'It All Started in the Summer of 1951...' - Success Story
An Upline Interview with Ruby Miller-Lyman of Essentially Yours, International
An Upline Interview with Ruby Miller-Lyman of Essentially Yours, International
Ruby Miller-Lyman has been involved in Direct Sales and Networking for almost 50 years. She has personally witnessed the history of the industry, from the first "home parties" of the early Fifties to the world-wide computer-supported Networks of the late Nineties.
A proud grandmother of seven, and a great-grandmother of two, Ruby has reached the top ranks of all the companies she has joined. Still going strong as a leader and top-income earner in her fifth company, Ruby pauses to look back and consider the valuable lessons she has learned throughout her remarkable Networking career.
It all started in the summer of 1951. I was 18 years old, fresh out of high school in Ogilvie, Minnesota-- just 39 kids in my graduating class-- and looking for a way to make enough money to pay my way through college.
I had worked for a couple of months, first as a dance instructor and then doing some clerical work for a law firm, but neither one of those interested me too much. There weren't many options in the working world for a young woman in 1951, so I was fortunate to have befriended Betty Allen, who invited me to sell her product line.
I went to work in direct sales for a company called Radelle, which offered professional hair care products. I didn't even know what Direct Sales was, it was all so new. We started out having home parties, getting people together and explaining what we were doing. It was exciting, and I did very well, right from the start.
Within eight months I paid cash for my first car, a red and white Olds Delta 88. The following year, when I was only 19, I put a down payment on a brand new home. When I got married, I moved my new husband into my new home. It was wonderful, and no, it wasn't the stereotypical story of a teenager from the 1950s.
By the time I was 20 years old, I learned that I could accomplish anything in my life, as long as I was willing to work. I knew I was in the right line of work to make my dreams come true. I was making far more than my college-bound friends, so I put college on a shelf temporarily and pursued my career in Direct Sales.
The toughest challenge back then, and this continues to be something people have to deal with today, was overcoming the ignorance and negative attitudes other people had about the industry.
In the Fifties, people just didn't know what Direct Sales even was. It was all new to everybody. Most people were just totally unfamiliar with the concept. A home party? What was that? And over the years, whether it was Direct Sales, Multi-Level Marketing, or Networking today, the challenge remains the same: Educating people about the industry, about the opportunity, and about the products.
It was the same in 1958 as it is in 1998, people just want to know you're not trying to take advantage of them, that it's not some scam; they want to know they can trust you.
The way to overcome that challenge has been the same throughout my 47 years in the industry: I was a student of my profession. If you want to be good at what you do, you have to learn everything you can about the field you are in. Just like a doctor, an attorney, a carpenter, or a school teacher-- the good ones study their profession and they learn everything about doing it right, with integrity.
This is what I did. I indulged myself in any kind of book or audiotape that I could get that would teach me how to reach my goals.
I educated myself so that as I spoke to people, they knew that I spoke from the heart; they were listening to someone who knew what she was talking about. They knew it wasn't a spiel or a come-on, and that I wasn't trying to take advantage of them. Be excited, be honest, and learn to be a good teacher.
Whatever company I was involved with, I began by setting my goals-- writing down exactly what I expected out of the experience. Everything you do has to start there. Get a clear picture of where you want to be and what you want to gain.
The next thing is to be a product of the product. There was never a time in the history of my Network Marketing career that I was not the biggest user of my product line. You've got to be convinced in your heart that what you're offering to people will have a positive impact on their lives. If you aren't using that product, and you're only giving it lip service, you'd better get into something else.
I always made sure I had done my due diligence on the company. I wanted to know their history, their background, their success ratio. I studied their compensation plan, considered their leadership and integrity, and made sure they had a good training system in place. I would be putting my reputation on the line with this company, and I wanted to make sure that the company would be there to back me up.
I believe the ideal American dream is to own your own business. I meet people all the time who are sick and tired of punching time clocks and having other people tell them what to do and when to do it. People have been taught to trade their time for money, and that if they keep doing that, everything will work out. Well, it doesn't. Fortune 500 companies are laying people off right and left. There is just no security in a job anymore, no matter how wonderful that job is.
I have learned that true success is working for yourself, and earning whatever you need to earn to retire as young as possible, with enough time and money to enjoy your life. Success is about getting yourself and the people you care about free from the rat race.
I got into this business not to make a living but to make a life, and Network Marketing is just that-- it's not a job, it's a lifestyle. It's about freedom, and making a difference in the lives of other people.
It's about being there for people you care about, doing what you can to help them reach their goals. I can tell you, if you are willing to do the work that it takes-- and it will take some work, believe me-- your early retirement will be assured. You can not imagine the innumerable rewards that will bless your life.
RUBY MILLER-LYMAN is a full-time distributor with Essentially Yours, International, Network Marketers of health and nutritional products. A top income earner, Ruby has been involved with the company for two and a half years, and has been active in the Direct Sales and Network Marketing industry for 47 years. She lives with her husband Ted in Diamond Bar, California.
Reprinted with permission from Upline, Lyman-Success Story-November/December 1998, 888-UPLINE-1, http://www.upline.com
