Why Not You?

For years I would find myself at the casino at the beginning of the night thinking maybe, just maybe I would win big. After all, the last 20 times I went to a casino, I didn't win....something had to give and I was for sure going to win this time. Weird....I never won big. That really sucks! I wonder how much money I've thrown into machines at casinos and got nothing in return? Actually, I would rather never know that number to refrain from being physically sick.

I'm typically a very optimistic person. I am more of a glass half full instead of half empty kind of person and I always look on the bright side. Life is far too short to be anything but optimistic and positive. When I joined It Works in January 2014, I went into it with a positive outlook. I really just wanted to make a little money back on what I was already spending as customer. Maybe make enough to cover the cost of daycare, but that was it. And besides, if I tried it and failed- who cares?! I had just gotten a nice promotion at work a few months earlier so I was happy with that and while I knew the extra money would be helpful and make me feel more at ease, it wasn't that necessary. I remember the day that Beth text me and said, "hey, you have three months to get diamond and you earn $10,000!" You would think that amount of money would excite me a little...but it didn't because like the casino, I didn't think I would get it anyways. That is where I was wrong.

Earning that $10,000 wasn't a gamble. It wasn't by luck. It wasn't because I was at the right place at the right time. Earning that $10,000 was totally and completely because I made it happen. Not only did I make that happen, but I made it happen again two months later by promoting to double diamond and earning another $15,000.

So here is my question to you....why not you?  Why couldn't you be the next person to earn that same bonus as I did? I assure you that I am a real person. I have a job. I have a family. I have a house and a dog. I do not have a degree in multi-level marketing, sales, or entrepreneurship. I am not an expert and I would never claim to be. But that's the thing....you don't have to be an expert. All you need is a goal, a vision, and a path on how you want to get there and it's yours.

So who is next? Who is going to step out of their comfort zone and have their picture here by mine? Don't let your fears hold you back.  After all, the only thing stopping you, is you.

Follow your dreams, 

April

Thoughts From Cruising Altitude

Whenever I fly, I look forward to the time away from real life; to being thousands of miles in the sky with no communication to the hustle of everyday life on the ground.  There is something so exhilarating about being in the sky amongst the clouds and what feels like so close to the sun.  As children we are taught that heaven can be found in the sky way above the clouds, so being above those clouds naturally makes me feel close to those who have gone before me and that alone gives me a feeling of peace.

Flying to San Diego last week was no different but the clouds that we passed through triggered me into a deep thought about being content.  For the past few months I have felt so content in life. I feel like I am doing what I was meant to do on this Earth and I am trusting God's plan for me. I have found a dream that I am pursing and will continue to pursue, because it just feels right. That doesn’t mean, however, that those dreams will come easy and without resistance. These are the thoughts that went through my mind when we were passing through these clouds on my way out west. Though these clouds were obstacles in the path of this flight and the turbulence disturbed its journey, there was still beauty in resistance and everything came out alright. This analogy aligns perfectly with the experiences I am running into while chasing my dreams.

"There is no telling how many miles you’ll run while chasing your dreams…just keep running. - April Larson, Double Diamond- It Works Global

“All our Dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.” – Walt Disney

Peace and Love,

April

Flashbacks to Last October

Did you know that last year at this time Josh and I were facing a harsh reality that I wish no one would ever have to face? Not many people know this because we didn't talk about it, but now that it is all in the past, I don't mind sharing.

Mid-August of last year, Josh, Bray, and I had just moved into a brand new house that we custom built. Our first mortgage payment wasn't due until October 1 so we had almost 6 weeks of no mortgage. I was thankful for that because we had to furnish what we had just built! But get this, just two weeks before that first payment was due, Josh called me in the middle of  a work day and said he no longer had a job. The company he was with for four years shut their doors and he was out a job. Are you kidding me?! Shock. That was all I could feel. How were we going to pay for this house, and afford all of our bills, and daycare, and everything else that is necessary to live and take care of a two year old?! After a few weeks of trying to come up with a plan, he was able to start working for a few months before he returned to school to get another degree. He had GI Bill money left from being in the military so he wanted to use it and further his education so we would not be in this situation ever again.

The reason I tell this story now is because last October, It Works Global was a foreign name to me. I had never even heard of the company and had no interest in MLM companies anyways.  Little did I know that in just one year the name It Works Global would be something so dear to my heart. A year ago was tough and I never want to experience something like that again. So when this company was presented to me in January, I kept thinking back to that time where we felt so vulnerable and helpless. The final push I needed to say 'yes' to this company was Josh telling me, "go for it, what do you have to lose?" Those words have stuck with me. He was right, what did I have to lose? Nothing. I had nothing to lose and everything to gain and had I not gone forward with that mindset, I would not be where I am today.

Time keeps ticking and it's now October once again, one year after this horrible experience. I am so incredibly grateful for what I have achieved this past year. I said yes to something that I was terrified of and actually intimidated by. Last October I was making $0 a month with this company, and would have been thrilled with just a couple hundred extra dollars each month to help pay my bills. This October I am sitting at Double Diamond rank with this company making an average of $6,000 each month and pushing full-force to promote to Triple Diamond. Guess what guys....I am a real person. I have a full time job that I am at 5 days a week. I have a 3 year old, a husband, a house, a family, friends, co-workers, good times, and bad times....just like you. I am no different than anyone else so when people say "I'm not good at things like that" my response is, "says who?" YOU can be good at whatever YOU set your heart to.

Moral of the story. Never settle for less. Never let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game. Taking our experience last fall and knowing that I do not fear for the future like I did back then is reason enough for me to put my heart and soul into this company. We have come so far in just one year....imagine what one more year will bring.

Peace and Love,

April

Events and Expos

One of my favorite things about It Works is the people I've met and the friendships I've made. Nine short months ago I wouldn't have known any of these people and since then I've helped them not only become healthier, but also wealthier. This post is mostly going to be pictures of some of my most favorite It Works memories thus far. We have so much fun as a team and we never let anyone do this alone! We always want new people to join our team so don't be shy!

Peace and Love,

April

Skin Care

Did you know skin is the largest organ of the integumentary system in the body? The skin is the protector of your body and the barrier that keeps pathogens from entering your system. Why not nourish it with the best possible products? It Works all-natural products are here to help!

Lip & Eye Cream is one of my favorite things to promote. It smooths skin tone and lessens the look of lines, wrinkles, bags, and puffiness. My mom decided to use the Lip & Eye on only one eye for 2 months.  Can you tell which eye she used the cream on and which one was left out?

Hair, Skin, Nails has been helping women grown longer, thicker, more healthy hair and MEN thicken up their balding spots! Hair, Skin, Nails moisturizes, nourishes, and strengthens your hair, skin, and nails from the inside out with support for healthy cell growth, natural collagen and keratin production, and boosts your body's free radical fighting defense.

Preventage & Repairage work nicely together as a day cream and night cream gel. They both lessen the look of fine lines and wrinkles caused by sun exposure and environmental pollutants. The picture below is my sister and the biggest difference seen is in the forehead area.

Cleanser and Toner are another duo that help keep your face clean while conquering acne! The cleanser is soap-free and removes oil, dirt, and makeup- even waterproof mascara! The toner mist is then used to refresh, restore, and re-balance your skin to it's natural pH level while maintaining the appearance of pores and improving skin tone and texture. The picture below is a fellow distributor who used the cleanser and toner one time- 24 hour difference!

There ya have it! Natural skin-care that isn't harmful to your skin and helps to revive life into your body's biggest protector!

Peace and Love,

April

"I'm Not a Salesperson"

The title of this post is a phrase I hear all the time. I talk with people daily about the opportunity that It Works has to offer for someone looking to make a some extra money each month and nine times out of ten, one of the first things people will say is something along the lines of, "that sounds great, but I'm not a salesperson" and my always includes the words "I'm not a salesperson either."

TRUTH I am NOT a salesperson. My degree is in Human Resource Management- that has nothing to do with sales. I could never hold a job that had to meet sales quotas.  I am not persuasive. I do not like to talk people into buying something that maybe isn't right for them. However, what I am is honest. Honest about the company, honest about the product, and honest about my personal results with using these products. When one is honest to their customers, you never have to push a sale and the sale just comes. This is why I was able to reach double diamond status in just over 5 months.

When I first started with It Works in January, I was reluctant and actually used those exact same words to my sponsor, Beth. I told her I was shy and I'm not one to sell things and her response to me was "trust me, the products sell themselves." My thought at the time was yeah....right! I didn't really completely believe her at the time but I'm here to tell you nine months later that yes, the products do sell themselves, and I have never once felt like I was trying to be a salesperson!

The moral of this post? You do not have to be a salesperson to be a part of this team. Simply be you. Believe in yourself. Believe in the products. And believe in the company. The rest will come!

Peace and Love,

April

Team Work

I wanted to write a little bit about how and why teams are so successful with It Works! This is a team driven business and without it, there would be no promotions, no bonuses, no conferences to attend, no Facebook groups to encourage one another, there would be no It Works Global. IWG makes it so easy to succeed if you truly want to.

When someone approaches me about becoming a distributor on my team, one of the first things that I tell them is that I am not successful, unless they are successful. We build our businesses upon one another so for me to promote, I need my team to promote. No one is left in the dark to fend for themselves at any time, for I would only be setting myself up for failure. I was so confused when I first joined this company because there was so much information and I didn't know where to begin so I wanted to shed some light on how promotions happen in this company.

When someone first begins, they start out as a distributor and their very first promotion will be to an Executive and this will be achieved when you have two people sign up as distributors under you and they have 400 GV  (GV stands for group volume- a number that is associated with sales). The chart below is an example of how easy it is to promote to Executive.

The next promotion that would be met is to Ruby. You will just build to Ruby off of your original Executive chart by adding a few more distributors to your team. Below is an example of how simple it is to promote to Ruby.

Next stop- Emerald! Once you have promoted to Ruby, you will then begin to fill out your Emerald chart! Are you starting to see the domino-effect in how once you start building your chart, the rest just falls into place?

Ready for a leadership level? Diamond is the next stop after Emerald and will get you a spot on the leadership team! If you looked at a blank diamond chart, you might be very overwhelmed at filling in all of those blank boxes, but when you look at it like this, you will notice that some of these people you will not even know personally! Person X knows person Y who knows person Z and next thing you know, you are moving up the ranks!

*double diamond, triple diamond, presidential diamond, and ambassador diamond follow diamond level.

Now does it make sense when I say that I'm not successful unless you're successful? My sister, Ann, was the first distributor that I signed up and she was my emerald in my diamond chart and is my diamond in my double diamond chart. I never sign up a distributor and expect them to do this solo- that is not how it works. This is all about teamwork and that is what we stand for!

I hope that helps to explain how one would get to diamond level and how simple it really can be! Feel free to ask questions and I'll do my best to answer them!

Peace and Love,

April

Why and How I Joined It Works Global

When I first started this business in January of 2014, I was completely against all network marketing companies. I saw no need to buy things from these companies and there was NO WAY I would ever try to sell something for one either. Why would I buy from an MLM (multi-level marketing) company when I could just go to Target to buy what I need? That was until I started doing my research on network marketing. Now I think “why would I go to Target where the rich are just getting richer when I could buy the same type of product (usually better quality) AND have a someone like you or me benefit as well?” Sounds like a pretty simple answer now and I feel badly that I was ever so against MLM in the past and labeled it all as a “scam” when in fact, the only scam I see now is in corporate America where the rich keep getting richer, the poor keep getting poorer, and the in between just stay where they are…in between.

January 10, 2014 is the day I decided to take control of my life and make a change for myself and my family. I was tired of working and never getting ahead. Sure I have a good job and I love my job. I have a B.S. degree from St. Mary’s University of Minnesota and I am proud of my education and my professional work experience. But still- I could never get ahead and the bills never slow down. I want something I’ve never had? That meant I had to do something I had never done and January 10 was the day it was going to happen.

I signed up and got to work. I had already been using some of the products as a Loyal Customer and knew I loved them so I started telling people about what I knew.  I sent emails to my friends and family members who instantly thought they just got spammed. They could hardly believe that me, being the skeptic and anti-MLM company person that I was, would ever consider something like this. And “It Works”? What kind of name for a company is that?! And “that crazy wrap thing?”- that is bull…no way it could work and if it did, the results surely wouldn’t last. And “what is that green crap you’re drinking- it looks like dirty fish tank water”. Honestly- these were all reactions I got from my closest friends and family. Did that stop me? Absolutely not. I knew I was on a mission to prove to them how amazing these products are and how I was going to benefit in my health and financially. It didn’t take long and those who were questioning it all also became believers. They started taking supplements, drinking the greens, and even tried a wrap. Guess what? They started feeling better, they had clean energy, and those wraps? Weird- they worked AND the results lasted. Pretty crazy huh?

Okay so I got my close friends and family to finally have my back and actually believe in the products and this business opportunity. Many of them even decided to join my team and work their own business.  But how was that going to get me going in the business when the thousands of other people that I wanted to reach out to, I was too afraid to do so. I wanted so badly to shout from my rooftop that everyone should try these products and join me on this business venture!! But wait…I would look dumb. People like the “old” me would think I was just another crazy pyramid scheme-r who was sucked into this trap. Nope- no way I am going to look dumb and do that. Not a chance! I’ll sit back and just see what happens. That didn’t last long because my support group was constantly giving tips, ideas, and advice on how to approach this business. I started to talk about it more, drink my greens in public and not care that it looked like I was drinking fish tank water, and I even posted a few times on Facebook. Weird that when I started to do these small things is when people started coming to me and asking questions. They wanted to learn more and I was more than happy to share the knowledge that I had. I was constantly asking my upline, Beth, for answers to questions but that is how I learned. (Beth is pretty amazing by the way!!). It was a slow start and there were so many times where I questioned what I was doing and WHY I was doing this. I am not a salesperson. I do not like to push things on people. I am not one to just walk up to a random person and strike up a conversation. I don’t do these kinds of things….but I was. I was doing it. I found a passion that I didn’t know I had and these products literally sold themselves.

This brought me to mid-February. I was 30 days in and I had gotten my 4 Loyal Customers (all of whom were my family---I think they felt bad for me! J) so I got my $120 in free product. SWEET! After all, the reason I started this was just to make a little money to pay for what I was spending on the products and maybe a little extra to pay a bill or two. But I wanted more- I knew I could do so much more! I was seeing so many people claim their $10,000, $15,000, $25,000, $50,000 and even $75,000 G.O.O.D bonuses (Get Out of Debt). I knew I had a chance to claim the $10,000 bonus and I only had a few months to do it, but that was okay, there was NO WAY I would claim it anyways so why stress about it. March came and went and my upline Beth claimed her $10,000 GOOD Bonus- exciting!!! Maybe I would claim mine next year but no way I can reach diamond level in just one more month. April began and I knew I had until the 30^th to get to diamond and the thought of it crossed my mind. $10,000 just for reaching that level?! Since when does someone just offer you $10K if you can pull something off (legally!!) in just 30 more days?! I AM ALL IN.  No more excuses. No more “next year”. No more “I can’t do it” and instead “I WILL do it.” That is it…IT’S HAPPENING.  I was all in for 30 days. Talking to people, messaging people, going to expos, working my business every single day. And guess what? On April 30^th, I claimed my $10,000 GOOD bonus. Wow- I achieved something I never thought possible. I still have friends and as far as I know they don’t think I’m too crazy? Awesome!!!

It gets even better. The CEO of It Works, Mark Pentecost, is all about getting people out of debt and he extended the GOOD bonus a few months so I was able to chase the double diamond bonus of $15,000. Again I thought no way I can do that. Next year I will. I went all in again for the months of May and June and on June 30, I claimed by $15,000 GOOD bonus. That is $25,000 in bonuses ALONE from April 30-June 30. Are you kidding me?! For all the money I’ve spent at casino’s trying to win money like this, and all I had to do was put my mind to something for a few months and bam- $25,000?! Why didn’t I know about this company years ago?! And the  best part is that money is on top of commissions that I am making which is posted below! This company is changing my life. It’s changing my family’s lives. It’s changing my friends and my co-workers and everyone else I have crossed paths with. I have made so many new friends who are in this with me. And for that I am forever thankful.

*All reference to income, implied or stated, through the It Works! compensation plan are for demonstrated purposes only. It Works! does not guarantee any level of income or earnings to any Distributor. Earnings from this compensation plan depend solely on sales, and each Distributor's skills, ability, and personal application. This compensation plan is subject to change.*

I started this blog to share with you WHY and HOW I started with It Works and it got a little long. I will update this blog often with new information and topics so keep checking back. Sorry it got to be so long but as you can tell, I’m excited about this company, my life, and the opportunities that lie ahead.

Peace and Love,

April