…I landed in Singapore, Malaysia.
Here, I will be spending the next four days at the International Direct Selling Association to network and spend time with other Direct Selling colleagues while also getting a “State of the Business” perspective at this event.
Landing last night around midnight, I forced myself to sleep — despite being antsy — so that I could quickly condition myself to the local time zone. Today’s the check-in day and gave me a morning of free time before some of the Council meetings this afternoon.
I awoke early to hit a few local attractions, which included a Mosque, Buddhist Temple, a visit in Chinatown, a contemplative and relaxing demonstration on the proper presentation and enjoyment of fine teas, and the consumption of some “street meat”: a 5″ x 5″ slab of pounded and flattened pork that’s grilled and is both disturbing and delicious (definitely not on the South Beach diet). Self portrait below.
It used to be that I didn’t allow time for any exploration on travels, but now when I hit the road I make sure — if in a unique city — to spend a little bit of time learning something new or enjoying the culture. It not only makes the trip more worthwhile, but I always find I learn something or meet someone new that adds to my experience and perspectives in life, personally and professionally.
For example…
As I was walking back from Chinatown to my hotel, I came upon a gorgeous old wooden building, probably hundreds of years old, that had “Forever Living” written on the side of it.
Intrigued, I stopped by and perused their lobby (more like a courtyard with flowing bamboo lining the open ceilings) and checked out their Company store. After a few more minutes, I decided to try to meet — unannounced — with the GM of Singapore if he/she happened to be in the office.
So I approached the man at the front desk, flashing a business card and a 30-second bio and explanation of my visit, and ten minutes later I was wisked off to a delightful meeting with the General Manager of the Singapore market for Forever Living. Worldwide, Forever Living is a pretty big MLM; they must be in 25-35 countries, and most of their products are aloe-based. They’ve had a good run but have likely hit their peak by now given their product mix and market penetration. But I still admire the Company, and they have done a nice job of building a business.
I asked my new friend Jeffrey his top priorities on succeeding in Malaysia. His response was simple: 1. Good products. 2. Good business/comp plan. 3. Sustainability.
I was a little surprised to hear him reference the sustainability piece, but in his words “people in every market, even in Asia, are a little skeptical at first about MLM; so they need to know the Company is going to be around and is sustainable”.
Really, it’s not that much different than in our market.
The photo below is of me and Jeffrey. I am extremely glad the photographer made careful effort to include both the full length of our legs and shoes, in order to eliminate the portion above which consisted of ancient and intricate woodcarvings that go back centuries from mainland China that canvass the background. I know, maybe I should give the guy a break as he was doing me a favor…but c’mon, how hard is it? We’re creating a society of poor-picture-takers. 🙂
Clearly, there are some marked differences in Asia vs. North America, both in business practices as well as culture, but as we spoke we laughed about the fact that many more similarities exist than differences. We spent a good amount of time together, and it’s one of the cool highlights from exploring (and knocking on a few doors), as I just happened to meet him as a result of walking by their offices after a morning stroll.
In my prior post I mention intentionally not blogging about the financial markets and the negativity of the news in the States. I partly expected to be removed from this, apart from my monitoring of domestic online news sources. Yet, five hours after my head hit the pillow, I awoke with sleepy eyes and pulled the paper out from under my front door with the glaring headline here that was screaming louder than the an alarm clock — and the news was every bit as sobering as it is back home.
Financial turmoil in the world markets.
But with so much chaos going on the financial markets, it gives me even greater confidence in this industry, but particularly in our Company.
I don’t know what the future holds. Most reports expect that this is going to be pretty ugly for quite a while. And as I have said for months, it’s not just North America that’s going to feel the brunt since the world economies are so intertwined. As you see from my local newspaper headlines, it demonstrates significant destruction in the financial markets in MANY countries.
So if I were a normal consumer (which I generally am) what would I do with all this information?
These are the five things I would do immediately:
1. I wouldn’t panic and needlessly stress. HOWEVER, I WOULD take some proactive action to proactive (or responsively) manage in this new financial order. Fear that leads to paralysis is bad. Fear that leads to panic is bad. Fear that drives proactive solutions and improvements can be really constructive and beneficial.
2. I would reassess my portfolio, but I wouldn’t make any significant moves if you’re in it for the long haul. Study after study proves you can’t time the market. Just ask some of those hot shots from Wall Street how brilliant they are at market timing right now.
3. If you have a long time horizon, I would continue to invest in the market — particularly by buying no load index funds (or something along those lines with your broker) and follow the principle called “Dollar Cost Averaging”, which increases your opportunity for upside and buying discounted stocks while also reducing your risk.
4. I would reassess and eliminate unnecessary spending. Yet I’d also invest the same OR EVEN MORE resources towards healthcare and wellness.
This whole scenario becomes a heck of a lot more challenging if you can’t work due to illness, or if you’re not performing at your peak potential. The money spent to keep you performing at your best is nothing compared to the alternative.
5. Finally, I would, without question, develop an alternative and secondary (or replace a primary if that’s your core need) income stream in the direct selling industry.
As an Executive in Univera, I can’t personally reach out and engage in Direct Selling as an Associate for obvious reasons. So I’ve put my full confidence, time, and energy towards this industry and our Company so that I can do my part working on the inside. Ultimately, millions of others will have the privilege, the opportunity, and the freedom of building a Univera business.
I think there’s been a bit of a delayed reaction for people getting to step number five within North America. Across the entire Direct Selling industry, current trends show recruiting is flat for the year (though in Univera, our recruiting is up for the year).
Given the speed and devastation of the markets, home equities, employment, and even politics, I think people are shocked. Disappointed. Frustrated. And Jaded. So much so that they’re a little paralyzed.
But, soon, people will need to take some immediate action.
Like I said, if they don’t do it as a result of desire, they’ll do it out of need.
Which, of course, brings us back to Univera. The privilege and opportunity we have is sacred, which is to utilize the greatness of this industry — yet to do it in an “Un-MLM” way, in a way that has not exactly been done before while still not reinventing the wheel. It’s a delicate balance.
Challenges happen to any company and any industry. And seeing the absolute devastation and the INABILITY for some of the worlds best financial firms to recover has given me even greater confidence in Univera.
We will go through challenges, yet we’ll survive and win as a team. And we can do this as a result of commitment, resources, talent, and a legitimate business structure with resources that run quite deep from the ECONET and Bill Lee.
So was it sobering to read the news this morning, halfway across the world, and hear of the same chaos brewing this side of the Earth? Yeah, it was. But imagine if you heard this news and you didn’t know of an outlet or solution? Imagine if you COULDN’T imagine how to take that next step, make the payment, keep the house, feed the kids, pay for school, continue the mortgage.
Which is why I feel such a strong responsibility to share Univera with others across North America — someday the world — and to do it in a way that doesn’t just bring physical and financial success, but does it in a way that’s relevant and sustainable to business. And to do it while creating a culture of respect, integrity, and listening — the foundational principles of Servant Leadership, graciously initiated by our late Founder Yun Ho Lee, and carried forward by Bill himself and countless thousands of ECONETIANS — employees and Associates — across the world.
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