Those Pesky Kids!
So what’s the top excuse I hear for not building the business? Kids.
I can’t find a babysitter. The babysitter didn’t show up. I can’t spend so much time away from my kids. The kids have soccer/piano lessons/football/ballet/band, etc, etc.
Do me a favor…
Please don’t use your kids as an excuse not to do the business. Use them as THE REASON to do the business.
Successful people with kids are everywhere in our business. They found a way to make it work. They have a list of babysitters. They plan ahead. And here’s probably the most important…
They teach their kids delayed gratification. If you say you can’t do the business because Monday is the kids’ karate, Tuesday is band, Wednesday is Little League, Thursday is swimming – something is wrong.
Have a talk with your kids. Let them know what you are doing in your business and why. Then have them pick the one thing that is most important to them, and support them in that.
Once you’re free, you can do lots more things with them and for them. But that takes sacrifice now. And teaching this discipline to your children may be the greatest gift you can ever give them. You up for that?
-RG
The only thing holding most people from success is themselves. Too bad their excuse makes them believe its not their fault.
I love it! When I saw the headline for this come over my email, the first thing I thought was: they’re not my excuse… they’re my BIG WHY!
With all the work we can do over the phone in our business, we can do the work anywhere. That’s one of the things that is GREAT about it… location freedom. Need to sign a new person up? Keep a notebook with you, and a copy of everything your company needs to place an order so you can put an order in for your customers via phone. Need to do an invite? Call ’em. Need to do a presentation? Call them, direct them to a web tool of some kind, and then call them back when they’re done. Any MLM company worth its salt is making this sort of thing easier for you with the tools they provide online and via the phone.
When I first started this business (and I’m working it part time right now), I figured I’d do my work after my kids went to bed. That didn’t work out for me. Did I quit? Nope. I changed. I started making calls over my lunch hour and during my commute home on the bus. Problem solved.
So stop the excuses and use that energy to figure out how you CAN do it, not why you CAN’T do it!
Oh Randy you did it again! This is going to result in “How can a single guy” know what its like to be a parent.
Well…I confess I have used this excuse in the past. I was a home school teacher, Karate on Mondays and Thursday, Scouts on Tuesday, Disney Park on Saturdays when we were not camping with the scouts or on a field visit etc etc
Then one day I realized he was running my life! As a parent you only have one rsponsibility to your kid(s) …to bring them into this spiritual existence – after that, its up to them.
Today, I do Scouts on mondays (I enjoy being a Scout Leader and the positive impact you can have on kids) the rest of the time he is on his own! and guess what he loves the independence:)
Thanks for your thoughts Randy…ps are you ever available for baby sitting, Ross has some questions for you 😉
LOL, I do babysitting, but it’s VERY expensive!
-RG
Randy,
Excuses, excuses!!!! It just isn’t about kids. Excuses come in lots of forms – aging parents, health challenges, not enough time, not enough money, whatever. As you said, there are lots of successful people: young, old, married, single, healthy, major health challenges that still get the job done because they keep their Why in front of them. I find that often times the reason Why people decide to do this business becomes their Why Not.
Getting an agreement on holding each other accountable to move things forward is the key from day one.
Thanks for this post. I have been telling myself that my kids are the reason for me doing this business BUT have used them and their activities to prevent me from doing this business. I even had a talk with them about the time I was going to be away from them.
Changing my method and am truly going to do this business BECAUSE of them. Thanks Randy.
-RG,
How about if mom and dad teach the kids to be entrepreneurs?
Involve them on some level of your business. It’s all education.
Mahalo
-djm
Hey Randy.
When someone decide to work from home, he or she will overcome the most of
obstacle and problem, and will find the solution for to fix this situation, and don’t makes Excuses.
we know about a women who has two littile childs girls, which gives many tips,
how to manage,to work from home, when some mom has little childs,babies:
Excellent article. All eight of my children are grown except a 15 yr old daughter. At 15 she know how to do the laundry, is an excellent cook, and often has the evening meal ready when her mother gets home from work.
Her dream is to be an entrepreneur, and she is already making her plans.
Thanks to some of the things I have learned from people like you Randy, and others in this great business, and handed down to my kids, I think they have turned out pretty good.
Keep up the good work.
Reuben
Right on Randy!
I have 6 kids (all still at home) and a husband that travels 4 days week, so I’m basically a single parent Mon – Fri.
My kids are my WHY for doing the business.
When you treat your business as a business & demand respect from your kids to also respect YOU and your business it works.
Trust me my kids have tried the guilt trip on me many times. Because you work from home they think you can drop everything for their every whim.
It took some training – but, I now have their respect for what I do – they understand it is much better to have a Mom at home working than off at an office somewhere.
And, I did what you said early on Randy – each kid was only allowed one sport and/or lesson at a time.
We need to remember WE are the parents and WE set the rules!!
Thanks for all you do Randy!!
Jill Yacobucci
Great post Randy!
I love the comments by everyone too!
I guess it comes down to: “You can either make excuses or money, you can’t do both”
Best to all,
Bill
I read this several years ago: Make an agreement with your children that when you reach a specific goal (like $500/month income, or a specific number of distributors on your team, or a specific promotion level) that you will buy your child a *specific* gift or experience they want. Make it reasonable, put it in writing, post the agreement on the refrigerator with pictures of that specific item/event.
This teaches them responsibility of fulfilling a contract, prioritizing their desires, delayed gratification… and on those days you’re procrastinating, you’ll likely hear, “Hey Mom, shouldn’t you be making calls right now?”
Greetings Randy,
When I first started in this industry my children were much younger and I used them as excuse all the time.
I used them when I left them to go to my meetings
I used them when I went to the company meetings
I used them when I was able to take them on vacation when I choose to.
You see, I used them as one of the EXCUSES and reasons WHY I was doing this business.
Like you mentioned the other day. It is all in the mindset on how you view doing what you are doing and WHY.
Are you doing whatever you are doing because you HAVE to or because you GET to?
Good to see many on here have done the same thing as a reason why.
For those of you reading these posts that have fallen prey to making excuses NOT to do what needs to be done to create your own success. Learn and chose to change the way you think.
LIberty is not the power of doing what we like, but the right of being able to do what we ought!
The nice thing about being a business owner is you get to decide what you do.
The bad thing about being a business owner is you get to decide what you do.
EVERYTHING IS EASY TO DO. UNFORTUNATELY, IT IS ALWAYS EASIER NOT TO.
Decide today to, simply DO what needs to be DONE
Success will follow.
Be Blessed,
Robert
We’ll mom’s…the best place to start your business in MLM is at all of these events that you take the kids to…just imagine …what a huge captive market you have!
Great post Randy…as a side note, don’t use your kids as an excuse to not exercise either, use them as the reason to exercise and live healthy, so that you can be around longer to enjoy life with them!
LOL. If prospects and team members were as easy to handle as my kids I’d be on the ‘mad money’ already! It’s true so many people use kids as their excuse and if they have no kids then they just find another one like the dog or whatever!
As far as kids go I’m proud to say that mine are so advanced due to being exposed to the wonderful stuff we do in Network Marketing that they put many adults to shame with their attitude, not to mention their skills on the telephone!
Great post Randy, as far as the “how can a single guy know …without having kids” line, you’ve had the opportunity to watch your downlines with kids build get to share some of those tips with others.
My upline was a married woman, no kids. She and I would go out prospecting together because I was in her local market and she saw first hand how I had to navigate through this business with kids.
I’m adding this story here because only you guys in the NM business would have any appreciation for this:
When my oldest kid was a toddler well into walking stages we put her in those cute little sneakers with the heavy rubber sole. Well after work, I would pick up my little kid from daycare and go to a grocery store to get dinner and of course while I’m there do some “other shopping” (for prospects). One day I was talking to this very sharp woman and I she and I had so much fun talking to each other that we didn’t realize my toddler had taken off her shoe and thrown it at this woman (my prospect). Well, my toddler nailed this woman right in the stomach! And let me tell you this little tennis shoes hurt! She gave me her name and number anyway….she was a mom too!
Flying toddler tennis shoes…guess it’s just one of those hazards that come with the turf!
Then I had my second child and same thing happened again with the little kid!!! You’d think I would’ve learned my lesson!
Anyway, at this point, both kids were old enough that I could start making a deal with them: they would each receive one gummy bear every time we went to the store if they behaved themselves (i.e., no taking off clothes and throwing them, no grabbing mommy and screaming “she’s mine” when I talk to a prospect). It worked for quite a long while. They couldn’t wait until “after school”!
Randy, my daughter is in the business since 15 years. She works with me.
Yes I have great leaders talked abouth this many times. I have never and will never use my kids as a excuse, but I have had people quiting the business in the past using their kids as an excuse. I didnt know what to say to them at that point, but now I know what to say…
Hey Randy,
I don’t have kids yet, but I do think excuses are what we use to let ourselves off the hook, to continue living in that comfort zone that leads to a life of quiet desperation.
Wayne
People make excuses because the reason to continue is getting watered down and its selfish. If the benefits multiply, the excuses will diminish. Our prospects are tired of the come ons and the promises. When a company truly offers the benefits of a well rounded lifestyle, physical and mental health, exercise, service, giving back, relationships, family, and financial then the people will invite others to meetings. Give people a compelling reason to join and they will come. Watch its going to happen.
If they said NO TIME to do this business,but how come they HAVE TIME to doing OTHER PEOPLE’s business(WORKING)?This is so call servant style and working for other.
If they said No Time to doing this business, they must stay at home with their children.I s it they bring the FUTURE for their children?The answer is “NO”.