A dream doesn't become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination and hard work.

Things have started to go incredibly right for me. And although I have said I'm lucky, we all know that none of it is "luck." There's no fairy sprinkling special dust on me that allows everything to go right. Instead there's a 27-year-old woman with a drive to succeed, a hunger to build an empire, and an urge to make everyone around her amazed and proud. I've always been a go-getter, but now I'm the extreme version. I'm a business builder.

I'm using this term "business-builder" because it's loosely describes both my day job and my night job. By day (well, this job often involves staying at work until 9pm, but for all intensive purposes we'll call it a day job) I am the Business Development Center Manager for a large automotive group. I built the department, hand picked my 15 staff members, and continue to grow daily. The job of my department is to grow new business, retain current business, offer excellent customer service...ultimately make more money for the organization. I've spent hours researching, consulting with peers, sitting through webinars...all to learn how to run an effective Business Development Center. I've done it and it's rewarding. The hard work doesn't stop there, however. The market is constantly changing and therefore so must we. We're always looking for ways to better ourselves and will consistently be doing it bigger and better than our competitors.

Again, none of this happened because of luck. It all took a focused team, a supportive CEO, and a lot of hard work.

By night I'm an Arbonne Independent Consultant. In this world I am also a "business-builder." You see, if you can grow your network in Arbonne and set up a successful team that helps to train other women while still redirecting household spending you are golden. There are only 4 management levels in Arbonne and all are clearly defined. All you need to do is meet that goal in that time frame and you're making thousands a month. Once you hit Regional VP you get a free white Mercedes Benz. No strings, nothing crazy....just a free car.

Needless to stay I am working on building my network. The tricky thing is that there are too many people out there that don't see any value in hard work. They'd rather be handed mediocre things than work hard and get the big pay-off. NOT THIS GIRL. I've now seen the fruits of my labor in my full-time job and am applying those exact same principals to my part-time job. I'm going all the way and making it to the top. From an entry level job to a department head in a very successful department. From a consultant to a National VP.

Who doesn't dream about a beautiful home, a gorgeous luxury vehicle, the extra income to not have to pinch pennies?  A dream doesn't become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination and hard work.

If you'd like to hear more about this exciting opportunity to succeed, make real money, and set yourself up for a prosperous future, please reach out to me. Arbonne can be as big or as small as you need it to be. Full-time, part-time...but I promise you that they will take care of you and offer you a chance to sell quality products and potentially change the lives of yourself and others. Be a go-getter!

"What is the vision you have for your life? What are the dreams and goals you have for yourself or your family? Do you have a plan to attain them or, have you forgotten how to dream because you are mired in the reality of daily life? Arbonne has allowed me to reshape the vision I have for my family and myself, and to dream bigger than ever before. The same is happening for many others who are joining me on my Arbonne journey."

Read Barbara's Arbonne Story

Click Here for a Call Recording from one National VP of Arbonne International

There will be a brief information sessions (with drinks and snacks of course) at my home this coming Monday evening. If you're interested in attending (whether to learn about the products or the business), please RSVP by email (a.byelich@gmail.com) or on our facebook event page.

Couponing for Dummies

As I laid in bed this morning, deciding on an exact plan of attack for my long overdue Target trip, I realized I've never blogged about couponing. No, I thought. Surely I've mentioned it at some point. When I logged into Blogger I was amazed. I've never even touched on the subject which I love so much. I'm writing today to confess to all my readers (yes, all 10 of you) that I like to save money. I like to save money in the grocery store, when shopping online, when buying a coffee. I'm frugal and not ashamed to admit it. It's my frugality that warrants me the freedom to make impromptu purchases like the motorcycle I bought on Thursday...Wait, I didn't tell you about that either??? I'm a terrible blogger.

Anyway, I save money everywhere and take advantage of every offer I can. For example, when you buy a bag of Starbucks coffee you get a coupon for a free tall coffee in the bag. I've received at least 5 free coffees in the last 2 years. I don't care if it only saved me maybe $15. That's $15 I can spend elsewhere!

Another example of my effortless frugality is that I have a dining card for my favorite restaurants in the area. We often go to the same restaurants (if you're ever in Hilton Head check out the Serge Group restaurants) and with their card (which I received free as a gift from work) we always get an entree for free. That card saves us anywhere from $8-$30 every time we use it!

You might be wondering why I'm so obsessed with saving $1 here and $1 there. First of all, those dollars add up. And secondly, most of us "normal" human beings have been at a place in our lives where we need to decide how to spend our last $10. Gas in the car or dinner??? It's having so many of those types of experiences that brought me here today.

I began couponing at a young age. I was 20 and living with my first live-in boyfriend (yes we lived in sin but it's cool b/c we're married now). My technique was a mess and I had no idea. I'd spend hours clipping coupons I thought I might use, only to use a small fraction and let the others expire. It was time consuming and inefficient. It wasn't until my sister-in-law showed me her method that I learned how to be a more savvy couponer. I even went to a local class (it cost $15 to get in) where I learned all the rules, how to stay organized, where to get the best coupons, etc. Since then I've saved probably $1500-$2000 on groceries alone. I'm not exaggerating. Wouldn't you like an extra $2000 in your pocket??

But couponing is complicated and there's no way I can explain it in just this blog post. There are a few things I can explain that I'm sure you're thinking.

First, you don't have to shop like those crazy people on TV that come home with 30 tubes of Colgate. I buy normal stuff. I will, however, take advantage of a good deal and stock up on products that we use and like. For example, yesterday I bought 1 Old Spice body wash and 2 Old Spice deodorants. My husband prefers these brands (he's very picky). We weren't out, but we'll need them in the future so I wanted to buy them when I can for the lowest price. The 18oz body wash was on sale for $3.50. I also had a coupon for $1 off any Old Spice product. The $4.50 body wash cost me $2.50. His deodorant was also on sale for $3.50. I had a coupon for $1 off of 2 Old Spice Anti-Perspirants. So what normally would have cost me $8 (they are $4 a piece) cost me $6. This is a small example but it perfectly illustrates how there is NO REASON to pay full price.

Secondly, I eat incredibly healthy! I shop mostly on the perimeter of the store, buying up fresh produce, fish and poultry, some dairy and organic (not everything I buy is organic, however). We don't eat much processed food and make a lot from scratch. I am still able to save money on everything from frozen vegetables to blueberries to almond milk to Luna bars. The coupons are out there an all items go on sale at some point during a 6 week cycle. I saved $85 at Publix yesterday (spent $200) and came home with TONS of healthy food. We do not live on Pop Tarts and Totinos Pizza Rolls (though I do love me some pizza rolls!)

I use a website called Southern Savers to find out what's on sale and what coupons to couple with that sale. It's made my couponing life infinitely better! Also, if there's an item I need now that's not on sale I can simply look in her database for what store has it cheaper and search her coupon database for a possible coupon. The woman is a genius. And she is not unique. Websites like this exist for every region. Find yours.

So today I'm heading to Target for some grocery items as well as other household items. Not only am I shopping from a list with coupons coupled with sales (sticking to a list is very important for saving money because you ALWAYS pay top dollar for impulse buys),  I am also using a gift card that Doug and I got from his Dad for Christmas (Thanks Big Doug!)!! So today will be a very exciting day of shopping for free. I sure can't beat that!

If any of you think this couponing stuff is interesting, I'll be happy to share more on the topic. Just comment with your questions below. Have a happy Saturday!