FiredUp Letters - Section 5: Financial Security
The following are letters which were received and published by Shad Helmstetter's The Helmstetter Report.
Dear Dr. Helmstetter:
I spent over 17 years climbing the corporate ladder at a Fortune 500 company as a financial manager. In 1990, I was caught in a corporate downsizing. It was obvious to me that corporate life was changing, and if I didn't have job security with a corporation I had been with 17 years, the chances of finding job security with another company was slim at best.
My financial background and desire for self-employment made a career change to financial planning seem natural. I had no idea how poorly prepared financially people are for retirement, even though most of my clients had the employee stock programs and 401k's. I would develop financial plans for my clients that would allow them to achieve their retirement age and income targets. Then they couldn't afford the required additional savings necessary to fund their plan.
When I saw the Amway business, it dawned on me that it is easier to show people how to make money, than it is to show them how to save money they don't have. After six years in the Amway business, I am totally convinced of two things. First, based on the way you would evaluate any business opportunity (what is the investment capital required, what is the time investment required, what is the income potential), Amway is the best financial plan that an individual or family can involved in.
I want to thank you for making a difference in our lives, while we are working to make a difference in other people's lives.
—R.H. Metamora, IL
There are two things in life that people want more of and most do not have. That is the TIME OPTION & MONEY OPTION. My wife and I have developed our Amway business and it has provided both.
Our 10 year old daughter was riding her bike, fell and sprained her ankle and fractured her wrist near the growth plate. We knew we were going to need a pediatric orthopedic surgeon to set our little girl's wrist.
Because of the Away business and the previous years of hard work we had put into the Business, we were able to pick the top pediatric surgeon in northwest Indiana. We knew it would cost more to have this doctor but our daughter was well worth the extra expense.
That decision was 100% due to the development of the Amway business. That is the financial aspect of what this business can do for you. It provides options! Our daughter needed to keep her wrist elevated for 5 days, including when she went to sleep. We needed to check on her almost every hour throughout the night. We were up pretty much all night...with little sleep.
Because we had built the Amway business and were doing it full time, we had the option to stay up with her. If we were working at a conventional job we would have had to take sick time, or even use vacation time, just to be with our little girl at a time when she needed us. But we had the opportunity and the choice to stay with her.
This choice and option was all because of the Amway business we have built. I urge everyone, if you are not in the Amway business, get in! If you are in, keep building it!
—J. S., Indiana
After nearly 6 years my family (Mom, Dad, Sister, Brother & Sister-in-law, and my own wife and kids) have found the Amway business to be everything (and more) than they said it would be.
My wife retired to be with our kids 6 months into the business. My brother and his wife recently had their first child and she delivered her letter of resignation, too! Now she's home to raise little Collin. We've had other professionals in our organization retire to carry on more meaningful projects in life than their jobs would allow, as well.
I've sold a very stressful advertising agency and can now chose my clients carefully (the fun ones!) on my own schedule. We've moved to 2.5 acres on the waterfront & built a nice home for my mom. (Dad passed away last yr.)
Soon I'll be taking a break from advertising and writing a book that I have outlined, (a life-long dream) The income from our Amway interactive distribution business has allowed all of these things to take place. But the most exciting thing is that we haven't really even started yet! We'll achieve Emerald this fiscal year and that's when the fun really starts!
Have we worked? Yep, and it feels great! Was (and is) it worth it? Yep, and as I said, we haven't even really started yet. Can others do it? Without a doubt.
—M. R. & L. R., Magnolia Springs, AL
Being in business now for almost four years, and actively building the business for the past year, my life has improved dramatically.
Not long ago, I came close to filing bankruptcy with my shattered credit. The leaders I've been associated with in recent years have not only helped me to build an Amway distributorship, but first helped me learn to manage what money I did have.
In only a couple of years of being actively involved in the business, my credit is clean, I've brought my wife home to prepare to raise the first of our children, due in December, as a full-time mom. Another result of the money management concepts is my sucessful purchase of a new home for my family. The financial aspects of the business are excellent if nothing else, just for the basic money management skills I have acquired.
The most precious thing I have gotten from Amway, though, is my self- confidence. I perform better on my full-time day job, think better on my feet, and have learned to like who I am (a concept that was difficult not long ago). I have a much closer relationship with my parents because of the family values taught to me by the Amway leaders. I think more positively, affect many more people in a positive way, and go to bed at night feeling as though I've contributed something.
I know all of these things were in me the entire time, but Amway's leaders helped me to realize that. They pulled me out of the mud, cleaned me off, and sent me down a new path that is exciting and adventurous to me. The rewards are great for me, my family, and everyone I come in contact with.
Sincerely, — J. E., Harrisburg, PA
I live in New York City and have worked since college in the corporate arena for over 16 years. Today's economics and retirement forecasts show everyone that just the job won't provide financial security, and that's why I'm so thankful to have been shown the Amway business. Here you finally have a level playing field, with everyone paid for their level of performance—finally! With the best possible unlimited opportunity—this business can operate around the world, joined by an unlimited number of manufacturers, and you can have business in virtually all of those countries because other people help run your business.
Sometimes it almost looks like a fairy tale because just when you think it can't get better, it does! And the leaders guide you every step of the way...I thank God every day for my uplines, the Amway corporation, and you for changing this world.
Thank you. Respectfully, —A. Z., New York City
If you are contemplating the Amway business you should check it out thoroughly and not listen to the uninformed neighbour or friend.
I spent 25 years in local government, most as the Chief Executive Officer and my wife had several small businesses over the years. We worked hard, long hours and could never seem to get in front, and then, rather cynically, we looked at the Amway business.
In four years we have enjoyed more international travel (Amway paid) than we had in our lifetime, met lots of great people, and are now starting to experience what it is like to be financially free. It is truly a "reward for effort" business. Follow your dreams and give Amway a sincere go, be teachable, don't quit and you will never regret this incredibly positive opportunity.
—M & A Perth, Western Australia
