Rich Payne on Chemical Engineering to Full Time Network Marketer

Rich Payne was a Chemical Engineer working 60 to 80+ hour weeks. He realized he was working his life away when he discovered MLM. Here's his story.

Thank you so much for taking time to do this interview, Rich! You have quite an interesting story I want to learn more about. So, let's get started!

You were born and raised in Trinidad & Tobago. What was childhood like for you, what did you want to be when you grew up, and what did your parents do for a living?

Thanks for having me Erik!

I was born and raised in Trinidad & Tobago until I was 22. I grew up with both my parents and 5 siblings.

I consider myself to have had a pretty sheltered childhood. My immediate family were close, and I spent a lot of time with my grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins etc.

Both my parents came from pretty humble backgrounds and worked really hard to create a decent life for us.

Both worked in government jobs. My Dad worked in Customs and my Mom was in the Education system.

They both were big on making sure we had a good education, especially my Dad. He didn't play around with that!

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You were adopted and brought to Texas, is that correct? That must of been an intense transition for you. Can you tell us about that?

Lol, well no. I wasn't adopted. I just used that term because I love Texas.

I came to the US for college, and then launched my career here in the States. My career brought me to Texas a few years ago and I love that state. So I consider myself to be an "adopted Texan.' Sorry for the confusion!

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Tell us how you became a Chemical Engineer. That's is a prestigious title. What kind of education and hardships did you endure to become that title?

Sure! So I've always been on the engineering path. Got my Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering and my Master's degree in Materials Science.

Getting my Master's degree was very challenging I must say. It was one of the most difficult challenges I've ever had.

Anyway, I was offered a career as a chemical engineer once I left college. And it is what I've done throughout my career.

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You mention that you worked 60 to 80 hour work weeks. What did that do to you physically and mentally and when did you start looking for 'another way?'

You know the strange thing about it is that I actually didn't mind it at the time!

When I first started working, long hours were a big shock.

However, as the years went by, I got so used to it that I felt guilty if I worked for less than 11-12 hours daily. That's called 'work shame.'

But several things happened at one time that really changed my thinking.

#1) We had our son and I missed most of his first year because of work, and being in a different location from my wife (who was in medical school at the time).

We had to send him to live with my mother-in-law back in Trinidad & Tobago because we were both very busy with work and school.

So it was not an ideal situation by any means.

#2) I was bitten by the entrepreneurship bug. I've always had vague thoughts about possibly starting a business. I was thinking that I wanted to have my own restaurant!

But with having a career, and not knowing anything about business, I didn't make any plans or goals.

I just felt like someday an opportunity would present itself out of thin air.

But I started looking at business more seriously when I began to ask myself, "Who are the people that are successful and have financial freedom?"

I noticed that they all were in business, and many of them did not have a very high secular education.

Right at that time, I read the Robert Kiyosaki book "Rich Dad, Poor Dad." I had heard about this book for a long time, but never read it.

So I decided to read it, and it changed my thinking about school and business.

In 2015, you became a full-time network marketer. (Congratulations!) How did you discover MLM and what was the first year like?

Well for a long time I was skeptical about Network Marketing. I always felt uncomfortable about it.

But the timing was right for me to take a look.

My good friend called me one day and told me he had something he wanted to send to me. So I read his email, which was an MLM company presentation.

I was surprised that I didn't even have reservations about it. I was sure it was the greatest product and I trusted my friend.

Plus I was looking for some kind of business at that time. So I was sure it would work and signed up.

My 1st year was challenging because I went through several phases. It was a time where I was trying to find a blueprint to build my business.

In the first few months, I thought my family and friends would see the same thing I saw. So imagine my disappointment when almost nobody signed up.

Then my upline (my friend who sponsored me into the business) quit working the business.

So I had to find a way really early in my business. I reached up many levels above me for support and some really nice people helped out.

I became a student of the business and began to invest in myself. I read and tried to acquire new skills all the time.

I began to follow leaders in my niche. People like Eric Worre, Ray Higdon, etc.

I purchased courses like Jessica Higdon's Local Prospecting Formula.

Right at the end of my first year, I was introduced to the concept of attraction marketing and invested in a marketing education. I've been using it in my business ever since.

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What was the biggest lesson you learned from your first year in MLM?

The biggest lesson was that I needed become a professional network marketer like Eric Worre says.

We can be bizop seekers or entrepreneurs.

A bizop seeker is always looking for the next "shiny object' to make money.

An entrepreneur thinks long term. They know that it takes time to build something great. They are going to go through rough times.

They commit to never quitting and stick around until it is done.

They develop skills and they work on their mindset.

If you can get your mind right, you will pretty much become successful.

You've got to develop yourself and become a leader people would want to follow.

I really like your blog! How old is it, how many posts are on it, and what is the traffic like to it daily?

Thanks! My blog is 9 months old. I've done 76 posts so far. Daily traffic is on average 100 visitors per day. I'm working on improving that!

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I saw your video called "How a Blog Can Help Your Online Business." Can you explain the benefits of blogging, and what kind of blog do you recommend?

Yes, so there are 4 major benefits to blogging:

1) Lead generation: – generate leads for your business when people read your blog and decide to take a further step by opting in to an offer or training.

2)Branding: – One of the best ways to build you brand online is by having a url in your name.

3)It gives you credibility: – One of the best ways to become an authority online is by blogging. People view you as an expert on a particular topic when you blog around that topic.

4)It's your 'channel' : – a blog is your very own 'Real Estate' online. It is your 'hub' and you can do whatever you want with it. Don't have to rely on social media which is out of our control.

Not sure if I'm answering the second part of your question correctly, but the best kind of blog to have is a self-hosted WordPress blog.

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What is the best way that you get MLM leads today?

Well I think it depends on what works for a person.

There are 3 ways to get leads: Offline Prospecting, Online Prospecting, and Marketing.

People have built massive businesses using each of these 3 methods.

I do believe that Marketing is the best and most leveraged way.

You generate your very own leads by attracting them to yourself via adding value.

It really allows you to put your product, service, or opportunity in front of the right people.

It's like having a store. You put your offer out there and the people who are interested come to you. As opposed to being a door-to-door salesman where you are asking/chasing people.

You offer a course called "Facebook Blueprint." Can you tell us about that?

This is a simple 10-page PDF that gives Network Marketers a step-by-step guide on how to grow their businesses using Facebook.

It gives everything I learned from Top Earner mentors and which I use daily in my business.

It shows people how to find prospects, where to find prospects, what to say, what to post, how to build a following, and much more.

I created this training because one of the first places people focus on to grow their businesses online is Facebook.

Most people have a Facebook account, and it's the most popular social media platform.

So I put this together to help folks who want to use Facebook, but don't know how to do it.

Some people try to market themselves in the wrong way and really damage their reputation.

So this is something that can be printed out, studied, and used daily.

I believe people simply need a process and a method to follow and they will feel like they can  and I wanted to provide that with this training.

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What is your favorite book right now and why?

I'm glad you asked that question because I love to read. Actually I love listening to audio books.

I've got several favorites, but right now I'm listening to '10X' by Grant Cardone. It's already one of my favorites because he fires me up.

I heard about GC for a while and my brother recommended 10X to me.

In the book he talks about having "10X thinking." Think and take action at levels (10X levels) that is outside of normal levels to achieve success.

He says success is important, and it doesn't just happen to you. It happens because of you.

There are many other thoughts obviously, but these are what stands out to me right now.

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What are your goals for 2017?

I plan to continue to make a bigger impact by growing my brand and business even further.

I would like to attend 3 big events in 2017. One of them is the Eric Worre's annual Go Pro event that is going on right now in Las Vegas.

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What is your favorite quote and why?

That's a tough question because I love so many of them, especially quotes from Jim Rohn and Muhammad Ali.

I would have to say;

"The fight is won or lost far away from witnesses-behind the lines, in the gym, and out there on the road, long before I dance under those lights." – Muhammad Ali

I like this quote because so many times we see people who have "made it big" and we think they are an overnight success. Athletes, millionaires, etc.

But someone always sacrifices. That success is always paid for in some way or another.

Years of sacrifice, training, lonely runs yielded titles and a legacy as the best athlete of the 21st century. Of course he had God-given talent, but he worked hard as well.

The lesson I took from it is that success is not a lottery ticket. You have to work for it.

Expect to spend time learning, failing, struggling, preparing and figuring thing out.

Thank you so much again for this interview, Rich!

No problem, thanks for having me Erik.

For more information on Rich Payne, please visit his Blog HERE.

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Sincerely,

Erik Christian Johnson

Erik Christian Johnson is a Entrepreneur, writer, full-time Network Marketer and Blogger. He shares tips on various topics including: Alcoholism, Anxiety, Network Marketing tips and how to work full time from Home. He is also the #1 recruiter in his primary business. His blog is summed up as being: "edgy personal development with a twist of financial freedom."

Income disclaimer:

The owner of this blog may receive compensation when products and services featured herein are purchased. Results are unique. Your results will vary in your business. It's the law that I tell you that I might make some money and that you may or may not.

Source: Rich Payne on Chemical Engineering to Full Time Network Marketer