Connie Banford is a natural-born entrepreneur and businessperson. Launching business in new areas is not new to Connie. At a young age, she felt that if you put your mind to something, you could do it. She’s always had the drive, perseverance, and tenacity to make things happen. Since experiencing a very serious illness at the age of eight, where Connie had to learn to walk and talk all over again, she felt she could accomplish most anything. Her first successful business was at age five, and she had numerous successful businesses in grade school, high school and college. Upon moving to the Washington, DC area, she immediately got a job with her hometown congressman. A few years later, she became one of the youngest office managers on Capitol Hill. She also worked as an assistant in the West Wing of The White House. Connie has been an officer in many business groups, was a founder of what is now a thriving women’s business group in her county, and has received innumerable business and community awards. She has always been active in her church and community and through her Empowering Moms in Business group. She gives back by mentoring and providing help to moms who juggle the demands of household, family, and business. She loves spending time with her husband of 43 years (Bill), her two sons, their wives, and her two granddaughters.

"I started a medical transcription business 29 years ago. It’s still around today. I had constant deadlines and worked with doctors around the clock. It’s smaller now than it used to be, but we once had up to 350 client doctors and 38 medical transcriptionists working with us.

I got into network marketing because of the residuals. That excited me. I had some experience in the industry prior to New Earth, but once I saw New Earth, a few things really jumped out at me. For one, I understood that the wholefoods and natural product industry was growing at twice the rate of vitamins, sports and diet supplements. Two, as you get older, health gets more and more important. I want to maintain that. You can’t always get what you need from regular food. It’s difficult. I’ve always used supplements. As for the certifications New Earth has? That’s huge! You’re consuming exactly what the label says you’re consuming. I’m sold. I’ll never stop using these products.

I’ve got a nice team of folks I’ve known for a while. They’re leaders, every one of them. I had been part of New Earth for almost two months when I was recognized as the company’s fastest growing Silver 5. That is largely due to the superb people on my team. But you know what? I’m pretty excited about sharing New Earth. Because of my other business, I’m sometimes confined to my home. I’m on the phone all the time. People can hear the excitement in my voice. I’ve also built up a trust factor. They know me as a ‘stick to it’ kind of a person. I have longevity in anything I’ve ever done. I like to build relationships with people. You have to make an impression on them. You can get 100 likes on Facebook, but you don’t even know who all those people are.

For many years I’ve been able to have time freedom and financial freedom. It’s been limited, but when I created my business, it was before people were even working from home, before computers and the Internet. There were limited kinds of things you could do from home at that time. I liked being able to take my kids to the zoo or help with school and to be engaged in their activities. That meant a lot to me. I’d have to work in the middle of the night on occasion because of deadlines, but I was able to do what I wanted to do. Because of that I feel, with the residual income that New Earth affords us, I’m able to allow others to do that same thing but with more time freedom than I ever had. It’s tough to live on one income. Wealth creation is important.

I want to be able to help as many people as I possibly can. I want them to be able to be with their kids and families again. They don’t realize the possibilities out there. My way may not be the best way, but if they have a desire and want more availability, I’m here to help. I’m showing a way that works for me. New Earth includes everything. The products help get you back to nature. They are good for you. They’re going to give you the wherewithal to interact with your mind, body and spirit. Add a financial component to that and, wow, what else is there?

Pretty recently, I was at the very top of a technology network marketing company. I was the top person. I am definitely not a slacker. When it comes to New Earth, I have visions of getting right up there as well. I’ve only been at this for two months, but I aim to be amongst the top few leaders if not at the very top. I’m persistent, I’m consistent, I am tenacious and I believe in this. I don’t sit at home and watch soap operas. I’m not that kind of a person.

I was really anxious to go to New Earth University and meet people I had only heard about. I was so excited to meet Bilal, Jerry, and Kevin; they had been on my team calls early on. Meeting them validated that they were not just ethical and down to earth, but they really are excited about what this company is trying to do. I was really impressed. I felt from afar they were that way anyway, but now I absolutely knew. They were so humble when I could envision people of their stature being very different and opposite of that. They help make New Earth the total package, from top to bottom."

'It's an amazing lifestyle!'

Donia Al Alawi shares her New Earth Story

I took a long time to learn through my education and different job experiences, what I really enjoy doing professionally. After graduating from the University of Washington with a degree in Political Science, I thought I would love to be in politics and through the political process I thought I could change the world. I was an activist in college during the Vietnam War times. I wanted to end up working in Washington D.C. and I took an administrative job in an accounting firm in Seattle to earn enough money to get to Washington D.C. I later learned that I liked the accounting profession, so I went back to college to get a second degree in accounting. That's when I met my husband and fell in love and that lead to eventually quitting the accounting world.

Rich encouraged me to be an enterpreneur and start my own business. So, I started teaching foreign students at home how to write research papers. Helping students and taking them to liberaries helped me learn that my true passion was the subject of health.

It's been a strange journey trying to find the right profession via politics, accounting and health. The good news is, unlike the majority of working people, I've found my calling and I love it.

"I've been with New Earth since 1990. I was introduced to the company by one of the employees we had at the time. He saw that I would eat my lunch and fall asleep on my desk. I was the boss, so nobody could tell me not to sleep at my job! I would take a short nap after eating and I didn't have a lot of energy. So he brought me some products one day and I liked them right away.

Our business was about to go belly up; overnight we were out of business. Because we were basically self-employed, our option was to close the office and go to work for somebody else. Instead, we decided to take an in depth look at New Earth and see what it was all about. Besides, we were already in love with the product.

The appeal to eating organic foods was getting to be a big deal and we saw a demand for it. With New Earth, we thought we had the ideal products to start marketing locally. My husband was a great speaker and trainer and developed some presentations. And that was it! Our business took off.

My husband had dabbled in other network marketing companies but failed miserably each time. I'm ashamed of what I'm about to say, but I told him not to get into these business scams. When he would fail, I'd say, "See? I told you so." Ultimately, I changed my mind when we had very different results with New Earth.

We already knew people were health deficient. What better way to help than to offer them whole food supplements? It was a process of explaining why New Earth was a lot better than taking the multivitamins they were used to. That model appealed to people. It made sense. We became successful because we promoted from the heart.

We totally believed in it, right from the start. There is a huge difference between coming here without that deep relationship and believing from your core.

I don't look at this as a job. It's a way to make a difference in people's lives. I see this as an answer to this question: "Who is the next person I'm going to help?" That's what keeps me going. I don't care if the company's management changes. As long as they are honest and receptive to our ideas and we can talk to them, I'm fine. The reason I am involved is solely because of the products. I love what they do for our health and the health of our animals.

My family lives in the UAE (United Arab Emirates) and I would visit them every year. Ten years ago, there were no organic food stores there. But all of a sudden, I started seeing grocery chains popping up that were promoting organic food. I saw that as a huge opportunity to bring New Earth's products there; I started to do lectures and meet people one on one. My family visits became a lot longer than one week. Instead, I was staying for three or four, setting up meetings and promoting the products and the concept of foods being our best medicine.

My lectures were recorded. They got the attention of one of the biggest television news channels there. At the time, they didn't have anybody talking about holistic health, so they asked me to do five-minute segments they would air weekly. I did that for about six months, helping educate the public. And it was on one of the top programs, like our "Good Morning America," but it was "Good Morning Arabs."

I got to the point I didn't want to do it anymore. A lot of people were copying what I was doing and doctors were beginning to do the same thing on TV. It was time for me to back down. I took all of these videos—over 50 of them—and I put them on YouTube. They spread like crazy. Now I have millions of viewers. I get a call or email almost every day. The UAE is a huge market for me and I don't have to be there.

The Internet has allowed me my ultimate goal, to reach people all over the world. I have customers in New Zealand, Australia and the UK. It's all about learning to market online. And I have achieved that in the last decade. Now when I travel, I can set up meetings with these consumers. My income allows me to choose two or three countries per year that I have consumers in and I get to visit them. That trip becomes a business trip, but I get to enjoy their hospitality at the same time.

Once you impact someone's health, you have friends for life. My goal was not to just have consumers, but have consumers that were my friends too. I have upcoming trips to Morrocco and Spain and have consumers in both countries. In 2016, I have another three or four trips where I'll do the same thing. It's an amazing lifestyle.

My husband passed away four years ago. We used to divide the business. As his health deteriorated, I had to learn the business side of things. It took me out of my comfort level, but I stepped up and learned what it was he was doing. Now I have no problems doing anything related to this business.

My son recently quit his job and decided to join New Earth. So now it's a family business and I'm passing on a lot of my knowledge to him. I'm 68 now. I'm noticing that when you're healthy, everything works right. I feel like I'm still 20 years old. I have that same kind of vitality and energy. I hope I'm still that way at 90. That's my goal. This is a very pleasurable thing to do every day.

I was a Bucket List Challenge winner and I chose an all-expenses-paid trip to Phuket, Thailand as my reward. I like to relax. Even though I enjoy this business, I'm in front of the computer 8-10 hours a day. It's fun, but it's also stressful. I like to go where it's relaxing and where there's a beach. I haven't been to Phuket before, but I've heard it's beautiful. I even extended another full week so I can get the full experience.

I'd like to offer some advice to new business builders. When they start in the business, they usually go immediately to their warm market and contact their friends and family. They quickly build the business with people they know. But sooner or later every builder gets to what my husband used to call the NFL zone (No Friends Left). The business starts to get hard and stressful because your phone is not ringing as much. And if you don't like to knock on doors and do presentations, it quickly becomes cumbersome. I'd encourage every business builder to look at ways to create a niche site out of their story.

The Internet gives us an amazing opportunity to connect with the world. For example, I talk about a certain health challenge on my site and explain how the products have helped me overcome it. It's almost like writing a little booklet about your testimony and putting it online. And if they have that same issue, they'll find your website. That's when you start getting qualified leads.

I also like dogs. I have some niche sites explaining why dogs are sick today. It largely comes down to the junk diet they're being fed from cans and certain dog foods.

This business is always up and down. Unless you adapt and know why you're doing it, you can lose interest very quickly. I had one builder come to me whose network had shrunk from 1000 to 20-30 people. I explained niche sites to him and this way of doing marketing and he said he didn't have a health story. He'd ever been sick, but he loved the products. He believed in the idea of nourishing with superfoods. He wanted to know how he could market himself. I asked him...I said if I help you set up a site about a certain health issue for dogs and you learn about that issue and you become an expert of sorts, will you take that site over and advertise? He said he would. So I wrote it for him and he started an animal niche site. And now he is signing up between 20-30 consumers a month. He's been doing it for four years now and his volume last month went over 25,000. And that's all that he's doing. He's just working with animal lovers and dogs that have this health issue and signing them up. He's able to stay at home, take care of his daughter and put her through college. And he's not the only one like that in my business. So does it work? Yes it does.

Follow what makes you happy with this New Earth business. You have to. Everybody has to. What aligns with your values? Find that and create your marketing around that. It's a great lifestyle!"

Susan Rispoli has been apart of network marketing for over 30 years. Susan is a successful, family oriented woman who prides herself in helping others both financially and through better health. Susan is a dedicated entrepreneur; she has owned and managed several businesses, all of which have flourished. She doesn't do anything she doesn't love! Susan is always looking to make a difference in this world. After trying New Earth products and coming to southern Oregon, Susan fell in love with the company. She loves the people she works with and is a top leader at New Earth. With many years of entrepreneurship, from starting her own restaurants to helping a company open internationally; Susan is no stranger on how to work a business!

"When I had my first experience with network marketing, the economy was really good. When you were married, you didn't have to work. One income was enough. It's not that way anymore.

One of my first experiences was having my upline call and tell me they wanted me to be part of their business. They wanted me to help open it. I was the first person east of the Rockies to be involved and it was wonderful. Eighteen years ago, I helped open Europe. It was the love of my life. It changed our life. Financially, it did wonders. I could be home with my children and help them. And I was always home because it's where I did the business.

My former husband's dream was to go to Las Vegas and I said no problem. He wanted to open a sports bar. And so we started another life. That bar ended up being the most successful sports bar in Vegas. I had to work on it 24/7 and leave my own business behind. I put it on the back burner."

In 2008, the bottom fell out. The company I was a part of is now in 60 countries and doing billions of dollars in sales. I couldn't even reach the people I used to know! I couldn't go back. I needed to help start a company. I opened a deli in Florida. I am now divorced and taking care of my 88-year-old mom. One day a girl walked in from New Earth and told me about it. I said I couldn't do it but wanted to get on the product. Within a couple of weeks, my back pain was gone. That's all I knew—I wasn't in pain anymore. I called her up and she contacted Kevin [Larson]. And I honestly didn't know if New Earth would be up to my standards. They wanted to fly me out to Oregon, but I didn't want to feel obligated. I told them that up front.

I went to [New Earth in] Oregon with two inches worth of questions. I spent days with them, but I knew they had me my very first day. They had high integrity and were just the kind of people I wanted to do business with. They want to help the world. I loved the product as well as their ethics. New Earth is not a flash in the pan. They're stable. I wanted a home, a place I could work for the rest of my life. I want my epitaph to be ‘made a difference in this world.' So I finally said ‘I'm home. This is where I want to be.' I'm just a year into the business and I love it more and more every day. Every day I become more confident of where this company is going. I love what I do. I do what I love.

I love network marketing. It's the finest business in the world. There's no capital risk. You have the potential to earn whatever you want to and help people's health and finances at the same time. That's why I'm in it. I love the freedom it affords me. I take care of my mom, so I need that flexibility. It's there for everybody to do what it is they want to do and achieve.

I'm a big goal setter. I want to be the first Platinum in the company. I'd like to reach the top. I dream big. My goal is to help New Earth be the biggest and best network marketing company that there is. And it's going to be just that and for all the right reasons too: it's a business of integrity, helping change the world one person at a time.

What is it you want out of this business? It's like a mathematical equation. You can get to whatever goal you want. Take the goal and work backwards. Take a yearly goal and work back to months, weeks, even days. I tell those on my team what they need to do every day to accomplish their goals. We're constantly reevaluating and making new ones. State it with conviction: ‘I will achieve this goal.' Learn from your upline and teach your downline. Determine your top priorities: that's important.

If you want it to be a real business, treat it like a real business. Treat it that way and it will treat you better than any business you could ever imagine.

I speak from the heart. I keep things very simple. I never try to convince. If you believe in something, people will follow you. Help enough people succeed and you will succeed. It will come naturally.

Roll with the punches. I get more ‘no's' than anyone, because I probably approach more people than anyone else. If people want to be healthier, I approach them and I help them. If they don't, that's okay. I move on to the next.

I wake up in the morning and I can't wait to get to work. I go to sleep at night upset that I'm tired and I can't do more. I love what I do. If I could stay up 24 hours, I would. Not because I have to, but because I want to. I will help others succeed and I'll do so gladly, with all my heart and soul.

My passion cannot be contained. I smile all the time. I'm so happy. Things happen and I have hardships, but to have [New Earth] makes everything okay. I pray a lot. I am very happy and very blessed. I know I'm going to get to where I want to. This is a joyous business. From the people you meet to the places you're able to go to the accomplishments you're able to participate in … there's just no greater business in the world. But! But … you have to be connected to the best company, product and compensation plan. And the fact I know I am? That makes me smile.

Is it easy? No, it's not. It is simple, but you have to put effort into it. You have to work at it."