Meet the Scottish women who found happiness with Forever Living
For the past 15 years Arlene held a demanding position working as a senior business development partner for a Scottish charity, travelling extensively and regularly putting in an 80-hour week.
“Anyone who knows me would tell you how passionate I was about my work,” she says. “I was extremely busy in my job but still found time to start a part-time Fit-camp business five years ago, as well as doing a running challenge to raise funds for Glasgow’s Children’s Hospital, who took amazing care of my son who was left with a brain injury after a football accident.
“It was through doing the running challenge and being introduced to some of Forever Living’s products that my interest was piqued.
“Quite simply after using some of the products my running was off the scale. So, with only the smallest pockets of time in my already manic schedule, I decided to start my own Forever Living business.
“I had such great results with the products I knew I could develop a retail business around them. In the beginning I could only manage half an hour in the evenings to devote some time to my Forever business activity. Even with these small amounts of time, the business started to grow.
“I could see its potential if I had more time, and so this year I decided to overhaul my working life.”
A new way of living
Arlene continues: “I resigned my business development position at the end of March. I’m not going to pretend I took this decision lightly, nor was it easy; it was possibly one of the most emotional times of my life; my work was a huge part of my identity, but I wanted to make changes, I wanted more time, and a new way of living.
“Without any down-time and having worked my notice period I took on premises and increased my Fit-camp business, working my Forever business alongside.
“Working less hours for the first time, I was able to enjoy a family life, meals with my adult children, and the realisation hit home - how much I had missed this.
“Almost six months later I have absolutely no regrets. I am working less than half my hours across my gym and Forever businesses; for the first time I am working a 35-hour week, probably spending 10 hours a week working on my Forever activity, and I have developed a strong and regular customer base.
“Across the two businesses I am now making the equivalent of my old salary. It’s been a roller-coaster emotionally, but the reward has more than outweighed the risk. I have so much to be grateful for and have never been happier.”
Enjoy more flexibility
Charlene Boyle, also from Glasgow, had already been running her own Forever business alongside her beauty salon when the first lockdown forced her to close her salon.
Charlene says: “During the lockdowns it has been a life-saver to have the additional income, and my business has grown partly because I have had more time to devote to it, but also because people are taking better care of their health, and there is a bigger demand for the products.
“I’m also finding that people are also more open to exploring the business opportunity as they have enjoyed more flexibility and the chance to work from home for possibly the first time in their working lives.
“I definitely sense that people want a different way of working and many are not keen to return to being full-time in the office etc.
“Forever has also enhanced my life in other ways too. I had won a Forever incentive with a trip to Dublin for a weekend and met my fiancé, Jake who was on a stag weekend. He was living in Cambridge but because I can work flexibly, I was able to travel to and from Cambridge which certainly helped foster our relationship. He has now relocated to Scotland and we are getting married next year so I have a lot to thank Forever for both personally and professionally.”
Business opportunities
When Hamilton-based Leighanne Simpson was furloughed from her hospitality management role in March 2020 it soon became apparent this was not for the short term. For the first time in over 20 years of shift-based working Leighanne had time, so she decided to explore ways that she might top up the short-fall in her income while being on furlough. She was introduced to the business opportunity with Forever Living by a long-standing friend.
“I was home schooling my daughter aged five and wanted to do something alongside,” Leighanne says.
“I decided to give running my own Forever business a try. I took baby steps learning about and trying the products, it was a welcome distraction to be honest and fitted nicely with my family commitments.
“I set myself small targets and used the money for specific things rather than it just be absorbed into the family budget.
“Initially my retail profit paid for arts and craft materials, then a school uniform, nursery furniture for our new baby boy, a climbing playset for the garden, and most recently a family holiday.
“I found it motivating and rewarding to be able to see tangible results for my efforts but probably the biggest reward of all is that I have been able to extend my maternity leave by an additional three months so that I don’t have to return to work until January 2022. It will be only the third Christmas in 20 years that I haven’t worked and that, I have to say is priceless.”
For more information about Forever’s business opportunity please visit https://www.discoverforever.net/opportunity