Author: Baudina Slikker

Baudina Slikker http://startwithbaudina.ca Business Coach/Business and Profit builder, living the life on an acreage. Started my own business as profit accelerator/teacher/coach/motivator for starting and new entrepreneurs/small business owners. Still an Independant distributor of Young Living Essential Oils (2013 690), just because I love essential oils used the correct way.

Market in Canmore

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It has been a long day today. I spend the day in Canmore (Alberta) trying to have people sign-up for my newsletter.

Well that didn’t go so well. Nobody signed up. But I will get there. There are other ways to have people added to my list.

The market itself was fun. Lots of people passed by. A part was absolutely not interested, a lot were using essential oils already (not always YL but that’s alright). A surprisingly big amount didn’t know anything about the oils or just a bit. So there is still work to do.

I handed out a lot of brochures which I printed yesterday. I gave somebody a little pot with PanAway to try it out. I had somebody very interested in the starters kit. And I sold a bottle of Lavender. So overall not bad.

Now I only have to find out how I can make people sign up 😁

Oreo

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Already 10 years ago Oreo came into our life. A birthday present for our youngest daughter. Best buy ever. She is a cross between a quarter horse and a Welsh and has such a friendly character.

My daughter could ride a little bit, Oreo had already learned some things and the two of them just started working together. They had their ups and downs, but they had fun.

She didn’t need much over the years. She got a bit too heavy once in a while, but lost that weight on regular basis too. She only have had 2 real problems in her life with us. First time was when she had inflamed gums and we had to brush her teeth twice a day. And it worked. After a week and getting rid of the hay with the foxtail in it, she was declared better.

Last time she was sick she foundered. Severe. On all four legs.  We used to have a chronologic foundering pony back in the Netherlands, so I have been studying and being to seminars and courses and what ever is possible to learn more about it back then. She has had a swollen ovarian a year ago, so I assumed that that has been the tricker. Hormones are off. So with a lot of herbs (Riva’s Remedies) and essential oils (Young Living) to level out her hormone balance, to fight the inflammation, to reduce the pain and to promote hoof-grow it took her just over 6 weeks to get better again. She is running around (and away when I come up with the halter) like old times.

Horses gives you a lot of sorrow but also a lot of fun.

Feeling good

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For weeks I have been so busy with everything that has to do with my work and with setting up and expanding my MLM business (Why Oils Canada).

My website is more than decent by now. I even have a pop-up screen to sign-up for my newsletter. I also can see how many people are visiting my website. And I added the option so that you can read my newsletter. I still have to add some content though. But that will come over time.

I also created and send out my first newsletter. I started with an email marketing platform (Sendlane) which didn’t work out. I had to start over 3 times because their editor just stopped working. First they didn’t know why, then it was because I just used  “strange” characters, then there was something else…. After 2 weeks (I think I have been extremely patient) I decided to change to ChimpMail. So nice. In a couple of days I made my newsletter and send it out, I made my sign-up form for Facebook and for my website. I created my thank-you form (when people sign up) and I deleted my account with Sendlane.

Now I am preparing myself for the market which I will attend saturday in Canmore (Ab). I am working on a pamphlet, sign-up sheet, sample’s, etc. I have attended markets before, but I wasn’t happy with the outcome from it so I just stopped instead of changing the way I was “selling” myself. Because I always had some bottles with Thieves household cleaner I just managed to get my costs covered, but that was basically it.  No customers or just interested people to keep in touch with.

So part of my new “ME”, I will attend a market once a month and get email addresses for my newsletters and certainly some new customers.

And I keep on using my little bottle “Build your dream” essential oil blend. That seems to work too.

 

What is an NHP?

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NHP means Natural Health Products.

According to Health Canada’s website “Natural health products (NHPs) are naturally occurring substances that are used to restore or maintain good health. They are often made from plants, but can also be made from animals, microorganisms and marine sources. They come in a wide variety of forms like tablets, capsules, tinctures, solutions, creams, ointments and drops.” (http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/dhp-mps/prodnatur/index-eng.php)

For certain Young Living essential oils this means that Health Canada determined that sufficient scientific evidence exists to substantiate that these oils can help restore, maintain, or improve health.

Young Living can provide you with essential oils as a natural alternative to relief you for:

  • Headache
  • Acne
  • Cough or cold
  • Eczema and Dermatitis
  • Rheumatoid Arthritis, Strains, or Sprains
  • Digestive Discomfort
  • Burns, Cuts, Bruises, and Other Minor Skin Irritations
  • Stressed and Uptight

Young Living’s NHP registered oils will have a Natural Product Number (NPN) that will appear on the label. Which according to Health Canada’s website means, “… that the product has been authorized for sale in Canada and is safe and effective when used according to the instructions on the label.” In addition, NHP registered oils will display an expiration date. Young Living Canada’s NHP oils are currently registered under a three year expiry. Rest assured, there has been no change to the raw materials used to create our essential oils, or the way our oils are distilled, bottled, stored, or shipped. However, the registration of oils as NHPs means the addition of an expiry is required to ensure we meet all Health Canada requirements

https://www.youngliving.com/en_CA/discover/natural-remedies/index

Chinook and headaches

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Living in Cochrane, Alberta (Canada) means learning to live with Chinooks.

I love chinooks. It gives us a break on regular basis from the cold and harsh winter. Temperatures drops from -20C to -2C or even above zero. Despite the wind which goes with it, it’s lovely outside now. Even our little chihuahua, who hates the cold (and the coats and shoes which are going with it) enjoys the outside and starts running around the house like crazy.  Normally in the winter she walks 2 meters, does what she needs to do and wants to be picked up. Now we have to run after her to keep an eye on here.

On the other side for me it also means headaches. Just 3 days of really bad headaches. Because of a neck injury (my muscles are tying up on regular basis) I am not uncommon with headaches. I  have them since I was 12 years old after my horse decided not to take the jump but I did.

A long time ago I decided that I refused to walk around with the pain anymore and starting taking pills. Ibuprofen was my friend and I have a bottle available all the time. At home and in my purse and in my car. I noticed that I started to be addicted to it too. Over the years I went from 1 pill a day to 3 pills a couple of times a day. Not good.

Now I use the pills just sporadically. What changed? I started using spearmint oil. My gosh that stuff feels so good. It is almost hard to explain, but it is as if you have a cold and fresh towel in your neck for hours. It feels so good. And together with oils to relax my muscles in my neck and to take away the pain, I barely grab that bottle anymore.

Do you have headache on regular basis? You should start to try spearmint.

Looking for a natural alternative?

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Years ago I started an education to become a holistic vet in the Netherlands. Unfortunately something like that is not offered here in Canada and because we were all busy with starting our new life I forgot about it and i didn’t finish it. Which also meanes I forgot about my passion for the alternative of holistic way of living.

A couple of years ago it came back after somebody placed an ad on Facebook that she was looking for distributors for Young Living Essential Oils. Because I had learned during my education that not every company has good and/or pure oils I started to look around and see what I could find about essential oils sold at the Canadian market. Just a couple of companies had their prove of good quality oils but Young Living just gave me the best feeling.

So I decided to sign up and buy their starter kit to see what kind of oils they have and how good they would do their job. And

And I wasn’t disappointed.

“Young Living Essential Oils empowers you to dodge harmful chemicals, enrich your life, and reclaim your natural radiance. Young Living Canada’s Natural Health Products provide natural options to help support everyday ailments. Not only does Young Living provide 100% pure, quality essential oils, but we’re giving you choices.” 

https://www.youngliving.com/en_CA/discover/natural-remedies

 

How to expand your MLM business (2)

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A couple of days ago I wrote about the MLM business and how to expand. Today I like to continue on this subject.

At a certain moment I lacked motivation to continue my business, procastenated every action I had to do to find any person who would be interested to sign up with me and was just waiting for anybody to come to me.

Wonder why I didn’t earn a dime? I didn’t. I needed a wake-up call first. And I got it. After putting everything on paper about what I had done, about what I did right now and about what I would going to do in the future I got that wake-up call. Scary almost.

But that wasn’t the only thing I needed to realize. I also realized that I would never find those super-sellers, those 5 people in my first leg. Maybe one or two, but certainly not more. And they would never bring much money in my wallet. That was for sure.

So something needed to change. I needed a different approach. I started with setting up my personal store where people could buy the products of Young Living for retail prices without signing up. Talking with people previously I noticed a lot resistant against signing up and this would be a good solution. As soon as they would start to love the oils and start using more, they would sign up anyway.

And after my first sale I realized what had to change. I need customers. Just people who buy products from me. Didn’t matter if they just bought once a year. If I have enough customers I would earn a decent amount of money. If every customer buy products for $100, then $24 dollar is for me. So if I have 1200 customer I would earn $2400 a month. Not bad. And from that point on I can expand. So I just have to find 1200 customers. 🙂

Does that sound reasonable? Does that sound realistic? 

Create an Email List

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An email list is an important part of your on-line business if you want to grow and get customers. I am working on creating one and I have already 3 subscribers. Yahoo!! I have set my goal on minimal 1000 for this year so only 997 to go.

So for the next couple days I am going to finish my newsletter which is also a template for the newsletters which I want to send out every month with new information about Essential Oils, how to use them, which you can use and for what, freebies and more. I am working on it for 3 days in a row now. Not only to find the right content but also because the program I use isn’t cooperating. I think I have to find a different approach, because starting over constantly is extremely frustrating.

I want to use this newsletter to build my list. The idea is that is the newsletter is interesting enough people would sign up for it but they would also be willing to share it with other people so they can sign up. And from that interest in essential oils and how to use them, how to find oils to replace common over-the-counter medicine I will find customers. I will take time to find these people but I will get there.

I have to bring out my name consistently so people know where to find me but more important want to find me.

Curious about my newsletter?? Send me your name and email and it will be on his way.

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Thank you for your response. ✨

The last day.

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Just one day left and then everything is back to “normal”. My husband and my oldest daughter’s boyfriend already started working this week, but school didn’t start yet. But it will start monday which means I have the house completely to myself again the whole day. I can do what ever I want to.

Not that it are going to be crazy things. I am too boring for that lol. But I can start concentrating again on my business and on my running/working-out-schedule without any disruption. No tv turned on which distracts me. No being social and having conversations. I know I don’t have to watch but I just don’t have enough willpower to keep myself away from that screen. And I love to have conversations with my daughters.

I will have a lot of extra hour though which gives me finally the change to finish my first newsletter and to finish that landing-page and get going to find these 1200 customers and to start working on loosing weight again and ……

Talking about my business: Anybody interested to learn more about essential oils and changing your life? 

Slowfeeders for horses

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Since a long, long time I am feeding my horses their hay in so-called slowfeeders. These nets are not the same as the old fashion haynets with huge holes where the horse pulls out huge amounts of hay and drop half of it on the ground. Also the risks of getting stuck in these nets are way lower than with the common haynets. (Just have to add that you still have to be careful with horses with shoes.)

Slowfeeders are nets with smaller holes and because of that the horse has to “nibble” on the hay to get it out. Or they shake it out because a horse is very inventive. Because of these smaller amounts they get, it takes them way longer to eat one flake of hay (say 10 minutes versus 30 minutes) which makes it more natural for the horse and better for their intestines. And because of that I can give them a couple of flakes and at the end off the day they are just finished with it.

As I said I use them already for a long time. In the Netherlands they were quiet popular already, not so much here in Canada. It took me some time to find a place where they sold slowfeeders which were also of good quality and shipping & handling didn’t cost me a small fortune. I tried out a couple but most of them got holes in it within months or they were just not handy to use.

Now I stick to one brand called NAG BAG (www.slowfeeders.com) and they work great for me. I have different sizes nets but also different size holes. The sizes of the nets vary between able to put 3 or 4 flakes in it or a 1200lbs round bale. I use the small ones for in the stall at night. I use a bigger size, which can hold a small bale, outside when I am out of my big 1200lbs roundbales.

I have a net for these roundbales too. Just over 3 weeks is what it takes 2 horses (14 hands) to eat these big guys and there is really barely any hay spilled or left. What a release after my first big bale without the net. But then they had a beautiful bed where they could poop and pi on and lay down all while eating. 30% probably ended up at the manure pile eventually. The only thing I noticed is that the small versus the “normal” size holes didn’t make much difference. Just a couple of days.

So these nets are not only saving me a lot of money  (certainly when the hay prices were ridiculous high like last year), they are better for their health too. And if you would make it even more healthier, you can hang a couple of nets all over the place so they have to move around. But not everybody can do that. And I can’t just put them on the ground because coyotes love to play with them and tear them apart lol.

These slowfeeders are extra work when you only use flakes but certainly something to look into if you are really interested in a better health of your horse. Or like to save a lot of money on the long-term when you feed these big roundbales.