing. “I thought ‘oh no big deal, I can find a job no problem!’ I got there and realized this is a small town! There’s not a whole lot here!” And that’s when Elizabeth put those three famous words into a search engine: “work from home”
“Let’s Go!”
Elizabeth clicked on the first page that came up having no idea what to expect. “I said ‘I’m gonna call the number’. I wanted to know what this was all about because the website didn’t say much.”
It turned out to be a network marketing opportunity with a nutritional based company based in California.
“She told me I could make money with health and wellness. I loved being healthy and said ‘Let’s go!” And that was Elizabeth’s first experience in network marketing. “I had a lot to learn. I could sell ice to an Eskimo but I didn’t know how to recruit.”
Elizabeth went ahead and sold a lot of products, made some money, paid bills but struggled with one of the most important keys to network marketing success: getting others to do the exact same thing. “That was when I had my first experience with personal development.”
“I had always wanted to be better. So I began my personal development journey and I’ve never stopped!”
Attending and listening to personal development seminars had a profound impact on how Liz approached her business. “I had to overcome my ego.” It’s common for entrepreneurs to think they know it all. It’s part of the spirit that drives them. But that belief can be a liability when it comes to network marketing.
Getting the Hang of It
“I had to actually accept the fact that the people I was working with knew what they were talking about! I started plugging into their system and becoming coachable. And that’s when things really started to change.”
Elizabeth learned a huge lesson. The only way to really be successful in network marketing is to let the systems do the work. And the best companies have great systems that drive their success.
About that time, a friend called Elizabeth to inform her about another company. “Everything clicked. Mainly because of what it was, it made absolute sense to me.”
That’s when everything came together; personal development, the desire to be her own boss and finding a great company with products she loved and believed in. Things really started moving forward for Elizabeth.
“I started recruiting people into the system, I started growing a team and the residual income gradually started to replace my income. The whole business started to make sense!”
Elizabeth had found a home. “It’s was about showing people how you can help them. I didn’t realize how fulfilling that would be for me, to help people in this way!”
Workin’ It!
Fast forward a few years later and Elizabeth has become a recruiting machine, so much that she has started a coaching business and blog that helps others do the same, specializing in helping people take their business online.
“Deep down, I’m an encourager at heart.”
“And that’s what gets me up in the morning! Helping people create and develop skills that help them become a success. Helping others spread their wings and build businesses.”
“I can go make a sale and close a deal. That’s OK, but it doesn’t necessarily change lives, not in the way network marketing can. But in this industry, we have the privilege to change people’s lives all the time. It’s so rewarding to make a huge impact like that, to help someone realize their dreams. It’s inside me to do that.”
To find out more about Elizabeth, check out her blog and coaching business here.
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