This is a sponsored post.
Meet Laura
I often like to shine a bit of light on Mompreneurs who are eager to share their passion for what they do here on the blog. This guest post is by Laura Kiernan Seltmann, a Northern New Jersey mom whose corporate career set the foundation for her Arbonne journey…
Balancing the demands of being a mom and managing a career can challenge even the most skilled multi-tasker around. So many of us have experienced that A-HA! moment that we heard about from our friends that became mommies before us, when nothing can compare to the fierce sense of love, devotion and commitment we have for our babies. Even that career that we worked sooo hard for for sooo many years seems a distant 2nd in the prioritization category. That’s when we start wondering if there is more to life than the 9-5 (or 7 or 8 or 9pm). Where we, as accomplished professionals, can make a difference and contribute to the economy, a business, our family’s finances and still manage to be there for our families without running ourselves completely ragged.
After having my older daughter, almost 10 years ago, I struggled with exactly these decisions. I had worked so hard on my career and was finally at the level I had been working towards but the hours were brutal. My love and devotion for my daughter was so powerful and, honestly, no one could have prepared me for that. I often say to my best friends, “why didn’t you TELL me how fierce this maternal instinct was?” To which they all responded “but we did!”
Yep. They did.
But business is in my blood and I had trained my entire life for this career. From participating and competing with my high school’s DECA club, and then studying business and also working part-time for a technology company in computer sales while in college to landing a position with a major wall street corporation after college (despite a terrible job market!), I was hungry to learn everything I could and work my way up from the bottom. I successfully earned my Masters in Business Administration while working full-time. I worked hard at both my career and my education and continued to gain knowledge at every opportunity. I was determined to be valuable to my employer and in turn I would remain loyal and work as hard as I possibly could. It paid off. By the time my three-year anniversary with the company arrived, I was the youngest branch manager in the organization at that time. I continued to prove myself — and my value — and continued to earn promotions over my 16 year career with this company.
But once my daughter was born, I realized that all of my hard work, while admirable, wasn’t going to get me what I wanted. I started to think of different ways I could earn a decent living while still contributing to an organization and spending quality time with my new family. Before I could make any decisions, though, I became a statistic of the Great Recession and joined the ranks of the unprecedented number of unemployed.
That’s when I started to notice something amazing around me.
These 2 amazing mompreneurs inspired Laura’s business
Some of my very dearest friends, who I admire tremendously on so many levels, started taking their passion and turning it into a business. I was in awe of these Mompreneurs and totally inspired. Yet what was it that I was passionate about that I could turn into a sustainable and profitable business? Then I was introduced to two of the most amazing Mompreneurs who were strangers to me before that day but have become family to me now. They are Independent Consultants with Arbonne International and they gave me a gift that day: they invited me to hear more about their business model and how it could fit beautifully into my life and have an incredible impact on my family’s finances AND my family’s health. They opened my eyes to how what we put ON our bodies is just as important as what we put IN our bodies. Did you know it takes just 26 seconds for the ingredients in personal care products to enter your bloodstream? And there began my incredible journey into the world of Arbonne and network marketing.
There are so many reasons why Arbonne is perfect for me on a business and a personal level. It’s important to me that I make every attempt to reduce my family’s toxic burden and Arbonne’s products help me accomplish exactly that. Our products do not contain parabens, PABAs or mineral oil, which are harmful carcinogenic ingredients linked to cancer and extremely unhealthy for our skin. We are vegan and formulated without gluten and I truly love the high quality of our pure, safe and beneficial products. Our products play a critical role in the success of Arbonne’s business model because they address four KEY factors that, according to Dr. Charles King of the University of Chicago, must be present in order for a business to thrive: consumable products, marketplace demand, timing and trends and time leverage.
Arbonne has all FOUR of these key factor so I KNEW I was in a position to succeed as long as I put the effort in. People are
You’re in business FOR yourself but not BY yourself
searching for sustainable yet meaningful employment opportunities yet many of those jobs were completely wiped out in the Great Recession, with no hope of returning. Some want an independent source of income insulated from the effects of the economy and unemployment trends. I absolutely love the idea that as we build our teams and they, in turn build their teams, our earning potential increases exponentially. The beauty of this business model is that there are many, many people doing just a little bit which in turn creates incredible success. It’s truly not who you know…it’s who THEY know, and who THEY know. Remember Farrah Fawcett and Joe Nameth from the Faberge Organics commercial in the ‘70’s (it was Heather Locklear in the 80’s)? “I loved my Faberge organics shampoo so much I told two friends about it. And they told two friends. And so on…and so on…and so on…” It all started with recommending a product to two friends. That’s exactly how fortunes are built within Arbonne. Find two (or three or four) people and lock arms together! I am truly inspired by the highly successful people within our company that worked hard to achieve their goals. They share their knowledge with us all the time and I have full access to so many of them. There is so much support within this company that we’ve coined the phrase “you are in business for yourself, but not by yourself.”
Am I through with Corporate America ? Probably not. I love the team building and camaraderie and collaboration and sense of accomplishment that I experienced there, too. But I am so happy and proud to be a part of the business of the 21st Century where I can fit my work in and around my life with my children and my husband so I can create a real quality of life with them. There are so many other people looking for something just like this and I just need to connect with them. I love spending my summers and school breaks with them! I love building a team and watching others recognize the potential of this business for what it is: financial freedom and independence. This is where I will continue to build my wealth and control my own destiny and security because times have changed and Corporate America no longer offers the financial security our families deserve. This is where I will save for a vacation home or a fancy car (oh, wait, Arbonne gives me a Mercedes as a company car and I’m only 2 levels away from that!), or an incredible vacation where I can treat my ENTIRE extended family and closest friends. This is where I will save for my children’s college educations and for their weddings and for our retirement. This is where I will save and prepare for the next layoff. This is the business of the here and now and this is my business. And there’s room for more……
Laura is a Independent Consultant, District Manager with Arbonne International and is currently recruiting out-going, ambitious consultants determined to make a difference in their lives and the lives of others to join her growing team. She is married to a wonderfully supportive husband and is the mother of two beautiful daughters. Her products and business model can be viewed at lauraseltmann.myarbonne.com and she can be reached at lkseltmann@aol.com and at www.facebook.com/laura.kiernan.seltmann.
{The opinions expressed in this post are of the guest author.}
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