Leave Nothing To Chance

 

Come and listen in on why you should seriously go into network marketing. All you need to do is to find something that you’re passionate about and that is where you’ll network market. Just go with the flow. You’re not a salesman, you’re sharing. You’re sharing information. That’s all it is about. Join your host, John Solleder and his guest Shauna Daddabbo as she shares her knowledge in network marketing. Shauna is, without a doubt, an expert in starting businesses. She is the CEO of She is Boston, Divas Mentoring Divas, and is also a VJ. Now, she is doing network marketing and she believes that everyone, especially women, can be great at it. Learn why sharing is caring today.

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Go With The Flow With Shauna Daddabbo

It is my pleasure to welcome Shauna Daddabbo. How are you, my friend?

I’m well. Thank you. How about you?

You are a remarkable woman. Every time I talked to your uncle in Boston, he tells me that the things you’re doing in your multi-level business are extraordinary, especially since you do it part-time. You’re a mom and you’ve got so many business ventures going. You’re such a leader in so many categories. I admire that so much and I know our listeners do. Before we talk about network marketing, let’s talk about some of the other things. I know you’re a business strategist and a life coach. Tell us about that a little bit.

It took me a while to figure out that’s what I was doing, but as a leader, growing up in Boston, Mass. I went to school in Sharon, Mass. I noticed that and anything that I ever did, I always did it with someone as opposed to by myself. I always had a group of women included in that. In doing so, I was mentoring, leading, showing the way, creating principles and tools, strategizing to help women in anything that we were doing, whether it be performing arts, starting a community group, a book club, a cheer squad or steps. I was always starting something.

I had a modeling agency that I’m involved with women and uplifting them. I took it on to life coaching and showing women how to reach their highest potential in anything that they want to put their hands in. Mostly focusing on women who are single moms or struggling without parents, more so in the disadvantaged areas of Boston, Mass.

You started several other companies. I know along those lines, you’re the CEO of She Is Boston, also. Tell us about that.

You need to find balance so that you don't get off track within yourself. Click To Tweet

She Is Boston started after I lost a female due to a gunshot in Boston, Mass. I had a mentoring modeling agency called Gorgeous Women Operating Paper. Paper as in paperwork, administration and money. What we would do is to go around and be the socialites of the party. Interview and uplift women on how to utilize not just their looks but their smarts in the modeling industry to gain income. I would teach these young girls how to be professional, independent, so they aren’t being gravitated and pulled into the entertainment industry in the wrong different ways.

One of my models passed away. I took it up a notch and decided that I didn’t want to just deal with the entertainment industry. I wanted to deal with women who wanted to become entrepreneurs and how I can show them how to do that. She Is Boston is also She is Boss, She is Blissful, She is Bold, She’s in Business. It’s an acronym. I started that in 2013 in memory of her because she wanted to start a group home for women as well. I started that to help women gravitate towards their dreams and show them how they can do it step by step. It’s a free organization that I started in Boston.

With that being said, we started a reality series because I was sought out to be on a few different reality shows for being in the entertainment industry. I also had Divas Mentoring Divas, which is my youth program from ages 5 to 17. The reality of the series was a little too ratchet for me, so I started my own YouTube side of things in which young girls can go onto YouTube and watch women become entrepreneurs, as opposed to this ratchet mess that they’re showing on TV these days.

We’re women who can mentor young ones. I already had a group of 60 individuals that I was working with throughout schools and my dance program. I had two stations in Boston and Brockton. The older women would mentor the younger women. I started my own wine within She Is Boston, the reality series and that blew up overnight. I just naturally stayed busy. I like to keep moving and grooving. I don’t know what it feels like to sit on a couch for more than twenty minutes not doing anything, at all. I can’t do it.

Tell me about the wine business a little bit. You mentioned it. How did you get into the wine business?

I went to Italy in 2006 with a group of people and my grandmother, Helen, is full Italian. I never really knew the background of the Daddabbo family. With that being said, we created our wine in Italy while we were over in Treviso. When I came back, I said, “I’m going to start my own line in memory of my grandmother.” She didn’t pass yet, but it was soon to come. I wanted to start my wine because she was Italian, and I thought it was cool. I was always in the clubs and the entertainment industry. I knew a lot of celebs and so forth. I thought it would be something awesome to do.

I have never not accomplished one of my dreams or goals. I’ve accomplished all of them. At one point, after getting my wine into 34 liquor stores, 4 clubs and 5 restaurants by myself, I’m like, “This isn’t good. I’m like promoting for people to get drunk.” I stopped it for a while, but I am getting back into it here in Atlanta. I’m starting the Daddabbo Wine Co.

 

You certainly are an entrepreneur, to say the least. Before we get into the network marketing questions, I know you also have worked with a lot of celebrities, the ones you can talk about. Do you want to tell us about a couple of interesting ones or the nicer ones?

Like you, I was a VJ. When I’m with Gorgeous Women Operating Paper, I had my own DVD magazine. I would go to different events and have my press pass. I’ve interviewed people like Gene Simmons, Kim Kardashians, Bun B, Russell Simmons and Clinton Sparks. I’ve interviewed a lot of celebs and also was around a lot because I was in the entertainment industry. I was part of a five-girl pop girl group called New View. My artist development management developed people from Gladys Knight, Usher, P. Diddy, Janet Jackson.

I was fully artists developed for five straight years here in Atlanta, Georgia. They were going to make me the next Beyonce and I pulled out. I didn’t like a lot of what I was seeing in the entertainment industry. I went to Africa with Akon in Cape Verde, which is where my family is from. That was the first time ever I was able to go out to Praia and watch Akon perform. I performed in a club or two. It was awesome. I’ve been around a lot of celebrities like Rick Ross in Waka Flocka. I was out there with them on New Year’s Eve for a show. I’ve been around a lot of people like Chris Brown, you name it.

I lived in eight different states as well. I’m a world traveler. I love to travel, meet different people, start businesses in other cities and states just to network. I like to network with different people and learn and see what I gravitate towards. I love to start new things. I love to start new businesses. That’s how I became more so of a life coach and teaching people how to become entrepreneurs because I can’t do all the businesses, but I can help people and be a part of it.

You’re doing that now in network marketing in a very successful way. Let’s talk about that a little bit. I know you’ve read my latest book, Leave Nothing To Chance. What’s your favorite principle?

Create balance. I’m a Libra and it does help you stay on track, as you say. I have to have balance in my life. I clearly multitask, but if it feels off to me, then I start to get out of whack and I have to go back to the drawing board and figure out, let me delete this, add this, put more of this into my day because that’s what I need to stay balanced out. I don’t know if it’s just a Libra thing. I think that is for everybody because I come across people that are on balance and they don’t really seem to grasp the idea that it is possible. That you can get off track and not being in balance within yourself, I believe. Are you gravitating towards things that you want to do or that others are pushing you to do is very important to me? I always stay here and say, “Stay on track, Shauna. Stay balanced. Create a space where everything’s balanced,” not just for me, but for my children. I’m a mom first.

You have three kids, two very young, multiple business ventures and creating balance. The next book I write, you’re going to write the chapter on it because you understand that better than I do.

Listen to other people's experiences to keep you grounded in life. Click To Tweet

Also, to multitask, it’s very important. If you even knew what I had to do just to get here. I literally got in the door from dropping my kids off at their dad.

Thank you for doing it. You’re a remarkable person, to say the least, but I’ve got a few more questions for you. With all the success that you’ve already had in your life and that you’re going to continue to have, self-development is certainly something I’m sure is important to you. Do you remember the first book that either that you read or the first book that got you where you said, “I’m going to take some of those things and I’m going to use them to create my life?”

It’s The Secret. I’m not a big reader. I’m big on writing. I’ve been writing for years. I used to write every single night on my phone. It’s always a poem. I teach poetry to my girls and my mentoring group. I would say The Secret hits home for me as far as connecting with my inner spirit. I was never big on religion because it wasn’t big in my household. I felt that there was always a disconnect with that for me, but after reading The Secret, that voice, that’s what’s going on there. I’m sensitive. I’m an empath. I take in everything. I had a near-death experience at the age of sixteen. When I came back, I saw things differently. I had a different purpose in life and to know your purpose to me is really big. I don’t think people think about that or even try to grasp what it is. Journaling and writing for me helped that come out and became more clear to me and The Secret made it even more clear for me.

Let’s say somebody comes along and say, “Shauna, you’ve been to all these businesses. You work so hard. You manage kids. We’re going to give you a little vacation. We’re going to take you to a deserted island, we’re going to give you plenty of food, water and shelter. You don’t have to worry about any of that stuff, but you can only bring three self-development tools with you.” It’s okay if they’re not books. If they’re podcasts, videos or whatever media that you want that you like to be communicated to on. In addition to The Secret, it would be certainly one of them, but if you have three more, what would they be?

I live from my computer. In my business, I do everything, from the graphics to creating my own websites and my social media. I’ve done everything though I know I need to back off and let the people take control of that. It would be my computer. That’s one thing because I have to work on the business. I would need a photo album of my kids and all of our experiences there. I would need a big journal for writing and then I would need my YouTube, whether it’s on my phone or something. If it’s a book that I would read and reread, Kurtis Lee Thomas, The World Is Yours.

I love that book as well. I can never get through every single chapter. I leave space to go back, so I jot down on pages. I’ve never in my life write a full-fledged book like every single page. I did not like reading growing up. I’m more of a listener. I love to listen to Abraham Hicks, Tony Robbins, Mel Robbins. I love to listen to people in the morning as soon as I wake up. I go to sleep listening to people. Just educate on life experiences is what it’s all about. That’s what keeps me grounded is to listen to other people’s experiences.

I love the fact that you mentioned journaling because I was with a company here in Dallas back in the ‘90s. I had the privilege to go to lunch with Jim Rohn. We were having lunch and I was with two other gentlemen in addition to Mr. Rohn. We had all been taught for years in the direct selling industry to take notes, keep journals and we all did but we were at lunch. We thought it was casual. We showed up and I’ll never forget this as long as I live. He looked at the two other guys who were about twenty years older than I was. He said, “These guys are too late. They can’t be fixed.” He said, “You, on the other hand, are still young.” I was about 35 years old at the time. He said, “You can still be fixed.”

 

I knew exactly what he was saying. You would’ve thought I was Usain Bolt running to my car to get my journal, to take additional notes to what we were already talking about. I love the fact that anybody who journals, the value and the power of that. Sometimes it’s a simple idea you write down and you go, “I don’t even know why I wrote this down.” Two months later, you find it and you go, “This is what I need to do.” Let me ask you this. Now that you’re involved in network marketing, is this your first experience in network marketing with your company?

No. I’ve touched them all because I’m a big supporter, and I feel like a lot of people do it. Anybody that comes on to me, I give the system the benefit of the doubt and I get involved to help that person. If I think that it’s lucrative or worth my time, I’ll get involved and try to work the business, but I would never force myself to do anything. I’ve done them all.

I see you do have a lot of experience in this space. Let me ask you this along those lines. We’re living at some weird times. We’ve had COVID. It’s been several months of craziness and who knows what the future holds. Hopefully, it’s all going to get rectified, but who knows. That being the case, there’s been a lot of people who’ve been displaced by this situation. Let me tell you what I’m looking at here. Let’s say at a 25-year-old person and a 60-year-old person. The 25-year-old has a good education. Maybe he went to a good school and got a good education. They did everything right. They did their homework, took out the loans and did what they needed to do.

They just were starting their business career, their life doing whatever it is they were trained to do, all of a sudden COVID comes along and that door slammed in their face. At the same time, the 60-year-old, the older version of that young person is perhaps getting to the end of their business career or their work career. Maybe they were in senior-level management, maybe they were in sales. Once again, things are different income for most businesses is not going to be the same if they even still have a job.

For years, they had heard about network marketing and they said, “That’s good for the guy down the street, I’m doing whatever I’m doing well at it. I’m not interested in that,” but now, all of a sudden because of the pandemic, they know we’re looking at her saying, “I need that additional retirement income.” Maybe they have other kids that are going to need to go to school if they haven’t put money aside for whatever. Everybody needs plenty for lots of different reasons, but they now are in this situation.

They say, “We know Shauna is a successful entrepreneur. She has been for many years, she’s done multiple different things. That network marketing thing seems like something we ought to take a look at,” and they show up today at your home. They say, “Shauna, why should I, as a 25-year-old or 60-year-old, consider network marketing, either as a plan B part-time business or maybe even as a full-time venture, because what I did before isn’t going to be there down the road.” How would you guide them? What would you tell them?

I’d tell them to look at the history of it. There are lots of successful women, as you’ve told me in the past because network marketing is 70% women. I would show them some examples of compensation plans, how they work, and how they double up fast if you put in a little bit of your time. Most importantly, you get all the time back that you need in your day from just working on something as simple as network marketing, whereas all you have to do is share.

As long as it's something that you can be passionate about, you'll be able to naturally share it. Click To Tweet

Some people say, “I’m not a salesman.” The thing that I like to educate on is that we aren’t in sales. We’re in sharing. I think that sharing is caring. If you have a great barber, great car salesman and all these people that serve you in different ways like the waitress or the waiter. You asked the waiter, “What is your favorite thing on the menu?” They’re not selling you their favorite thing on the menu. They’re telling you personally with passion how they feel about that creme brulee or the chicken piccata or whatever it is.

I think that it’s a sense of sharing, especially with now this day and age with social media, you’re selling all day. When you take the word and you change it to sharing, it’s a little different. You shared that shirt, those glasses, those headphones, that background, whether it’s a palm tree or a store, just shared it with the whole world. At 25 years old, you do this all day. You’re selling yourself, your earrings, glasses, headphones, your bag or whatever it is that you have there.

Now that you’re stuck at home because of the pandemic, first, sit with yourself and see what you’re passionate about. Are you passionate about health, wealth, products or traveling? Those would be the network marketing situations that you would get involved in so you can be more passionate about it, but all it is, is sharing. I think that’s the stigma that a lot of people stick onto when it comes to network marketing, as well as the pyramid scheme but I would lay that out to them. As long as it’s something that you can be passionate about, you’ll be able to naturally share it.

At that point, you’d have fun doing it. Putting in an hour a day can definitely get you to the top in any network marketing situation so long as you feel in your heart that you are genuinely sharing something with someone as opposed to selling them. I don’t think it’s a selling point at all for me in anything that I do. I share passionately like the hair products that I use, what works for my skin, the gas that I put in my car, and that kind of thing. We’re sharing all day. I think it’s the language.

That’s what I would tell the 25-year-old, “Listen, it’s pandemic. What else do you have to do? You’re going to play on a joystick. What are you going to do? What interests you? There are so many different network marketing opportunities out there. Pick which one interests you and go at it passionately.” That’s what I would tell the 25-year-old. The 60-year-old, “You got nothing to lose at this point. You’re 60. You’re not going to play on a joystick at home. What are you going to do? You go read some books, watch some TV.” I’d first say, “Turn the TV away for a little bit, educate yourself on some network marketing, see who the gurus are.” As a 60-year-old, coming from Corporate America, they’re going to understand numbers that easily. Once you can show them the numbers and say it’s not a waste of your time as long as you are in the right network marketing company and not only that, once you get involved, you start your team. You’re the CEO of your company at this point.

Now is the time for you, working from Corporate America, if that’s what they’re coming from, to work for yourself. Take everything that you learned there. You didn’t get to step up to the ladder and become supervisor or VP or whatever it was that you wanted to. Now, it’s your time and your chance to do that. At 60, it’s very easy to do so. You have a Rolodex of friends and family at this point. It’s very easy for you to share. I think sharing is the key point that I hit people with when speaking to them about this opportunity. It’s very new to them. Sharing is my keyword.

I couldn’t have said it better myself. That is great advice because I think one of the preconceived notions that people have, whether they’re 25 or 60, is all of that to your point, “I’m not a salesman.” You’re not selling anything. You’re just informing. You’re almost like the bill public library. If somebody is getting information from you and inner saying, “I’m interested in that. Let me go further. I’m not interested in that. Let’s stop for me and make your own decision.”

 

Let me ask you this. You’ve been an extremely successful entrepreneur in other spaces. You had to start from scratch, literally go out and incorporate, create structures, marketing, salesforce and identity. Compare that, if you will for a moment, to how simple network marketing is in the respect that all those things are done by the company. All you’re doing is kind of taking a finished product to market.

I say that all the time when presenting. It’s like your investment because that’s what it is. Your investment is what you get out of it is delivered for you. It’s professional and easy. All you have to do is add your picture. Coming from the standpoint where I love to start up businesses. It’s easy for me. At this point, I can do it in a day for anybody, for myself. Had I not have any experience in that and being able to just have it all handed to me, even my business cards, the product, promotion tools, strategy tools, training sessions, presentation, since the network of people that you have to go to, to lean on and get advice from is even more phenomenal.

I would say that basing it on the two, all-day network marketing or it is done for me and I could just sit here and say, “Thank you for that information. Now, it’s time to go share.” Even if you’re an introvert, how can you share, “I’m not social. I don’t like to talk to people.” You don’t even have to talk these days. You can text or you can even go into someone’s direct message on Facebook that you know is in need of whatever it is you’re trying to share and send them an instant message. That’s how easy it is. Everything being drafted for you and formulated at hand, all you had to do was pay a fee to get involved. It’s a no-brainer for me.

It’s because you know the difference. Many people have never started any type of business and they think that multi-level is hard compared to the real world of business. I’ve started a few non-multi-level businesses over the years. It’s like, “I got to do everything.” With multi-level, all I got to do is take this finished good out there to the consumer. I’ll give you a good example. I’d love your reaction to this. You’re living in Atlanta and you’ve got a Coca-Cola Bottling Company there or somewhere in your neighborhood. I don’t know the numbers on this, so don’t hold me to it.

I’ve been told that some of the Coca-Cola distributors, not the company, but the distributors that own the rights to Coca-Cola in markets like Atlanta or Boston or Dallas or wherever that there are some of the wealthiest people in America. Think about it. They’re not making the product. They don’t need to worry about the marketing. What are they doing? They’re basically providing the consumer with something that they want. You think about whether it’s Coke or other brands like that are very successful, where 90% of it is done, they do the other 10%. It’s almost what we do in multi-level. What’s your reaction to that?

Even starting the wine business, that’s the same thing. I had to go out from scratch, create the bottle, label, everything, and then go into these restaurants, liquor stores, etc., and sell it. At that point, I did have to share. I had to give out free samples to get people to even recognize it and see, “Why do I want to deal with you?” I had to have a resume that says, “I know this. I’ve done this item. I know this celebrity is going to support it.” I can definitely see why the Coca-Cola distributors because it’s easy.

Coke has been around for years. People trust and love it. It’s easy to stick a vending machine anywhere, fill it with Coke, and it will be sold out probably in the day. I think that it is a great comparison to network marketing than Corporate America or starting up your own business. It does make sense, 100% why it’s so much easier to jump into something that is already formulated and formatted for you. Just take it, share it as opposed to having to do all the different steps and reeducate yourself.

It's easier to share something as opposed to having to invent something. Click To Tweet

You didn’t go to school for starting a business, so you have to pay so many fees for your licensing, marketing, for everything and insurance. With something that is already done for you, the company pays for it. It’s so much easier. I’ve been to the Coca-Cola museum out here and it’s awesome. Looking at the history of it and how many other products they own. They have rights to it in China. They have Germany. The amount of cans that were on the watt, it must have been 75 that we may never even knew was connected to Coca-Cola even like the Capri Sun. It was the weirdest thing, but yes. I 100% agree that when something is already drafted up for you, it’s much easier for you to just take that and share it as opposed to having to create the whole and inventing something.

I’ll ask you the last two questions because I know how busy you are. Why is this industry of network marketing ideal for women?

Because we like to talk, I would say it’s easier for us as women to get someone’s attention as opposed to men, I believe. From experience, I’ve had men take me into business meetings with them to speak for them because they felt that the deal would just be even more sealed. The icing on the cake for women. We have charm. We like to do our research a little bit different. I think that we like to compare and contrast personally and get into the person’s personal life that we’re speaking with.

It’s more of, I don’t want to say gossip conversation, but it ends up being more in-depth as opposed to feeling more a business where a man is more stern, straight to the money and straight to the point. A woman is more compassionate as opposed to a man starting this. I say, “We get into the nitty-gritty on why this would work for that person that we’re speaking to, whether it’s a male or a female. We get down to in-depth on why that person, personally.” I think it was more personable and personally needs whatever it is that we’re sharing.

I’ve worked with so many women now for most of my career. They’re much better at building relationships than we guys are. Not, as a rule, there are exceptions obviously, but you’re right too. I saw a show years ago, I think it was in Toronto, and it was called The Caveman Defends His Life. It was a one-man show. The guy had movies of him and his wife and crazy things like him taking the milk out of the refrigerator and drinking it out of the thing and her coming along handing him a class. The John Gray, Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus and all that stuff.

He said in that show and I’ll never forget this. The guy comes home from work and his wife says to him, “Honey, how was your day?” She wants to hear the whole thing. He says, “That was okay.” That’s it because a man anthropologically uses about 2,000 words per day, whereas a woman uses 7,000. At 5:00, when the guy comes home from the office or the factory or whatever, he used these 2,000 words, but she’s still got 5,000 words left at that time of the day. Some women get mad at me for saying that, but I think, “It’s logical.” Women are better talkers and they like to talk more than we do for the most part.

We do, especially after being home all day. You want to see what was going on and the outside world. I know a little bit more and he’d given me, it was okay. I’m like, “Let me go call my girlfriend and see how her day was.”

Let me do this. I’m going to give my little MO here at the end of the show. I’d like one more question from you to wrap up. You can read our book, Leave Nothing To Chance, that I wrote with my co-author Foster Owusu. Prior to that, Moving Up: 2020 that I wrote with a co-author named Keith Hooper. They were both Amazon bestsellers. If you’re in network marketing, read them, please. I’m going to give you the last word, Shauna. What’s your advice for men and women? What one thing can they do now to make themselves better, to make the planet better and to make their futures better?

Close out the noise and listen to your inner self. Stop. For 90 days, however, you can try to go as long as you can just listening to your inner being, journaling without radio and/or TV and get to know yourself. Because a lot of issues in your life or challenges or problems, however, you see it, come from you and not others. You really got to get in the realm of your vibration and frequency in which you’re putting out there in the world. You’re definitely getting it back. I would say close out the noise and that will help you figure out what it is that you’re trying to accomplish and learn in your journey. It will help you with your journey. Remember, we’re all here on life experience. Tomorrow’s not promised. Take the time to do what’s good for yourself first and then when your cup is full, run it over.

Shauna, it’s been a privilege. It’s been fun. Thank you again. I want you to be a guest in the future because I want to keep up with you not only in network marketing but all the other businesses. All I can imagine is you must have roller skates there in the house with all the stuff that you are doing. Keep doing it. Keep inspiring.

Thank you for having me here.

Important Links:

• She Is Boston
• Divas Mentoring Divas
• YouTube – Divas Mentoring Divas Inc.
• Leave Nothing To Chance
• The Secret
• The World Is Yours
• Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus
• Moving Up: 2020