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A R B O N N E
LIFE IS NOT A
DRESS REHEARSAL
Three years ago, I was at a crossroads in my life. For almost 20 years, I had been a pediatric nurse and was desperate to leave nursing. Although I loved my profession, I was physically exhausted from working long hours, weekends and holidays. Additionally, I had reached the “glass ceiling,” and my wages were set. It seemed like the money I made was already accounted for. And even as a well-paid professional, I did not have control of when I worked, how long I worked or how much I was paid. This left me feeling very frustrated. My husband and I have always dreamed of owning a second home on a lake in North Carolina. Our dream was to spend our summers there, together with our children. After all, we only get 18 summers with them. When the opportunity arose for us to buy a home on the lake, I realized that I would need to work more hours to earn the income to pay for this dream. That was a problem. What good is having money when you have no time to enjoy it? I was introduced to Arbonne almost nine years ago, but at the time, I was not looking for a change. When ENVP Dana Collins called me a few years later, the timing was perfect. It was not until I wanted to change my career and pursue my dream that I took a closer look. I almost said no because I did not view myself as a salesperson and did not want to host Presentations, or sell to my friends. Besides I thought, “Nobody makes money doing this!” I wound up saying yes because I came to the conclusion that life is not a dress rehearsal. It is up to you to create the life you want. I realized that I could do Arbonne alongside my nursing job. I would not need employees, or inventory. Arbonne takes care of everything from the products to the marketing and training tools, to the Web site and so on. It operates like a franchise without the overhead. Besides, I loved the products, so recommending and sharing them would be easy!
Independent Consultant, Regional Vice President Colleen Cunningham Region; Clarksville, MD
The real asset of this Arbonne business is the potential to leverage my time. As a nurse, I was only paid for the time I worked. If I was sick, my children were sick, or if I wanted to take a vacation, I was not paid. Even as a professional, I did not own my life! The beauty of time leveraging is that you are compensated for your efforts, and the efforts of everyone else on your team. When I went on the ASAP Hawaii 2005 trip this September, my team exploded! All these new business partners joined. My team was working for themselves, but their efforts benefited me, too. My efforts were
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The lake house in Lake Gaston, North Carolina.
colleen cunningham
Colleen and husband, Ed, enjoying the ASAP Hawaii 2005 trip.
Colleen’s children: Alex, Caroline and Sean.
s u c c e s s strategy:
“
Work your business with a passion and be clear on your purpose.
REGIONAL VICE PRESIDENT
”
NTC 2005 Las Vegas. L–R: AM Carri Tyburski, DM Kathy Beuttel, Colleen, AM Katherine Grady and DM Holly Bonner.
multiplied and their efforts were multiplied. In this way, we all won. It is the concept of teamwork that makes time leveraging possible. Without a team, you are working for yourself, by yourself. You are doing all the work as if you were self-employed. Time, in my opinion, is more important than money. You cannot buy time. You cannot stop time. Everyone has exactly the same amount of time, regardless of who they are. The difference lies in how we each choose to use it. So, work your Arbonne business with passion, be clear about your purpose, be consistent with your effort and give it enough time. That is what I teach my team. This has been the most incredible journey. In a short period of time, I have begun to create the life of my dreams! I have since retired from nursing and now own a beautiful lake house. I have every day available to spend with my family. I can honestly say that now I own my life! There are so many people who have helped me on my journey to whom I am eternally grateful. To Founder Petter Mørck, President Rita Davenport and the entire Home Office staff: You always keep our best interest at heart. Thank you! To my sponsor, ENVP Dana Collins: Thank you for sharing this gift with me, for believing in me when I did not believe in myself and for being willing to do the hard things first. To Laura Harry, Helen Karukas, Gregory Dean, Senora Neal, Shara Hines, Susan Evans and Kelly Haire: Thank you for believing in me. I love you! To Shawn Stratmann: Your friendship came at a critical time. Thank you for sharing your ideas and helping my team and me. You have no idea how much I have learned from you and how much I have grown from our friendship. You are the epitome of a true leader! I am so blessed to have an incredible team of people to work with. I am honored and humbled to be a steward of your dreams! To my AMs, Carri Tyburski and Katherine Grady: Your discipline, dedication and integrity to your teams make me so proud to count you as friends. RVP is right around the corner!
To my DMs, Kathy Beuttel, Kelly Martino, Shannon Hernandez, Fleur Colimore, Kristina Salko, Kathleen Mallampalli, Shilpa Johnson, Susan Staples, Holly Ann Bonner and Tracey Patterson: Keep dreaming your dreams. I believe in you! To my awesome Clients and Consultants who purchase products at discount: You are the heart of my business and I value each of you. To my mom and dad: You taught me to make every day count and to dream big. I love you. To my in-laws, Marleen and Ted: Thank you for supporting me and for lending me your son for a lifetime! To my wonderful children, Sean, Alex and Caroline: I love spending my days and nights with you. You have taught me to love unconditionally. You are the loves of my life! Lastly, to my incredible husband, Ed: Thank you for being the first to believe in me. When I was feeling low, it was your gentle, logical ways that helped me stay the course. You are the ultimate team player. Your support has not gone unnoticed. I love you “infinity squared!”
The testimonials in this story reflect the actual experience of an individual, are anecdotal only, and may be atypical.
Area Manager’s Challenge at President Rita Davenport’s home. TOP–BOTTOM: AM Gregory Dean, NVP Laura Harry, AM Senora Neal, AM Helen Karukas and Colleen.
RTS 2005. L–R: DM Kathy Beuttel, Colleen, ENVP Dana Collins and AM Katherine Grady.
EAM Shawn Stratmann and Colleen at RTS 2006.
E Y E O N A R B O N N E | APRIL 2006