I'm ok with NO!!!!!

So I felt it was time for another little blog to keep you all up to date with Aloe Darlings adventures. What a busy summer it was; I'm still working my full time job, and working harder than ever at my part-time business with Forever Living. Yet it doesn't feel like hard work, why? Because I love it!! It's my passion, there is so much to love.....fantastic products, great personal development and a sense of achievment, as well as having clear goals for the future.

I have a team of 4 distributors now, who are each building their own home businesses and teams. I have trained and helped them during their first few months, and will continue to do so for as long as they need me. We are friends, we have fun but most importantly we have our own individual dreams and goals for ourselves and our families, which we will achieve through supporting each other, and using all the tools given by Forever Living to help us to build and grow.

So why build a team? Because Forever Living rewards you for each new distributor you bring into the business, as long as you train them, support them, and help them to get up and running. Nobody is ever left to "do it by themselves", as they say in this industry "its a business for yourself, but not by yourself". Team building allows you to move up through the company's marketing plan, where an uncapped income and many incentives are open to you ie travel, car plan, chairmans bonus, to name but a few. At the beginning I must admit this all seemed too good to be true, until I met so many people who have achieved this and more in a very short time with this company; 1-3 years. There's no secret, no magic formula.....just consistent, steady activity in your business will get you there.

I started asking people 3 months ago to look at this business, and when I say "look" I mean I meet them and talk them through a presentation about the company and the business opportunity, This can't be covered in a phone call. I have shown the business to many people, and many have said "no, thank you Bernie, it's not for me". And guess what, that's perfectly fine!! Many of these " nos" have come from close friends and family, and we're still friends!! I don't even need to know why they say no, it's none of my business. But let me just say I am so grateful for each and every person who has sat with me in my home, their home, a cafe or hotel reception and looked at this business. Why? Because at least they KNOW what they are saying no to. And I have got 4 amazing team members now because I kept asking. What really makes me sad is people who say "no" without even knowing what they are saying no to, they will never know the opportunity they missed. Network Marketing is NOT for everyone, it takes courage, self belief, persistance, a strong mind, confidence, a great personality, bucketfuls of motivation, a determination to succeed and yes, wanting so much more out of life!

If I've asked you to look at this business it means that I think you have at least some of these qualities, and even still you might say no, and yes, that really is fine!! I can take it, yours won't be the first, or the last no that I hear. But I will keep going for my own reasons such as: my bonus cheque is getting bigger every month, I must lead my team by example and make sure they are achieving their goals along the way, and also this company rewards you for every single effort you make. I really don't know any other business that offers incentives such as this.

So my children are back in school, work is getting a little quieter, and I have more time to work on the best little business in the world! Christmas is coming, and myself and my team have lots of exciting and fun activity planned over the next few months! I wouldn't bet against us....we are going all the way to the top.

Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed!

Love, Bernie. (Aloe Darling). x

Clean 9 testimonials

Me Before C9.                                                                                                     Me after C9.



Below are just a few testimonials from clients who have completed the amazing Clean 9 Detox and Weight management program.




Patricia C

Hi Bernie, Just a quick thank you for introducing me to the Clean 9 Detox, delighted to have lost 8lbs over the 9 days , even more delighted to say I've managed to stay off the coffee since I finished the programme , and certainly feel so much better all round.

Martina Mc Just after weighing, 5lbs gone and feeling fantastic. Well worth doing this programme I will definitely be doing it again. Well done to all, great results all around obviously.

 November 13, 2013 at 3:08pm

Aloe Darling

November 13, 2013

*****CLEAN 9 RESULTS!!!!!*****
More results just in:
Helena lost 2lb and 1 inch off her thighs.
Sandra lost 6lb.
Lorraine lost 6lb.
Bernie (me) lost 5lb and 4 inches off my waist.
Congrats everyone hope ye are enjoying a nice cup of tea this morning Cheers!

Susan D

March 6

Hi day 9 TG 7pounds in total so happy with that cheers

Susan D I did the clean 9 a few months ago ,lost 7 pounds in the 9 days ,first 2 days hard but not bad after that ,weight has stayed off too so well pleased ..

 Lorraine I weighed myself yesterday, down 6lbs.. delighted with it especially after a summer in america had lots of energy and felt really good on cleanse. will deffo do it again.x

Helena F Weighed myself lost 2lbs but lost one inch off my tighs. Can feel the difference in my jeans. Karenas graduatino on friday so looking forward to fitting comfortably into my figure hugging black dress..

6 months with Forever (or from fear to eternity)

6 months with Forever....

A sort of review / reflection on my journey with Forever Living Products and Aloe Darling so far.

It really is a journey with this company; a journey of learning, personal developement, self discovery, perseverance, fun and celebration.

Why all the above? Well, what Forever does is give you an opportunity to start a business that could change your life......but that "could" is down to you (me) as a person. I made a small initial investment to start with; a box of products and literature for €368, allowing me to set up as a Forever Living distributor.  This is where the opportunity begins; I could have used all those products myself, or given them away as presents, or I could seriously connsider building this business, with all the support and resources available to me with Forever, which is what I did.

Now bear in mind that when I started in September, I desperately wanted to bring in just a few extra euro per week so my family would not have to miss out on the little important things like days out together, dancing classes, football, swimming lessons etc. After all the recession is not our children's fault, and I believe they deserve the best of everything. This is what has kept me going through any times of self doubt I have had in the past few months; my husband and children are my world.

So it was not too very difficult to build up a nice little customer base of 20-30 people. The products are excellent, once people start to use them they reccomend them and on it goes. I use them myself as do my family, I counted up only yesterday that we use 11 Forever products in our house daily, so I guess I am my own best customer, and how good it is to get all these lovely products at cost price!

I've been earning from between €50 and €150 per week since I started with FLP. So whilst this is by no means a fortune, it has been a huge help, and I am still only building up momentum. Let's not forget that I made back my investment after the first launch party, so now this business is costing me nothing, and everything I make is pure profit. I wonder how many other new businesses can say that in their first year?

At this point many distributors give up, say that they are not making enough money, which is just a shame. We are told from day one in this company that "this is not a get rich scheme, but an opportunity to build a successful business". I have opened my ears and my mind, and talked to people from right here in Mayo and other parts of Ireland, who have been with Forever for 3 years or more, and are making a substantial full time income, and are qualifying for company incentives such as international travel and chairmans bonus. (I've seen the flight tickets and the cheques, it's real!).

So I now have real goals and a real business plan, and it's incredible the support that is available once you get determined to succeed with something.

I have a fantastic business coach, who also works for Forever, helping me to become a Network Marketing Professional. She is kicking my butt out of it's comfort zone, and making me challenge myself daily, and I am loving it! I'd forgotten how much fun it is just talking to people about something you are passionate about. 11 years ago I worked for Thomson Holidays as a Sales Advisor in Cyprus, where I travelled around the island meeting companies like cruiselines, tour operators hoteliers etc, presenting the company to them and organising promotional events. I loved it so much and this is the closest I've got to doing anything similar since I returned to Ireland.

So what exactly am I doing? I'm networking, I'm adding to my list of connections through attending events, talking to people daily, both friends and strangers. I'm learning to use Social Media more effectively. I'm standing up and presenting to groups, my self confidence has shot up!

What am I talking to people about? Well that depends on their needs, I might show them the fantastic products produced by Forever Living, reccommend a treatment for a certain condition or complaint, or I may ask them to look at the business opportunity and tell them my experiences with Aloe Darling thus far.

I have many goals and plans for the future, I won't share all of them right now, maybe I'll spill a few more in the coming weeks! But my big goal for now is to build a strong team of 5 -10 people this Summer, train them to sell the products and the business opportunity, so that we can grow together as a team and achieve the amazing incentives and earning opportunities that Forever has to offer.

I only started to talk to people 2 weeks ago, and already have my first team member; Lisa Lawless. Lisa is a former colleague and a great friend of mine. She was looking at this business before I had even heard of it! She and her family use the products so she knows they are superior quality, but I think it was my enthusiasm about the business that halped her to make the decision to join Forever. Armed with all this knowledge Lisa has hit the ground running and is happily selling away to her own rapidly growing customer base. I'm so excited to be working with such a fun positive person, and for what the future has in store for us.

I have spoken to some more lovely people, and they are considering their options. This business is not for everyone, it takes dedication and drive. I simply show folk what it's about, then they decide for themselves, no pressure.

So that's where I'm at right now, more determined than ever to be successful in my Aloe Darling business, nobody else is knocking on my door to offer me a better opportunity.  If you are looking for an opportunity to enrich your life and your pocket, you'd be well advised to come and talk to me.

As my favourite modern poet says:

.....success is my only mother f**king option, failure's not.....

Lose yourself, Eminem.


Until next time darlings. XX

The Launch Party, September 2013

Now it was time to let the world know about my new business. Best way to do this as advised by my Forever mentors is to invite a few close friends, and family, around to your home and introduce them to the business and the products over tea and bikkies around the kitchen table.

All sounded very nice I must say, however, I wanted to kick start Aloe Darling with a bit more of a bang than tea and biscuits. (plus I know my family and friends; any excuse for a night out on the town, and they are on it!). So I called up my good friend Helena at Johnny's Bar Charlestown and asked if I could hold my launch party there. She said yes no problem, helpful and encouraging as always, she said she'd spread the word amongst her friends and customers as well.

I invited everyone I knew by phone and text, and set up an event page on Facebook. I was starting to get very excited, and very nervous. What if nobody except my family came? (and I wasn't even sure about some of them).

I'd had a chance to try a few of the products in the box, and I was already falling in love with the Aloe hand and face wash, the moisturiser and the Aloe Gelly.

I had a few rsvps, but by the evening of the launch I really had no idea of how many people would show. However, I put best foot forward, bought a new dress, got all dickied up and headed to Johnny's at 7pm with Janice, her lovely daughter Hannah, and 2 cars full of Forever Living products, brochures, and delicious finger food kindly supplied by Falleighter foods (Janice's other business).

We got set up, Helena gave me a glass of wine to steady the nerves. Start time was 7:30, at 7:30 there were still only 8 of us in the bar (including 2 staff and us 3 Forever Living distributors!!) Another gulp of wine was rapidly required.

Then the door opened, 2 friends entered, then 3 more, and on it went until we had approx 25 guests, including Seamus and our children James and Erin, as well as friends and acquantances from all around the area, curious to see what I was up to, but also fantastically supportive of a woman trying something new to better herself and her family.

I did a short introduction of my experience to date with FLP, then Janice took over to introduce the company, and the benefits of Aloe Vera for our health and well being. Also we had a brief introduction to some specific products and their benefits. Presentation over, we mingled and socialised, it was great to see so many friends there to support me; I was overwhelmed by the support and interest.  Everybody ordered some products, and to my amazement I had sold my whole starter pack, plus many more orders so I was already in profit in my brand new business!! At my first launch night I had already made back my investment.

Not only was I astounded by what a success the evening was, I was very humbled by the feedback from other women; congratulating me for stepping out of my comfort zone and trying something new, promising their support and wishing me luck. I don't think I fully appreciated until that night what a wonderful network of friends and family I have, I cannot thank them enough, and they continue to support me and Aloe Darling to this day.

Aloe Body Toning Kit (Inch loss wrap)

Some time ago my sisters and I were chatting about how we hate our tummies and wouldn't it be great to find a quick fix. I knew that Forever did a body wrap, but honestly I hadn't heard any reports about it at that point. I told the girls about it and we said maybe we'd buy it sometime and try it out between us.

Months passed before I gave it any further thought, until at one of the Forever training evenings I remembered to ask some other distributors about the Aloe Body Toning kit, and the feedback was all very positive, with some of them saying they'd lost up to 3 inches by using it!

So then I got my thinking cap on......yes I said to my sisters (Geraldine and Martina), we're going to try out this wrap thing, but let's make a night of it and invite a few friends round, have a little party! It wasn't too hard to convince them this family loves to party!!

So Martina, who had a wedding coming up the following week, volunteered to be wrapped. I got to work on prettying up the house with flowers and candles, made up a few nibbly bits (healthy of course) with the help of my lovely friend Serena.

Saturday evening arrived, we ushered Martina to the shower with the Aloe Bath Gelee and loofah to have a good scrub of the areas for treatment (waistline and upper arms)

Guests arrived (17 gorgeous girls) with wine and everyone settled in for a chat, lovely background music provided by Catriona.

We measured Martina and applied the Aloe Body Toner, all agreed it smelled divine! Then wrapped her tightly round the waist and upper arms) with the cellophane wrap, and she laid back on the recliner to relax for an hour. It says in the instructions if it gets uncomfortably hot to remove the wrap earlier....but Martina said it just felt nice and warm throughout. (the only problem I had was stopping her from sending her allies to the buffet table for her; I was afraid she'd ruin my experiment by actually gaining inches instead of losing them!!!)

To cut a long story short, Martina lost one and half inches from her waist, and her skin felt firm and toned. We applied the Conditioning Creme after, which also smells gorgeous. We had a super girls night, lots of chat, wine, nibbles and fun until the early hours, I'm very grateful to all who attended.

BEST NEWS OF ALL is that I used the wrap twice since (lost 2 inches which allowed me to pour myself into my friends fab size 8 dress for a wedding 2 weeks ago, I'm normally size 10 shhhh!)
My niece Amanda also used it lost 1 inch and looked fabulous for a wedding on Easter Sunday, and it looks like there is eough product left for at least 2 more wraps!! This is great news, because if you can get 6+ uses out of it, it makes the Aloe Body Toning kit a great value product which could be bought between 2 friends, or a group of bridesmaids etc to get ready for any special occasion. The Body Conditioning creme can be bought separately and is great for tautening the skin on upper arms, tummy legs, and reducing the appearance of cellulite!

Aloe Body Toning Kit : €95.15

Conditioning Creme: €39.21.

All products available at www.aloedarling139.myflpbiz.com

My introduction to Forever Living...

So I went to meet Janice for a coffee and a chat. She told me the story of Forever Living Products, an American based multi level marketing company, $2.8 billion worldwide turnover, operating for 35 years, in 150+ countries worldwide, member of the DSAI (Direct Selling Association of Ireland), operating in Ireland for 22 years with a 10 million + annual turnover, constant growth worldwide despite 2 world recessions,vertically integrated, ethically sound, green, cruelty free products...the good stuff goes on and on and on!!

Now I must say that when I listen to the "signing up" stories from my Forever colleagues, I hear things like: "I used the products for a while first", "I did my due diligence; researched the company online, spoke to people already working for Forever" etc. And they are perfectly correct in doing so. But Bernie (me) needed money and she needed it now, so I told Janice there and then that I wanted to join. Janice was and still is a lovely, kind, helpful person, so when I said that it would be a few weeks before I could afford to buy the Start Up box of products, she said fine, just contact me when you are ready, and she put no pressure on me whatsoever. I did call her every couple days with lots of questions about this new company I would be joining, and she gave me a few samples of products to try (I was very impressed, especially with the Aloe Gel and the moisturisers), and lots of literature to keep me interested. I read everything I could find about FLP and have to say I could not find one negative comment anywhere about either the company or the products. So I was getting very excited to start, but I had to wait a couple of weeks to be paid a bonus from my current employer so I could buy the Start Up box for €368.

Then the doubts came....So what was I really thinking? Spending €368 that I scarcely could afford? I had never had my own business, could I make this work? Would I make my money back? Was I being a complete eejit??

Well, the way I looked at it was this: I had made a vow to make things better for my family, and nobody was going to come knocking on my door with a better opportunity. At best, I could use the sales and customer service experience I have to sell these products and give it a go. At worst, I'd have a boxful of nice health and beauty products that I could give away as Christmas and birthday presents!! Nothing ventured, nothing gained eh? Also, I am a good judge of character. Janice was already becoming a friend, she didn't look to me (and still doesn't!) like any kind of con artist, nor did she make any unrealistic promises of get rich quick schemes etc. She just introduced the business exactly as what it is.......an amazing opportunity to make money, learn new skills, and build a business which can give me a better future.

FINALLY I was able to buy the start up box, so I jumped in my car that very morning and zoomed up the road to Janice's house, signed the paperwork and an hour later had a phone call from a very nice girl in Forever Living Head Office in Northern Ireland welcoming me to the company, and telling me to please call them if I had any questions at all, that their job was to support me! How nice was that?

The box of goodies arrived on Monday morning 16th September, how exciting!! It was like Christmas! 6 bottles of Aloe drinking gel, 2x Aloe gellys, 2x moisturisers, Aloe Heat Lotion, Aloe hand and face soap, Aloe toothpaste, Arctic Sea supplements, shampoos, conditioners, Aloe lips, deodorant, Propolis creme,,,,,,beautiful products, beautifully packaged. A full pack of company literature with information on all the products, and a great book on Aloe Vera by Dr Peter Atherton, a member of Forever Living's Advisory Board.

At this point I also had access to Forever Living's distributor website, a private facebook page with training dates and information for distributors, a wealth of information at my finggertips. Also by buying the Fast-Start box I had also qualified for 30% discount on all the products, as well as 5% bonus back from Forever monthly!! And I hadn't even properly started yet!

This was the moment I knew I had made the right decision, I was looking at quality products......and a top notch company!

Thank you for reading. xx

Next up......The Launch Party!!!!

Aloe Darling........before the beginning..

Hi!

I'm Bernie, 45 years old (how the f**k did that happen!), married to Seamus, mother of James and Erin. Proud member of the Mc Dermott and Gallagher families....the most crazy, eccentric, colourful, caring, kind loving, partying bunch of people in the Universe!

Anyhow, blogging is something I thought I'd do a lot of as I do have an interest in writing; I've dabbled in a bit of poetry and short stories / essays, some of which I may share on here when I'm feeling braver.

Last September I embarked on a new adventure when I became a distributor for Forever Living Products, but let me go back a little  bit....

For the last six years or so Ireland has been in recession, and this has in some way touched the lives of almost every individual in the country, my husband and I are lucky in that we have been able to keep up mortgage payments, but Seamus was made redundant in 2008 from a well paying job, leaving us with just my wages and a small income from the farm to keep us going. This meant some big lifestyle changes for us; fewer holidays, no more dining out or nights out etc. However we are the types to just "get on with it" and to be honest there are many many families who are a lot worse off; losing their homes and having to emigrate etc. That must be truly soul destroying. Seamus sent out 100s of cvs, went for recruitment and interview skills training to no avail. Then he completed a security course and secured himself seasonal work at our local airport, and I'm very proud to be married to a man who never ever stops trying to make things better for his family. So whilst we are financially secure at the moment...things are by no means as good as they were in 2003 when we got married.

Last August we had some amazing weather, and I was enjoying a few days off with the children, visiting local beaches etc. There was so much they wanted to do and so much on, and as you know these days out all cost money...I was paid on Friday, and by Saturday night after paying bills, doing the grocery shop, and a few treats for the kids, I was almost broke again, and my 2 offspring had plans for Sunday and Monday! I went to bed Saturday night despairing, but also very determined.....I had to do something to get an extra income into our house so that I wouldn't always be saying NO to my 2 children when they wanted, or needed something. I made a vow to find a way to make things better.

It's amazing how powerful our minds can be...the very next day at a country fair, as I was buying a hot dog from a burger van, I spotted a little sign saying "would you like to earn an extra income from your home?" I said to the lady behind the counter "I would be very interested in earning an extra income". She very casually replied "Ok, write down your number, I'll call you during the week." Well I thought that call would never come, but thankfully it did......

In the interest of keeping these blogs short and hopefully sweet, read the next one to find out what happened next....