Since this is my first posting to this blog, I feel a short introduction is in order. My name is Lane and I am a married man with a beautiful wife and daughter, who is a little over 2 years old as of this writing. I am a nationally certified massage therapist and have worked about 25-30 hours per week for about 8 years in various spas and health clubs.  At the beginning of February 2008, I left the safety of that environment to work for myself.  It happened suddenly, but the events leading up to that decision really started with the birth of my daughter.

When we had our child, my wife and I made the decision that she would stay at home to raise her. We knew this would cause some financial strain, but we believed we were doing what was best for our daughter. It wasn't long before we began to consider the possibility of starting an at-home business. This was mostly due to the fact that someone we trusted approached us with an opportunity to do so. The idea of being able to set my own schedule appealed to me, as well as the possibility of a residual income, and it seemed like the timing was perfect. Although we were a bit nervous with the idea of network marketing, we decided to take a chance.

My wife and I shared responsibilities related to building our business. I attended more of the presentations and events, while my wife handled much of the administrative duties. We were very excited in the beginning, but it wasn't long before things began to change for us. Any time we had a question about something, it seemed it was brushed aside by people in our upline. We just had to believe! Things began to feel less like a business and more like a cult following. The tactics being pushed by our upline to recruit people seemed less than honest, to say the least. As my concerns grew, I began to search the web for alternative approaches.

I came across the website of a woman who shared many of the experiences I had, and she was involved in a completely different network marketing company! I read on to find that almost all of my experiences were practically universal in the industry. The reason for this was actually quite simple: People with little or no sales experience were being 'trained' by their uplines, who ALSO had little or no sales experience. It was the blind leading the blind.

The woman's name was Ann Sieg, and the more I read from her, the more right it felt to me.  I knew I had found something special, because there are millions of people just like me who would love all the benefits that network marketing can provide, if only they didn't have to be network marketers!  At least the stereotypical network marketers that everyone loathes and runs from at family gatherings and company picnics.

Fortunately, Ann was showing me a better way to build a business.  She introduced me to a resource that provided me with the tools necessary to educate myself about attraction based marketing.  This is simply positioning yourself as a quality, reliable resource to others and helping them to find solutions to their problems.  

The timing could not have been better.  Within two weeks of finding Ann's free e-book, the company I was affiliated with was shut down by the FTC.  I had been right, and learned to listen to my instincts in the future.  I have since found a new company and am very happy with it.  Now I am spending a lot more time educating myself about attraction marketing than about the old school prospecting techniques recommended by my upline.  They just don't work for me, and I know in my heart that what I have found will produce much better, more lasting results in the long run. 

I began my journey towards becoming a solutions provider over two years ago, and I will share that journey with you here on these pages.  My hope is that others can learn from the mistakes I've made in the past, and hopefully become inspired as I relate the growth I experience in my life and career as we all move forward.  If I can do this, then so can you.