Monday, August 10, 2015

Confessions of an Arbonne Husband

Roughly one year ago, my beautiful wife signed up to be an Arbonne consultant. At the time I wasn’t really sure what that would mean. I barely knew Arbonne as a company. I knew about some of their products as my wife had used their protein nutritional supplements and had lost quite a bit of weight following the birth of our sons. We have five young children at home under the age of nine. I work long hours on our family farm. Futhermore, my wife home schools our children. “How exactly is this going to work??” I kept asking myself….

Fast forward 12 months, and with the support of a great team, and the support of many loyal customers, my wife has proven to me that it is indeed possible to be successful at Arbonne. I can’t tell you exactly how she was successful (you’ll have to contact her direct if you want to learn more about the business), but I can tell you several things that I have learned in the past year being the husband to an Arbonne consultant.

Arbonne husbands will get to spend more one on one time with your children.  

This is one of the greatest blessings that Arbonne has done for me. Far too often in life, many Dads do not get to spend much one on one time with their kids. Moms may get one on one time if they stay at home, but often the Dads when they return home from work share kid time their spouse. There is nothing necessarily wrong with this scenario, nor is it true for all households, it is simply reality for many many families. 

If you are married to an Arbonne consultant, and your wife is gone a few nights a month working a spa or meeting with clients, don’t freak out. Think of it as an opportunity to spend more direct time with your children. Long term, you will have better relationships with your children due to additional one on one time that you spend with them.
Arbonne make great products for men.

If you are like me (and many other “average” husbands), you probably think generic store brand soap and dollar shampoo are just fine for your personal care needs. That white foamy lemon smelling stuff that your Dad taught you to shave with, has probably worked just “fine” for your basic shaving needs. But I’m here to tell you, the saying “you get what you pay for” is definitely true when it comes to your personal health.

I still remember my wife a year ago saying “Honey your skin is really really dry…”. I said “Thank you!” thinking it was a compliment. Apparently I was wrong. I have since learned that dry skin is NOT healthy skin. 

If your Arbonne consultant wife casually replaces your personal health products with Arbonne products, just give it a try. Your wife (and your skin) will both thank you. And don't forget about the nutrition and sports nutrition products.

Treat Arbonne as a business, not just a hobby.

We all have hobbies, and to be fair there are some Arbonne consultants that really only treat Arbonne as a hobby - which is totally fine. But if your Arbonne consultant’s goal is to actually build a business and generate real income, you as a spouse need to be supportive and treat it as a business as well. There will be business expenses. There will be a real 1099 at the end of the year that the government expects you to pay taxes on. In addition to your own personal family finances, keep track of all of your Arbonne expenses and income as well. From day one when my wife set up her business she set up a separate checking account to track all Arbonne transactions.

Arbonne is a real business that has the potential to generate real money.

When your spouse first signed up, what were your income expectations? Were you thinking your spouse might make a few hundred dollars a month or a few thousand dollars? If your wife works hard and sticks to the recommendations that her team provides, she will earn significant money. Did your wife ever show you the income potential for the various levels that was advertised? You know the chart: “Average consultants can expect to earn X; Average Area Managers can expect to earn Y.” From experience I will tell you that those numbers are very realistic. The numbers may not happen overnight, and by no means will they happen on their own, but hard work (as with any business) will pay huge dividends in the long run.

You may have to do a few extra load of laundry or wash the dishes by yourself. 

Trust me, laundry is one of my least favorite chores to do around the house, but if your wife’s Arbonne business is going to be successful, as a supportive husband, it is our job to “pick up the slack” when our wives are out working their business. If your wife is busy responding to customer emails, meeting with a client, or working with a new team member at night, I think we as husbands can all give up one half hour of TV to do an extra load of laundry or load of dishes. 

Facebook is not “just for fun”

I used to think of Facebook as simply something my wife used “for fun”. I always thought of it as a social tool to interact with friends and family. Now, 12 months into my wife’s Arbonne business I realize that it can be used as a business tool to communicate with clients and other Arbonne team members. If it’s 9:30 PM and your wife is on Facebook, don’t automatically assume she is simply “socializing”; she may actually be working on that next promotion that will generate more income for your family.

A Happy wife is a Hot Wife.

We’ve all heard the saying “A happy wife is a happy life.” While I agree with that statement, trust me when I say when your wife is happy she will look hot! And while Arbonne doesn’t necessarily guarantee happiness, it does provide opportunities to meet new people, educate others about skin and health care products, mentor team members, and earn full time income from home while raising a family. Those things (and many more) make my wife happy, which in turn makes my family happy.  

As the husband to an Arbonne consultant, I have learned a lot in the past 12 months. I can’t tell you how to run a successful spa night, grow your business, or make recommendations on which skin care products your customers you should use. I won’t tell you that this business is easy, nor will I tell you that Arbonne is for everyone. What I can tell you is that as a company Arbonne has the potential to change your family’s life. If you are a husband, fiancĂ©, boyfriend, or simply a friend with someone who is thinking of joining Arbonne and are unsure of the potential that Arbonne has to offer, I encourage you to contact me with any questions or thoughts that you may have.