Supervisor // Katarzyna Bartczak

Katarzyna, a hairstylist, artist and mum of two horses,  moved to Ireland from Poland over seven years ago. She started her  Forever business just a few months ago and has already achieved an  incentive recognition as she moves towards her goals.

Tell us a bit about your background:

I came to Ireland quite by chance. I  owned an established hairdressing salon in central Poland but was  considering changing location and moving to the south. I started looking  for hairdressing positions as a first step, but Google had different  ideas and kept showing me jobs in Ireland. I decided to follow Google’s  guidance! I applied for the position and got the job. Three weeks later,  I had sold my salon and made the move. I was working in hair salons for around 15 months in Ireland before I invested in my own.

What are some of your passions in life?

My other passions include art,  cycling, water sports and horses. Since childhood, I dreamed of owning  horses and got my first one nearly eleven years ago while in Poland,  bringing him to Ireland with me.

I have been painting since I was a  child. I had a great art teacher who was very encouraging and  supportive. Aged 14, I was meant to go to an art secondary school; but I  didn’t as I lacked confidence. After leaving school, I started work in a  veterinary clinic and spent weekends studying in Hairdressing College.  Aged 21, I opened my first hair studio.

Why did you decide to join Forever?

A few years ago, I started thinking about  Network Marketing and how I would like to be involved in the industry. I  wanted more freedom, to be able to spend more time with my horses, have  more autonomy and the ability to pursue my other interests, develop my  skills in open water swimming and painting.

I undertook a massive programme of  personal development during lockdown: including mindset, meditation and  self-care. I also started adventure with winter dips. Late last year, as  my physical issues related to hairdressing started bothering me more, I  decided it was time to start in Network Marketing to help generate a  second income stream in case I needed to give up my work in the salon. 

‘Ask the Universe’, they say… In  March, through watching a Ted Talk with Jacek Walkiewicz – a well-known  Polish psychologist and author – I found Forever. He is the husband of  Monika Walkiewicz (Poland’s no 1 Forever business owner), and it is  through Jacek that I came across Monika and Forever. The products in  health and wellness resonated with my healthy lifestyle, but I also saw  the chance to help others as listening to my clients in the hair salon, I  know their problems and was often already advising them. I was also  impressed by the Marketing Plan and the possibility of working from  literally anywhere, which could give me the freedom I am looking for.

What are your plans for the future?

I am considering a move to Spain in  the future and stepping back from hairdressing. I would like to run  horse healing and art retreats as part of my desire to live a healthy  and fulfilling life. Forever fits into that naturally, helping people  and animals. 

My goal is to reach Sapphire on the  Marketing Plan within five years and I am hugely motivated by my desire  to help others and to help people grow. 

I love being in charge of my own schedule

Monica, 35, originally from Romania, came to the UK in  2016. She lives in Bristol with her husband and previously worked as an  accountant having studied business management…

I love to travel and after  leaving Romania I first spent four years in Italy followed by three  years in Germany, before moving to the UK where I have settled and now  consider home.

In 2020, during the pandemic with no real  idea of how long things were going to stay so uncertain, I decided to  join Forever to be able to work from home. I joined in the October but  for the first year I didn’t give it much importance. Then I realised how  great this business is and I really started to focus and build a team.  After six months I reached Supervisor which spurred me on to build my  team more. After five months, in August 2022, I achieved Assistant  Manager and then Manager very shortly after that. 

Living through the pandemic changed my mind  about traditional jobs. The flexibility of being able to work from  anywhere was very appealing especially given my love of travel. I was  also very attracted by the quality and range of products and the  generous marketing plan. Even though I am based in the UK, I have joined  a community of fantastic people from Romania who I get to interact with  on a daily basis.

After joining, I did have some reservations  because initially I struggled to build a team but after a while I  realised that it all hinged on my skills and my mindset - it was up to  me. I could stop or continue, so I decided to continue and do what was  necessary to become successful. I am so much more organised than before  and life is quite different now. Having worked consistently I am now  comfortable meeting and connecting with new people, in fact I enjoy and  look forward to the team building aspects of developing my business. 99%  of my team were unknown to me and today they are my friends. I have the  autonomy and freedom to manage my time each day exactly as I choose.

Before joining Forever a typical day was to  work eight hours, spend an hour in traffic, and feel exhausted every  evening with little time to spend with family and friends.

Today I feel excited and energised at the  start of each day and have a strong vision of what the future can be  like; a future that I can design. The work I do to grow my Forever  business I find easy and satisfying - talking to new people daily,  connecting with them through Zoom sessions, discovering their life  stories, and making a lot of new friends. Every day is different and  interesting, I am never bored.

It doesn’t happen overnight, it takes time,  but I love being in charge of my own schedule and not being an employee  reporting to a boss. I learned that to grow a business I had to develop  myself. I am hard working and determined and I love meeting new people  and making new friends. I easily adapt to situations; I am optimistic  and intuitive. My focus now is to enjoy helping my team to develop and  to see their success. Forever really is a family and we help and support  one another. What could be more rewarding?

Manager // Esther Howe

Esther (38) lives in the Cotswolds and found Forever when she was preparing for her marriage in 2016

How did you discover Forever?

“I have early memories of my dad drinking Forever Aloe Vera Gel.  As a child, it did not appeal; however, years later as I started to  plan my wedding, I wanted to take better care of myself and decided to  start drinking it too.

“I felt and looked so much better, so  found it easy to start recommending the products and it was after having  attended my first Success Day that I grasped the bigger picture of the  potential of a Forever business.  

How has your journey with Forever been so far?

“I went all-in and reached the level of  Manager on the Marketing Plan. I’ve always been quite competitive, so I  went for all the recognitions and incentives. Forever really provided an  exciting alternative to my corporate insurance work, where there was  little recognition and even less excitement. “I invested a lot of time  in my self-development, developing the skills to connect and help others  as I built a team. I then started IVF treatment in 2019 and went on an  emotional rollercoaster of hope and then disappointment as two rounds  failed. We persisted and, in 2020, I gave birth to our son, Wilfred. “As  delighted as we were to have a baby, I struggled with being a new mum. I  had an idea about how my Forever business would grow, but with the  unforeseen circumstances of the Covid pandemic I found that my anxiety  was overwhelming and getting to grips with motherhood was about all I  could cope with. As time went by, I gradually found things got easier  and once again turned my attention to Forever. “Forever is always  waiting there for you. No matter what is going on in your life. I feel  like a completely different person as I pick up the reins of my business  again – building differently, I am calmer and confident, and applying  my skills in a more measured, mature way. Having the business has  brought me back to life. I have set Eagle on the Marketing Plan as my  goal to achieve next year and I feel that conversations around the  business opportunity are different post-pandemic.  “I connect and have a  lot of conversations over social media – so many people are concerned  about the cost of living and many are disenchanted with corporate life,  feeling even less looked after than before. “My son is now in nursery  two-and-a-half-days a week, so I can devote more time to my business,  connecting with people about the business opportunity and checking in  with my customers, many of whom are long-standing.

What is your favourite Forever Product?

C9 is one of my favourite Forever  products and I do one every quarter to re-align with healthier habits  and get myself back on my path. I love eating out and enjoying a  cocktail or two, so doing C9 is such a good way of not allowing my habits to spiral out of control. I run a C9 group and keeping a food diary is powerful, too. I also love the C9 because people can integrate it into their daily lives and many of my  customers continue with the drinking gels and shakes afterwards.

What do you love most about the Forever opportunity?

“You really can’t take for granted the  connections that this business gives people. How much you feel seen and  appreciated and how quickly the income can grow working with a few  people and building momentum. What a wonderful way of being able to earn  an honest income by helping others!  “I feel as though I have had two  journeys with Forever and that I am here for the long haul.”

Sheila

Sheila lives in Dorking, Surrey and worked full-time as an oncology nurse at the Royal Marsden Hospital…

I was 55 when I was introduced to  Forever via a message over LinkedIn. The thought of making extra money  appealed but I was absolutely certain that I would not have time to do  whatever it involved. That said I agreed to a call more  out of politeness than anything. Following the call I was invited to  attend a Business Presentation not too far from where we lived, I agreed  to go. I took my husband along with the primary reason of helping me  say ‘no’. Things did not go to plan - instead my husband encouraged me  saying it was low-risk, why not join?

I signed up the very next day and  was excited when the starter box of products arrived. I knew about Aloe  vera but had never heard of Forever Living Products. I tried all the  products and hated the drinking gel - I was convinced it had gone off! I  opened every product and tried everything. I gave two or three products  to different friends asking them to try them for a few days and then  give them back. Two of them placed orders immediately and are still my  customers to this day. I was looking to make £100 a month with my sole  focus on channelling this income to reduce our mortgage; with 13 years  to run retirement was looking a very long way off.

I joined on the 10th January 2017. I  remember it well as my upline encouraged me to do the C9 challenge. I  felt so good at the end of the 9 days that I became a walking  advert for the product and I sold thirteen in two days!

I paid off my initial investment  very quickly and gradually increased my monthly income - I developed a  very good retail business. I am an introvert so the idea of talking to  people about the business was something I avoided as I struggled with  rejection. I focused on selling repeat products such as Argi+ and  Forever Freedom (one of my biggest sellers and a personal favourite of  mine). I added in supplements such as Move and more recently the Marine  Collagen. Some of my customers spend significant amounts of money with  me each month so I make sure I look after them and remember them on  their birthdays and at Christmas.

Before the pandemic I started to promote products on the NextDoor App and I continue to do that. We  cleared our mortgage in March 2022 and I retired from full-time nursing  in October aged 60. I now have more time and am starting to focus on  building a team. I realise how much I have grown in confidence over the  past five years – I have made new friends and I am still growing. I’ve  invested in social media training as I feel more confident about talking  to people online about the business opportunity. I am using LinkedIn,  Instagram and Facebook and I do my one-to-one meetings over Zoom. Being  online really opens up the world. Six people in Nigeria have joined my  team in the last three months and I am excited at the prospect of moving  up the marketing plan and achieving Manager this year.

Life feels very different now we are  mortgage free. I have more time with my husband, I have peace of mind  and now my retail income forms part of my pension. We are in a good  place - thank goodness for that LinkedIn message!