My Shaklee Story

I often get asked why I started using Shaklee's products and why I became a distributor. In fact, I just gave my Shaklee testimony over the weekend at our local Shaklee 2012 kickoff meeting, which was a lot of fun.

My Story

My story actually begins 36 years ago! That looks like a type-o to me because I cannot believe that I am going to turn 36 next week! (I still feel like I am in my 20s!) I am the youngest of 3 and my mom calls me her Shaklee kid. She started using and distributing Shaklee 37 years ago now! In fact, she was giving an in-home Shaklee presentation the day that she went into labor with me. :)

Shaklee was as common in our house as milk or bread. It was something I took for granted and didn't appreciate until recently. When I was 18, I moved away to college, and like all 18 years olds I knew it all. lol. I didn't think I needed Shaklee and although my mom would send me the supplements, I hardly ever took them. It wasn't a priority to me.

Over the years my mom would talk to me about Shaklee. I just never thought it was something that I needed. It was her thing, not mine.

My husband and I moved to Indiana in 2008 for his job and I was 6 mo. pregnant with our first child. (we now have 2)  I was getting more involved with different moms groups and was attending a local one in Nov. of 09. I was advertising my other business, Waterways Music Services, and my Music & Me classes, in the moms bulletin there. On this particular day, my ad was mixed up with another mom's by mistake, who sold Shaklee! The heading of her ad was over the body of my ad! It was a funny coincidence. I mentioned to the other women at my table that day that I didn't think anyone else knew of Shaklee, let alone loved it like my mother who lived in Wisconsin! Some of the women looked at me like I had 2 heads! lol. These women not only knew of Shaklee but used and loved the products! They didn't sell it either. This sparked a big conversation about Shaklee that day and I was amazed by the enthusiastic testimonies that the ladies were sharing. They talked about the green cleaners that they used around their small kids. (I never realized until then how safe they really were!) One mom shared how Shaklee's skin care line was the only thing that really worked for her skin. Her skin looked awesome! And another mom talked about Cinch and how it helped her lose the baby weight. What the heck was Cinch, I thought? lol I was really in shock by all of this and actually a little annoyed at my mom that she had never shared this with me. :) (or so I thought!)

The first thing I did after the meeting was call my mom and tell her what happened to me and ask why she never told me about the safety of the green cleaners. Her response: "Rebecca, I HAVE been telling you about this for years! You just never listen to me!" And she was right. I guess the lesson there is always listen to your mother. lol!

I was so excited to share my new-found re-found information with my dear husband. I was expecting him to be as excited as I was. Only he wasn't. You see, he is a scientist. And like all scientists, he is skeptical by nature. (to the point of being annoying at times, I may add. :) He is also a pharmacist and chemistry professor who does drug research on natural products at the university. He knows about supplements from his training but was skeptical knowing that there is no policing or guidelines that supplement companies are required to follow. But he agreed to try it.

My mom brought us Basic H2 and Basic G to try. We started cleaning with them and we were impressed. My husband was impressed that the Basic H2 cleaned as well as it did and it was a safe green product around our young son. We loved the fact that we could clean his high chair tray, with him in it, with the Basic H2! David was impressed that it was so cost-effective and was cheaper then what we had been using. He was impressed enough with the cleaners to start looking into the science behind Shaklee's supplements. He started reading research articles and publications during his lunch breaks. And he got excited. So excited that for about a week straight I could not get him to stop talking about Shaklee over our dinner conversations. lol. The pharmaceutical standards, third party testing, quality of materials used, ingredients sourced from nature, etc. He said that they were not required to do all of this and he was so impressed by that! Which in turn impressed me.

Over the next several months we started using the products more and more and in June of 2010 my mom came for a visit and talked to us about membership and distributorship into Shaklee and the cost benefits of that through product discounts and bonus checks. Being business-minded, I was really excited to add Shaklee products to Waterways. I was already sharing the products and my enthusiasm for them with fellow moms so it made sense for me to become a distributor and earn thank you checks in the process. And since I was already in health care as a certified music therapist, it was easy to add to my existing business services.

Since that day in Nov. of 09, we have "Shaklee-ized" our home. We got rid of all toxic cleaners and we use many of Shaklee's quality supplements, children and baby products, vitamin skin care line, pure water filters, and Cinch products. We have seen first hand the health benefits that the supplements have. I love the extra energy I have during my days and my kids have never had an ear infection. Generally speaking, we are a pretty healthy bunch. It has been so easy to share these products because we use them every day and believe in them.

My Business 

A great thing about being a stay-at-home mom and a distributor for Shaklee, is the earnings and benefits package. I have earned a BONUS CHECK EVERY SINGLE MONTH since becoming a distributor, with the exception of the first month. I feel good that I can help contribute to our income.  The checks started very small but continue to grow each month. I don't have a lot of time to put into my business right now because my kids are so small, but it is nice to see that with the little time I do put in sharing the products, I am able to get thank you checks back from the company. The compensation plan is wonderful with the potential of earning not only cash, but also trips and cars!!! I am looking forward to the global conference in Vegas in August! :)

Benefits of Business

One of the benefits of having any business is the tax breaks you get. I started my Waterways business in 2006 in San Diego and knew at that time that I would never work for somebody else ever again. It is wonderful being my own boss, setting my own schedule, and being able to write things off on taxes such as a home office, utilities, my computer, cell phone, and many more things. I can even write off some of my Shaklee products for advertising and demonstration reasons! I gave a presentation about business at the Great Lakes Regional Music Therapy conference in Indianapolis in 2010 and it was well attended because so many people are so interested in this topic. If you are interested in becoming your own boss, I am happy to offer my consultation services.

Network Marketing

If you are considering joining a network marketing company like Shaklee, I would highly recommend doing a lot of research ahead of time. Try the products to make sure it is something you love and can stand behind. Talk to the person recruiting you and be sure to fully understand the business plan and how you will be paid and make sure you will have the support you need to help you succeed. Every company is different and even every group within a company can run things differently. For instance my Shaklee group, lead by Chuck and Joyce Hoffmann, pays their distributors in bonus checks each month. Meaning COLD HARD CASH. It is great!  Be sure to ask lots of questions before joining so you are comfortable with the plan and know what to expect ahead of time. If they can't or won't answer your questions, find someone who can!

If you are interested in learning more about Shaklee's awesome earnings and benefits package, please contact me. I would be happy to talk to you about the plan to see if it is something for you. I am looking for more motivated business partners to join my growing Shaklee team!!! Is that you?? Dr. Shaklee used to say, what you believe you can achieve! :)

Thanks for reading and have a terrific week!

Rebecca