Friday, August 22, 2014

Plexus Ranks #8 on Inc. Magazine's Top 5000 - What Does it Mean?

Breaking it down

From the Inc. Website
New York based Inc. magazine, a publication which has been in circulation since 1979, publishes a yearly ranking of the top 5000 fastest growing companies in the U.S. They also highlight the top 10% with what they call the "Inc. 500". In the ranking, each company's three year growth is measured. To qualify, companies must have an annual revenue of at least $2 million in the most recent year measured. Without that revenue measurement, the list would be suspect of having any reasonable meaning. However, with that measurement, the public is able to get a glimpse into what could be the nations future top businesses, and companies that might be worth seeking out when looking for a job.

Plexus' ranking at #8 on this list is quite substantial for the company. First, that position makes them the fastest growing network marketing company in the country. An article from April of this year in Direct Selling News said, "Plexus Worldwide may be the biggest company in the direct sales industry that you’ve never heard of. But Plexus executives don’t expect that to be the case for long." Now that Inc. has published their list, it would seem that the Plexus executives are correct.

The other important note in the ranking is that among the top 10, Plexus ranked #2 in revenue last year, with $159.9 million. Fuhu, a company that makes an Android tablet for kids ranked #1 in both revenue and sales growth amongst the top 10, with $195.6 million in revenue last year.

Accolade


Michelle Thomas, Emerald Ambassador for Plexus holding a copy the of
Success from Home magazine which featured Plexus, and in which
she is also pictured.
Plexus was also recently featured in Success from Home magazine which is circulated throughout the United States at Barnes and Noble bookstores. But the sudden rise in notoriety is only bested by their own explosive growth, with a clip of 16,458% over the last three years.

Plexus vital signs are incredible. Add to their explosive growth and sudden notoriety the fact that Plexus Worldwide is also a debt free company, and you have a meal that investors would salivate over, if Plexus were public.

But you won't find Plexus stock available on the market today. Plexus has chosen to remain a private company, which means the only way that you can get a piece of the action is to become one of their distributors. And Plexus has developed it's own way of dividing up the company profits. According to  Plexus International President, Alfred Petterson, their goal was "to do network marketing the way it could and should be done." This has proven to be very lucrative for many stay at home mom's, who tend to lean toward the weight loss focus of Plexus' marketing. But don't count the dad's out. Several of Plexus' top distributors are men, and Plexus product offering expands well beyond weight loss and into other areas of health and help with pain.

The overall picture looks very good for Plexus. Though they are still in the young, growing stages of their business, they are off to a nearly unrivaled start. This fact alone gives Plexus the upper hand in the battle for strength and longevity; a promising thought for any company.

Wednesday, August 20, 2014

Momentum Starts in Your MIND

Definition

mo·men·tum

 noun \mō-ˈmen-təm, mə-\
: the strength or force that allows something to continue or to grow stronger or faster as time passes

Health Momentum

If you are trying to get healthy and lose weight, but you have a negative or hopeless belief about it,
you are likely to never see the results you desire. Even when you add in a product as extraordinary as Plexus, your downer mentality can sabotage your results. But, it's not magic.

I've said in countless meetings that I "only" lost 3 lbs. in the first 6 weeks after starting Plexus. I felt great, better than I had in years, but weight loss was almost absent. I've since lost 42 lbs. I have even seen people go 3 months before losing a pound. Yet, many people quit only 1 or 2 months in because "Plexus was not working". But, the things we later find out time and again with many of these are:

1. They are not drinking the recommended amount of water.
2. They are not taking the products regularly (or even at all).
3. They decide to "test" the products, and so begin eating worse than normal.
4. The products have had some positive effects, but they are concerned more with the cost and are embarrassed to say it.
5. The products have had some positive effects, but not what they were hoping for, yet.
6. Their spouse or someone close to them is very negative.
7. There are other underlying health issues which complicate weight loss that they had not divulged.

In the first three above examples, there are a couple of possibilities. First, these customers may simply be uninformed of the Plexus process. In this case, some education is necessary. The other possibility is that the person is not truly committed. They have for one reason or another agreed to "try" the Plexus products, but they never actually intended to do their part.  They could be one of the millions who have tried and failed using other weight loss products, and have become cynical toward anyone offering any kind of help.

The last four examples typically happen when a customer has the wrong expectations up front. That is why we must educate our customers and continue to talk to them throughout the process. These folks usually started the products sincerely wanting to do something for their health. But, as a Plexus Ambassador, you have to know that the job is not always going to be easy when it comes to helping people, even with the extraordinary results that Plexus has.

All of these examples come from a negative mentality. That negativity carries with it strength or force which will be the impetus to moving more quickly toward a negative result. People in poor health don't typically start that way. There is usually a negative thing that happens in their life, or in their belief which starts the ball rolling. Perhaps an accident, or the loss of a friend. Perhaps they had a difficult time after the birth of a child. Or, perhaps as a child they just were never taught proper eating habits. Poor eating habits as a child lead to health complications later in life. By the time that they decide to do something about it, like use Plexus products, they have full momentum going in the wrong direction.

So, why would someone who has tried other weight loss products want to continue with Plexus if they are not immediately seeing the results they hoped for? Because Plexus is not a weight loss company per se. Even though we have products that most definitely help with weight loss, we actually focus on health which results in weight loss. Where many companies have weight loss programs, depending on the method, that weight loss may or may not be healthy. What we are currently engaged in with Plexus is actually the process of redefining the weight loss industry. One thing we see over and over with Plexus is that people feel better first, and the weight loss is second. Many will lose many inches before they ever see weight loss. As it says on the package, Plexus Slim helps burn fat, not muscle.

Momentum comes with a positive or negative mindset, and there is no middle ground. In the first three examples above, the negative mindset has trumped any long term results the customer may see, because the customer will not use the products properly for the long term. The positive mindset says, "I am going to do what it takes. I will take the products faithfully. I will listen to my body when it says I don't need more food or more sugar. I will drink the recommended water. I will look for the positives along the way." Some people do not need to lose weight to be healthy. But improvements in their health will show in inches lost, reduction in medications, clearer skin, more energy and vitality, better sleep, a clearer mind, less mood swings, less pain, a happier disposition, and many other things that have all been attested to by Plexus users.

What happens with the positive mindset is amazing. A person takes the products and first of all, they feel better, not always, but very often. Some might not feel much, but they see inches lost, or a few pounds lost, or will be sleeping better, or will not be as hungry, or some random thing that they had not expected will change in their health. They feel happier and more content. Momentum has begun. For me, because I was not as hungry, I felt that I could eat better. So, I did. When I started eating better, I started feeling better. This naturally led to me feeling more energized, which made me want to get out and play with my kids. The exercise led to me feeling younger, and even more energized, so I decided to start working out. See the progression? This is momentum! It started by taking the products, mixed with a positive mentality. It has led to eating better, feeling better, playing more with my kids, and working out. All things that were difficult to do alone. The positive mentality provides the strength and power which will be the impetus to move ever more quickly and easily toward positive results, at which point you can no longer tell what is your effort, what is the product's effort, and what is just the momentum.

Business Momentum

The same goes for your business.  If your mentality is positive, it allows for other good things to happen. But if, on the other hand, you have a negative mentality, it is guaranteed that if you keep it, you will sabotage your own efforts. On the outside, you may be doing everything "right", but you find yourself tending to believe the negative things other people say, and your self-talk sounds fearful. You might not say "negative" things to the public, but maybe you have to your spouse. You find yourself wanting to read negative things, and you find some sort of comfort in it. This is an indication that your mind is looking for an excuse to quit. Like it or not, that attitude comes through to other people. No one can make you keep going; you are free to quit. But, don't make excuses. There are people who will be successful who had far less training, equipping, tools, resources, and help than you.

A positive business mindset believes that there is a solution to every problem. It may not always readily present itself, but through effort, time, and thought a solution will come. The positive business mindset understands and believes in the principle of sewing and reaping. It knows that all seeds must have time to grow. It also knows that there will be thorns, thistles, and weeds to contend with, but harvest will come. The momentum comes when people align themselves with these beliefs. When we talk, we sound more confident. We instill belief in others. Others take what we have given and then start off with a positive mindset, which begins their momentum, which strengthens our own. Momentum starts in your mind. And through a positive mentality we gear ourselves toward the type of success we desire.