How She Went from Nursing to Network Marketing (And WHY!)

 How She Went from Nursing to Network Marketing (And WHY!)

Guest: Megan Hunter

Shelley Hunter: You're listening to the Faithful Career Moves podcast. I'm your host, Shelley Hunter. This is a place where we talk to people to recognize the Lord's hand in their lives and specifically in their careers. Thank you for joining me on episode 12 of the Faithful Career Moves podcast today, I'm talking to my sister-in-law Megan Hunter. Megan is a registered nurse and a mother of five.

She left the nursing profession to be home with her babies. As the kids grew older and got involved in activities, some of which were very costly, as you'll hear in this interview, she and her husband decided she needed to go back to work. Being a skilled nurse, Megan had options. Just as she was about to return to the hospital grind, working nights, weekends, and holidays, she got introduced to a network marketing opportunity.

Here's the thing, network marketing or multi-level marketing is one of those gigs that can be very lucrative. I know a few people who do very well in this type of business. If you're like me, you also know a great many more who start out strong and then lose interest, or probably confidence when faced with the idea of selling beyond their existing sphere of influence. To be honest, I remember when Megan told me she was thinking of doing this. I literally remember exactly where I was, walking to school to pick up my kids.

I remember being skeptical about the viability of selling essential oils. I'm here to tell you, Megan completely proved me wrong. It's because of her success that I simply have to share this story. I know that many people turn to network marketing and many moms in particular, look to this type of opportunity to earn money while being home with their kids. That is something I am 100% in support of. I asked Megan to share her secret to success. We'll start at the beginning.

Megan Hunter: Years back, I used to do mother-baby. I'm a registered nurse, I worked in the hospital. Years later, I was introduced to essential oils and it was all about timing for me. I can share more about that story, but that's what I'm doing right now, is for the past eight years, I've been working with doTERRA, so natural health and wellness, and I love it. It's just been a great fit.

Shelley: What prompted you to make the move?

Megan: Well, I worked in the hospital, in two different hospitals and I loved what I did. I absolutely loved it. At the time I was working, I had a little toddler and then I had another baby and then I had another baby, so I had three kids. I got to the point where I had an opportunity to take a break. My husband was able to get a different job and I had the opportunity financially that I could take a break and just be home with the kids and so I took that.

For several years I did that. I also wanted to have a few more children. I knew that. I missed it, but I was really busy as a young mom. I did get back to the point where financially, we were living in California at the time, five children and they were getting in activities. It just got to the point where we needed a second income again.

Shelley: Right.

Megan: The main reason was one of my daughters is a competitive gymnast. It was expensive and we wanted all the kids to have equal opportunities too. I was going back to nursing. I was actually renewing my certifications. I had reapplied at the hospital I used to work at that was my plan. Then I was introduced to doTERRA, just as a customer, to use the oils for my two daughters who were really struggling at the time.

I was looking for a solution for myself just to help them with some respiratory issues they kept having. When I tried them, it provided relief I was looking for and gave me just a solution I was looking for in a natural way. My intention wasn't to just to start doing it as a business right then. I literally was just a customer.

Shelley: Right.

Megan: Then I realized there was an opportunity. I was quickly becoming passionate about it because I was diving into it myself and learning. I love learning about health and wellness in general. I was getting excited and it was becoming something I was thinking about every day and looking up and learning for myself. I started naturally sharing it because I do share things I love naturally. I was just given that opportunity to consider, would this be a potential fit? Would I do something like this, instead of going back to the hospital?

It was a big decision for me because it was a guaranteed hourly wage. I was going to go back to per diem so I wasn't going to have benefits, but I knew that job. I was looking for flexibility, I really was. I had five little kids and the idea that I could have the flexibility for my own schedule and not have to work nights and recover. Which I love what I did, but it took me at least two days to fill good again, to feel myself after I worked a night shift.

I got headaches. You have to take your turns with the holidays. Those are the things I don't really love. I knew what I was going back into and I was prepared for that. I was like, you know what, what if this could be a fit for me where I could still be involved with health and wellness. I love the body. I love helping people, serving people. I love working with women. That was my specialty before. I was excited to just see.

Shelley: Megan, let's talk about network marketing in general. You've been doing this for many years now and you're very successful, but not everybody does well in type of business. Why do you think you have been able to succeed at network marketing when others struggle?

Megan: I think there's a few things that come into play. As I've worked with people over the years and looked at different types of companies out there, yes, there's flexibility and there's wonderful things about network marketing, but it's not for everybody. One of the main things is the product. There are some products that people might get really excited about, but do they need it all the time?

Shelley: Right.

Megan: Would they be using it repeatedly? Is it consumable? I appreciate and have gone to many things to maybe support a friend and check something out. If I wasn't like-- felt like I needed it over and over, I probably wasn't going to be a repeat customer. Maybe I'd get it one time and then that's it. I think with network marketing to be successful long-term and to build a business with residual income, that's a goal to still be paid on work that you did years ago, the time you invest in it, that comes with a consumable product that sells itself.

Shelley: Right.

Megan: I feel like people can be very successful in a variety of network marketing companies. First of all, they have to be passionate about the product and not attached at all to the outcome. If someone said yes or no, or not now, whatever it is. They're not personally attached. There's no desperation. They truly feel like it would make a difference for that person. It could help them bless someone's life.

In my personal experience, it's also a mindset. I've had some experiences with doing something long-term and seeing it through. Whether it be playing a musical instrument or getting my nursing degree. It took me four and a half years to get a nursing license.

Shelley: Right.

Megan: I knew it was going to take several years to build a successful business. It's not a quick thing and you have to see it through. I think have the confidence that you can do this. It's just going to take time and consistency and having a product that will test that time. That people would use it regularly or again and again, versus one time.

Shelley: It is a long game.

Megan: Yes.

Shelley: You knew going into it, but that was a risk also because you had bills to pay and there was a reason you were going back to work. About how long do you think it took you to realize this is worth sticking it out for?

Megan: My husband and I, we just were like, "Let's give this a year. Let's just really see what happens." I worked hard and I've worked hard at it daily, weekly, monthly, yearly for several years now. I am that personality that when I say and commit, I'm going to do something, I'm going to do it. I was always in the positive. I never was in the negative.

Then after six months or the year, I was working with people that I just loved working with. It was rewarding in relationships. I love connecting. I love being with people and I love the product. I think besides that, I think there's something to say also in believing in a mission of the company and a purpose that you feel like it's greater than what's happening in your own little world, your own community. I got really behind that.

The oils that we source from are in many developing countries and a lot of jobs resulting there, a lot of impact for good. That made me feel good, to be part of something that I was still serving and I was excited about and seeing good things, but also on a larger scale.

Shelley: I like that. Let's go back to something else you said a second ago, though, about not being attached to the outcome.

Megan: I personally never thought in a million years I would do network marketing. Like ever [chuckles].

Shelley: Right and let's be clear you never did.

Megan: I didn't.

Shelley: You’re not somebody who's done six of these and now you're doing doTERRA.

Megan: Yes, I was a nurse and I had a degree and I loved that. I loved the skillset. I never thought that would be something for me. I truly believe it's all about timing. I decided if I was going to do something like this, what were the things that turned me off? I wouldn't have done something like this and why would I do it now and how could I make it be something I was as proud of as the I was a nurse? Because I really was proud of that goal I reached. I love being a nurse. 

First of all, I had to really believe in what I was talking to people about. I couldn't just get behind anything just to make some income. It had to be something I really was passionate about. That's number one.

If somebody says yes, that they're open and ready to learn, great. If they say no or they're not interested, that is totally fine with me because there's somebody else I can serve, there's someone else I can talk to. You have to have the confidence, I guess, the hope and the faith in yourself, and in the product, that there's other people that were looking for it and could appreciate it like I did.

Shelley: You've hit your friends and you've hit your family. How do you go about building your network beyond that?

Megan: You just talk to people. I love talking to people and asking questions. I meet people that I get into conversations with everywhere I go. I just naturally do want to talk to them. I am actively looking at just making new friends anyways. If it comes up naturally and I see that they have interest, then I invite them to learn more and find out what I do. If that's something they're interested in, great. If not, I'll see you next week at the park. Do you know what I mean?

There's no desperation. I think that's a keyword I want to make sure because I think at the beginning, it's easy to feel that way because you are trying to find success. I have learned over time the most success comes in just having conversations with people. It might take several conversations and having it be genuine, authentic, and natural versus having them feel like there's an agenda, that you'd naturally, "This is just what I do." If there's interest, I'd love to give you something to try.

I went to a class just to support a friend, probably a year before I ever tried it myself. I never bought anything at that class. I really was so skeptical. Then, it wasn't till I had a need and a friend just offered me something for free to try because she wanted to help me. My beginning was trying something. I was skeptical. I had a great experience. I wanted to learn more. I was in the driver's seat. When I approach people, I'm just like, "Here, let me let you try it." A lot of people want to try something before they buy something. That was me and myself. If they have a great experience, I help them walk to the next door.

Shelley: It sounds a lot like missionary work.

Megan: I've seen that parallel and yes. I feel like if you're working with people and you're sharing the gospel and if it naturally comes up, it feels so much more authentic, that you're their friend just because you're their friend. If they're interested in that message or from your own example, the way you live your life, they want to learn more. I use the same approach when I'm just talking to people who might also want to learn about that side of my life.

Shelley: I can relate to that side of it as not taking it personally because I feel that way. People that I interact with eventually are going to figure out that I'm a member of the Church either because I tell him, or it comes up in conversation, it comes up naturally. Most people are not interested in that and that's okay. I like that analogy of comparing it to a product you are selling because if you can take that approach of "That's okay, it's not for you. That's fine." I'll just keep working until I find the people it is for. That makes a lot more sense to me. That actually is really helpful.

Megan: If people feel that you're personally unattached and that you are just genuinely and authentically are sharing it because you love it and it's blessed your life, it comes across in a very different message. That's the same thing with sales. That's why you have to really believe in and love your product.

Shelley: I guess that answers the question that you asked yourself earlier. This is something you can be proud of.

Megan: Right. I love what I do. I love working as a nurse, but I'm so proud and I love working with doTERRA because I love the mission. I love the products, I love who I work with, and I love that it continually is feeding something for me that I need. I need to be learning. I love learning. That helps me just be happy and especially when it's health and wellness.

I love serving people. That makes me happy. I'm very proud and honored to be part of that company. If someone's choosing a network marketing company, that's just the best advice I'd give is that you feel like you really align with it. It's the use of being part of it for years to come because no network marketing company is a quick, fast success in a few months and then that's it.

It's something you work at and you just need to be consistent with and pour into, just like you pour into relationships, pour into your health, into the talent you're trying to create, it's the same thing. You need to be consistent and pour into it and make goals to find success.

Shelley: I love that. Initially, would you focus more on selling the product or on building the network?

Megan: Always the product first. The product has to be so wonderful that it's completely unattached to a business opportunity. If the product isn't such a consumable, amazing, great product, that people aren't using themselves, they're not going to continue doing this business or be passionate enough to be able to play out that long game for success. If we were in a room with a bunch of people, for example, I work with whether there's a business opportunity or not, we'd still be using the products every day.

Shelley: Megan, what haven't I asked you about network marketing that I should have asked?

Megan: I think it's important for anyone who's listening who's had maybe poor experiences with network marketing the past, maybe someone didn't approach them the way they should have and they maybe felt that they were desperate or pressure I would just say forgive people because some people just don't maybe have had the guidance or mentoring on how to do this in a way that's authentic.

I was definitely skeptical and had preconceived just ideas of what network marketing was. I would just say to people to really research. If they're interested in something like that it's a beautiful opportunity for flexibility. It's been amazing. There's so much potential and I've seen such success and meaningful relationships that's blessed my life. I probably wouldn't have had the same experience if I chose something else I couldn't have gotten behind or didn't have as valuable as a product I felt it was right. I say be open, be open, and research.

Shelley: Without getting into the specifics of your finances though, have you been able to reach the goals that you did set for yourself?

Megan: Yes, I think your goals expand when you reach one goal and then you realize, well, then there's another possible goal. I'll reach for that next. It really is building blocks. It corresponds to your belief level. I know what I've seen in the beginning is maybe you just are starting off with a belief in the product. Then it moves up towards belief in yourself and others and then the mission of the company. It grows, and your goals grow.

Making a vision board is something I've gotten into. What are my goals now? What are goals for the next five years, 10 years? If you have something that you're shooting for, it really helps you stick to those consistent things. This is something I've just taken on myself, I've heard this from someone, "Choose your hard." It would have been hard for me to go back to nursing. It would have been hard knowing I would have to deal with recovering from the night shift or missing holidays with my family or things like that.

It's also hard to stay home with your kids and be a stay at home mom. It's also hard to build your own business and network marketing. You just have to choose your hard and make a choice. That's a daily choice. You have to decide to pour into it every day. No one's forcing you to, no one's telling you to. With network marketing, just like any other long-term worthwhile theme, you have to make a choice every day to work on it.

Shelley: I love that. I love that stepping stone of believing in the product, but then believing in yourself. I think that's huge. Can you tell me about a leap of faith that you had to take to get where you are now?

Megan: I remember a time in the beginning of my business with doTERRA, where I didn't reach a financial goal I was pushing for and I was frustrated. I put so much time and effort. I remember thinking to myself, "I could just go back to nursing." I need to decide if I'm fully in. I remember just praying about it and thinking about it and just seeing is this is for me right now? I had that confirmation for me. This was a great fit.

Especially with all that goals. I really wanted to be present. I wanted to be home. I didn't want to miss out on things. I had flexibility of schedule. I had things I wanted. It was a leap of faith just to decide. As the years have gone by, it's been eight years now really that I started doTERRA. I'm so grateful that I chose to just listen to it because it's changed my life.

Shelley: How does your family work around your schedule now?

Megan: When I started, my kids were ages 2 to 13. They were all little. It's very different now where my youngest is 10 and I have two out of the house in college. There's a different scenario then versus now but you do have to get creative. When you have little, little ones, there is flexibility but I did have to time block sometimes. It was when there was naps or in the evenings or arranging swaps with other friends to watch other's kids so I could work on my business. I always had my husband on board. BJ was always on board. He's like, "I'm the one who asked you." It was that conversation we had eight years ago where it was like, "I think we really need you to go back to work." He's been so supportive.

That's a huge piece. It's having a support network, a supportive significant other, spouse to hold down the fort. I couldn't have done anything I've been doing with doTERRA without BJ just supporting everything at home. If I needed to go teach a class, he'd take care of things at home. It's been a team effort. Sometimes I have to miss things though. I've sacrificed and missed and not been able to go to every single thing I wanted to for my family or been pushing for something. I'm like, "Oh, I don't want to miss this or that." I've had to make decisions. I think you just have to weigh those in the moment and just be prayerful and intentional and put in time. It's been worth it.

That same daughter-- That was the reason I started was because of this daughter with gymnastics. I didn't want her to have to quit. That daughter got to realize her dream and is a college gymnast now. For me, that's been a huge piece of just seeing things come full circle. I had another daughter that got married this last summer. It was so wonderful to not feel a financial burden.

That's what happens when you find a company with network marketing that you really love and over time you work at it, you can build residual income that can then bless you for years to come. I am still paid on that class I did that was two hours away five years ago or whatever it was. I had to leave my family because the people still use the product. That's the key. It's finding something that people will love for years to come so that your time that you spend away from your family, which is so precious, has been worth it.

Shelley: What's an unexpected blessing that you just couldn't see for yourself in doing this?

Megan: I think number one would be the relationships. I work with some of my dearest family and friends. One of the newest people I work with now is one of my dear friends from high school I hadn't even seen for 20 years. Now, we talk almost every day. That's fun to me. It's so fun to connect and be involved with people that you just love being with. I get to choose my business partners. I get to choose who I spend my time with every day and that's a lot of fun. I work with my sisters and cousins and dear friends from the past and present. Then people that I would have never met before. People that were not in my community, were not in my circles. There are people that are in different states, different countries that I would have never ever known before and they've blessed my life.

Shelley: It must be gratifying for you because you started your career to help with health and wellness and you're still doing that now but in a totally different way.

Megan: It also changed how I care for my own family in my own home. I didn't really do a lot of natural things before doTERRA. It was an entry point for me to make some other changes in a good way for just health and wellness for myself. Some people are looking or already have those things in place and already making choices for better health and wellness, and essential oils is just like a finishing touch, but for me it was the gateway to making other good choices. It has helped in many ways.

Shelley: I love that. Megan, my last question for you is, how have you seen the hand of God in your career?

Megan: I see it every day. I actively try to remember to pray just to be guided for people who are looking for hope in any way. It could be in a relationship just because they're lonely or maybe they're looking for a physical or emotional solution or community or purpose. I'm trying to be sensitive to any guidance I might be feeling towards-- Maybe someone I could call or someone I could talk to. I do feel like I've been guided to people that have needed and wanted this.

One of those is my sister and others that I really care about that really needed something else to happen in their lives, to make some changes. A lot of women who are in the workplace, maybe they want to be home and they don't see an exit strategy. I am passionate about that. Working with women that maybe are trying to create a change. There's others I work with that they just really want a sense of community and relationships in their life that are fulfilling.

I feel like our Heavenly Father just wants us to be connected to each other. Whatever that looks like, He wants us to be feeling love and having friends and getting help from what we need. If I can be an instrument in some way to guide someone to something that could provide some light. doTERRA, for me, has become something I can use as a tool and a resource to offer someone. There's other things I could offer them too. Friendship, just love. It's part of my--

Shelley: It's one of the things that you can share.

Megan: It's one of the things I can share. If it's something that they're looking for, then we go to the next step.

Shelley: Megan, I love that. Thank you for being on the show today.

Megan: You're welcome. Thank you so much for asking me.

Shelley: What do you think? Is network marketing the right opportunity for you? Here's what I learned. Residual income is something that you continue to earn even after the work is done which is really the promise of network marketing. Who doesn't want that? I like Megan's advice to really study the opportunity to find out if you're likely to get repeat business or if you'll spend most of your time making that first sale over and over again. Finally, something I hadn't considered about this business is the mindset of being someone who has a history of reaching for goals then working really hard to achieve them.

Network marketing is a long game. What I do is a long game, content marketing. It takes a lot of time and effort to build a website or podcast or personal brand that anybody will find much less pay attention to. In that way, I'm choosing my hard every day too. Just because we talk about finding your passion, think about episode six with Jeffrey Thompson, on finding your calling in life, just because you find something you love and catch a vision of how you could make a career out of it, does not mean the steps will be easy. In fact, I think they might even be harder, particularly, if you're doing something a little bit out of the ordinary.

I'm inspired by this interview. To date, network marketing is not for me, but I think it's interesting that it wasn't for Megan either. She had to think through why she was resistant to it in order to embrace it. If you want to work with my amazing sister-in-law, go to the show notes for this episode and you'll find Megan's contact information there. Plus some more takeaways from this episode.

Once again, thank you for listening to the Faithful Career Moves podcast. It's my hope that listening to this episode will inspire you to think more broadly about how your career and your spiritual journey intersect. If you like that idea and want others to have a similar epiphany, then please share this podcast on social media, leave a review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to podcasts or leave a comment on the website. Doing so will help others find this content as well.