SUCCESS STORY
An Upline Interview with Elaine Corless of E'OLA International
As a manager with the Wordperfect Corporation, Elaine Corless loved her job, but there was something missing. Like many working women who are out there climbing the corporate ladder, Elaine began to think more and more about leaving her job to start a family. As time went on, and the workdays stretched into years, her dream of being a full-time mom and having children grew stronger-- so much so, that at the age of 28, Elaine left a promising career and went home. "I had waited years to have a family," she remembers. "The time finally came, and I just knew that this was the right thing to do."
When I left my career, our family income was cut in half. I had to find some way to make money at home.
I tried several things: I was an insurance agent for a while, and I even owned a tee-shirt company. But as hard as I worked, as hard as I searched for just the right thing, I couldn't find what I was looking for.
I knew there had to be something out there that would allow me to set my own schedule and work when I wanted to, that would offer unlimited income, and that could be something I could build and pass on to my children. I knew that if I just kept searching and trying things, something would pay off. I just had no clue what it would be.
I experimented with home businesses for three years, during which time I had two wonderful children. Then on a vacation with a friend, I was introduced to someone with E'OLA. I was so suspicious at first. I asked them for a kit, and spent the whole night going through everything-- the numbers, the procedures, the products-- just making sure the whole thing was legitimate.
After that night I really started to get excited-- here it was, the opportunity I had spent years hoping for.
But getting started was not easy for me-- the biggest challenge that concerned me in the beginning was my own skepticism about the industry. I couldn't shake the feeling that I was maybe doing something wrong. I had never done anything like this, knew next to nothing about Networking, and was really naive about the whole industry. I wanted more than anyone to believe this would work. But that belief did not come in my kit. I had to build it myself.
Another serious obstacle for me was the objections I constantly got from prospects. It was so frustrating. I knew that if this thing was going to work out for me, I had to find a way through that frustration.
My husband had just come out of six months of being in critical care with a back injury, I had two little babies to take care of, and our financial situation wasn't good at all. It was a scary time to be starting a new business.
I overcame those obstacles by educating myself and just getting to work. I read everything I could get my hands on about Network Marketing. I learned that the industry is so much bigger than I ever could have imagined. That was important in building my confidence in this business.
As far as being busy, I was forced to learn some time management skills that I had never known in the corporate world. You know, all of us are already busy, using all the time we have. Most people don't have hours of idle time they're looking to fill. The question is: How much of our busy time are we willing to invest in doing something new-- and are we willing to commit to that investment?
By the time I was in full swing building my business, I had four babies under seven years old. You want to talk about being busy? I started trading off childcare with my business partners and working the phone during nap time. I learned that the time is there, if we are just willing to invest it in other ways.
Another one of the greatest lessons I learned was not to take objections personally, that these people meant nothing against me. I began to see that their objections were quite often just pleas for more information, and that my role in sharing the opportunity wasn't just to offer something-- it was to educate. Once I saw that I was there to be a patient listener and a supportive teacher, the frustration didn't overwhelm me.
The most important thing you need to master in order to succeed at Network Marketing is the art of friendshipping. If that doesn't come naturally to you, then you should do whatever you have to do to learn it. Read what you can, and get around the leaders in your business who can show you how it's done.
Our business is about building personal relationships. We each have the responsibility to become better listeners, to be there to support each other, and to recognize the leadership skills in others. Concentrate on making friends in the business, and success will come.
I also think it's so important to find out what each new person's skills are, then to give them an opportunity to capitalize on them. At the same time, we need to remember to give people time to develop other skills that may need work. But that's easy to do when you're working with friends.
My philosophy of success can be summed up in just two words: Do Something!
Success will come if you just remember to do something each and every day to better yourself, to better your loved ones, and to better your business.
You don't have to send out a thousand mailers every day. You don't have to talk to a thousand people on the phone. If you just talk to one new person every day, and share with them the possibilities of this opportunity-- share your own experience-- it's going to happen for you, I guarantee it.
Network Marketing has made my dreams come true. My husband was able to retire from his job at 37, which is an incredible feat. We are both full-time parents-- we're here when they go off to school, and here when they come home. That in itself is worth everything.
And one of the most rewarding things is knowing that we are creating a legacy for our family-- something that will be there for our children, and our children's children.
To be honest, though, I feel like I am just getting started. I have so many new goals, so many projects and dreams. This is only the beginning.
ELAINE CORLESS is a full-time Presidential Director with E'OLA International, Network Marketers of health and personal care products. She has been with the company for nearly seven years. Elaine lives with her husband Dean and four children in Lake Shore, Utah.
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Reprinted with permission from Upline, Corless-Success Story-October 1998, 888-UPLINE-1, http://www.upline.com
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