Episode 45 Transcript

Hey everyone, it is Lisa, and welcome back to another episode of The Other 99%. I am super excited to have one of our direct sales legends here with us, Belinda Ellsworth. We were just chatting before I hit record about how I’ve been in direct sales for 18 years. I remember Belinda from the very beginning of my direct sales journey. So this is super exciting to have her as a guest. I’d love for you to jump in, Belinda, and introduce yourself to the listeners. I’m sure most people know who you are, but there might be those few who don’t. Let them know whatever you’d like to share, like maybe when you started your journey, how you got into direct sales, and what you’re doing now.

“Sure, sure. Thanks so much for having me. Well, it’s been a long little journey. I started out when I was only 18, and I was pursuing the career of a professional musician. So, I was playing in a couple of bands and I just really needed something to supplement the days that we weren’t working, just to have an additional income so I could pursue that without having to go get a full-time job. That is what I decided to do. I was introduced to it. Actually, I had been working in a doctor’s office as just…kind of with a job while I was doing my music. I hated it so bad, waking up every morning at 7 am. I was like, this is for the birds.

One of my patients actually said, ‘Hey, I just got started in this business, and I need somebody to have a party for me. You know, you seem fun and bubbly. Would you do it?’ And really, I didn’t know her. I would say she did good on her part for just jumping out of her comfort zone. And I said, ‘Sure.’ Then I thought, ‘Well, this is an interesting way to make money.’ I began at 18, and for probably a year and a half, I just did parties every single Monday and Tuesday because the band was playing the rest of the time. But I was able to quit the doctor’s office, make more money than I was there, supplement that and save. It was amazing.

Then, a few years went by. The band kind of took off, and we were traveling. Then I got married and had my daughter. Then it was like, ‘Okay, life needs to change. We’re gonna need to do something different.’ I couldn’t be a rock star anymore. It was like, ‘Okay, I’m gonna have to put that on pause for a hot minute.’ But I was really good at this direct sales thing. So, I decided to go back to it, and I did. I completely went at it with a different mindset. That’s what I love about direct sales; it can meet you wherever you are, but at any moment in time, you can decide to make it whatever else you want it to be. So when I decided at that time, ‘Okay, I’m gonna go for it big,’ that was when I really honed my sales skills.

I was one of the top sellers in the company. I started recruiting some, had a small team of about 30 people, and that was going along fine. I did that for about eight years. Then eight years in, the company was having a lot of changes to the product line and some different things, so I decided to make a move. When I did that, I also decided at that point, ‘Okay, I was a really good salesperson, top in the company, and you know what, now I’m going to build.’ But you have to remember I was still only in my twenties, and in my late twenties, I just started building. By the time I turned 30—that was my goal, by my 30th birthday to be at the highest level within the company that they had—that’s what I did.

So, I had a very big team and did that for eight more years. Then I was really encouraged by a lot of people. They were like, ‘You’re just a really good trainer. You make things so easy to understand, and you should be doing this for everybody in this space.’ So, in 1995, I left and started my own company. I just started training, and I have spoken for literally hundreds of different companies and thousands of consultants. I really spent the rest of my life creating programs, courses, tools, and resources to help people be as successful as they personally want to be—to meet them where they are.”

Belinda continued, “It’s been about seven years now—eight years ago, I started my podcast Work From Your Happy Place, where I really began training and working with other entrepreneurs outside of the direct selling space. That’s been an interesting journey as well. We’re kind of in the top 1% of podcasts, and it’s a lot of fun. I get to meet really cool people, and it keeps me as excited about what I’m doing and inspired as the guests I have on. I’m hoping that my guests inspire other people, but they inspire me. So, I think it’s a really great win-win. I think podcasts are awesome. They do a lot for everybody. So, that is my whole life story in a nutshell, in like four minutes. How’s that?”

“I love that,” I responded. “And I know you just mentioned podcasts, and I absolutely love the feedback. I mean, my podcast is still very young, but I’m getting so much positive feedback about people walking away with inspiration from stories that we’re sharing. That’s why I do this; that’s why I started it. So again, thank you so much for joining us. But I just want to circle back because I know that you have your planner—your direct sales planner. And I know that a lot of people, especially this time of year, are starting to think about, you know, picking up that perfect planner and planning out their next year for success. So, let’s talk a little bit about that and maybe pick up on some goal setting because I know your planner includes parts of that as well. So, tell us a little bit about what your planner is and sort of why you brought that to the direct sales market.”

Belinda explained, “Sure, sure. Well, how it came to be is, I had several different CEOs from different direct sales companies say to me, ‘You know, you’ve got all these programs, which I did—I had a ton of different training courses and programs—but there is no planner that really meets the needs of our salespeople. And if anybody’s going to do one, it ought to be you.’ And they said, ‘You should do that.’ I thought, ‘Oh, that’s so sweet of you to say.’ I mean, I heard this over a couple of years, and several people said it. I just thought, ‘Oh my gosh, that is so much work. I don’t want to do that.’

Then one year, someone asked me again, and it was like, you know how there’s always the right time for something? And I said, ‘Surely there has got to be a planner out there that would work for people.’ So, I thought I’d rather see if there is one, and then I’ll recommend it. I could even partner with that planner and be an endorser of it. That would make me super happy too because I’m always looking to collaborate with people and be helpful. I thought, ‘Well, this could be a win-win for both of us.’

So, I purchased 20 different planners—20. And there really wasn’t one that I thought hit the mark to really help people know what to do. See, the hardest thing for direct sellers—people ask me all the time, ‘What do you think the hardest thing for direct sellers is?’ Honestly, there are all kinds of different layers to it. But the most difficult thing is learning how to be self-employed. Everybody knows how to go to work—we’ll call it a nine-to-five or a day job, whatever you want to call it. You go, and the people there give you your assignment. You have your job description. You’re told what to do, told what time to show up, told what time you can go to lunch. You pretty much are told what to do.

Suddenly, you’re on your own, and it’s like, ‘I don’t know how to be self-disciplined. I don’t know how to set my schedule. I don’t know how to create a list of things to do or set effective goals.’ A lot of planners have a calendar, but a planner is more than a calendar—or at least it should be. It should be a guide, or it should direct you into how to show up and be the best version of yourself day after day. I really built my whole philosophy of my entire business around these four pillars of success: focus, commitment, consistency, and organization. A lot of the programs I create always make sure those things are in there. I wanted the planner to have that as well.

So, I literally sat down, drew it out on paper, and designed that planner within about 48 hours—the first version. Now, we’re on version eight. Each and every single year, we get feedback from our customers. They say, ‘Oh, I love this. I wish it had that.’ I usually take that into consideration. If I hear it from enough people, or if I can figure out a way to do it, we certainly add that in. The planner is focused around skill sets, which include time management, goal setting, scheduling, systems, networking—all the things you should be doing daily. That’s really what it’s centered around.”

Belinda continued, “Then we built out accessory items. We call it the ‘Everything You Need to Succeed’ bundle. We looked at, ‘What are the other things necessary for success besides skillset?’ Of course, it’s mindset. Mindset is almost equally as important as skillset. Then the third thing that’s super important is a healthy, positive attitude because your attitude is going to make or break you—how you decide to see your day every day. Every day we have a choice: is the glass half full or half empty? Which are you going to choose?”

She elaborated, “I started doing a lot of research around that and created a tool called The Art of Self Discovery. It takes a deep dive into 12 interpersonal skills and helps people learn to master those. It guides them in growing their self-confidence, overcoming stress, and understanding their relationship with money—just really important things to support the skillset. For the positive attitude piece, we included a gratitude journal. There’s so much research showing that people who use a gratitude journal regularly have a 40% greater chance of achieving their goals. So, we built this bundle. It’s priced really well. It’s a $323 value for $129, and you get everything, plus some other fun extras. Those are the core pieces, but we also include things like stickers, markers, and pens.”

Belinda added, “This year, we also included a digital version of the planner for those who prefer digital formats for certain parts of their planning. Studies show that using a written planner leads to a 35% higher productivity rate, but there are benefits to having digital tools as well. So, the bundle includes both the printed and digital versions.”

“I love that,” I said. “I’m a totally digital girl, but as I’ve added so many hats to my business, I’ve been looking for something with a written component for a weekly overview. I love that your planner has both.”

Belinda agreed. “In the old days, repetitive writing helped people remember things. Writing puts tasks into your memory bank in a way that digital entries don’t. A lot of customers tell me they use digital for scheduling but love the daily action plan in our planner. It’s a game-changer.”

She shared an example of her popular Power Hour system, saying, “We’ve incorporated it into the planner. There’s a space to track four income-producing activities, and we’ve even created a legend so users can customize it to their business needs. This helps people track how often they’ve completed a Power Hour and see patterns over the month. One leader told me she thought she was doing it three times a week but realized she was only doing it three times a month. Once she started tracking and committed to three times a week, her business blew up.”

As the conversation shifted toward goal setting, I asked, “So I know we’re fast approaching 2025, and every direct seller needs to start looking ahead, setting goals, and planning for success in the new year. Are there some tips you can offer to get people into the right mindset and help them set effective goals for a successful year?”

Belinda replied, “Absolutely. When I first started speaking—almost 30 years ago now—I’d ask audiences, ‘How many of you have your goals written down where you can see them?’ Back then, about 25% of people would raise their hands. Over the years, that number dropped—to 20%, then 15%, then 13%. Now, studies show that only 8% of people set goals and achieve them.”

She paused and continued, “So why is that? Through a focus group survey of 10,000 individuals, I found two main reasons: One, people don’t want to fail. They think, ‘If I never say I want it, then I can’t fail.’ And two, they don’t want others to have expectations of them. This has become even more prevalent with the visibility of social media. But here’s what I tell people: there is no failure. Goals are benchmarks. Every time you reach for one, you’re moving forward. Without goals, you’re staying in the same space.”

Belinda broke down her goal-setting method: “First, understand the components of effective goals. Then, keep them visible and break them into manageable steps. For example, our planner has sections for annual goals, which are then broken into quarterly campaigns, monthly objectives, weekly tasks, and daily priorities. This year, we added a section for a ‘daily objective’—a single task you commit to completing no matter what. If you want to sell $5,000 in a month, break that down: $1,250 per week or $166 per day. That’s much easier to work toward than a big monthly number. Know exactly what you need to sell—whether it’s bundles or individual items—and break it into daily actions.”

She then shared the three components of goal setting: “The first is the vision piece—your big picture and your ‘why.’ Why do you want this goal? What impact will it have on your life? Your ‘why’ creates an emotional attachment, which keeps you motivated. The second is setting benchmarks. For example, if your goal is $5,000 in sales and you only hit $4,200, you’re still better off than if you hadn’t tried. Finally, the third piece is having a clear plan of action. If you don’t map out how you’ll get there—whether through events, online marketing, or other strategies—you won’t achieve your goal.”

“I love that,” I said. “That’s a lot of great information. I’m sure people will replay this episode to catch all the valuable insights. It’s going to help so many direct sellers prepare for a successful 2025.”

Belinda then highlighted a unique feature of her planner: “One of the cool things about our planner is that it includes 26 embedded videos. These cover topics like goal setting, daily action plans, creating a vision board, and more. It’s not just a tool—it’s a resource to teach you how to use the tool effectively. We’ve also included 10 videos in the mindset journal to support personal growth.”

Wrapping up, I asked, “Where can people find all the information about your planner and other resources?”

Belinda replied, “They can visit workfromyourhappyplace.com. That’s where we’ve moved everything—planners, programs, and even our podcast. Just click on ‘Planner 2025’ to find all the details.”

I smiled and asked, “Before we go, do you have a favorite quote or piece of advice that every direct seller needs to hear to be successful?”

Belinda thought for a moment and said, “Yes, I do. Random acts get random results. So, be intentional. Even if you’re working part-time or treating it as a hobby, be intentional with your time. Another favorite is, ‘What gets scheduled gets done.’ Scheduling—even for personal projects—ensures you follow through. Finally, remember: the story you tell yourself is the one you’ll believe. Make sure it’s a good one.”

“That’s amazing,” I said. “Thank you so much, Belinda. I know listeners will love everything you’ve shared. Thank you for joining us on The Other 99%. And thank you to all the listeners for tuning in. See you next week!”


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