(music).
Good morning everybody and welcome to the Balancing Act.
We are so glad you joined us.
I'm Julie Moran.
I'm Olga Villaverde.
You know, many women dream of being their own boss.
Absolutely.
It's huge.
Enjoying financial independence and being able to make their own
hours.
There are career opportunities that can make this dream a
reality, and I'll be talking with the folks from Jafra about
their beauty products and their profits.
Plus, we're also kicking off a comprehensive series on
addiction.
It takes many faces, and affects those from all walks of life.
There are 12-steps on the road to recovery.
We're going to talk to those who have taken this journey and have
taken it successfully.
So inspiring.
And returning to college, and finally getting that degree you
always wanted.
Well, The Balancing Act begins right now.
(music).
The world of direct selling has created amazing opportunities
for people looking to become their own bosses.
In fact, direct selling accounts for over 30 billion dollars in
retails sales each year.
But, how can you take advantage of this trend.
Well, let's ask my next guest, Andrea Urista, an independent
consultant for Jafra USA, and Jafra president Paolo Moledo.
Welcome.
It's so great to have you on the set.
Thank you.
And, I think there is some misconceptions right off the bat
about direct selling, and Paolo, what do you want women to know
about this field?
They need to know that direct selling is a real opportunity
for women.
It really empowers women, and just like anything in life,
direct selling has evolved.
It's not the old door-to-door anymore.
Now, companies like Jafra, that have been around for 58 years,
17 countries, you know, we give you the fun and excitement, the
nice environment of direct selling, but we have added
technology and science to it.
So, your opportunity is real.
That's fantastic and Andrea, I want to turn to you.
Online tools have really changed, in the way you can
support your customers.
What's the biggest change in the industry?
Definitely, social selling.
I feel like it offers a bigger potential to my business,
because I can find and reach my clients anywhere.
That's so important.
What are some of the positive experiences you've had with
Jafra?
With Jafra is amazing.
I have been in fabulous trips.
I drive my Mercedes I earned.
I know amazing people, and of course one of the most important
things is I'm making more money now, than I did with my master's
degree.
With your masters degree.
You're making more money with Jafra.
Yes.
Oh my gosh.
And you're able to be with your kids too.
We were talking about that earlier.
This allows you to do both.
Yes, I have four children, and I wanted to be involved in their
lives.
That's why I left my job, and I joined Jafra.
And now, I feel complete because I have my business, but I can
say proudly, that I am in all their special moments.
Mom is there when they need me.
That is so important.
There are so many direct selling companies out there.
What sets Jafra apart?
Many things, Julie.
First of all, the products.
We have been around for so many years, and the products really
work.
We have the great technology.
We have incorporated technology as Andrea said, we took the word
of mouth to a whole new level.
Now you have your own store on Facebook, 24/7, and the
potential is unlimited.
Now, she drives a Mercedes and so many other people are doing
the same thing.
So, Jafra is really at the top of technology when it comes to
direct selling.
Andrea, in addition to having fun, why did you choose Jafra as
your business?
Why wouldn't I?
The level of support I have is amazing.
I can call the president of the company any time.
And she does, Julie.
Any time.
Jafra is really my business partner.
I can count on them all the time and as I told you, I have four
children, and I just wanted to be present for them, but also I
didn't want to lose my income.
Oh yeah.
And Jafra was the best opportunity I could find.
It's the best decision I've ever made.
That's so fantastic.
What advice would you give women wanting to be entrepreneurs?
Don't be afraid.
Just take the chance, and enjoy what you do.
Pick something that you are passionate about.
For me, it was my love for Jafra products, and the desire to be a
mom.
Thank you both for coming in.
A great story, great experience, great opportunities for women.
Absolutely, and Julie, one last thing.
I learned from a great person in direct selling, Andrea Young,
that a person should follow her compass, and not the clock, and
at Jafra, we really respect that.
We have thousands of independent consultants that have been with
us for an average of 26 years.
That's only possible because they are really making money.
They are really having fun.
And great products.
Absolutely.
That work.
Great to have you both today.
Really exciting that women can do this for themselves and their
family.
Absolutely.
Alright.
To find out more about Jafra, log on to JoinJafra.com and be
sure to visit us at TheBalancingAct.com.
You can also find us on Facebook and Twitter.
(music).
Ready to get social?
Join the conversation at facebook.com/TheBalancingActFans
We'd like to hear what's on your minds.
. (music).
Do you have any regrets?
Ever wish you could hit the reset button because you missed
out on something?
I'm sure we all do.
And one big regret many have is not finishing college.
But, there are ways to make that dream a reality.
Say hello to our next guest, Mary Hawkins, president of
Bellevue University.
Welcome to the show.
Thank you.
I'm delighted to be here.
I'm glad you're here, because I've heard that from many
people.
Something happened during their lifetime, and it took a 180, and
they weren't able to finish.
Common denominator for people?
Yes, especially women.
It happened to me.
It did???
MMhmm...
I had done two years and started having children, and realized
after a few years I wanted to go back.
I am not unusual.
I think it's a lot of women, and actually a lot of people.
And look at you know.
You're the president of Bellevue University.
It is possible.
It is, and a surprise.
Mary, I was reading here, 30%... this was alarming to me, 30% of
college and university students drop out after the first year of
school.
Why?
It is true.
They just drop out.
That's a lot!
It is.
It's a lot.
Sometimes they decide to get married.
Sometimes they're frustrated.
This doesn't feel like the right major, doesn't feel like the
right college fit, sometimes they run out of money.
All kinds of problems that adults are going to deal with,
and they still have to figure out a way to get back and get in
the saddle and go.
Absolutely.
And it doesn't matter when.
In fact, one of my mom's best friends, I believe she finished,
I want to say a couple years ago, and I think Loli was 56.
Great day.
We all went.
She graduated.
It was a huge celebration for us, and for her.
It's the new normal.
And what's cool at graduation is to hear "Go Grandma, go mom, go
dad!"
But you know, when you hear that, you think to yourself,
okay, that sounds great, but to make that adjustment when you
have a family, when you have kids, when you're working maybe
three jobs.
Would you say it's kind of tough?
What you have to do is find a new path, and find support.
Find schools that support students.
There are some schools where it's like "We dare you to
finish.
We're going to make it as hard as you can."
There are some schools that say come on in, we embrace you.
Our success is based on your success, and let's talk then
about Bellevue University.
You offer a great online program.
Let's talk about it and how you embrace people to say come on in
and do it.
We do.
And what's surprising about the online classroom is it is so
intimate.
They make such good friends, great interaction with the
professor.
There's an image that you're going to be working with a
computer.
You're not.
You're working with people.
That's what I first thought, Mary.
It's just the computer and me.
But it's not so.
You can actually get the help you need.
You can get the assistance.
You do projects with everybody around the world.
Tell me about that.
What is really interesting is to watch these projects and the way
students figure it out.
There's skype and there's social media, and there's adobe
connect.
You name it.
But, they can make it really intimate.
They become best friends with people they've never met, never
crossed paths with.
Something that's great is also the fact that you can do it on
your own time.
Exactly.
For parents, and for working adults, sometimes you have a
long work day.
You've got a project at work you've got to finish.
You can't stop to go to class.
So, online is perfect.
You get home, or you get up early in the morning, or you get
up in the middle of the night.
Whatever.
And you do your homework.
And whenever you can, you get it done, and as long as it takes.
Correct.
Do it at your convenience, and what you'll find is there's
support out there.
Funny, other people are on the same schedule.
You think you're the only one?
You're not.
I'd like to share some fabulous testimonials that we have
from some of your students at Bellevue University.
Can we do that?
Yes.
Alright, let's listen.
I'd left school, early on.
Never finished, and got to a point in my career where I saw
education and the benefits of that and felt it was really
important to gain an education to make me better at what I do.
The only way I was going to be able to go back and pursue
additional education was to be able to do it online, because I
have three young children and my husband was in school at the
time, as well.
Really, the only way that we were going to be able to make
that work and feasible for our family schedule and our work
schedule was for me to be able to do that online.
It was a fantastic experience.
I absolutely felt like I got all of the same education that I
would have gotten in class, because I had so much dialog.
The instructors, the support staff, everybody at Bellevue
will take you right down the path that you need to go to
succeed.
It's pretty exciting.
It's pretty cool.
Even at 50 years old.
I'm excited, and I would tell anybody.
It doesn't matter how old you are.
It doesn't matter what time it is.
Don't wait.
It's there for you.
Reach out and grab it.
I love hearing it.
It is possible.
You can do it.
I love those stories too.
I will tell you, and sometimes when i hear them, I have tears
rolling down my face because you realize what it's done to change
somebody's life, and it is overwhelming.
It's so powerful.
You have here a beautiful pin that you give to your graduates.
What is it?
It's our new seal and our new emblem for the university, and
every graduate gets one at commencement.
I love what it says.
I'm going to read it real quick.
You've achieved something great.
As you turn, now, toward your next endeavor, take with you
this reminder of what you have earned and all you will
accomplish.
Great stuff.
Thank you so much, Mary.
And for information on Bellevue University, where do we go??
Easy.
Bellevue.edu.
Come back anytime.
Thank you so much.
And, of course, if you'd like more information on Bellevue
University, you heard the website, or go to our website,
TheBalancingAct.com.
Get your degree.
(music).
Start your day The Balancing Act way.
You got it.
Good morning, everybody, and welcome to The Balancing Act.
We're having some fun right, right?
we always are.
I'm Julie Moran.
And I'm Olga Villaverde.
The award-winning talkshow, airing weekdays on Lifetime.
We're serving up tasty treats, style and beauty tips.
It's down nice and low.
From family matters, to our furry friends, financial advice,
to healthy living solutions.
3-2-1.
The Balancing Act.
Find your balance.
(music).
The road to addiction recovery takes strength, courage and
support.
We'd like to now take you on a journey.
A 12-part reclaim your life series with our partner at
Transformations Drug and Alcohol Treatment center, to meet the
many faces of addiction, but more importantly to understand
the uniquely different programs that transformations offers for
specific groups that are afflicted by addiction.
Today, we start with a look at the under-30 program.
A program uniquely designed for the younger generation who need
to know they're not alone in this journey.
I sat down with one young adult who knows this only too well.
By 21, I had nobody in my life.
I was living on the streets with the clothes on my back.
No money in my pocket.
It was pretty much just me.
I've had a lot of bad things happen to me.
I've had all types of violence, guns, things like that.
Anything you could really imagine happen to me, but for
me, the bottom was really just complete abandonment.
His story could be shared by many young adults today who are
suffering from the disease of addiction.
A disease that destroys lives, relationships, and careers.
For Josh, rock bottom meant finally admitting he had a
problem and making the call for help.
Calling your best friend, calling your family, calling and
no one is there.
That's what made me, everyone pushing me away, because they
were good people and they knew that's what it took to get me
better, is what led me to the point, to the gift of
desperation is I will do whatever it takes to get clean.
I never want to feel this again.
It's the first step that many make in coming to
transformations treatment center in Delray Beach, Florida.
A place that changes lives on the road to recovery.
As a licensed psychotherapist, Joshua Weaver is the leader of
the young adults program at Transformations.
It means creating specific programs designed for the
lifestyle of the under-30 population, and starting them on
a sober journey to recovery.
When I spoke to Josh a few months ago, he was so honest
about his addiction and what he went through.
It was so impactful.
How typical is his story today?
I believe that Josh's story is very typical of how addiction is
impacting today's society.
And what hope does Transformations offer to young
adults like Josh?
What Transformations offers is an opportunity to learn about
the origins of their addiction, so that they can learn coping
strategies to manage what they have experienced
throughout their lives, so that they can manage
their issues long-term so they pervent further relapse.
But, to understand that, must be difficult for them because once
they let go and say "I need help" it takes time to
understand what they're going through, right?
Yes.
Initially, when they would come to transformations, they
sometimes have difficulty in trusting people and I think
that's one of the major parts of this whole process, is they have
to allow themselves to become vulnerable, when in the past,
they've been very defensive, and only really focused on using, to
prevent them to numb the pain that they've been experiencing
in their lives.
Young adults have such an active life.
I mean, they're constantly on the go and they're moving and
going, especially in today's society.
How do you design a recovery program to fit that lifestyle?
Let;s say on a Saturday, they all go to the beach, especially
if it's around one of those holidays if people tend to drink
a lot, and they're there as a community in a whole different
perspective.
They're looking at things with sober eyes, and then they come
to Monday morning to the caseload, and they talk about
their experience.
That may be the first time in their whole lives that they've
ever been able to do that.
That must be such a turning point for them to just feel it
and realize "I don't need to be drunk or high to be happy."
Yeah, so what we do is, we support them in increasing that.
So, just because they've had one experience, that doesn't
necessarily clear the playing field for them.
We try to incrementally increase it.
So, by the time that they treatment at this facility, they
have a really good foundation for themselves to begin that
initial stage of change.
And I can only imagine, when they finally have that fun
without, let's say the drugs or the alcohol, and they see what
they can do, how happy they can be, and what the future holds
for them, it's got to be a turning point.
It's got to be huge.
It's a huge turning point for them, because a lot of them,
they've never really been able to experience fun, or they have
a different definition of what it is, so we are really at the
initial stages of them changing here.
But let's be honest.
The road to recovery is not an easy one.
No.
Very difficult.
What does it take?
Everything they have.
I believe that a major thing for them is, to allow them to be
vulnerable and open about the things that they have
experienced throughout their lives and allow us to help them
through this process.
If somebody is watching, and they say "you know this all
sounds great, but I just can't do it" what would you say?
You can.
Yeah.
The key is for each patient to have the courage to seek help
and start that journey to recovery.
Changing lives is what Transformations is all about.
I think a lot of people don't believe that it's possible.
I think the one addict or alcoholic talking to one another
is one of the most therapeutic things you can have.
Someone that was once at rock bottom, that can relate to them,
giving them hope through your own story, to help them realize
that you can come out of it.
There is light on the other side of the tunnel.
Like Josh, there is hope for any young adults who have started
this journey to recovery as we continue our series, we'll be
looking at programs designed for other groups, as well, including
adults over 30 or the older adult population.
We hope you'll join us to see how anyone in addiction can
reclaim their life.
Remember, for more information, you can go to
TransformationsTreatment.center, and our website,
TheBalancingAct.com.
(This is the show all about you and your space.
Your home and surroundings.
we're Designing Spaces.
We take on DIY projects, get creative with interior design
and get with the pros.
on remodeling and home improvement.
I can see myself living here.
I really can.
Designing Spaces.
Thursdays and Fridays from 7:00 to 7:30 AM on Lifetime
Television.
(music).
Such great information on today's show, from beauty
products to options, for online education.
And of course our series on reclaiming your life.
We're going to continue to go deeper into the roots of
addiction and bring you stories of hope and recovery.
Remember, we have lots more on our website TheBalancingAct.com.
We're also on Facebook and Twitter.
Until the next time.
Remember, find your balance.
So long everybody.
(music).