We were lucky to catch up with Carol Yeh-Garner recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Carol, thanks for joining us today. Risk taking is something we’re really interested in and we’d love to hear the story of a risk you’ve taken.
I grew up thinking that the ultimate career would be a job where I worked for myself, so I worked hard to get my Master’s Degree in Social Work and got further training to become a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with the goal to eventually own my own private therapy practice. When it came time to open my practice, I had two children below the age of 3 and knew I wouldn’t be an effective therapist because I was so tired as a new mom. I decided to switch directions and got trained in HypnoBirthing, a natural childbirth method I used successfully with my two birth experiences. I was still working for myself and realized that I would have to work until I died since there wasn’t any retirement plan I was contributing to and that when one of my children was sick or we wanted to take a vacation, I wasn’t getting paid. I was looking for a business opportunity that would help me and my husband get out of debt and give us a bit of a cushion in our income. My husband taught 1st grade so his income wasn’t increasing anytime soon so it was up to me but I was already working 4 nights a week, missing putting my kids to bed and the thought of having to give up my weekends was devastating. So, I took a risk. I had started using a few products from a network marketing/direct sales company and had some major successes with them. Initially, I had no intention of ever doing the business side of things but I really loved the products (they worked!) so I started sharing about them. Next thing I knew, my friends wanted some to try for themselves, ended up having successes too and started sharing about the products too. I figured that if I could keep at it for a year or two, I might earn a few extra hundred dollars per month and that would give us a little extra to pay off our debt and eventually start saving for college and retirement. But things grew more quickly than I expected and more and more people wanted to take control of their health and wellness and wanted the products. And more people started sharing their awesome testimonials which brought in more people. Let’s just say that deciding to jump into a network marketing business was the best risky thing I’ve ever done. I reached the top rank of the company within 27 months, quit my job after a year so I could focus only on this business and retired my husband after two years so he could help me with the business side of things. Being able to help people with their health and wellness is so rewarding. But helping my business members grow their business by mentoring and coaching them so they can be successful is even more rewarding. This business model allows anyone to start their own business–no special training or education is required! There’s no overhead, no inventory to carry, no packaging or shipping required, and no bosses or employees to deal with. People can work as little or as much as they want and their income reflects that–many people do the business as a hobby and some take it more seriously and build income that allows them to pay off debt, save for college, buy their dream home, etc. And if I don’t work because my child is sick or we take a vacation, I still get paid whenever someone buys something! Most people would never consider starting a network marketing business but I took that risk and it paid off big time!
Carol, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I’m 52 years old, have been married for 20 years (together for 28 years), have an 18 year old son and a 16 year old daughter and 2 rescue dogs. I live in Southern California in our dream home overlooking the ocean. I have a Master’s Degree in Social Work, earned my LCSW, became a HypnoBirthing practitioner and opened up my own Clinical Hypnotherapy practice. I thought that’s what I was put on Earth to do but the Universe had other plans! I started using Young Living essential oils in October 2013 after using storebought essential oils for years with no success. I was looking for something to help us stay healthy since my kids at the time were in elementary school and my husband taught 1st grade and we were about to start the revolving cycle of sickness. Once I started using Young Living essential oils, I experienced successes right away. I knew my friends would want to know so I started sharing about my successes and before I knew it, I was selling essential oils and clean living products. I never thought I would do this as a business but I couldn’t NOT share about these life-enhancing products! I help empower people to be proactive about their health and wellness with Young Living products. I also help my business team members grow their business so they can be as successful as they desire. I’m most proud of the fact that I reached the top rank of the company within 27 months and have maintained a thriving, growing business with a team of over 220,000 with sales of over $6 million per month. My team is helping people all over the world with their wellness and helping people become financially independent.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
I went to school to become a therapist. I thought having my own therapy practice was the best job option–I would work for myself, make my own hours and be my own boss. After I had my kids, I became a HypnoBirthing instructor and had my own Hypnotherapy practice. But being a business owner meant that I relied on my clients and if they cancelled, I lost out on income. If one of my kids was sick or had an event at school that I wanted to attend, I would miss out on income. If we took a vacation, I would miss out on income. We were barely making ends meet (my husband was an elementary school teacher), had a bunch of credit card debt and no savings. And I saw that I would have to work until I died since I wasn’t able to contribute to a retirement plan. It was not the life I had envisioned. I ended up making a huge pivot by starting my Young Living essential oils business which is a network marketing business. It allows me to work when I want to, earn money while I’m sleeping since I earn income whenever someone orders, allowed me to pay off our debt and retire my husband from his teaching job, and pay for things that I had only dreamed of. I also get to help my team members create the same kind of financial abundance for themselves.
What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?
Be you…be authentic…make sure you’re being of service to your clientele and your potential clientele. The more you can show you potential clientele that your main goal is to be of service, they will learn to trust you and rely upon you, which will eventually allow them to hire you or buy from you. If you don’t fully believe in yourself, people will feel the disconnect between your words and your feelings. Do the personal development work so you can believe in yourself so you can speak in an authentic way.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.carolyehgarner.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/awelllivedlife/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/carolyehgarner/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carol-yeh-garner-718b326/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4ctp_HwlQVm6L7bs0gaI4w
- Other: https://www.youngliving.com/us/en?enrollerid=1533467
Image Credits
Corey Villicana Photography