The Portfolio of Rex Barkdoll, Web User Interface Designer

Today isn't a happy day for me. I'm stepping away from something I believed in so that I can pursue another direction in my life. I've learned a lot of valuable lessons and have launched a whole new era of education for myself after starting this buisness. But I'm getting a little ahead of myself. 

I started my Amway business with Worldwide Dream Builders because I was shown a powerful model of business that has the power to create ongoing recurring income for myself and my family. It's all based off of a simple model where you buy from your own store, saving you money, and you find a few other people who wouldn't mind buying some of their home essentials from you. Then you teach other people how to do the same thing. As you teach others to set up their own stores and share the value of their products with other people around them, their stores contribute to yours. It may sound like a pyramid scheme to some people, but it's really not. The money you earn from your business comes from actual products (not new people coming in) and there's nobody at the top that can take everything away from you. It's a vialble business model that will work if you're willing to put the work in. 

What this business requires, for anyone looking into it, is time and dedication. Don't expect to make a lot of money at first. Focus on building your education about the business. The more you know about it, the more confidently you can speak about it to others. And regardless of what others tell you, build your belief. Lots of people want to hold you back, not because they want something bad for you, but because they themselves are unwilling to step out of their comfort zone and try something new. (Thus the lesson: don't go to your friend the construction worker for jewlery advice, or financial/business advice). 

You're going to have to work on forcing yourself to get at least one person's name and number every day. Someone who might be interested in learning more about your business or about your products. This may mean that you're talking to 3-6 people a day, starting conversations, seeing where they are in life, and deciding whether or not they would be someone you would want to do business with for the rest of your life. That was the hardest part for me. I don't have an internal "I want to win" attitude that pushes and drives me. I also don't think that I spent enough time studying the business, really learning about it so that i could speak confidently about everything it has to offer. 

World Wide Dream Builders is the mentoring organization dedicated to giving you the support and education you need. The person who shows you the Amway business will be your mentor or "upline" in the system. Above them are other people who have more experience and this is an incredible network of individuals dedicated to keeping you inspired and focused on ensuring your success. Things to think about before you sign up are:

• How accountable can I be to this person?
• How accountable will they be to me?
• Is this person someone I respect and can learn from?
• Does their energy level match mine and do we connect well?
• Will this person kick me in the butt when I need it and keep me going when life is rough?

These are all very important questions that you need to have good, solid answers for. 

The next, extreemely important point is, what does your significant other think? If it's just a boyfriend or girlfriend, do you see them as a long-term relationship in your life? If it's more serious than that, you need to sit down and discuss it with them. A large reason I'm leaving this business is because my wife and I are not on the same page. You NEED your spouse supporting you in this business. It's hard to come home from an unsuccessful night to your spouse who knocks you down because they don't believe in it. (my wife never knocked me down, but she was unwilling to support me).

Keep in mind that this is a business. You are becoming a business owner. Imagine if you bought a McDonalds franchise and spent $450,000 getting it up and running. At that point, do you think you need your spouse's support? You'd have a lot of late nights, going in, fixing problems, doing everything your employees can't or won't do. This business requires a similar level of dedication. You're not putting out fires, but you're coming home late, you're on your computer a fair amount, and you're going to conferences regularly. Once you have other customers and businesses under you, you're working hard to support and grow them. You have to check in regularly and make sure they're supported. 

It's a full time job outside of what you already work 40 hours per week, but if you can invest and make it work - it's worth it. You'll have a recurring monthly income that will feed you and your family for a lifetime. It will be worth it, but you have to walk through the fire to get there. 

I think there will be a day when I'm a stronger person and I'll want to return to the business. I hope that when that day comes, the doors are still open and I can have the opportunity to walk throught the fire again. For now though, I'm being drawn toward another test of my knowledge and skills - another fire if you will. I have no bad feelings about my Amway business or the people I met. They are among the most honorable and knowledgeable people I know and I will miss them dearly.

So, again, this may not be the newest thing for you web experts out there, but I just learned about it!

In my earlier article, Minute Tricks: Clear the cache for one website, I showed you how to clear your cache so that sticky elements like images and style sheets would be replaced and any changes you made to the website would show up. At the time, the hotkey [ctrl + shift + F5] was only available for Windows computers. Today I found out it's available for Macs! Simply hit [Apple/Command + shift + R] to achieve the same effect.

Enjoy!