First of all…sorry to my faithful blog readers.  I have been experiencing some health problems the past couple months.  Then, on top of that, my vehicle has been broken down and we’ve been attempting to troubleshoot that.

On Thanksgiving day I burnt my arm on the oven door.  It was healing nicely until around mid December.   I accidentally scraped it on a box and it broke open.  From there it progressed to a really bad staph infection all up my arm.  I spent time in the hospital twice in December and was back in on New Year’s Eve.  My husband & I watched the ball drop from a room in the ER while they were waiting for a room to be ready to admit me to the hospital.   I spent 5 days there and came back home only to end up back in the hospital last week.  This has gotten really crazy, but now Infectious Disease is involved and hopefully this will all be over soon.

My vehicle still is not fixed and we are waiting to hear more from the mechanic on that.

I see money flying out the window with every doctor visit and prescription I get filled.

But…I’m back now and ready to get back to work.  Look for posts from me on a more regular basis soon.

It is with much sadness I write this post to you today, Christmas, 2011.

I am the type of person who thinks she can “save the world”.  I always try my best to help others.  Today I ran into an old friend.  For the past few years, I’ve been talking with this friend about starting her own home business.  She’s my facebook friend and she sees my posts on there talking about creating an income from home.  For this post I will call her Nancy.  Nancy had a decent job.  She was making enough money to add to her husband’s income and help make a pretty good life for their family.

Every time I even mentioned helping her create an additional income from home, Nancy reminded me that she didn’t need a “Plan B” because she had a good job and her husband had worked for the same company since he graduated high school.

It’s been about 6 months since I talked with Nancy.  She told me today that things are really bad for her this year.  Her husband lost his job.  The company just went out of business.  No notice to employees or anything.  For a while they stayed afloat with their savings, his unemployment and her income.  Then, about a month or so later, Nancy’s employer fired her.  Because NY is an “at will” employment state, an employer can fire you at any time for any reason or for no reason.  When her unemployment hearing came up, the employer came up with all kinds of BS that were the supposed reasons behind her firing, although she had heard from other employees that the company just wanted to get rid of the higher paid employees to cut costs.    Needless to say, she did not get unemployment.

So…here Nancy and her husband are today with 2 kids and very little income.  His unemployment barely pays the rent and keeps food on the table and the electric on.   They have both been looking for jobs, but jobs are few and far between.  At this point, coming up with even $60 to start her own home business is out of the question.  They are looking for a smaller place because even though they get her husband’s unemployment, they make too much to qualify for any assistance from the state.  Therefore, they have to move to a smaller place so they can keep food on the table.

My mother always said “Hindsight’s 20/20″.  If Nancy had started her own business a year ago when she and her husband still had jobs, they would NOT be in this situation today.  At this point, there isn’t much I can do to help her.  She has to be willing to invest something into owning her own business.  I could have gotten her started for less than $100 when they had “good jobs” and “good income”.  But…unfortunately, Nancy didn’t think she needed to plan for “just in case”.

So…what is your plan?  What if your “good job” disappears?  What will you do?  Do you have anything in place to help out?  If you need a Plan B, contact me and I will be happy to help.

Today is the first day of the rest of your life. What will you do with it?

The great Christian debate….Should we say Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays?

This, by the way, is absolutely RIDICULOUS.  Here’s why:

OK…I’ll be honest…it really irks me when someone writes Merry X-mas.  Christ is the reason for Christmas so please do not X Him out.  Christmas is a day set aside for us to honor and celebrate His birth, even though Christmas has become highly commercialized in recent years.

Does that mean people who do not share my religious views CAN’T celebrate Christmas?  Absolutely not!!

As Christians, we are supposed to be Christ like.  Do you honestly believe that Jesus would be arguing with people over whether they say Happy Holidays or Merry Christmas?  This is supposed to be a time of love, friendship, caring, joy, etc…  How can we claim to love others if we get mad at them for saying Happy Holidays?  We are not supposed to shove our religion down the throats of others.  “They will know me by my fruit”.  How are others supposed to look at many Christians and say “I want to be like them” when they are judgmental, negative and nitpicky?  Yes…I said nitpicky.

In the United States, we have freedom of religion.  If more of us just focus on being a good, loving person and focus on doing what Jesus would do instead of focusing on finding the flaws in others, the world would be a much better place.  Maybe more people would see us and say “Hey…those people who love God are really nice, happy people.  I want to know more”.  NO ONE is going to want to know how to be a judgmental, negative, nitpicky person.

Who cares whether you say Happy Holidays or Merry Christmas?  As long as everyone is getting along and wishing others well, we should be happy.  Christians should strive to be the better person.  They should strive to be like our Lord and Savior.  In my opinion, that has somehow become lost in the shuffle of Christians attempting to claim we are better than everyone else and then trying to shove that down everyone else’s throat.

Think of it this way…what if I won the lottery and I decided to throw you a birthday party.  I rent a HUGE hall and put out a public invitation for everyone to come celebrate your birthday.  Among the guests are quite a few people who don’t even know you and a few people who know you but don’t like you.  They are there dancing, singing, visiting and having a great time.  How would you feel if one of your friends went to all of these people and told them to leave because they either don’t know you or don’t like you.  When they insisted they are just there having fun and not hurting anyone, your friend got even more vocal and began screaming at them to leave your birthday party.  How would that make you feel?

I’m sure Jesus feels just as horrible when He sees Christians arguing over whether people should say Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays.  Just be happy and show others the true joy of the holiday by being Christ like.  Try it.  You might like it.

Today is the first day of the rest of your life. What will you do with it?

I am so excited!! I loved my home based business! It’s so easy.

All I have to do is show people how to turn an everyday household expense into an income. It’s unlike any other business I’ve done. I don’t have to ask people to spend ANY new money out of their budget. I simply show them how to shop at a different store for the same products they are buying now and my company pays me for showing them the new store. That’s it. It’s so simple.

In the past I’ve built businesses talking people into buying overpriced miracle juice and magic supplements. No more. The products at the new store I help people shop at are competitively priced.

How can we do that? How can we sell competitively priced products that people are already using on a daily basis? My business partner is the manufacturer of the products.

In a traditional MLM type structure, the products are manufactured by a manufacturer. They are then sold to the company. The company pays reps to sell them to the end consumer. This one extra step adds to the cost of the product to the end consumer.

In a traditional business, the products are manufactured by a manufacturer, then sold through reps to a store, then the store advertises to get the word out and then the products are sold to the end consumer.

Let’s take a look:

Traditional Business = Manufacturer => Wholesaler => Store => Advertising => End Consumer

Traditional MLM = Manufacturer => Company => End Consumer (Commission goes to MLM Rep)

My business = Manufacturer => End Consumer (Commission goes to Direct Marketing Rep)

So…the cost of products in my company can be competitive with major brands. This is very important. One of the major tests that is looked at when determining if a business is reputable is to ask this question:

Would you buy your products for the price you pay for them even if there were no business opportunity attached?

If the answer is no, then you are not in a good business model. Many people in traditional MLMs are forced to buy a lot of products to qualify to earn commission. Many people in traditional MLMs are forced to buy a bunch of product up front and then hope and pray they can sell it to someone and make money. That’s so sad. No matter what, don’t get roped into one of these types of businesses. You will be struggling forever and gaining very little ground.

Look for a business with a low cost to enter. Many charge hundreds or even thousands to join. Look for a business where you are not forced to load your garage with product just to qualify for bonuses. Many of them make you buy hundreds of dollars of stuff you would never buy otherwise EVERY month.

I love that I simply purchase better quality products that I would have bought elsewhere anyway AND I save money doing it. Then I make money showing others how to do the same thing. That is (for me) the PERFECT business. No spending money on stuff I don’t really need or want. No buying tons of stuff only to hope that I can sell it.

If you are interested in finding out more about what I do, just drop me an email at roxanne@roxannegreen.com or call me at 315.236.2119 I’m happy to help.

Today is the first day of the rest of your life. What will you do with it?

I’ve found a great way to make money from home. In the past, I have tried selling all kinds of things from nutritional supplements to lingerie. Loved the lingerie home parties, but people can only buy so much of the stuff and then they are done. Nutritional supplements are great but they are one of the first things to go when people start cutting back on their budget.

Before I go any further, let me tell you…I LOVE residual income and leveraging the efforts of others. I love the idea of getting paid from not only my efforts, but the efforts of others. I had someone ask me once…”Would you rather get paid for only 100% of the effort you put into something or 10% of the efforts of a few hundred people?” Well…it makes sense that 10% of the efforts of a few hundred people will pay more than 100% of the effort I put in. And my love of network marketing was born. (If you are unsure what I’m talking about, view the brochure “Are You Walking Past a Fortune?” here. This was written by my good friend, Tom ‘Big Al’ Schreiter.)

Many network marketing/direct sales companies have great products. I, however, was looking for a company with products that people buy anyway. This way, all I have to do is show them how to shop at a different store and help them show others. The company I found has everything you would find at a department/drug store. Toothpaste, shampoo, first aid supplies, household cleaners, candles, and a wide range of everything.

Here’s how it works…between everyone you talk to and everyone they talk to and everyone they talk to, eventually have 8 to 10 regular users of the product and 1 out of those who wants to build their own business. Then you will be making around $500 extra per month.

What could you do with an extra $500/mo?

I learned early on that it was best to leverage the time and effort of others as well as my own time and effort. Once I build my business big enough, I will be able to sit back and relax and collect a check for the rest of my life. Build it once, build it big and retire.

Do you think you could ever work for 10 years and retire with an income for life from your job? I doubt that would ever happen. Join me in business. You will be in business for yourself but not by yourself.

Today is the first day of the rest of your life. What will you do with it?

First of all, what is a “Plan B”?

A Plan B is something you put in place just in case what you are doing does not work out.  It’s kind of like insurance.  You pay your insurance policy every month on your home or vehicle and, if you’re like most people, you never use it.

There are so many people who have been totally blindsided by job loss in today’s economy.  If that happened to you, would you be OK?  What if you or your spouse got hurt and couldn’t work?  Would you be OK? 

What if I could show you how to have a “Plan B” so if anything ever happened to your current income, you would be OK?

The time to start bringing in some extra income “just in case” is NOW.

I’ve found a great way to turn an everyday expense into an income. 

If I could show you a way to make a few hundred extra dollars per month and it would not interfere with what you are doing now, would you like to hear about it?   If so, fill out the form below.

Today is the first day of the rest of your life. What will you do with it?

I’ve been asked that question a lot lately. Here is my take on it:

There is no perfect MLM company. All network marketing companies have issues. Look at it like this…my husband is the perfect spouse for me. But…he may not be the perfect spouse for someone else. We are a perfect fit for each other. When you are looking for a network marketing / MLM company, you should look for the perfect one for YOU. Not because someone else said it’s the best, but because it’s a fit for you.

Here is what I feel are the things to look for in a company:

1. A product that is reasonably priced in the marketplace.

I spoke with someone the other day who had a very high priced product. I asked her why the product cost so much and she said “Well, first of all, it’s better than anything on the market and second, it’s sold through an MLM company so they have to charge more in order to be able to pay commissions.

WHOA!!! Stop right there…MLM companies can afford to pay commissions because they do not have the traditional costs of advertising that the average product has. All advertising is word of mouth. The price does not need to be jacked up to pay commissions.

Next, there is one question you should ask yourself in relation to your product. This is a question the government will ask if the company ever comes under scrutiny by them. Here it is… “Would you buy your product(s) for the price you are paying IF THERE WERE NO INCOME OPPORTUNITY ATTACHED?” That is the million dollar question. Think long and hard about that one.  Answer honestly.  There is no income opportunity. Would you still be buying the required monthly amount of your companies product(s)?

2. Low barrier to entry.

Can the average person join your opportunity?  Remember, average people are living paycheck to paycheck and most have under a few hundred dollars they can get their hands on.   Many opportunities out there cost anywhere from $250 on up to $5,000 to join.  That is a CRAZY amount of money to ask the average person to come up with to start an MLM / network marketing business.

3.  Products that appeal to the masses

What percentage of people use your products?  Think about this for a minute.

Let’s say you sell a nutritional drink.  Now, what percent of people in your neighborhood do you think use a nutritional drink?  Maybe 15% or so?

What about candles?  Maybe 20% or so?

What about diet products?  Maybe around 35 to 40%?

What about things like toothpaste, shampoo, household cleaners, laundry detergent, etc…  I’d say 100% of the population are already using these things on a daily basis.  That is a product line I, personally, am interested in.  I would rather have 100% of the population already using the same type of products that my MLM sells rather than any other percentage.  Here’s why…all I have to do is help people buy the products they are already buying at a new store.  I don’t have to try to convince the other 50 to 90% of the population to start using these types of products.

4.  Company History

This, to me, is very important.  Most companies do not make it past the first 3 years.  I, personally, would never join a start up MLM.  You don’t know what is going to happen to a company less than 5 years old.  Once a company makes it past the 5 year mark, it’s a good indicator that they will be around a while.  Some people claim that you shouldn’t join a company that is older than 15 or 20 years.  That is ludicrous.  If you have a good company, it SHOULD grow to be over 15 or 20 years.  It should continue to grow indefinitely.

So…where does your company fall in this short list of criteria?  Notice I really did not address compensation plans?  That is on purpose.  I believe that if these things are present in your company, obviously you have a company that is creating paychecks for it’s reps or it would not still be in business.  There are a few more things on my list of criteria that I took into account when looking for my MLM company.  If you are interested in hearing what they are, email me at roxanne at roxannegreen dot com and let me know when we can spend a few minutes on the phone and I will be happy to share the rest of the criteria with you.

Today is the first day of the rest of your life. What will you do with it?

Grab your favorite beverage, turn up your speakers and relax for a few minutes. The following story might make you a lot of money, might not. It can’t hurt to listen. It only takes a couple minutes out of your day. Enjoy!

Click the Play button to start audio

This is cool.  If you have family that loves to cook, instead of having everyone print multiple copies of recipes to get lost before you get a chance to make them, compile them all into a family cookbook.  If you are like me, you’re always calling someone in the family asking for a recipe that you received before but don’t know where you put it.

Great gift idea for the holidays.  Check it out by clicking on the image below.

I get asked this all the time. “ How can I stay home with my kids and make money.”

Let me answer that question with a question.

Who is the best person to teach you that…someone who has been doing it for the past 12 years or someone who has never done it?

I’ve been successfully staying home with my family for the past 12 years.  I always make enough to take care of us when my husband has been out of work due to medical issues.  That’s been a lot.  Since 2005 he has had 3 hernia repair surgeries, a broken thumb, and a brain hemorrhage.  Am I a millionaire?  NO.  Do I pretend I can show you how to be a millionaire?  NO.

I would probably get more of you to sign up for my $12.95 class showing you how to make money from home if I said “Sign up, do nothing and make millions” but I’m not THAT person.  I would NOT do that to you.  I could probably get you to give me $500 if I scammed you.  But I’m not THAT person.  I would NOT do that to you.

Why do so many of you fall for the scams?  Because you think you can take the easy road.

Why are there so many scams out there?  Because those of you who fall for them are too embarrassed that you fell for them to turn them in.  Turning them in would be admitting that you fell for the scam.

There is no easy path.  I’s called “working” from home, not “get paid to sit on your ass & do nothing”.  If you are willing to put  time and effort into it, I can show you how to make money from home.  If you are willing to do what it takes and spend just an hour or so per day, I can show you how to make money from home.

Today is the first day of the rest of your life. What will you do with it?