What a journey. What a business. What an opportunity. To think that three years ago, I would say no to attending an Arbonne Presentation, and a rather emphatic no to the business, was ludicrous.
Like many, I found Arbonne by “chance.” I was invited to a Presentation I really did not want to attend. Only after much prodding, did I finally agree to attend. I was informed that Arbonne products were hypo-allergenic, pure, safe and botanically based, and my initial thought was, “Been there, heard that and lost most of my eye lashes from using the last product to claim it was pure, safe and hypo-allergenic!” Despite my skepticism, I decided to try the products. To my surprise, the products were amazing, and I had no side effects.
In the next seven months, I enjoyed the products and became very familiar with all of them. In fact, my home was becoming an Arbonne household, and without really intending to, I was beginning to attract some of my friends to my Arbonne lifestyle. During that time, I continued to declare, at least to myself, that I was not selling it. I am not getting into Arbonne, I told myself. However, Arbonne has a way of getting into you. Little did I know I was being prepared for an Arbonne experience.
I was not looking for a new business opportunity. I was quite content with the business my husband and I had started back in 1996, Vander Veen Electric. At the time, business was thriving and keeping both of us extremely busy. We had three kids, and what more could we want? However, I continued to love the products, while being curiously drawn to discover more about Arbonne. I was especially curious about how so many Eye on Arbonne stories mentioned God and prayer. Well, NTC 2002 Long Beach was coming up, so my husband and I decided to check it out. We discovered that Arbonne was not only an incredible product, but we were even more impressed with the people. The vast variety of professionals let me know that this business was for anyone; business owners, doctors, attorneys, stay-at-home moms and even a former schoolteacher, like myself.
My Arbonne career was born at NTC 2002 Long Beach. It was there that I caught the vision of everything Arbonne could be. NTC helped me realize that I could actually make a lucrative living by selling Arbonne, and I was not a salesperson! NTC is not an option. It makes a believer out of you and your team, and it dramatically changes your perspective on the possibilities with Arbonne. After returning from NTC, I began praying about an Arbonne business. While working from my office one day, my attention was drawn to a sign above my door. The phrase on that sign would later help me carve out a plan to work my Arbonne business.
That was exactly three years ago this February. What an incredible journey this has been. I went from not wanting to even attend a class, to becoming an NVP! If you are looking for a business opportunity, or you have somehow stumbled across Arbonne, you definitely want to take a second look at what Arbonne offers. This opportunity is not just a dream for the select few, but it is available to all. Remember, I was not looking for anything Arbonne had to offer ... not the products and definitely not the business opportunity. I was not into sales and I was surely not into selling lipstick! Prior to Arbonne, I thought I had the ideal life. Our own business was very successful; however, all of the hard work was not delivering the freedom and financial independence we sought. As many people know, there are many hours and sacrifices required in building a brand-new business. In Arbonne, we get the chance to own our own business, without the business owning us. What a difference! With Arbonne, the groundwork has been laid out and the system is in place to build a phenomenal home-based business, in a record amount of time. Arbonne has required a fraction of the time and a fraction of the cost to surpass our current earnings and provide true freedom. Like President Rita Davenport says, “This business is simple, but not necessarily easy.” All it requires is the diligence to work the system, and constantly help others to do the same.
Arbonne is a business about others. Generosity is the key ingredient. I gave more products away at the beginning than I sold, but I know I was helping someone else. It was either helping their skin or possibly showing them an incredible opportunity. It is definitely true that Arbonne is not about sales; it is about getting the product into the hands of people, for it truly does sell itself. I have grown up hearing the phrase, “a man reaps what he sows.” It is no longer just a phrase I believe in, but a life I have experienced. Sow generosity and you will reap generosity. I have experienced this with my team.
I love the words to describe our management levels with Arbonne; DM is all about you, AM is half about you, RVP is a little about you and NVP has nothing to do with you. Oh, so true. I truly thank and honor my team. You rallied and pulled together so we could become a Nation. I count each one of you a blessing.
It is with great appreciation that I thank my downline. To ERVP Kelly Silva: What a team you have! You have been strong and dependable as the backbone of our team. As a friend and team player, you have always gone the extra mile to make sure your team gave me everything I needed during qualification. To your new RVP, your sister, Tory Brandt: You both have been a blessing to me. To RVP Kathi Cameron: When they say sponsor up, I did that with you. Thank you for your knowledge. You have helped many of us in our struggle to gather information. To my AMs Laura Duinkerken, Marian Fiorintino, Debbie Tanaka, Mary Vander Veen, Gina McMurry, Colleen Gleason and Kelly Yurosek: I could not do this without all of you. I cannot wait to see you all earn the keys to your Mercedes-Benzes. To my DMs: I am so grateful to have all of you. You have quite a journey ahead. Stay the course, because it is worth the ride. Thank you for the steady volume you bring each month.
A special thanks to my newest DM, my sister-in-law, Cathy Koelewyn: I have prayed for you to be involved for a long time. I look forward to working together and when our families go on Arbonne-sponsored trips together. A great big thanks “ya’ll,” to my new Georgia team, with my longtime friend, DM Cynthia Lee. To my upline sponsor, Katy Addington: Thank you for inviting me to your Presentation. I know I turned you down three times. But you were right; my eyelashes did not fall out. It is because of you that I was introduced to this company and I will be forever grateful. To ERVP LuAnn Reitmeier-Budiselic: You have been awesome, even when I told you I would not sell this stuff! Thank you for your support, prayers, calls, notes and encouragement. To ENVP Donna Weiser: Thank you for the training calls and for your many encouraging phone calls. You have been a wealth of information and support.
To Founder Petter Mørck: Thank you for the vision to create a product and a company of quality. Your down-to-earth personality is as fitting as Arbonne’s “from the earth” ingredients. To President Rita Davenport: You are a big factor in Arbonne’s success. I believe Arbonne is blessed because of your values, strength of character and principles by which you live your life. God first, family second and business third.
To my husband, Daryl: You have been my greatest supporter. You saw the big picture Arbonne offered before I did, and you encouraged me with your words and actions. You always made sure you adjusted your schedule to be home for our children on the evenings I had Presentations. Thank you for your constant belief in me, and for never doubting where Arbonne would take us. I will never forget, just a few months ago as I was preparing to leave for an opportunity meeting, you walked in and said, “You know, I really don’t think you see where Arbonne is headed. I don’t think you see the potential of this company.” It has always been a joke for us that I did not see the “big picture” that Arbonne offers. But honey, I think I get it now. I want to thank you also for all of those 20-second prayers we said in the driveway prior to my Presentations and on the last day of qualification. Phew, we are true partners.
I thank God for this gift daily. I pray daily for wisdom and guidance for the Nation He helped me build. I am proud to be part of a company that represents honesty, integrity and purity. With the unshakeable equation of pray hard, work hard and trust God, I feel I have been blessed in my Arbonne business. In turn, it is my sincere privilege to be a blessing to others.
The testimonials on this Web site reflect the actual experience of each individual, are anecdotal only, and may be atypical. The testimonials are not based upon any clinical study.
