With great sadness I found out last night that Seriesse International, founded by Jennifer-Flavin Stallone and Sylvester Stallone has "ceased operations". This will be effective May 10, 2009.
The state of the economy was the reason given . This quote is from an email that was sent out to all the consultants: "Unfortunately, as many of you have experienced in your own efforts to grow your business, the state of the economy has limited your sales and our options to grow Seriesse into a sustainable and profitable business."
I was a consultant with Seriesse for a short 2 months. I feel bad for the consultants that had been there since conception. They will loose a large amount of income. I was lucky, I had not built my business to a point that the income loss would hurt me.
In the short time I was with Seriesse I saw integrity and compassion from the leaders of the company. Jennifer and Slyvester put their all into the business. The company was trying new and innovative ways to market Seriesse and was very supportive of their consultants.The products were excellent. I was very happy with all that I tried.
One thing that really impressed me was a personal call from Patrick Flavin, Jennifer's brother. He was at the top of my upline. I had listened to a conference call and was not able to write down all the information I wanted. I emailed customer service and asked if there was any way I could get a copy of the information Patrick had given out. The next evening Patrick called me personally to give me answers to my questions. I was one of the "little guys" in his downline. The fact that he took the time out of his busy schedule to address my questions meant a lot to me. That one call from Patrick refreshed my determination to succeed.
This has been a disappointing experience for me but I still have faith in MLM. I have been with a wonderful MLM for a couple of years that is one of the best relationship building tools I have ever seen. I will continue to go forward "Changing Lives One Card at a Time".
Friday, May 8, 2009
Monday, May 4, 2009
Thoughts on Social Networking from Douglas Castle
Here are some interesting thoughts on social networking from Douglas Castle:, "The Global Futurist":
"It seems as if the noise level is increasing, yet I'm hearing less and less; It seems as if I am being bombarded with messages and requests, but I can't seem to focus on any single one of them; I thought that this e-media and social media networking technology was going to make my life easier -- now I literally spend hoursand hours every single day just doing 'techno-chores'...reading emails, deleting spam, responding to emails, posting on a whole bunch of groups, jumping from Facebook to Linked In to Twitter, text-messaging, iPhoning, shooting out rapid-fire messages that are becoming more and more like apologies - 'I've been too busy to
talk with you or meet with you. I'm booked.'
I have a rapidly growing number of contacts to keep up with, yet I know less and less about each of them personally. I don't "know them" at all; I send them emails and get autoresponder "out of office" messages back; the tiny percentage of those that I've actually spoken with on the phone with is shrinking; the even tinier percentage of those I've met is shrinking even more
quickly.
The most pathetic thing is that I still do most of my business with a small number of personal, time-tested associates. They feel like friends to me. Despite all of this technology, people are getting ruder, more impersonal. What a paradox! It seems as if I'm suffocating and falling behind. It seems as if nobody has any compassion or humor left. It seems that people have lost the joy in the art of conversation.
I am on a treadmill, surrounded by strangers. I am working harder and accomplishing less. With all of this networking, it seems that I don't have time to actually close any business. I feel
increasingly friendless...increasingly lost.
Please help me. I'm drowning in buzzwords, keywords, adwords and a sensorial bombardment that is destroying the quality of my life. I can't even hear my own thoughts. I can't get a grip on my own feelings. It's as if I were living in a constant state of crisis. I don't know any of my neighbors. I'm forgetting about common courtesies, like asking about people's kids, or their health.
Could we go out to the diner? Maybe we can talk about our families, or music or art, or even philosophy? Please?
****
My friend, Adam J. Kovitz, hinted at this some time ago when he started discussing his notion of Relationship Capital. He believes, as I do, that people are beginning to crave real interpersonal bonding; real spiritual communion; real trust and meaningful friendship; deeper communication and cooperation; more of a celebration of individuality, of quirkiness, of the
differences that make us special and interesting to know. WE NEED TO BRING SOME HUMANITY BACK INTO NETWORKING, OR NO BUSINESS IS GOING TO HAPPEN!
I have a few goals to share with you -- and I dedicate this to all of my family members and precious friends (whom I've been 'just too busy' to call), to every Subscriber, Member, Sponsor, Author and Advertiser in THE NATIONAL NETWORKER (TNNW), to all of my blog readers, followers, mentors, teachers, comrades-in-arms, comrades-in-chains and, of course, ukelele players:
1. I am going to become a person again.
2. I am going to take breaks from work now and again in order to enjoy this world and this life.
3. I am re-dedicating myself to doing everything in my power, and within my ability, to make sure that THE NATIONAL NETWORKER stays HUMAN, and PERSONAL...that we make every single effort to be a community of friends, business associates and individuals -- each
special. We have to listen and to help instead of simply talking and promoting. I have discovered a secret: In these times, business success is dependent not only upon competence and mutual needs -- it is, more than ever, dependent upon our being good friends, and having good friends.
Thank you, Douglas. I think I better go call some friends and make personal contact! Should I get rid of my Facebook, Blogger , Twitter and other social networks? Naw, I think I'll wait awhile.
"It seems as if the noise level is increasing, yet I'm hearing less and less; It seems as if I am being bombarded with messages and requests, but I can't seem to focus on any single one of them; I thought that this e-media and social media networking technology was going to make my life easier -- now I literally spend hoursand hours every single day just doing 'techno-chores'...reading emails, deleting spam, responding to emails, posting on a whole bunch of groups, jumping from Facebook to Linked In to Twitter, text-messaging, iPhoning, shooting out rapid-fire messages that are becoming more and more like apologies - 'I've been too busy to
talk with you or meet with you. I'm booked.'
I have a rapidly growing number of contacts to keep up with, yet I know less and less about each of them personally. I don't "know them" at all; I send them emails and get autoresponder "out of office" messages back; the tiny percentage of those that I've actually spoken with on the phone with is shrinking; the even tinier percentage of those I've met is shrinking even more
quickly.
The most pathetic thing is that I still do most of my business with a small number of personal, time-tested associates. They feel like friends to me. Despite all of this technology, people are getting ruder, more impersonal. What a paradox! It seems as if I'm suffocating and falling behind. It seems as if nobody has any compassion or humor left. It seems that people have lost the joy in the art of conversation.
I am on a treadmill, surrounded by strangers. I am working harder and accomplishing less. With all of this networking, it seems that I don't have time to actually close any business. I feel
increasingly friendless...increasingly lost.
Please help me. I'm drowning in buzzwords, keywords, adwords and a sensorial bombardment that is destroying the quality of my life. I can't even hear my own thoughts. I can't get a grip on my own feelings. It's as if I were living in a constant state of crisis. I don't know any of my neighbors. I'm forgetting about common courtesies, like asking about people's kids, or their health.
Could we go out to the diner? Maybe we can talk about our families, or music or art, or even philosophy? Please?
****
My friend, Adam J. Kovitz, hinted at this some time ago when he started discussing his notion of Relationship Capital. He believes, as I do, that people are beginning to crave real interpersonal bonding; real spiritual communion; real trust and meaningful friendship; deeper communication and cooperation; more of a celebration of individuality, of quirkiness, of the
differences that make us special and interesting to know. WE NEED TO BRING SOME HUMANITY BACK INTO NETWORKING, OR NO BUSINESS IS GOING TO HAPPEN!
I have a few goals to share with you -- and I dedicate this to all of my family members and precious friends (whom I've been 'just too busy' to call), to every Subscriber, Member, Sponsor, Author and Advertiser in THE NATIONAL NETWORKER (TNNW), to all of my blog readers, followers, mentors, teachers, comrades-in-arms, comrades-in-chains and, of course, ukelele players:
1. I am going to become a person again.
2. I am going to take breaks from work now and again in order to enjoy this world and this life.
3. I am re-dedicating myself to doing everything in my power, and within my ability, to make sure that THE NATIONAL NETWORKER stays HUMAN, and PERSONAL...that we make every single effort to be a community of friends, business associates and individuals -- each
special. We have to listen and to help instead of simply talking and promoting. I have discovered a secret: In these times, business success is dependent not only upon competence and mutual needs -- it is, more than ever, dependent upon our being good friends, and having good friends.
Thank you, Douglas. I think I better go call some friends and make personal contact! Should I get rid of my Facebook, Blogger , Twitter and other social networks? Naw, I think I'll wait awhile.
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