November 1, 2015

YouTube – 1st Video Update in 6 years!

By Aldric

#SoNearYetSoFar

On Friday, I had a meeting with Johnson Woan after over 2 years since our chance encounter at MPH tHe Spring Kuching.

At Starbucks tHe Spring with Network Marketing Expert Johnson Woan. Johnson has been very consistent, professional, and positive. Thank you for the 3-to-5-turn-3-to-9 meeting!

During our 6 hour meeting, we got to exchange ideas. Johnson was very generous in sharing his experiences and the trends of the Network Marketing Industry. Johnson has been with Mona Vie since I met him 2 years back. In 2015, MonaVie was acquired by Jeunesse through an merger and acquisition (M&A) exercise in the US.

You should also know that I live opposite/across the street from the MonaVie Centre in Kuching for the last 2 years.

From Copywriting to Learning Drop Shipping

If you’ve been following me for the same period, you know that I am very much into generating income using the Internet. Eight years ago when I started my copywriting career (i.e. writing advertisements), I worked remotely and servicing clients through email. By the power of Internet banking, I was able to monitor the finances.

Copywriting is a skill-intensive business. Don’t get me wrong: I love copywriting. Just as I love writing blogs and doing presentations. However it is hard to scale. Different copywriters bring different viewpoints and strengths to the table. I may train local talents in Kuching or else where. In fact I’d love to! Learning the craft is easy. But if you’re going to replicate exactly the master, it is near impossible.

So in 2013, I came across an offer for tell-all+teach-all online course on dropshipping by Anton Kraly. I bought access to the Dropship Lifestyle (http://www.dropshiplifestyle.com/)

Joining Jeunesse

Before my flight to Krabi, Thailand, in October 2015, my Aunty Umang wanted to invite me to a special training on an eCommerce training. Multi-level Marketing (MLMs) is not my thing – especially being duped to joining a “meeting” in Shah Alam back in 2006.

In Shah Alam, what happened was an acquaintance from university invited me out for dinner at 6pm. He will come by and pick me up, he said. And so I waited. He only came by almost 12am. Then he and his friend drove us from Section 8 to Section 13, Shah Alam. Another person came. Joined our table. Threw his “thick” wallet onto the table. Telling how much he made through the MLM scheme. How he paid his car, a Proton Perdana, in full and in cash. The meeting concluded at 3am before they sent me home. As I closed my eyes that night, the acquaintance became “former acquaintance”. And I hated MLMs ever since.

Initially I was reluctant to accept my Aunt’s invitation. When I started my company, Converging Spheres Sdn Bhd, she has been very kind to give me advice and guidance. So, I said “Yes”.

Unfortunately the event I was invited to is “for members only”. My Aunt arranged a time for a 1-2-1 presentation by her upline on the Sunday before I flew to Krabi.

I was ready with all my objections. But, I kept an open mind. In the two hours – as I told Johnson – these are what caught me:

  1. Jeunesse will give you your own URL where prospects and visitors can view the content.
  2. Jeunesse does not require inventory. You will be given a website where your customers can pay and order directly.
  3. When the visitors buy from your website, you will get the commission.
  4. As my Aunt is busy, there will be times when I will have to conduct talks and presentations. Being a public speaking-addict, I was sold here as well.

I’m not a Net-Native. I can appreciate the power of the Internet in terms of networking, eCommerce, and making money online. I’ve only – until now – barely scratched the surface! But here is an opportunity that presents itself. It fulfills the criteria that I have had in a long time but have not yet pursued.

In fact, I am not interested in recruiting – whether locally or internationally. It would be nice to have wholesale and retail distributors under me; but that is not the priority.

What I aim to do is to apply what I have learnt from Internet marketing gurus and teachers like Tim Ferriss (The Four Hour Work Week), Pat Flynn (SmartPassiveIncome), Anton Kraly (http://www.dropshiplifestyle.com/ & http://www.antonkraly.com/), Nathan Barry (http://nathanbarry.com/) and Chris Guillebeau (http://chrisguillebeau.com/). As a Director Consultant with BNI (http://www.bni.com/), I want to prove to the chapters I support as well as share with them: Business networking is important for both brick-and-mortar businesses and though we are local businesses, we can have a global network!

Takeout from Meeting Johnson

So what did I take out from my 6-hour meeting with Johnson?

I have the tools all around me. I have the skills. I have the resources. What I lack are the experience to maneuver in this MLM industry, the objective or external point of view. Most important of all was Johnson’s first question: Who is your mentor?

Hey, he may be 2 years younger. But his experience and professionalism is admirable. There are a lot I can learn from him and the people around me.

And, above all, I needed a partner, or partners, who are passionate about helping others. For me it is “Givers Gain”; for them it could be growing the network-marketing businesses, improve lifestyle, or improve health as the case may be. At the same time, who can see the power of a well integrated online brand.

That is why I have been re-evaluating my social media and online presence. Specifically:

The possibilities are truly endless. Here’s to a productive last two months of 2015! Remember to subscribe. 😉