Real-life Success Stories
Brenda Dowlar
The Dowlars may be eating their words, but they'll be the first to tell you, "They're delicious!"
Lauren and Brenda Dowlar are not new to the network marketing, but their previous experiences almost soured them on the concept forever. They poured their hearts and souls into a network marketing company in the 1990s, but the company was sold unexpectedly, and their sole source of income vanished overnight.
Dowlar's Interview
"We were really successful," Brenda says. "We worked for that company for almost 10 years, and we were Top 40 money earners, but then it all disappeared and we said we'd probably never do another referral based business."
Lauren went back to his job as a sales rep for a food distribution company, and Brenda worked two part-time jobs, also in the grocery industry. But even though they were giving their jobs 110 percent and working 65 hours a week, all they seemed to be gaining was frustration.
"We were going so far backward financially. Our son was in a private Christian school and we had to write a $9,000 convenience check just to cover that bill," Brenda says.
PRIORITIES IN PLACE
Longtime friends Rick and Brenda Ricketts had mentioned the YTB business opportunity, but the Dowlars refused to listen. They had no idea that wanting to book a simple vacation would change all that, setting the table for their big turnaround on network marketing.
The Dowlars had always prioritized vacations in their family, even when they were struggling financially. They had two weeks off a year, and they spent several thousand dollars on each vacation to ensure a great week away. But in May 2005, when Brenda went to book their next cruise at the travel agent's office, she found it had gone out of business. She drove to another travel agency she knew - it was also closed.
"I started to think about how everyone is booking their travel online now, and one of the companies a lot of people were calling us about was an online travel business called YTB," Lauren says. "I told Brenda an online travel business sounded like a good idea, but she was still a little unsure."
Brenda still hadn't booked that cruise, so she broke down and called Brenda Ricketts back.
"I told her, 'I'm not really interested in your travel business, but if I wanted to book a cruise how would I do it?' She told me I couldn't book a cruise anywhere until I'd heard the YTB presentation," Brenda says.
Brenda drove to Orlando to hear the presentation by "Coach"J. Lloyd Tomer. "I sat there with my arms crossed for the first couple of minutes, but then as I listened i just thought, 'Wait a minute - this just makes sense!'" Brenda says. By the end of the presentation, she was ready to bite.
FINANCIAL FREEDOM
The Dowlars signed on, but they kept their normal jobs and devoted only about three hours a week to their YTB business at first.
"Our goal when we started was to make $750 a month to pay our son's tuition bill," Lauren says.
Within six months, they accomplished that and more. Within 10 months, they became directors, which gave them medical insurance, as well. When they received their first Dream Bonus on Valentine's Day, Lauren suggested to Brenda she quit her $10/hour job and focus on YTB full time.
The extra time and hard work has paid off in a big way. So big, that Lauren "retired" from his job in January so he can devote himself to their YTB business, as well. Now they're making five figures a month - a long way from charging tuition bills.
The 32 people they personally recruited in the past two years have grown to 6,300 people in their downline.
"We have one of the fastest-growing teams in YTB," Brenda says. "I always tell people that you're one person away from financial freedom for your family. Kevin and Cheryl Giguere are our biggest players, but I waited on Kevin for four months before he agreed to hear the presentation. Now they've added 4,300 people to our company.
"We're living the American Dream, thanks to YTB and our awesome team," Brenda says. "Because of YTB, we went from struggling to pay our bills to buying a $1.3 million, three-story house on the water. Lauren just bought me a new BMW. Our residual check covers all that and then some."
Having long since reached their goal of $750 a month to cover tuition costs, the Dowlars have new goals now. In addition to becoming Level 3 Directors, they're committed to helping others reach their own goals through YTB.
"We know what it's like to struggle to pay the bills, That was just yesterday for us," Brenda says. "So we have a passion for helping people get out of debt and find financial freedom. We have people calling us crying from happiness because they just got their first bonus, and it's so rewarding to know we were able to have a part in that."
