Have a Servant's Heart
Ferris Haddad, Mannatech
SUCCESS STORY
Ferris Haddad's father tragically and unexpectedly passed away from a heart attack when Ferris was just a 21-year-old college student. He was forced to drop out of school and go to work to support his mother and two younger sisters. Little did Ferris know that the tragedy would propel him on the road to incredible success.
Ferris started out with his own tape duplication business, which led him into computers just as that industry was exploding with possibilities. Fast forward 15 years, and at the end of the 1980s, Ferris was one of the most successful entrepreneurs and business leaders in Michigan.
"Things were great," he says wistfully. "We had years where we made incredible profits. I was able to provide for my family like I'd always wanted to. Our dreams were coming true."
But everything changed when the business fell on hard times in 1993 and went bankrupt. In just a few short years, Ferris was fast losing the success and security he had worked so hard to create....
That was a scary time. We were losing everything. I knew that if I didn't get out there, find something new fast, and make something happen, we would even lose our home. I had been prospected about Network Marketing many, many times over the years, but it was never something that interested me. In fact, I would run the other way, but when a dear friend came to me about some health products, I tried them. He said I could make some money in Networking with them, so I gave it a go, but it didn't turn out like I would have liked. That was in 1994. I lost a lot of time, money, and effort. And to be honest, what little faith I had in the industry I lost as well. I had had it with Network Marketing.
So I kept searching, looking for something. In January of `96, I found Mannatech-- or it found me. I wasn't crazy about the fact that it was Network Marketing, seeing as how I hadn't had any luck with the other company a few years before, but I couldn't ignore the science behind the products and the testimonials. They truly impressed me. I checked out the company, met some of the people, and it just felt right. I have never looked back.
The number one challenge I had when I got started was that I was broke. My business was in bankruptcy, and we were about to go into it ourselves personally. We had nothing. So I was really motivated to make this thing work, to say the least. I didn't have a choice. It had to work, even though I didn't have the money I would have liked to invest in getting it going.
My other big challenge had to do with learning Network Marketing. For a long time I had been the boss of my own company. I had employees who followed my lead, and they had to because they worked for me. But it doesn't work like that in Network Marketing. Everyone is their own boss. I had to learn a whole new dynamic of personal relationships in this business. It was all very new to me. I had to learn that my downline distributors were not employees, and that I was not their boss. I had to learn to work for them, rather than the other way around.
When I didn't have the money to invest in the business at first, family and friends came to my rescue and helped me get it going. It's amazing how people you love will rush in to help you when you need it the most. Ever since then, I have been passing that love and that help on to my downline.
As far as learning a new dynamic of relationships, it's all about personal growth and learning to be a better leader. I don't care how old you are, or how successful or unsuccessful you've been in the past, there is always something else to learn and improvements we can make. Be humble and be willing to grow and learn.
I got where I am in Networking by working very, very hard-- it's that simple. I worked 16 to 18 hours a day, six to seven days a week. I had nine meetings a week. I was constantly on the phone, or at meetings, or en route to meetings.
Now, you don't have to do it like I did. You can still make it working part-time, it just takes a lot longer. I didn't have that luxury. My family was depending on me. I had to put this thing together as fast as I could, so I just got out there and did it.
Another thing that has worked for me is to always stay on the front-line of my organization, working with people who are brand new. I focus on driving depth underneath them as soon as possible, to help get them started. That inspires them, and lets them know that their upline meant what they said when they said they would be there to help them build a business.
At the very core of my success philosophy is having a servant's heart-- serving first my Lord God in Heaven, Jesus Christ. He served us, and I'm here to serve him by serving others. If we can't serve our fellow mankind, and love and care for people, then what purpose does He have for us?
Network Marketing offers professional and financial success, sure. It's there. You can achieve your dreams, provide for your family, and have a lifestyle second to none. But there's much more than that here. There's such a powerful element of love and spirituality in what I do in Networking, it's the bedrock of who I am as a person and as a business leader. You can get rich in Network Marketing, but if you develop the true heart of a servant, you can achieve so much more than money.
Focus on helping people, ask them what they dream about, what their goals are, what they want to accomplish with their lives, then let them know you want to help them. The more people you can help, the more blessed your own life will be.
That's one of the most incredible things about Network Marketing and what we do. No matter what your background is, or how much education you have, or how much business experience you have, you can learn to help others make their dreams come true. What a fantastic opportunity!
You know, you hear successful people in Network Marketing speak about the freedom, and new people might wonder if it's really true. Believe me, that freedom is there waiting for you. It's the freedom to own your own life, and not be chained to a job. One of the greatest rewards I enjoy is to be able to spend so much time with my family, and to build something that I know will last for generations to come. I feel like the most blessed man alive.
FERRIS HADDAD is a full-time Eighteen Star Platinum Presidential Director with Mannatech, Network Marketers of personal healthcare products. Ferris has been with Mannatech since January of 1996. He lives with his wife Gail and their children "J.R.," Christopher, Mark, and Nicole in Birmingham, MI.
Reprinted with permission from Upline, Haddad - Success Story - June 1999, 888-UPLINE-1, http://www.upline.com
