Building the Utility Warehouse business allowed me to retire at 45 and travel the world!
Getting started in this business nine years ago, the goal was to find an opportunity to earn a significant income without the confines of a 20 hour a day job and a boss breathing down my neck. I didn’t know a lot about network marketing, even less about the Utility Warehouse and didn’t have the slightest idea that it was going to provide me with a secure income and a truly happy life.
In the early days I worked so hard for very little reward and one of the hardest things was to keep going without the evidence that I was ever going to succeed. At that time there were no role models, none that had gone before me, that I could look up to and get advice from and there were a few times (actually many times) when I doubted that I would earn enough to feed the cat, let alone myself and the idea of being able to eat in the world’s top restaurants was to say the least remote. But, as my wife will tell you, I am a determined so and so.
Many people, including my closest family told me that it would never work but I stuck at it and, slowly at first, my business began to take shape. With the arrival of Charles, the services improved and a semblance of an administration appeared. It still fell far short of the organisation that we enjoy today but as the saying goes, every little helps.
As you will discover, the business is like a rolling stone – you have to get it over the hill but when it starts going down the other side, it rapidly picks up speed and eventually rolls on its own. Once my business was “over the hill” I was amazed at how fast it grew. I continued to work hard, but now, with my income growing each month I was able to enjoy the fruits of my labour.
The company had realised the importance of training and together with the other top Distributors I became heavily involved with the College Of Excellence. From humble beginnings this has become a linchpin of the company and has helped countless Distributors to build successful businesses. Gradually my role changed. As my own business started to look after itself I was able to spend more time helping members of my team. I spent a lot of time studying network marketing and being able to pass on this knowledge to others became a most enjoyable part of my life.
Eventually the business was virtually running itself and generating a substantial income. At that time I only had myself to think about and I decided to retire. I had always dreamed of owning a yacht and sailing around the world and with my residual income giving me that opportunity, why not? My close friend John Joselyn, former Executive Services Director, had died suddenly and this acted as a catalyst to my decision.
I paid my deposit, started making preparation for my trip and then, out of the blue, met a lady who was to change everything. As a confirmed bachelor I hadn’t even considered the possibility of marriage but Sandra and I fell in love very quickly and it soon became obvious that we were destined to spend our lives together.
However, try as I might, she was somewhat reluctant to leave her three children and circumnavigate the world with me. Despite spending long lazy summers on the boat and wonderful sailing holidays in the Med it became clear that our future together would need to be more land based.
Additionally, although retirement at 45 may seem like a dream come true, the reality of it was less appealing. We have too much energy and too much to offer to stop work completely. Fortunately, one of the advantages of network marketing is that you can take some time out, recharge the batteries and return to it. With Sandra, I have rediscovered the enthusiasm for my business and her skills as a teacher compliment what has become our network marketing company.
However, neither of us wanted to be tied to the conventional working week. We enjoy spending a lot of time together, having quality time with the children, traveling extensively and are glad that we are able to run the business around these things. The residual income has continued to grow and enables us to have a marvelous balance between our work and social life.
When we met, Sandra knew nothing about network marketing and her Christian beliefs and pastoral background at times seemed to be at odds with the cut and thrust that is part and parcel of the business world. We have had many animated discussions about certain aspects of network marketing and she made it clear that she could not support anything that she considered unethical. Neither was she that impressed with earning shed loads of money.
Of course she enjoys the material things that this brings but the ability it gives her to spend more time with her beloved children means more to her than any amount of expensive jewelery could. That of course is one of the beauties of this business – it gives you the freedom to choose. We could spend as many hours on the business as I did in the early days and earn more and more money but that would get in the way of our lovely life together. Both of us still enjoy working and Sandra in particular loves the teaching side of our business. We can spend a lot of our working hours devising ways to help everybody in our team to achieve their dreams, whatever they may be.
We are now very happily married and celebrate each monthly anniversary of our wedding day in a different country. This is one of the luxuries that our residual income allows us and one that even Sandra admits to enjoying. Our business continues to grow and with it our financial security and peace of mind. We don’t crave the millionaire lifestyle and adore our quiet and simple, private life in Croatia but that does not mean that we have forgotten the business that gave us that life. We remain active in Telecom plus and available to anyone of you that would like our help or advice.
We always attend Express Day and hope that many of you will choose to come and speak to us there. When we are in the UK we are always happy to attend any meetings that you may have (logistics permitting) and to share with you and your guests the things that we have learnt along the way that may help you with your goals.
To each of you we say, “you have a unique opportunity to achieve the lifestyle you desire – look to the future, remain focused and go and achieve it”.
Craig & Sandra McCarthy
Independent Distributors
