Why did you get into your industry?

I did not plan to go into the Vacation rental business.  The housing market had crashed in 2008.  I lost my job and was looking for another job. I was not getting much interviews, and the interviews I got they wanted someone younger. After 3 months of not working, I was scare I would loose my home. I needed a way to pay my mortgage on my 5 bedroom 3 bath house in a beautiful area of Alameda, CA.  I tried to refinance the mortgage to lower my payments but the banks all turned me down because I did not have a job. I was desperate. I was looking on craigslist one day and saw a add by a movie company who wanted to rent a house to do a movie scene.  They were offering $1,500 for one week rental. I needed that $1,500.  I answered the ad and they told me to send pictures of my house.  I took pictures of my house and send to them.  I waited about 2 weeks while they looked at other houses.  They picked a house in San Francisco because most of their actors were living in San Francisco.  When I spoke to a lady in their office; she told me; "If you want to rent out your house furnished for short term you can contact VRBO.com. I had never heard of Vacation rentals and never thought that people could rent out their homes like a hotel.  A representative at VRBO.com gave me all the information I needed to list my home on their website.  I listed my home and started getting bookings.  Since I did not really need 5 bedrooms because my kids had left home and went to college; it was no problem for me to move in with my sister temporarily and rent out the entire house.  The money I collected from VRBO for renting the house saved me.  I was able to make enough money to pay the mortgage on the house.

I have learned a lot over the years about the business.  The important thing is keeping the house meticulously clean, providing very comfortable beds, a nice kitchen with all the utensils, enough linens, soap, shampoo, a place where they can do laundry and off street parking. These are the amenities people want.  Now I provide a valued service.  Many people want to stay at a place where they can cook their own meals, barbecue in the backyard and have a home environment. It make me feel good when people give me a 5 star rating and say they enjoyed their time at my home.  Now I am a small provider in the Vacation rental industry and I enjoy it.  Now I don't have to look for a job with a company anymore.  Doing the vacation rental is now my full time job. Its a lot of work keeping the house clean and preparing for the guest. This is my retirement and I love it.

I had recently been caregiver for my Father.  No Medicare agent ever called to explain Medicare to me or why we really needed a supplement.  And we needed one badly.  I will be forever grateful he had a long term care policy but there was no agent to exp,ain to me
e how that policy worked.  Customer service was an 800 number and I received different answers to the same question depending on who I spoke to.

I work to keep that from happening to someone else.

I owned a Promotional Company and rented an office beside of a bail bondsman in 1996. The bondsman approached me and said I was a big strong looking fellow and looked like I could handle myself. I told him that I handled myself pretty well and he asked me if I wanted to be his bounty hunter. That is how I got into the bonding industry in 1996 and still in it as of 2019.

Many years ago when I was a freelance translator and interpreter corporate clients from various highly technical and specialized industries and lawyers were approaching we with various document translation and interpreting needs. And so, All Language Alliance, Inc. was born to address the growing need for legal translation services trusted by law firms worldwide. 

I originally got into the Residential Mortgage Business because of a friend that I had that was in the business. When I saw the earning potential combined with being intrigued with Finance as a whole and the challenge of it. I was living in California at the time so I had to obtain my Real Estate License to operate under the umbrella of the Department of Real Estate . It was a tough test that challenged me. I will always remember I was working at Carmel Mortgage at the Time which was a Top Firm in the Monterey , Carmel Area. I was just telemarketing until I was Licensed. I had to call the DRE, Automated Message system to get the results of whether I passed or not . The Broker of the Firm who became my Mentor and Father Figure as I lost my Dad at the age of 16 took me into his office, we closed the door and dialed up the DRE and after I put my identifing information into the phone system there was this long pause which seemed like eternity and then I heard the automated recording say CONGRATULATIONS you have passed the test  with the California Department of Real Estate.  ! I look back on those milestones I guess because so much of my life has changed since then , losing my wife of 20 years who was the first person I called to tell her I passed. It was a big deal for us because I was working at a Hardware store when we met but I had the first part of the State Requirement Course to getting my license and my wife paid several hundred dollars to complete the rest of the requirements / Test, Prep Course Etc. And we had a baby on the way , and actually as I type these words it's bringing some sadness  and I'm not afraid to share this in my business life because business is about connecting with people, the product and the monetary piece of the relationship is important of course but if we can't connect with each other on some level of personal experience or commonalities it just becomes a job and personally I would like to get to know someone to an extent so we can have fun and enjoy our time together on this earth because life is so short. 

After 20 years of diverticulosis, clinical depression and other terrible health problems of which I had spent thousands of dollars on health food store "best" supplements, I was introduced to Shaklee Nutrition.   I had no idea at the time that not all supplements work.  I just was told to take them - with no visible results.  
After being told that I was now a candidate for removing my colon because it was so bad I felt like I was just one of those people that this was their lot in life - to be unhealthy.  
THEN....I was introduced to Shaklee nutrition in 2003.
 
Shaklee Corporation is a 63 year old company that believes nature holds the key to good health and longevity.   The  products deliver nutrition at the cellular level with their patented delivery system.   But a great delivery system works great when the ingredients are the purest and best from nature plus the rigorous scientific standards to create clinically proven products.  Everything is 100% money back guaranteed - Shaklee encourages you to use the entire container/bottle for a month......if you still don't see a difference, return it....no questions.  

The first month that I took the Vitalizer pack and Protein, I felt a renewed energy and the terrible hot flashes literally went away.   That got my attention.   I kept on these products consistently and the depression went away - plus at my next appointment (2 years)  I was told that my colon was "beautiful"!     The fact is that good nutrition not only keeps us healthy but gives the body the ability to heal when it is beginning the disease process.
It has been 16 years and because I know what Shaklee products do, it has been my passion to share them with people who are interested in good health.  I have helped many get healthier, lose weight, fight allergies, relieve arthritis pain, stay protected in their sports with nutrition; change household products to ones that have no chemicals to harm a cell in your body - very concentrated so they last - AND they actually work; personal care products that you use every day that are safe for even the tiniest baby....AND clean water! 

Because I have been using these safe products for so long, I find that I can't go down the detergent aisle in the store without getting a terrible reaction to the smells that are out-gassing from all the products.   It has made me realize how the chemicals affect us! 
I have to say that I have never in my lifetime experienced products that actually do what they say they will do.   Shaklee is a teaching company so there are endless articles on the website that members can access.   There is also a physicians site for medical people to sign in on.   Shaklee also has Shaklee Cares which helps people in disaster areas with various packs for victims,  EMT personnel, Firefighters, etc  

I market Shaklee as my own business Caring For You Healthy Living - but even if I didn't market it, I would always be taking and using everything!!!
Crissy Handley 
Caring For You Healthy Living 
[email address]
www.pws.shaklee.com/cfyhealthyliving




 

I was very interested in Forensics and investigations; I also wanted to offer a service that no one else was offering; that was Polygraph. The Science of Polygraph being conducted Independently was unheard of in 2003; now 16 years later I am one of only two Independent Certified Polygraph Examiners in Alberta, and I travel across Canada on a regular basis for work. What ever you choose to do as a career, you much love it and it should be something that Amazon is NOT selling; if Amazon sells it; choose to do something else.   

As a person with a disability (visual impairment) I was excited when the Americans with Disabilities Act was passed in 1990. In the mid-nineties I along with a couple of friends with disabilities started a consulting firm to assist businesses and government entities with providing access to people with disabilities. In 2000 I founded my own company, Americans with disabilities Consultants, Inc.

I was looking for purpose and community. I stumbled upon this opportunity with the first mental wellness company that's changing lives by healing the gut-brain axis. I had never heard of this concept and have become somewhat of a geek on it. The ability to actually help people live better lives by improving their health is priceless. Joining a like-minded community is also very different for me and I love it. I went to school for accounting. So, yeah, there you have it. 

My love for the graphic arts began in high school... actually junior high. I was fortunate to have art teachers that inspired me to pursue my creative talents. I continued my training/education at the University of Cincinnati with a degree in graphic design. At that time my major was at DAA which is now called DAAP. During the 25+ years in this field, I always worked closely with printers, understanding the benefits of using different papers, coatings, weights, inks, etc. Wanting a new direction in my life, but still loving the graphic arts, I made a decision to devote my time in the printing field... hence I am now VP of Business Development at Queen City Printing (which was one of my main suppliers, always having faith in their quality/service/price). I assist my clients/customers in so many ways to help them achieve their goals/success using both my knowledge of creative and printing.