My name is Gabi Steiner.
I was born in 1955 and was a single mother for eight years. At the time I was working up to 75% for a wholesaler of technical equipment. Because of the time that I needed to look after my son, it was almost impossible to build up a career. Nor did my financial situation give much hope for any kind of highlight in my life.
When I first came across this kind of business back in 1993, I immediately recognised the opportunity it presented. I had no doubt in my mind that I would be successful at it. I realised right away that how successful I was, depended on how committed I was – and I was very ready to make that commitment.
After just six months of working part time with my partner company at that time, I was able to give up my main job.
And the reason why I now put a great deal of value on making business integrate harmoniously into family life.
Back in 1996, at the age of 41, I met my partner Manfred Wissmann. (I call him Wissi). Immediately, I found myself throwing all my reservations and opinions about relationships to the wind and just loved him! But, sure enough, the problems began. I worked mainly on the weekends whereas Wissi worked during the week. If I wanted to spend time with him, it would be at the expense of my income.
The next challenge cropped up because Manfred had booked a three-week holiday in South Africa before we met. For me this was much too long, because I had invested a considerable amount of money in products from my company in order to get my commission from three levels. And how was I supposed to sell volumes like this if we were in South Africa for three weeks?
On the other hand, the thought of celebrating our first Christmas 8,000 kilometres apart was unbearable.
At this time, I realised that it may have been a Networking company, but the main focus was on direct selling because of the compensation plan. And suddenly it was there – the realisation that I did not have any passive income.
At the end of 1998 I met Don Failla in a seminar. Don and his wife Nancy are well-known network trainers and what they said made a considerable impression upon me.
In 1999, I had the chance to turn this into a reality. I was now 44 years old. It was an advertisement with a photograph of Don Failla, which drew my attention to an established family business whose roots dated back to 1936. Their products contained no artificial ingredients and their bonus system fit perfectly with my plans to become financially independent.
After six years in this industry I realised that this marketing plan could be achieved without start-up costs and minimum purchase volumes for anyone, and could therefore be duplicated. I also realised that it was the kind of real Referral Marketing, which I had dreamed of.
There it was: this opportunity was a gift from heaven, like winning the lottery and handed to me on a silver platter!
The value of quality time
Wissi and I were aware of the value of quality time together. We had a clear vision that we did not want to work until age 65 and then only have a few years left to enjoy each other‘s company. Our goal was TO BE FREE to stop working by age 50 and to be able to spend as much time as possible with each other doing all those things we enjoy.
That´s my story. You can read it in more detail in my book “From Person to Person”, which has been translated into 5 languages. Excerpts of my book exist in 7 more languages. I tell my story to everyone and this way I indirectly give the person I am talking to the opportunity to ask me about it, in case they too want to make a change.
And if asked, I explain the concept very briefly using four items from my purse to illustrate my point. I then recommend my book “From Person to Person”
Excerpts
