Shane Douglas Story | Professional Network Marketing, Work from Home Business Opportunity, Home-based Business Opportunity | Shane Douglas, ACN Senior Vice President :: Prime Time Networker

Since we last spoke with Shane his team has absolutely exploded reaching over 200,000 Independent Business Owners spanning 23 countries world wide. He has become one of the largest residual income earners in his short time with ACN just 8 years.

Recently Shane had a short story published in the book "Chicken Soup For The Network Marketers Soul" Shane says he was honored to have his short story published in such a credible source book for the industry. In addition Shane was fortunate enough to be selected to be part of the audience for The Celebrity Apprentice filming, which was seen in 2009 on the NBC reality TV show that featured ACN.

Shane Douglas, Network Marketing Professional

I sat down with Shane to ask him what the future held for his business, and what his strategy was when starting new people who join ACN and want to accomplished what he has in ACN.

Shane says. This business today is an absolute dream come true for the newcomer. When I joined in 2004 we had long distance and local phone service and we’re open in only 15 countries. Today we offer gas, electricity, major wireless carriers, Satellite TV, Internet, Video Phone, Home Security, Home Phone Service, and now we’ll be offering debit cards. Imagine earning a residual income every month when someone turns on their lights, heats their home, or makes a debit card purchase. How could this business not be for every single person, when they have the ability to earn monthly residual income on all these monthly bills that people pay every single month of their lives? If you join ACN you can get paid on all of the services we provide, if you don't join you just don't get to be paid on all of these essential services that you and others are going to use anyway.

Our company has expanded to 23 countries, our compensation plan has been enhanced, our business structure is producing hundreds of millions of dollars every year. We have been featured in multiple magazines, we have been featured on prime time television how much more credibility does someone need to build a huge business.

For me my strategy is the same, I'm always looking for the person that really wants to achieve something great and is willing to work for it. I still work and mentor my newest apprentice for at least a year in the business so they can achieve success. But it's a two way street they have to be dedicated to having success to keep my attention. I love building the business with a new motivated person that wants it.

“ACN gave me a life,” says ACN Senior Vice President Shane Douglas. Before finding ACN, Shane owned his own business, but the extended hours left little time for anything else. “Now, I don’t have to work for a living,” he says. “Being able to create a residual income changes your life. It gives you a lifestyle; it gives you a real life.”

Unlike many dads, Shane can go watch his daughter play in her first junior-high basketball game. “I set my schedule around my family rather than setting my family around my schedule,” he says.

Cool Technology

On this day, Shane’s schedule finds him at home in the middle of the day. He’s conducting this interview on his ACN IRIS 3000™ Videophone from his Idaho home. “I use it all the time. I’m on it right now; I just can’t see you because you don’t have one with ACN Digital Phone Service,” he says. “It gives us that ‘wow’ factor, because it’s something people haven’t seen before.”

The ACN IRIS 3000™ Videophone is an intriguing draw, which makes it easier for Shane to share a deeper look into his business. “Our job is to show our business, and people decide whether they want to get in or not, but the video phone gives you that ‘wow’ factor that you just don’t get with other businesses,” he says. When customers get excited about ACN technologies and services, they also think about being a representative because they know their friends and family will want them, he says.

“What keeps me excited is how ACN offers services people use every day-whether digital phone service, home security, satellite TV, Internet and others-so that creates a nice residual income on bills people are already paying,” Shane says. He spends no time convincing others to buy a product, and the marketplace is significantly larger for services.

Financial freedom was a goal for Shane, but he found that now he looks at his life differently. “The usual way is that you go to school and get a job. Then you work for the rest of your life, whether you like it or not,” he says.

But Shane says ACN is different and fun, and the technology from ACN drew him in. “I’m excited about doing what I do,” he says. “It’s changed the way I think about what I do every day, like going to my daughter’s basketball game. I decide when to work and when not to work. It gives you so much freedom; it’s pretty hard not to like it.”

Laid Up, Check Up-Entrepreneurial Spirit at Its Best

Last April, Shane blew out his knee playing basketball. “I was in a straight-legged cast for three months, yet my income went up,” he says. His entrepreneurial spirit had already provided.

“Being an entrepreneur means you want to create something bigger than yourself for your family,” says Shane, who’s providing a handsome income for his wife, Dana, and their daughter Karly and son Tyler. Most people seek more money or more time. “Unfortunately, in this world, you have to have money in order to have time, so you have to create it,” he says.

ACN gave Shane a model, gathering people together who want to create something more. “A lot of people each doing a little creates a large income. One person doing a lot does not create a large income-it just makes you a salesperson,” he says. “With ACN, you don’t sell, you offer services, and that’s the big advantage.

“To be successful as an entrepreneur, you have to constantly develop as a person-become a better person,” Shane says. He’s working on it, but today his first order of business is to get to his daughter’s basketball game.

Working with ACN, Shane Douglas lives a life free of debt and full of opportunities.

Success is no stranger to Shane Douglas, a senior vice president with ACN. Running his first business shortly after college, he was reaping the financial benefits at age 21. He worked from his home selling appliances, and over 10 years’ time owned and managed several traditional independent businesses. His entrepreneurial drive and dedication brought in the money, but the cash proved an end in itself. There was little time or energy for anything but work.

“My problem was not that I wasn’t making money,” Shane says. “I just didn’t have any time to spend it.”

He said it was normal to spend 16 hours a day as an independent business owner. “I had success in traditional businesses,” Shane says. “But I had to be willing to work nights and weekends with no vacations.” While working felt normal to Shane, he knew he needed to move in a different direction if he wanted to have more time for his family and other personal endeavors. So after almost 10 years of success, but no free time, Shane said good-bye to his long hours and began his direct selling career.

Eager for a lifestyle that put his family first, Shane worked several years in network marketing before joining ACN. In just three years with ACN, the Douglas family not only reached their goal of becoming completely debt-free, but Shane achieved a financial freedom that no longer required work to be the driving force in his life.

“I have a lifestyle now, and not just a life,” Shane says with delight, describing some of the benefits he and his family have experienced. He now creates his work schedule around his life, instead of his life around his work. “It enables me to be the only dad at the basketball games,” he says referring to his teenage son Tyler. “Others want to be there, of course, but they can’t; they don’t have that option.”

While working in traditional business ownership, Shane found himself driven by a desire to make more money. Wanting to shift the focus to his family, he had to find a way to gain more time without struggling financially. His understanding of the relationship between the two-making money and securing personal time-has proved paramount to his success.

“No one wants to be greedy; but money gives us more choices,” Shane says. “It allows us to take three-week vacations instead of three-day vacations-and take them several times a year.” Money is no longer an obstacle for his family, but is a means for new opportunities. When he wants to do something-take a vacation, spend a weekend golfing, purchase a new car-he can. He no longer has to worry if he can afford it.

“The hardest transition to make was to realize that I didn’t have to work such long hours, and I was still making money,” Shane says. “I didn’t have to trade dollars for hours.”

He explains how this excess of time and money is possible. “ACN is a technology-based company that will always be marketing new services people use to communicate,” Shane says, “The best part is that I don’t have to sell people on anything. ACN provides needed, everyday services plus, as technology advances, ACN is ahead of the curve, launching the very latest services, like digital phone service with video phones. People don’t need to be sold on a video phone, because they’re seeing people across the world. How many companies can offer something like that?”

As a traditional business owner, no work meant no pay for Shane. ACN is different. “People are going to continue to pay their monthly bills, and I’m going to receive a percentage of residual income from other people paying their bills,” he says. “When people continue to use ACN services, I get paid residuals. It just makes sense.”

More money. More time. Residual rewards. What else could add to Shane’s successful lifestyle? There is still something more: When Shane is working, he enjoys it.

He calls ACN “a company of highest integrity-the ownership provides great vision for the future, and they’re constantly looking to expand.” That expansion comes through building relationships and supporting new members. When Shane’s not spending time with his family, he is mentoring and coaching other leaders on his team. He holds one-on-one meetings and empowers others to reach new business goals. “My goals center on people’s success,” Shane says. “We’re trying to create an environment that’s more about personal development. At this point, I help people grow their business larger.”

“Once you get past the thought of making money, it becomes more about how you can help others make it to your same place,” he says. “There’s no competition, because you want others to have financial freedom and become debt free; you’re helping each other.”

Shane says a leader is someone who has the ability to step back and let others receive the accolades and recognition. “It’s someone who can celebrate others’ successes without always having to be in the spotlight,” he says. He has taken that role in his own life, building his business and pursuing his dreams with a steadfast spirit. Now, he enjoys the benefits of living a lifestyle that is financially free-with time to spare-and takes great care in supporting others still on their way to the top.

There’s a small town in Idaho call Priest River with a population of about 1,600. Wherever you go, people are likely to know your name and what you do. It’s a great place to raise your children, but as many people who grew up in a small town know can tell you, it’s not really a hub for great business opportunities.

That is, unless you can create a great business from home. From this tiny rural community, Shane Douglas has developed a home-business empire with profits that rival bigger, city-based companies. While you could easily run into Shane watching his son or daughter’s basketball game on a weekday afternoon, you’d probably never guess he is also running a global business that currently operates in 19 countries-and continues to earn money as Shane spends his afternoon cheering on the kids from the sidelines.

As an independent associate with ACN, Shane provides access to an array of services, like cell phone, video phone, VoIP, home phone, and Internet, through a team of distributors worldwide. He makes income every time a customer in his organization pays one of their service bills, though it doesn’t cost anything extra for the customers to use the services through Shane. “We offer wireless phone service through every major carrier,” he explains. “If you want Verizon service, you can have it. I make a residual income every time someone pays their cell phone bill-that’s pretty powerful. You don’t do anything differently, you just sign up through ACN without any added expense to the customer.” They can even access customer service directly through the carrier, so Shane doesn’t spend all day fielding customer inquiries.

Shane has always been an entrepreneur at heart, but ACN is the only opportunity he’s found that allows him the time freedom to enjoy the income he makes. “Before network marketing, I came from a traditional business background,” he explains. “I owned two appliance stores and a construction company. I made plenty of money but I was ‘time broke.’ In traditional business, you can be your own boss, but you’re going to be the most overworked, underpaid employee there is. Hobbies aren’t an option.”

Tired of putting all his time and energy into his traditional business, Shane looked to network marketing for a way out and eventually found ACN. “With ACN, I saw a way to leverage my time and earn a residual income. Network marketing lets me make more money doing less work. I have the ability to generate a residual income through every communications bill you have, on a monthly basis,” he says.

While his business is in the technology industry, Shane stresses it doesn’t require him to be tech-savvy to run a successful business with ACN. “You don’t have to have technological skills to be involved in the technology industry. If you did, I couldn’t do it. The company does all the technological work for you,” he explains. ACN provides new distributors with the tools and support they need to get their businesses off the ground, and all the material is available online 24 hours a day.

ACN’s service products are state-of-the-art, including their brand new video phone service, which Shane says will skyrocket over the next few years: “All the studies say it will replace phone service as we know it in the next two to three years. Think about it-video phone allows you to see the other person you are talking to anywhere in the country. How many parents send their children off to college every year and would love to see them every day? With this service, it’s possible. This service brings together families that live thousands of miles apart.”

Shane’s average day is spent working with other members of his team and helping them to become just as successful as he has been with the business. He is also able to build his team with like-minded people, which means he’s working only with individuals he knows have the drive and desire to succeed.

“I have the ability to work with just the people I want to work with. A lot of the people I work with now, I just show them exactly what I did in my business,” he says, explaining it’s not about recruitment, but building relationships with the people he already works with. “We work with fewer people for a longer amount of time. It takes less people to make more money with this business.” That allows Shane to focus on helping others in his group grow their businesses through personal development.

“The best part is being able to see people succeed, when they reach that pinnacle of earning more money than they ever thought was possible,” Shane says. “You’re changing people’s lives. That becomes more important than the money, because the money is still coming every month.”

The ACN model also allows him to be more flexible with his time, something he’s happy to take full advantage of while raising his two children, 15-year-old Tyler and 12-year-old Karly. “I’m able to go out to watch their sporting events or school functions, and I’m often the only father out there in the middle of the day-all of the other fathers are working traditional jobs. I know the other fathers want to be there, but their jobs just don’t allow it,” Shane explains. “It would be weird for [my kids] not to see me there.”

Shane knows his business has had a powerful-and positive-impact on the kids and is proud they are empowered to take control of their own futures, “My kids have only ever really seen me be a business owner. They see there’s opportunity to do what they want to do; they’re not in an employee-mindset. They know they will have the power to make decisions-but the money I make is what provides those choices,” he says.

His residual income also makes it possible for Shane’s wife, Dana, to be fully involved in the community, in addition to their children’s lives at home. “She’s a stay-at-home mom and loves it,” he says. “Dana gets to really interact with the children. She’s very involved with the community and the school system; she’s the head of every sports club or PTO group-she’s busier that I am, I think.”

Being able to provide for his family and still be around to enjoy life with them encourages Shane to share ACN with others. “Technology changes every day, so there are always additional opportunities in this industry,” he says. “Our business model isn’t about selling-it’s a personal development program that pays you. Each year, I like to pick a person or two I can work directly with and help change their lives.”

Shane has recently been featured in the new Chicken Soup for
the Network Marketer's Soul Book:

About twelve years ago I took a look at MLM for the first time. I was intrigued by the idea of making money while helping others do the same. At first I was skeptical; it seemed too good to be true. See, I’d come from a family of traditional business owners and had been running my own traditional businesses for seven years. I was locked into that mode of thinking.

So I started building my MLM business slowly, as a part-time venture.

I had always been a work-first, play-second type of person. When my friends and family were out having fun, I’d be working, working, working.

My youngest brother Troy owned a traditional business too, but there was one major difference between him and me. He would always take the time off to enjoy life. Troy might decide, on a whim, to close his business for a week to go on vacation or take a hunting or fishing trip. I would always say, “Troy, you can’t do that. You can’t just ‘not go to work.’ You can’t operate a business like that!”

He would just smile and say, “I know. I just really wanted to do it. I can always make the money back later.” His logic dumbfounded me. I mean, I liked to have fun too, but I could never see myself putting leisure ahead of business.

As my MLM career began to gain traction, I noticed that our monthly residual income was growing every single month. This was the first time I had ever experienced getting paid on a monthly basis for something I had done in the past. What a concept: do something once and get paid for a lifetime! I started to dream that I could create permanent financial wealth for myself and my family while also freeing up lots of time to spend with my two children, Tyler and Karly, and my wife Dana. How powerful would that be?

I kept working my traditional businesses during the daytime and pursuing my MLM business nights and weekends. But I began to enjoy my MLM business more and more-I especially loved the “people” part of it-and my traditional businesses less and less. I couldn’t help feeling that the latter was stealing precious hours of my life in exchange for dollars, and that my family was paying the price.

I found myself increasingly drawn to the whole idea of residual income, but my conditioned thinking told me: “Put in the long hours or you’ll never get anywhere. It’s a pipe dream to believe you can create wealth and fully enjoy your life, your friends and your family.”

Traditional business thinking says you have to pick one or the other.

On March 8th, 1997 I received a phone call I’ll never erase from my mind. My brother Troy had been caught in an avalanche while snowmobiling. Rescue crews had not been able to locate him.

Within a half hour, several carloads of his family and friends were barreling toward that fateful mountain. All the way there, I kept thinking: Maybe everything will be okay, maybe he’s found a safe place to wait to be rescued.

When we got to the base of the mountain, nightfall had set in. The emergency staff informed us that it was too dark and dangerous to head out to the accident site. The next news they gave us was even bleaker: they would not be sending search crews out the following morning either, due to hazardous conditions.

This was simply unacceptable. So our family and Troy’s friends decided we would have to be the search team.

At the first rays of dawn, about thirty of us struck out. It was the most difficult challenge I ever faced in my life-mentally, physically and, emotionally. About two hours into the search we found Troy’s body. I remember looking at my older brother Todd and asking, with my eyes, “How could this have happened to our family? How?”

That day changed my life forever. It took me a long time to digest the tragedy, but what finally hit me, with crystal clarity, was this: the time we spend right now with our kids, spouses, family and friends is more precious than all the money in the world. Literally. Life is too short to exchange dollars for hours.

In the months following Troy’s death, I lost the ability to function physically and mentally in my traditional businesses. They stopped generating income and the debt was piling up. Fortunately, residual checks from my MLM businesses were still rolling in and they were paying my other businesses’ debts and allowing my family to survive.

It was at this time in my life I knew it was time for me to become a full-time network marketer and sell off my traditional businesses that owned me.

MLM has allowed me to rescript my family’s life and future forever. Turns out traditional business thinking is wrong.

I have now been in the business for an amazing twelve years and my family and I are living what can only be described as a dream life.

What is a dream life? It’s a life that gives you the financial resources to do and buy the things you previously only dreamed of. But more than that, much more, it’s one that gives you time to spend with the people you love.

Time. You can’t put a price tag on it. And, thanks to Network Marketing, I don’t have to anymore.

This article below was taken from a interview with Shane Douglas that was in “Success From Home Magazine”.

Shane Douglas has never been a stranger to self-employment. In fact, he owned and operated multiple small businesses long before he discovered ACN. Shane was part of another network marketing company that offered telecom products and services. That opportunity clearly demonstrated to this lifelong entrepreneur that working for oneself in a traditional retail business may be one thing, but doing so in network marketing is quite another. The difference stems from the advantages of residual income. And when he eventually made the switch to ACN, Shane discovered a company that provided abundant residuals.

Lots of people would love to be self-employed, but who wants to work 100 hours per week for the privilege of being self-employed? Operating retail businesses, Shane found that the residual income he received from network marketing provided him the time flexibility to actually enjoy his status as a independent business owner. But, as the years wore on, the management of the company he was with changed hands and his residuals began to fade. While still making a nice income overall, Shane noticed that the long-term potential had vanished. "It was all very immediate. Although it was better than those old retail businesses, I still had to start over from scratch each month," Shane says.

Finding ACN ... Interestingly, Shane had long been friends with ACN's Founders. "They never tried to get me to leave my other company," Shane recalls. "We just spoke about the possibilities of this industry. Then when it came time for me to make a switch, they welcomed me. Despite having had a great deal of success in the industry for many years, Shane found nothing to quibble about with ACN's system when he arrived. In fact, he was extremely impressed by its simplicity and its strength in helping one achieve solid residual income.

It all begins with just referring on some customers. On this subject, Shane cautions that new Independent Business Owners that tend to overly complicate this activity. "I advise a new business partner of mine to simply ask a friend to be his or her customer as a favor, based on their relationship." Shane says, "One can say, 'You're already using the phone. When you try our services, the only difference will be that you'll be saving some money while helping me start my business.' See, it really isn't so complicated. “Shane says”.

“A new representative should share a specific reason why he or she needs extra money, "For instance, once could say, 'If you become my customer, it will help me pay for school' or 'it will allow my wife to stay home with the kids.' Such reasons extend beyond money itself. They add value to the situation and make customers stick with the representative for life!"

After getting some customers, it's then a matter of finding others to benefit from the ACN opportunity. "When searching for new Independent Business Owners, I look for serious people who are open to learning and changing their lives," Shane says. "That's the only way I can help them advance with ACN. I will not sell this opportunity because those who have to be sold won't stick with it. If all I get is a quick bonus and then the person stops working, I can't build any residual income. In that case," he laughs, "I might as well be back at the retail store!"

Using the Right Approach ... I teach my team of business partners to be sensitive to the people they approach," he says. "A new representative may say to a friend, 'Hey John, let's go to lunch and talk!' Well, John may have just had a big sandwich. If so, then try again later, don't just drag him along. No one wants an opportunity, or an untimely sandwich, shoved down his throat!"

So how does one determine that the timing is right? "Just ask if he ever looks for ways to make extra money. "If so, then inquire, 'If I could share something with you, would you be willing to hear me out?' Then set an appointment for a full presentation and let him decide. With this opportunity, they'll wonder what else is possible."

Shane further explains the easy going approach to prospecting. "A person typically cannot imagine making more than three times what they currently make," he explains. "So we have to start where most people are in terms of simply making extra money."

Not pie in the sky or we might get a pie in the face. We should under-promise and over-deliver! Just help someone follow ACN's basics until they get what they want."

Shane expounds on the importance of having a mental framework. "Your mindset has gotten you to where you are at this point financially," he says. "When you were born, nobody determined what your success level would be. To take one's life to a different level, the mind must be developed. So, for example, if I have time today to listen to music for an hour, I could instead use that time to develop a better mindset with a good personal development CD. Making money is really related to belief level. ACN can translate the right mental framework into a perpetual flow of earnings," Shane concludes.

So, when it came to residual income, Shane discovered the ACN advantage, and he credits the Founders for their leadership and vision. "The founders of this company were world-class network marketers before they even started ACN," explains Shane with a smile. "Thus, they've been highly successful in this industry and are very hands-on today. They know how to help people build long-term incomes."

Shane now is one of the top residual income earners in all of ACN after only 3 years in the business.

Shane Douglas, ACN Senior Vice President - Success Story