Leave Nothing To Chance

 

Direct selling can be more than just business transactions. It offers the opportunity to change your life and the lives of others, one person at a time. Through the power of entrepreneurship, personal growth, and unlimited potential. In this episode, we have DJ Johnson, a young entrepreneur who is revolutionizing the direct selling industry. She discusses why direct selling is a fantastic opportunity for people of all ages, especially in the current climate. Additionally, she highlighted that this industry is a great choice for those seeking to be self-employed, manage their own time, and earn limitless income. DJ also gives advice to young people who are starting to think about their careers. DJ emphasizes the importance of having a growth mindset, being coachable, and surrounding oneself with positive influences. She also shares her personal experiences of overcoming obstacles and how these experiences have helped her grow as a person and as an entrepreneur. Finally, DJ shares her vision for the future and what she hopes to achieve with her business and life. Tune in now and learn how to make a positive impact in the world, one person at a time.

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How To Change The World One Person At A Time With DJ Johnson

This is going to be a fun interview with a new friend of mine and a young lady that is doing some terrific things within her company, making a lot of noise. I’m hearing about her a lot. We happen to be in the same company. We don’t talk about any specific companies on the show but I heard about what she’s doing. She’s lighting up Washington DC and the tri-state area down there, doing a great job with her business. Welcome to this show, DJ. How are you?

I’m doing well. Thank you. How about you?

I’m doing great. It is such a privilege to have you on the show. I appreciate you joining us.

I’m grateful. Thank you.

Let me ask you some questions. How long have you been in the direct selling industry?

Many years on and off. Usually, I would get involved in something and go hard with it and then it fizzles out and bends. When I’m introduced to something else, I bring something else. I work with that. It all depends on what it is and my passion for it.

I know a little bit about your background because you were sharing it earlier. What did you do before? You were ahead of your time in a certain category.

At 18 or 19, I became a vegan chef. My children and I became vegan. There weren’t enough dishes out there that they would like and eat. I created a lot of different dishes. A lot of my food is Southern, but I’ve gotten more into some Caribbean and raw dishes. I do have a knack for putting together spices and different types of flavors like that. I love spices. I’m not much of a big salt eater, but I will work with herbs and spices.

You were ahead of your time because nowadays, 6% of the population is vegan and 12% is vegetarian. You were way ahead of the curve on that and rightfully so. It’s great for people’s health, certainly.

I’m about health. My first book was Back To Eden. That was my Bible right there. I made root beer sodas using the recipes from my kids. The one thing I liked about it is I would always add some rose hips to it.

You were reading Back To Eden and John Robbins’ Diet For A New America. I can’t even think of all those books back there that I’ve gotten exposed to, but you were way ahead of me. I’ve only been part of that culture for a few years and still learning a lot about it, needless to say. Your daughter’s doing something interesting in that space. She’s opening a restaurant in Senegal.

She’s vegan and then she went raw. She went out to San Francisco and went to a raw school. When she came back and made some dishes, they were on. She made an open-faced pizza. That was the best open-faced pizza I’ve ever had. That was raw. You’d be surprised. Some of the food people think, “There are some vegetables and stuff thrown together.” It’s not. You have different machines that design them differently. You have nut mixes and butter, and different things like that that you can work with. You have to be creative. I’m a very creative person. I like cooking. I can generally look at anything and make it.

Needless to say, that health path is the right path. No doubt about that. Let’s talk a little bit about direct selling. Let me give you a hypothetical family I’m going to make up here. I’d love your response because you’ve been in the industry for many years. I’ve been in many years. Some of our readers like us have been in a long time.

We have young readers, some people in their twenties that are reading. The family I’m going to make up is a 25-year-old daughter. Let’s say she’s college educated. She did everything right. She got good grades in school, did the hard work, went to college, got her degree, and got out, and all of a sudden, 2020 comes along. She started out. She got a good job, making good money, life looks good, and 2020 comes along.

Her mom was on the other end of the spectrum. Her mom is about 60 now. Mom was looking at maybe, “I’m going to spend more time with the grandkids. I’m going to work on my golf game. I’m going to going to work on my vegan cuisine and all these things.” All of a sudden, 2020 came along in her life as well. To that point, both mom and daughter looked at what you and I do, direct selling, like it was either beneath them or it wasn’t for them.

All of a sudden, they looked down the street and say, “DJ’s home at 2:00 on a Tuesday afternoon. She’s home and we see her out and about at 8:00 on Wednesday morning. We see her out at 4:00 on Thursday afternoon. We see her not having to go anywhere and do anything. She has one of those home-based network marketing, direct selling businesses. She must be making money because she’s home and she seems like she’s happy.”

They get the courage up. They say, “Let’s go down the street and knock on DJ’s store.” “DJ, we didn’t think this was for us. We’re still not sure that it is by the way, but give us some advice. Why should I as a 25-year-old or a 60-year-old, take a serious look not only at what you’re doing with your particular company but why should we look at this industry as a whole?” Why should they consider it when before COVID wasn’t for them, why now is the timing good, and why everybody needs to have a plan B? What would you tell them?

We do it all the time. We’re always sharing something. That’s how I look at direct sales. You’re always sharing something. You’re sharing a movie, something about a good pair of shoes, or a good book. We are always in that mode. Now, for the 25-year-old, I would say to her, “What is your net worth? How much is your work? What do you consider your net worth to be? When you work for a company, they decide what your net worth is, not you.”

“Even though you could be moving up the ladder and get paid when you get a raise, they still decide how much you get, but when you work for yourself, you determine what your net worth is and how much you are worth based on what you do. You do the same thing at a job. You can do the same thing at home and you build your business that way.”

For mom, I’m in the same situation like, “I want to spend more time with my grandchildren.” What I would suggest to you is to build a business with a residual income that will give you the monthly income and time that you’re looking for. That will also give you time to spend with your grandchildren, to take time out for yourself, or whatever you needed. Residual income will do that. You know what you are getting or receiving every month. I keep it as simple as that. Have your net worth.

How important is self-development in your life?

It is very important. One of the main things in terms of what I see for me is being able to communicate. It’s a big component of when you’re out here and you’re working and being able to communicate what it is that you are doing. Meditating is another thing for me. I like to meditate, take walks, and find things that will help me with my inner self and go within my inner self so I can get a general idea of the goals and things that I want to accomplish throughout the day, and how I interact with people. It’s all those things. First, working on yourself is one of the biggest things that you can do in terms of being successful and knowing what you’re going to do and how you’re going to accomplish whatever you set your mind to. The sky’s the limit.

Working on yourself is one of the biggest things that you can do in terms of being successful, knowing what you're going to do, and how you're going to accomplish whatever you set your mind to. The sky's the limit. Click To Tweet

Do you have a favorite self-development book?

I have several books. I’ve always wanted to be a millionaire. One of my favorite ones was The Millionaire Next Door. It was a tape.

The Richest Man in Babylon.

I have a CD and I listen to it. One more is How to Win Friends & Influence People. That book right there is based on how you interact with people and some of the things in terms of when you’re working with people, how you get people to get involved, become team players, and things like that.

I got to give a plug for two others that you’re going to need to read here. One is called Moving Up: 2020. That was written by me in 2019, available on Amazon. You have to read them. The other is Leave Nothing To Chance. People get this confused all the time because they say, “How come your show is called Leaving?” A big bank owned Leave Nothing to Chance so we called it Leaving Nothing to Chance instead. Self-development is so important and the stories that we tell and read like your story. It’s inspiring to know.

Let’s come back a little bit more to you. You’ve been a vegan chef, self-employed, and worked for the Federal government or state government. I don’t want to get into DC and get political. You guys are almost wrestling with that statehood thing. I only know that because a neighbor of ours down the street has the license plate on and it says something about statehood.

It’s a name tag. It doesn’t say statehood because I don’t know if DC is a statehood. It’s a district. I can’t even think of it. I see it all the time because I don’t have it in my tags.

Tell me a little bit about your family. I believe you’ve got nine grandchildren now.

Also, one great-grand.

You have six children on your own as well. You have a big and growing family. What advice would you give those youngsters going forward about 1) When they get to that point which they’re still young of course, where they’re starting to think about what they’re going to do for a living, why they should look at the direct selling industry and 2) What life advice would you give them?

I have a grandson who plays soccer. He wants to be good at what he does. I told him, “Practice, know, and understand all the moves. Take your time out to study. That’s not about getting out there, but studying the move and setting up a plan.” Let me back up. When I was raising my children, we always got out there and they were always little entrepreneurs. They were always selling little things. We had a lemonade stand we’d get the money. I’d let them borrow the money. I said, “You’re borrowing this money from me. Whatever we do, I’m going to make sure I get my money back and then you can save some money towards your business.”

I have three children who are very much into working for themselves. I see that to be a good piece. I encourage my grandchildren. They watch and see me. Children like money. They would be like, “Are you making all this money? What are you doing?” I say, “I got this little home-based business. I’m working from home. Come over and work with me sometimes you can learn the ropes. I need you to help me to pass out some flyers. Come to some of the events that I have. Get on the phone call.” They have gotten on the phone call to hear about what it is that I’m doing.

My oldest granddaughter is interested in beauty products. I have beauty products. She’s my model. I give her a little something or some of the products that I have. She asked me, “Do you have any more products?” Those are some of the things that I make suggestions. I get them involved. That’s the best thing, so they can understand what it is that I do and what they could be working with. I’ve always taught my children to be entrepreneurs, “Even if you work a 9:00 to 5:00, be the best that you can.” That’s where I’m at. That’s where I work with them. I let them be a part of what I’m doing.

What life advice would you give to those young people?

It’s not what you expect. It’s not what you came up to or what you were taught. Life is full of twists and turns. When you are in your low cycle, that’s when you’re firm. You’re working on yourself. When you are high cycle and then you have something, don’t be too bigheaded. Make sure that you are saving but investing, making your money work for you, and giving. Those things can recycle back to you when you are in your low cycle or when you don’t have anything because you are going to have your ups and downs, but it’s all a part of growth.

 

In the company you’re in, you’ve gone very fast. You went to a high rank almost right off the bat. What skills or technologies did you use to go as quickly as you have?

I shared it with people. I’m passionate about it more than anything. Everybody needed what we have. That was what I saw. When you help other people get what you want, you’re going to get what you want. There was a real strong need for what we have and the benefits that it’s given to people and the way I felt this was heartfelt. This is something that has changed not only my life but the people’s lives that were involved. It’s my passion for what I’m doing.

Have you built most of your business locally there in the DC area or have you built nationally, a lot of three-way or Zoom calls?

Yes. We get people in the Zooms. I have them called. I do one-on-ones. I talking with my people. I like to be up and personal with them, the communication part. If people like you or are comfortable around you, they open up and be willing to listen to what you have to say. I find that to be a big component of at least being successful. You have to talk to people.

It is nice to be able to be belly-to-belly with people again right after a couple of years of everybody running around with masks and nobody wanted to be in the same room.

That’s why I was out there working the hardest because nobody was doing no work. I believe in what I have and what I was sharing. I was telling my grandson, “Life has its ups and downs and you’ve got to roll with the punches. You got to get out there and keep moving. You got to believe in what you’re doing.”

Let’s take the next few years. What is DJ doing for the next few years? What does life look like? What does life look like in 2028? What are you going to have accomplished with your business or your life? Where are things going to be a few years down the road?

I know what I’m working on. One of the things I’m working on is setting up generational wealth. I’m creating general educational wealth for my children’s children and children’s children to come. Any businesses that I have, they will be part of that. One of my biggest things is I want to educate young people on financial education, protecting their assets, knowing what assets are, multiple streams of income, and things like that because it’s going to be a different time in 2028.

 

What we used to have many years ago is no longer going to be available. Things are fading out and new things are coming in. Be a part of the new. The other part is that I want to travel. I want to purchase property here and abroad. I want to start doing some things as well outside of this country, maybe Senegal, setting up a restaurant and a wellness center with my daughter. She was always talking about like something like that, but always continue to educate people about food, financials, and things that might still be available to us. For me, that’s what I want to do. The biggest thing is I love working with children and I want to teach them what it is so they can survive whatever’s out there to come.

That’s inspirational. We got to treat the next generation, not only carefully, but we got to make entrepreneurs. We got to create those next great companies and industries that some of the folks who came before us certainly did. How did your daughter wound up in Senegal? That’s got to be a story in itself.

She went over there to visit. She wanted something different. That’s where it starts. She wanted to change. She had some friends over there. When she got over there, she stayed for a while and noticed she was going back and forth and then she got married. I was like, “What’s going on?” She told me, “A friend of mine who’s a lawyer has a little cafe over there that she’s not doing anything with.” We felt like the way is open for us to do that in Senegal. She also liked sharing some of the things that I do there and wants to establish some businesses there also. Senegal is on the map.

It’s amazing how people wind up in different parts of the world. It didn’t happen that much when we were a little bit younger. My original sponsor in the industry many years ago, I don’t know how this even happened, but he wound up living in Thailand all these years. He’s an American guy. He’s from New Jersey, but he wound up going over there, and the same thing. Eventually, he met a girl, got married, had a kid, and is living in Thailand. I’m like, “That’s incredible.” I didn’t go too far. I went from New Jersey to Texas which seemed like a big deal at the time. Now people do that. People commute that.

You’ve got a plan and you’re doing very well in your business. In wrapping up, if you had to take a couple of bits of advice for people. I’ve got readers that are in their twenties. I’ve got readers that are in their 70s or 80s. I got all sorts of people, all different stages of life. What advice would you give them in 2023 going forward? What should they do to get themselves serious to build a financial fortress around themselves and their loved ones?

To your point, we don’t know what five months or years are going to look like. We’re going to hope for the best, but we have to plan that. The economy’s probably going to continue to be like it is. Hopefully, it doesn’t get much worse because that’s an obstacle for all of us. What’s your advice to those people? What should they do to take the actions that you are taking in your life and business? What can they do?

Stop procrastinating because you can look at the outcome of what you’re doing and then you can see. We all know. You see, “I should be here. I should be doing this. This is not happening.” “Why?” “We are procrastinating.” We see a lot of that. The other thing is working with like-minded people like yourself. Start a food co-op. Everybody pulls their resources together. I have a mentor who always says that, “The movement of money creates wealth. The movement of people creates headaches.”

Stop procrastinating. You can look at the outcome of what you're doing, and then you can see exactly where we all know we should be. And we see that this is not happening. Why? Because we are procrastinating. Click To Tweet

In this instance, I always tell people, “If you have a community, work within your community. Do things together. Pull your resources together. Help and look out for each other because it’s only as hard when you’re by yourself and you don’t have the help that you need. Don’t be dependent on places and people that don’t have your best interests.” We all know that we have children and we want a safe community.

We come together. We find out what we need to do. We want to grow food. We want to have this and that. I am more invested in co-ops because they’re a little more different and it’s more of a communal vibration as opposed to you doing it by yourself because we can’t do it by ourselves. If we start looking, getting around like-minded people, and putting things out, we can outweigh the bad that’s happening. It’s when you do nothing. It’s when you keep looking and depending on other sources to be there for you and you’re not opening it up and bringing it out of yourself. We work together. That’s what I love about the business that I work. We all work together to help each other.

I love what you’re sharing there with the co-ops. That is network marketing. You can’t do this by yourself. You can’t be a one-man or one-woman show. If you don’t build a team, you will not succeed. The co-ops to your point, same ideas, “If I grow beets, you grow carrots, and somebody else grows apples, we all need what each other’s got and we all have to cooperate to help each other to grow.” I love that. Last thought?

That’s where I’m at. I want to thank you and everybody. Let’s change the world one day at a time. It’s up to us to change it. It’s we, the people that can do this. There are programs out there that will be behind you, support and give you what you need to build. That’s what I’m doing.

Let's change the world one day at a time. It's up to us to change it. Click To Tweet

This has been a privilege and an honor. It’s nice to finally meet you and continue great success in what you’re doing. I know you’re lighting it up, but a lot of people are talking about what you’re doing. You’re inspiring people, our age group, and those younger folks that are going to come after us. Thank you for what you’re doing as well and it’s been my honor to meet you.

Thank you. You as well. I appreciate it.

 

Important Links

• Back To Eden
• Diet For A New America
• The Millionaire Next Door
• The Richest Man in Babylon
• How To Win Friends & Influence People
• Moving Up: 2020
• Leave Nothing To Chance