As many of you know I recently transitioned from working full time in a retail management capacity to working full time in our growing Young Living Business along side my wife. This has been an exciting but also CHALLENGING transition. In the beginning of the transition I was a retail manager working between 50 and 60 hours a week. As the business grew, and my management level income was no longer needed, I transitioned down to a full time sales rep, and then later to a part time sales rep, and then recently I fully transitioned out of my job and into Young Living. While I am incredibly thankful for our Young Living Business, and for hours that I now have to spend with my family, the transition was still a bit more difficult than I expected it to be.
As we were in this process my wife I wrestled through many questions that did not have easy answers, not the least difficult of which were related to what my role in the business would be when I finally had hours to contribute to it? I'm happy to report to you that over the course of the 6 month process, we have discovered and implemented a strategy that works well for us, and our family.
I am writing this blog because I have recently discovered that many of you are going through the same transition, and wrestling with the same questions. This blog is meant to be an encouragement to you, and not a step by step process. The specific strategy that we use for our business will likely not work for you directly, because my wife and I are not the same people that you are, and our team is not the same as your team. That said, I want to give you six suggestions, three things to do and three things not to do, that will help you as you navigate through this transition. These suggestions are written as though they are directed at to a husband, because this is the most common situation, and it is the situation that I am most familiar, but many of them could be carried over to other similar situations. So here they are:
I am writing this blog because I have recently discovered that many of you are going through the same transition, and wrestling with the same questions. This blog is meant to be an encouragement to you, and not a step by step process. The specific strategy that we use for our business will likely not work for you directly, because my wife and I are not the same people that you are, and our team is not the same as your team. That said, I want to give you six suggestions, three things to do and three things not to do, that will help you as you navigate through this transition. These suggestions are written as though they are directed at to a husband, because this is the most common situation, and it is the situation that I am most familiar, but many of them could be carried over to other similar situations. So here they are:
Three Things Not to Do:
1. Don't Try To Take Over- Men are naturally inclined to lead. This is the way that God has designed us to function. Wanting to take a leadership role in the things that are happening in our home is a good thing.This is not an admonition not to lead. This is an admonition not to take over. There is a difference between taking leadership, and a hostile take over.
If your business is to the point that you are able to leave your full time job and come home, then it is likely an already thriving business. It's thriving because your wife is an awesome business building leader. To this point you may have given a lot of input into how the business should be run, but she is the one that has done the majority of the work. Therefore, at this point she brings A LOT to the table in terms of knowing how to grow and develop the business. As you transition into spending more time on the business, you will likely transition into a leadership role, and that is a good thing, but as you make that transition, rely heavily on your wife's wisdom and experience. Ask her. Listen to Her. Watch what she does and understand it. Don't try to throw all her hard work out the window so that you can have everything the way you want it. That's not leadership. That's foolishness.
2. Don't Try To Be Someone Else- As you look around the business and see the way that other men are wrestling with this transition you are going to see that we all do things a little bit differently. That's because we are all different. One man I know who is in the the midst of this transition is brilliant when it comes to computers and technology. Most of his work as he is making this transition has related to making things work better and look better. Another man who is also in the midst of this transition is an incredibly talented graphics designer. Most of his time goes into presenting the Young Living message in a way that is easier for people to receive it. Those are both incredibly helpful and much needed avenues of business development. The problem though is that I can hardly get a computer to work well enough to write this blog and I don't have an artistic bone in my body! If I were to strive to make this transition exactly how either of those other two men were doing it then I would be destined for failure, BECAUSE I'M NOT THEM! Don't try to be someone else. Bring your gifts and abilities to the table, and use them to advance you business. More on this later.
3. Don't Assume You Already Know Everything- Growing a network marketing business is not quite like any other endeavor. Growing a Young Living business is another level beyond that. There is recruitment and prospecting, leadership development, understand how essential oils work, understanding the difference between Young Living and other essential oil companies, understanding the difference between Young Living and other network marketing opportunities, understanding the compensation plan, understanding how to communicate in a way that is consistent with the FDA's rules and regulations, and the list goes on. Even with all of that, you still don't have to be a brain surgeon to build a Young Living business, but you do have to be willing to learn. The most important key to coming to the table ready to learn, is coming to the table with the understanding that you don't know everything, and you have a lot still to learn.
Three Things To Do:
1.Appreciate What Your Wife Has Already Accomplished- Make sure you communicate to your wife that you are proud of her hard work, and you appreciate her contribution to your family. Then put actions to your words. Interact with your business as though it has until this point been primarily the work your wife's hands that has gotten you to you where you are. (By the Grace of God of course) I should clarify, I'm not saying that you need to walk on egg shells when it comes to the business and not do anything to shake the boat. Your hours and time spent contributing to the business, as well as your strategic input and guidance can probably help the business grow considerably, just make sure that as you are making this contribution you are doing so in a way that considers and recognizes your wife's hard work in getting you to where you are, and her future contribution to helping your business grow.
2. Make a Plan- Before any actual transition happens in real life you need to have a plan written down on paper. This plan needs to include what your role in the business is going to be, what her role in the business is going to be, what each of your roles in the family are going to be (For me it was important that my wife and communicate that I was not coming home to be a stay at home dad so that she could continue to grow the business. My strong conviction is that men need to work to provide for their family, and this was an important part of our plan.), what your family structure as a whole is going to look like in and after this transition, how much time are you going to dedicate to the business between the two of you, are there going to be any other priorities that you pursue along side the business (For us we are planting a church. Which affected a considerable number of our answers to many of these questions.) and most importantly, your plan needs to include how you are going to keep the business in its proper place on the priority scale for the sake of your family. Since the business is going to be the primary focus for both you it will be easy for you to spend every hour of every day working on the business. This isn't the goal. One of the amazing things about Young Living is that it gives children BOTH of their parents back, but it can also rob them of both of their parents if you are not careful. Your plan needs to put boundaries on the business. When you are a business owner there are no natural breaks. You never leave the office and come home. Home is the office, so you need to have a plan for transitioning out of business time into family time EVERY day.
3. Use your Strengths and Know Your Weaknesses- This point couples with the one above about not trying to be someone your not. Know your strengths and bring them to the table. For me the majority of my contribution to the business consists of researching, writing, and speaking in public. Those are my strengths. (Although, as you can tell by reading this blog, I need to brush up in he writing category) I also provide leadership and accountability to my wife. She is the face of our business. She answers all the emails, deals with the customer service issues, and maintains a constant online presence to our downline. The way we communicate this to people is, I function primarily as the CEO of our business. I set the vision for our business, and promote our business by researching, writing, and speaking. Katrina is the COO of our business. She manages the day to day activities and makes sure that every running according to plan. My presence in the business allows my wife to have the opportunity to THRIVE at what she excels, and she does! Likewise, her presence allows me to thrive. We both know the other's strengths and weaknesses and we try to operate according to those categories. Things like networking, prospecting, and leadership development we do together. This is what works for us. But the only reason that it works is because we each know what the other brings to the table, and we've agreed upon a plan for running our business accordingly. This kind of communication regarding strengths and weaknesses is absolutely imperative to running a healthy business.
This process has been a blessing to us, as God has used to it draw us closer to Himself, as well as to one another. I hope these tips are helpful. All for His Glory!
