Aloe Vera BusinessInterview with Pamela Glynn
No, actually I had never been involved with health – except my own and my family’s! But as I had always veered more towards natural products rather than the pharmaceutical variety, I suppose that when Aloe Vera came into my life I was ready to open my eyes. What inspired you to get into the Aloe Vera business? My daughter and my dog! Sam, my Bearded Collie, was eight at the time and his limbs had stiffened with arthritis. So my daughter gave me an Aloe Vera drink that had helped tremendously with her IBS and suggested that I pour some daily on Sam’s dinners and await results. Seeing no connection whatsoever between IBS and arthritis I admit to having been sceptical initially. But the results spoke for themselves when, within about two weeks, Sam was bouncing around again like only Beardies can bounce. Then his friends, too, began to benefit (my first customer was a Rottweiler, my second a rabbit!) and Sam’s vet was so impressed that he asked me how he could access the Aloe products at wholesale for his veterinary practice. So these happy animals were my initial inspiration – and it took me awhile to remember to mention that humans could benefit too (which they ultimately did)! How did you get started? In a sense I see that I’ve already answered that – although I should mention here that I never intended to have a business! It kind of grew from that first tub of drinking Gel. Because my daughter and I lived far apart it had made sense for me to register (free of charge) as a Distributor so that I could buy products for Sam and his pals direct from Forever Living at wholesale. After that I spent about three years just supplying animals and their humans with the products that they asked for on the strength of word of mouth recommendations. I knew that a bigger picture existed, but despite my belief by then in the Company and in Aloe Vera, I never saw myself as more than a retailer. Eventually, though, motivated by the fact that I was in my 50s with no pension worth mentioning in place … I embraced the whole concept instead of a small portion of it!
Was it hard to get your business off the ground? Not especially – because once I’d made the decision to ‘go for it’ I started putting some real effort in! Instead of just retailing, I began telling people about the outstanding business opportunity on offer – and building a team. Remember, I’d had three years in which to develop my belief both in the products and FLP, so now ‘all’ I needed to do was share that belief! How long was it before you were making a decent income? I made the position of Manager within a year of making my decision to WORK. This position brings in an income of around £1000 per month. Within the following 2-3 years I coached two couples in my team to reach the Manager position too, which qualified me as a Senior Manager. Senior Managers with Forever Living can access incomes of between £27,000-£70,000 annually, depending on how many Managers they have coached to that position – i.e. 2, 3 or 4! Do you have any staff? No, but I now have an extensive team, both in the UK and several countries globally. I still work from home, with no overheads. Has having your own website helped your business much or do you mainly advertise or rely on word of mouth recommendation? My website hasn’t yet had time to help me very much, as I’m still building it! All the same, it is helping, to a degree, and will do so more and more in the future I’m sure. For example I’m expecting a healthy extra passive income from my site’s great On-Line Retail Store Forever recently provided for all their distributors! These days (having reached the wonderful stage when I just work now and then) I only advertise in a small way – but there’s still plenty of word of mouth recommendation. Is most of your business in the UK or is it international too?
It’s still mainly in the UK, but that is changing thanks to the web and the fact that Forever Living now has a presence in 130+ countries globally. I often receive welcome cheques in dollars or euros from branches of my business that are expanding satisfactorily overseas (frequently with little or no input from me!) Do you do anything else besides your Aloe Vera business? Yes – I write creatively, with special emphasis on personal development and spirituality. I had a novel OUT OF TIME (Tyneham Revisited) published in hardback a while ago and have two e-books currently ‘out there’: DUSTY’S JOURNEY (www.dustysjourney.com) and THE PORTRAIT (www.pglynn.co.uk) Watch this space, as more will follow! Do you have any advice for my readers who want to start their own business? Yes, only do so if they: a) Are self-motivated
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