All Natural Country Store Managers Highlighted in Watkins All Star Newsletter

All Star Members Alan Lukes and David Gurzenski tell about their success in Watkins.

We hate to toot our own horn, but last month we were asked by Watkins Direct Selling Support Manager Rhonda Hanson to write an article about our nine years as Watkins managers, based in Big Bear Lake, CA. We thought readers of our blog might be interested in knowing a little bit more about us. Here’s what we wrote:

Each year since we joined Watkins in 2009, we have been able to increase our sales volume and recruiting numbers. It’s all based on an Excel spreadsheet that has been created to show us at a glance how we did on a monthly basis in the previous year, and how we are progressing in the current year.

While we began primarily focused on public events, we have expanded our outreach through Internet marketing. In the past year, we have built a website that further expands upon our business, the All Natural Country Store. Previously known as the Big Bear Country Store, the name change was necessary because our customers and Consultants are now scattered from coast to coast and throughout Canada. Visitors to the site can request a catalog or further information about the business opportunity. There also is a directory of our Consultants for individuals looking for a Watkins representative close to home.

A special feature of the website is a private Consultant’s Corner, where our recruits can access a number of training tools to help them build their business. Another exclusive service we offer is a closed Facebook group page where our consultants can exchange ideas, pose questions and request special assistance. We also have created a Facebook business page for the All Natural Country Store. This is in addition to a blog that can be accessed through the website.

We continue to have weekly training meetings with our local Consultants, and make a point of explaining the training assistance we offer to new recruits across the country. We carefully guide them through the System for Success, and establish weekly sessions to track their progress if they so desire.

Alan Lukes & David Gurzenski join Carmen Mir
from the Watkins Corporate team in Hawaii

A new training tool we introduced this year is a Welcome Packet that contains an assortment of tools for our recruits. In addition to summaries of the various Watkins programs, we have developed special templates for a Wholesale Shopping Club brochure and a Grand Opening invitation to launch a new Watkins business.

There are a number of highlights in our Watkins career, certainly becoming managers in our first three months with the organization, making the All Star Team that first year and every year since, and being part of Grand Trip Getaways. But the greatest highlight for us has been the many friendships we have made along the way, including those with our direct manager Tracey Palmer, silver manager Melody Thacker, and our team’s executive Bonnie Campbell. We also consider Carmen Mir a good friend, and the customer service representatives in the corporate office, who have come to recognize the sound of our voice because of our frequent calls. We have to emphasize Bonnie in particular. She has inspired us to be the best that we can be, and made us feel we had the right stuff to excel in our Watkins business.        

A Weekend to Remember

We take pause from our busy Watkins business to honor those who fought to protect our American way of life.

We are indeed fortunate this Memorial Day. We have so much to be grateful for.  We live in a wonderful country, made so by the men and women in the armed forces. The very fact that we are able to carry on a successful home-based Watkins business may not have been possible if it wasn’t for these brave individuals.

The Watkins Company has been around for some 146 years. A number of those early Watkins men took time away from their own businesses to fight in two World Wars and all those battles since then. While they were off fighting for their country, wives and loved ones left behind carried on in their absence.  Watkins welcomed these women into the sales force, where they too learned that the company offered a wonderful opportunity to contribute to the family income. Imagine the surprise of many of those returning servicemen when they discovered their Watkins business had thrived while they were off defending the country.

This weekend, we have pitched our Watkins All Natural Country Store tent at the Big Bear Elks Club Peddlers Market. This is a popular event, attended by locals as well as many Southern California visitors, who have driven up the mountain to enjoy the holiday weekend. Once the Peddlers Market closes up each afternoon at 5 pm, we will be enjoying ourselves in this little corner of paradise we call Big Bear. So thank you once again to all those brave men and women, many of whom gave up their lives, so that we could live in the home of the free and the brave.

Extolling the benefits of cinnamon

It’s not just good-tasting, but proven to be good for you as well.

Cinnamon is one of those ingredients we always have on hand in our pantries. That’s one of the reasons it is a top-selling product produced by the JR Watkins Company. Its quality is well-known, having been given international recognition at previous World Fairs. The spice is not just delicious in apple pies or on buttered toast. Cinnamon is chock full of health benefits. Ancient Chinese medicine has long valued cinnamon for its medical value. Now that natural products and home remedies are so in vogue, we're paying more attention to the capabilities of this special spice.

The following are some of the health benefits of cinnamon.

1. The spice's aroma has been said to boost mood, cognitive function and memory. Specifically, notes the website World's Healthiest Foods: "Cinnamon improved participants' scores on tasks related to attentional processes, memory and visual-motor speed while working on computer-based programs."

2. Cinnamon is known to lower blood sugar in individuals with diabetes. It also can help stabilize blood sugar, which assists in weight loss. So add a dash to your cereal or coffee each morning.  Your hunger and sugar cravings will be reduced throughout the day.

3. Just half a teaspoon a day may lower "bad cholesterol" (LDL), but this does not mean that you should forego exercise or wantonly indulge in foods high in saturated fats.

4. It can help stop the growth of bacteria in foods, thus making it a natural food preservative.

5. When mixed with hot water and honey or tea with ginger, it may prevent the onset of the flu. It may also alleviate headaches or migraines.

6. High in antioxidants, the spice may come in handy treating acne issues and making way for clearer complexions. Learnvest.com suggests trying this treatment method: "Mix 1 teaspoon of powdered cinnamon with 3 tablespoons of honey, apply to the skin, and let the mixture sit for a few hours or overnight. Wash off with warm water."

7. Medication-resistant yeast infections may also benefit from the ingestion of cinnamon, based on its anti-fungal properties.

So go ahead, make the spice a grander part of your life, and see what it can do for you.  If you like tea, add a dash to your mug.  Given the numerous health benefits of tea, combining the two practically guarantees to take your health to the next level.

Watkins now offers two types of cinnamon, the original in a tin can, and Saigon cinnamon which comes in a glass bottle.  Both are available online at www.AllNaturalCountryStore.com.

Take the scrubbing out of your spring cleaning

Watkins can be the way to handle the annual task without use of harmful chemicals.

Spring has finally arrived in most parts of the country. You are probably about to begin that annual spring cleaning ritual to get your home ready for the new season. When you haul your cleaning supplies out from under your kitchen and bathroom sinks, take a moment to read the labels on the containers. We did just that about a year ago when we wanted to find out what was so powerful in those products that made our whites whiter and bathtubs brighter.

We were shocked! No wonder we had to use rubber gloves to avoid first-degree burns, and would start choking if we forgot to throw open all the windows before using some of these harmful chemicals. That’s why we were thrilled when we first learned about the Watkins all-natural home care product line. Our store now prides itself on offering these great products at the Big Bear Farmer’s Market every Tuesday from 8:30 am to 1 pm. But if you don’t live within driving distance of Big Bear, you can order these outstanding cleaning products through the following link:

http://www.AllNaturalCountryStore.com/

What’s so great about Watkins all-natural products? Many all-purpose cleaners contain toxins that can be inhaled. Ammonia-based cleaners can irritate the skin, eyes and respiratory system. Minimize your family’s exposure to these harmful toxins with Watkins products. They are free of such ingredients as ammonia, benzene, bleach, boron, butyl/ethyl cellosolve, diethylene ether, formaldehyde and isopropanol, just to name a few of the harmful chemicals found in other brands.

A growing number of Watkins products have been endorsed by the Natural Products Association. To gain this designation, the product must be composed of at least 95% all natural ingredients. Is it any wonder why those of us at the All Natural Country Store are proud to endorse these Watkins products, and to use them in our own homes for spring cleaning?

This Easter, we’re multiplying in a big way

We’re amazed by the number of new consultants who have joined our Watkins Power Team in the last year.

It was a wonderful Easter as we gathered around the table with family and friends to celebrate the holiday. In counting our blessing, we had to pause and remember how our Watkins home business has really grown in the last 12 months. From a small enterprise five years ago, the former Big Bear Country Store has grown into the All Natural Country Store. In the beginning, it was just a handful of local consultants, who we convinced to open up their own Watkins part-time business.

While we had an amazing first year, advancing to managers after just a few months in our Watkins business, we seemed to reach a plateau in our second year. That’s when we realized that just selling Watkins products at our local farmers markets and other public events would not sustain our growth. That’s when we decided we needed to harness the Internet to expand to other cities.”

The decision brought phenomenal expansion. Before we knew it, we had other consultants from coast-to-coast and throughout Canada. They started their Watkins businesses small -- just as we did -- but in time they too began to grow as well. Just recently, we added another facet of marketing, branching out through Facebook to establish the All Natural Country store business page. 

Next was the formation of our own private group called the Watkins Power Team. Composed of our Watkins consultants, the group serves as a forum where team members can exchange ideas, discuss how they are expanding their reach, and ask questions when they are stumped by a certain business challenge.

It’s just another of the benefits we have created for our consultants, which also includes a private “Consultant’s Corner” on our www.AllNaturalCountryStore.net website. To find out more about the special training we offer our consultants, give us a call at 888-881-7372, and we will tell you all about it.

It’s Farmers Market Time

Every Tuesday, April through September, you can find us at the Big Bear Farmers Market

You can almost set your calendars to the dates of the Big Bear Farmers Market. This year, the first Tuesday of April happens to fall on the first day of the month. That’s right – April Fool’s Day! No joking. Well, the joke may be on us since the weather forecast is predicting snow! This follows a winter in Big Bear when we may have had two or three light dustings, not even enough to have to shovel the driveways. All of Southern California has had such a drought this winter, it has already caused the price of produce to jump to records levels. That will certainly impact the farmers, whose booths are a big part of our local market. Crops have been sparse, and the prices farmers may have to charge will probably be higher than in years past.

The price of Watkins products remains constant, so that’s something we don’t have to worry about. It’s more the threat of snow or rain. Since the hours of the market are from 8:30 am to 1 pm, that means we have to start setting up our booth around 7:30 am, not a task to look forward to even when the weather is good. Even though our tent provides some protection, we are still concerned that wind might be a factor, which could damage our Watkins products and displays. Somehow, we will manage.

Why do we do it, when the last year has seen a boom in our online sales of products, as well as the recruitment of new Watkins consultants to the All Natural Country Store Power Team? It’s to meet face-to-face with Watkins customers. It gives us a pulse on what local citizens are buying, and what they think of the Watkins brand. It’s such a joy when customers come up to our booth and say,”We use to have a Watkins man come door-to-door in our neighborhood when I was just a child. I’m so glad I found you here, and know that I can buy Watkins products at the Big Bear Farmers Market.”

And that makes it all worthwhile.

An All New Website for the All Natural Country Store

Our company expands its presence on the Internet with a detailed way to tell its story

First it was a feeble attempt to let North America learn about the Big Bear Country Store. Then we launched a blog to provide more information about us and the best things about J.R. Watkins products. Finally, we have created an expanded picture that shows our growing All Natural Country Store.

“It was about time to come into the 21^st Century,” according to Alan Lukes, the store’s technical guru that knows his way around a computer. It was the creative side of the of the partnership, David Gurzenski, who used his background in writing and marketing, to present the story about the store’s humble beginning, how we have expanded in the five years we have been of associated with Watkins Naturals, what we offer our customers, and how to become members of our Whole Shopping Club or our growing sales force scattered across North America – a group we call Our Power Team.

“This website (http://www.allnaturalcountrystore.net) will continue to grow as we enter new phases of our operation,” says David. We will always provide customers the level of service based on the philosophy held by the J.R. Watkins, founder of the company. He never wavered from that philosophy. Customers always come first. And neither will we.