OpTree

If you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, can you help him improve the tricks he knows… At 53 years old the entrepreneur known as Steve Thompson is re-inventing himself using the skills he always had. In his 13^th month with Ambit Energy, Steve’s income hit over $100,000 for a single month, and with current monthly earnings he will easily exceed $1,000,000.00 in 2008.

Come Back On May 5, and find out why Steve is so passionate about the MLM Industry, Ambit Energy and why putting others first really matters when OpTree does a 4 day profile on Steve, his emerging leaders and their success with Ambit.

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Vicki Conley wants to make a difference in the lives of as many people as she can with her business.

The Windsor, Colorado woman is a distributor for Waiora, a growing company with more than 40,000 distributors worldwide, that provides “natural products for a better lifestyle”.

From a liquid dietary supplement that replenishes the body’s key nutrients to Waiora’s Natural Cellular Defense supplement that removes heavy metal and toxins from your body, Waiora products have a three-step philosophy of Remove, Replenish and Restore that can control the aging process safely and naturally.

Some of the products include:

– Natural Cellular Defense: Clinically formulated with naturally occurring zeolite to help support a healthy immune system; remove heavy metals, toxins and other substances from the body; and balance the body’s pH levels.

– Essential Daily Nutrients (liquid supplement): Promotes energy and mental clarity, boosts your immune system and supplies your body with the recommended daily allowances of antioxidants , vitamins and minerals.

– Skincents: Vitamin mineral and botanical-based; Dermatologist tested, won’t clog pores and is formulated without parabens, mineral oil and fragrances.

–AgariGold with H1X1: AgariGold with H1X1 is an exclusive formula combining H1X1, the highly potent Agaricus Blazei hybrid mushroom, and Sasa Bamboo leaf extract to create one the most efficacious wellness product

Windsor Now sat down with Conley to discuss how she got involved with the company, what her goals are in Windsor and why she thinks the Waiora products work.

Windsor Now: How did you get started with Waiora?

Vicki Conley: A friend of mine through the Windsor Women’s Business Network received a telephone call about the Waiora business opportunity and prior to that she was given a diagnosis that most of us don’t want to hear. She had an expiration date stamped on her forehead and a foreign invader of cells was in her body. She was allergic to drugs and couldn’t use chemotherapy or radiation. She was given less than six weeks to live. They told her about Waiora and she did her research, and said “I need this now for me.” She got on the Waiora product called Natural Cellular Defense. Within 30 days she no longer had that problem. She is now the top female income earner in the company.

WN: Tell me about the products.

VC: The Natural Cellular Defense is a drop. There is a little bottle that contains approximately 300 drops. Ninety-five percent of the health challenges today are caused by heavy metals and toxins. What this product does is it removes heavy metal and toxins from the body, which allows the body to naturally work better toward fighting other health challenges. You take 10-15 drops, three times a day in your mouth or in water. One bottle will last about a month. People have mentioned when taking this product the mental fog will go away, they will have better memory function and they just feel better. I’ve heard so many testimonies from people on how this product has changed their lives, so there is something to it.

Last year we came out with a toxin free skin care line called Skinscents. We’ve got cleansing facial gel, moisturizing facing, firming facial mask and wrinkle treatment. I’ve been using the revitalization facial serum for about two years now. I’ll be 50 in September and I think it’s done a pretty good job.

A year ago in October we came out with a juice drink called Essential Daily Nutrients. It’s not just a juice, it’s a daily vitamin product, mineral product and provides essential ionic and up to 60 trace minerals. It’s an herbal product and a whole fruit product. It comes in an 8 ounce bottle and 1 ounce a day is the recommended daily requirement. I take this every day and also give it to my cat.

We just came out with two new products in March. One is called the AgariGold with H1X1. It is the Agaricus blazei mushroom. It was discovered in Brazil with people who were living well into their hundreds. The scientists are calling this mushroom the ‘mushroom of life.’ It’s supposed to help with high blood pressure, protect against Alzheimer’s, inhibit or reverse arthritis and boost immune systems. They feel this product is going to catapult this company.

Our second new product is called Fast2Sleep. They are melatonin strips, so it’s 100 percent natural. You place one or two strips on your tongue and you let it absorb into your blood stream. You should be able to fall asleep within 15 or 30 minutes of taking the strips. There is two other natural ingredients that help you stay asleep. They work really well.

There are 30 Waiora products and I’ve named the main ones.

WN: How old is the company?

VC: The Natural Cellular Defense product came out in August 2005. The company has grown 1,200 percent since this product was introduced. This is pretty much our flagship product. The company was founded in April 2004. We are still fairly small and I’ve been with the company for about two years.

WN: Where did it start?

VC: The company headquarters is in Boca Raton, Fla. It was founded by Stan Cherelstein and Eddie Stone. With these two gentlemen and the management team, they’ve got over 130 combined years with network marketing and the selling industry.

WN: What are the benefits of these products?

VC: My personal benefits are I didn’t have any major health problems. I used to experience migraine headaches once a month and I’ve been on this product (Natural Cellular Defense) for two years and I have not had a migraine in that time. Also, as I’ve gotten older, I’ve put on a little bit of weight and would have digestive issues, and go through a bottle of Tums. Three weeks on this product I was not taking Tums anymore. With those two issues it was working with me. You feel better, feel better about yourself and feel healthier.

I have a 13-year-old cat who had digestive problems and I would find nice little presents around the house. I would give him three drops in his food every morning and from Day One I no longer found puddles around the house. I still find hairballs, it doesn’t get rid of those (laughing).

WN: What’s the hardest part of your business?

VC: The hardest part is getting people to understand what they have and to want to tell everyone about Waiora. I can’t sleep a night without telling at least five people a day about what I’ve got. I’ve made a lot of contacts on the Internet, on message board and chat boards, but I have better luck talking to strangers.

WN: What’s the most beneficial part of your job?

VC: Not everyone is going to listen and not everyone is going to want it, but the few that are out there that do, that’s what keeps me going.

About the Author

Jennifer Moore was hired in June 2006 as a beat reporter for the Windsor Now newspaper. Moore is a 2006 Colorado State University graduate. She was an intern for the Greeley Tribune during the spring of 2006, covering education, features and entertainment. When she isn’t writing, Moore coaches a 12-and-under girls softball team in Denver. Single and without children, Moore likes to hike and explore everything Colorado has to offer with her boyfriend, Robert. Ms. Moore gave OpTree permission to publish this article.

Popularity: 3% [?]

Preserving Memories

Scrapbooking allows people to create a story, one page at a time

By Peyton Baldwin

For many, scrapbooking is not just a hobby. Rebecca Haake, a consultant for the scrapbooking sales company Close To My Heart, says her customers have a “Scrap Club” every other month, and many of them enjoy the fellowship of getting together and creating. They are all excited about telling the stories behind the pictures, she says. “When you were a child you had art class. Scrapbooking is like that, but for adults,” Haake says.

Why we do what we do

People deal with divorce in a variety of ways. For Haake, beginning to scrapbook was just the solution. “I started scrapbooking after my divorce to help me work through those issues,” she says. Much like her life, she got rid of all her old albums and started fresh. She says by scrapbooking, instead of just putting pictures in an album, you get a more personalized book.

Dena Broderick started scrapbooking after a trip to France in 2001. Broderick, Kansas alumna and consultant for Creative Memories scrapbooking sales company, wanted a different way to display her photos than just in albums. She wanted to tell the story of her trip. Broderick is an engineer and she says she wasn’t sure if she had a creative enough mindset to actually put together a decent looking page. But two pages into it she “was hooked.”

In 2002, Broderick became a Creative Memories consultant. The mission of the company is based upon getting stories and preserving memories in scrapbooks, Broderick says. The main reason to put events down on paper is so that one day you or other family members can look back and actually know what was taking place in each photograph. “No matter what you think, you will forget. You’ll forget people’s names or the little details that made the event special for you,” she says.

Scrapbooking can also produce books that someone will cherish forever. Broderick says when her friend’s parents passed away, her friend made a scrapbook of them, thereby preserving their memories and the special times she had with them forever. As a consultant, Broderick says she has also helped husbands and boyfriends make books or small projects for wives and girlfriends.

The scissors and glue of it

To get started scrapbooking, you’ll need a few basic materials. Brittani Boyd, LeMars, Iowa, senior, says that in addition to your photos, all you need is basic craft stuff like paper, scissors, glue and stickers. Boyd has been scrapbooking since high school. She shops at Hobby Lobby or Michaels Arts & Crafts store, where they sell all of these supplies.

Aunya Brown, Hutchinson junior, says it is important to have some sort of idea what you want the page or book to look like before you start. If you have an idea for a theme or layout based on your pictures then you can find paper and adornments to match, she says. Many stores also sell pre-made kits. “These are kind of like dummy kits for scrapbooking. They have matching paper and embellishments, and some tell you how to put them all together,” Brown says.

Is it for you?

When asked if this was a hobby anyone could have, all four women agreed that it was. Brown is a chemistry major and didn’t think she was creative at all, but she attended a class at a store in Hutchinson and has been scrapbooking ever since. She was amazed by all of the different layouts, themes and directions a page could take, and with the added bonus of kits, the creativeness is right in front of you.

Haake says Close to My Heart sells packaged papers that are for different levels of scrapbookers. The Level One packages have preprinted pages with spaces for the photos already positioned on the page. A more experienced scrapbooker could buy a higher-level paper pack and play around with the design a bit more, she says. Haake also notes that with so many different kinds of products out there you just have to find some paper and embellishments that go with your pictures and put it all together. She says it is definitely easy for everyone.

This does not seem to be a man’s pastime, though. Broderick says there are male consultants, but she hasn’t ever had a male customer who scrapbooked on a regular basis. Men will scrapbook gifts for people, but will not necessarily take it up as a hobby. “Many people see this as a girly, crafty thing. The men that I have seen do this are usually photographers, and they are more interested in the art aspect than the preserving or telling a story,” Broderick says.

So, if you are looking for a new hobby or just a different way to display all those wonderful pictures from your last vacation, peruse the scrapbook aisles in your local stores.

Check with your local store for classes or clubs to help you get started or to meet other scrapbookers. You can also go to Haake’s Web site at rebeccahaake.myctmh.com, or Broderick’s Web site at www.mycmsite.com/sites/dena.

Popularity: 1% [?]