Targeting Better Science Overseeing the creation of 4Life Transfer Factor Targeted Products is an esteemed group of experts in the health and wellness field. Each one brings their own specialized skills to the process of furthering the Transferceutical Sciences. At the helm of the in-house research and development team is 4Life Chief Scientific Officer Calvin McCausland, Ph.D. The team works closely with an outside Health Science Advisory Board, highly trained and degreed specialists, including immunologists, microbiologists, M.D.s, Ph.D.s and holistic practitioners. The 4Life Transfer Factor products work to support the immune system in a unique, yet extremely effective way. The basis of the science of transfer factors is that they work at the cellular level to tap into your body’s natural ability to learn to protect itself. The transfer factors essentially help train your body’s immune system how to recognize, respond to and remember specific health threats. In so doing, the Targeted Transfer Factor products not only offer superior support for your immune system, but also deliver advanced antioxidant protection and more of the vital nutrition your body needs to get healthier and stay that way. The science dates back to 1949, when immunologist Dr. H. Sherwood Lawrence discovered that white blood cells from a donor could transfer an immune response to a recipient. When they uncovered the research almost half a century later, David and Bianca Lisonbee knew this was vital information that needed to be utilized, and they worked quickly to bring a product to market. They patented a revolutionary process for extracting transfer factors, and the resulting product has brought greater levels of health and well-being to people everywhere.

Over the past 12 years, 4Life Research has built a global empire based upon a simple, yet vital, foundation of three equally important pillars.

We spend so many waking hours working that many of us look to our jobs for fulfillment. Smart companies aim to provide “more” for people and help them discover it in myriad ways. In fact, it is pretty much a primary underlying principle of the direct selling industry—helping people do more, achieve more, be more than they ever thought possible.

Admittedly, it is a challenge to inspire, motivate and even train people to achieve success. Whether it is financial freedom, better health or personal satisfaction one craves, it is not often that they can find it all in one place. But for years now, a growing number of people have been finding the total package with 4Life Research. And at their 12-year mark, this industry leader is just getting started.

The Power of Three

From the beginning, 4Life Research has measured everything they do by their three pillars—science, success and service. The first pillar, the science behind the company’s Transfer Factor products, has been time-tested and proven to be effective at helping people feel better, get healthier and stay that way. The second pillar, the success of their distributors, is of the utmost importance, and weighs heavily in every decision the company makes. And the third pillar, the service component, shapes who 4Life Research is as a company. It is only with all three pillars that the company is truly complete. “The legacy of 4Life, as well as the opportunity our distributors give to people around the world, is based on unparalleled science, success and service,” says 4Life Founder and CEO David Lisonbee.

The interesting thing is that one pillar does not supersede the others. Instead, 4Life’s uniqueness springs from the balance of the three. “Our three pillars are equally weighted,” says 4Life President Steve Tew. “We are a product-oriented company that has a focus on the success of our distributors. And the third pillar of service completes the circle and makes us a well-rounded company.”

The idea of placing equal importance on three distinct areas of focus goes back to the original vision that David and Bianca Lisonbee had for the company. They wanted to create a haven where people could prosper by helping others discover better health, using products backed by sound science, all the while working to serve those in need.

“It has never been just science for science’s sake,” says 4Life Vice President of Communications Calvin Jolley. “It has always been about empowering our distributors with efficacious products to share with their family and friends.” And then, from there, share the fruits of their labor with those less fortunate around the world. The formula, in all its simplicity, quickly adds up to a major success, no matter which way you look at it.

Starting with Science

Back in 1997, David and Bianca Lisonbee made a discovery that would change the way we view wellness forever. Although the research they uncovered was nearly 50 years old at the time, the key elements were still not common knowledge. And yet the laboratory studies the Lisonbees found addressed some of our most pressing health concerns. Already passionate about helping others, the couple knew immediately that they needed to put this science to work as soon as possible.

Within the next year, they had formulated the first Transfer Factor product, and 4Life Research was on its way to becoming the respected brand we know today. The foundation that was built in those early days firmly cemented a solid reputation for 4Life Research that continues to ring true. “Science is part of our process,” Tew says. “4Life distributors know this about every product we launch.”

As one may gather from the name, 4Life Research has a strong emphasis on research and science. Maybe because of this, the company’s rise to success was not immediate. “We’ve built our business around the world at a steady, consistent pace,” Tew says. “Our success didn’t come to fruition as quickly as some opportunities, but we definitely created a solid foundation that got us to where we are today.”

Solutions 4Life

In the years since the first Transfer Factor product launched, 4Life Research has pioneered the unique field of transferceuticals, which the company has deemed as “the category of products that educate your immune system to recognize, respond to and remember potential threats.” What it amounts to is a series of molecules, or immune-system building blocks, which are used in 4Life products to help people become healthier.

Ongoing independent research backs up the science of transfer factors. “Our scientifically proven Transfer Factor products help people keep their immune systems operating in as close to peak performance as possible,” says Senior Vice President of Marketing Trent Tenney.

Unmatched in their dedication to bring transfer factor science to the forefront of our attention, a team of experts at 4Life ensures they will always stay on top of the latest innovations. The company’s research and development team works together with their Health Sciences Advisory Board to keep 4Life on the leading edge of advancements in the field. This esteemed group of professionals, working tirelessly to improve the efficacy of 4Life products, brings an added layer of credibility and peace of mind that ultimately leads to business success. “Distributors are always evaluating product efficacy to determine the value of the opportunity,” Jolley says.

4Life realizes that it is not only in the business of improving people’s physical health, but also concerned about financial wellness. To this company, the two go hand in hand. “We like to focus on solutions rather than problems,” Tew says. “We present solutions for people to become healthier and to control their own financial destiny, and then help to improve the lives of others as well.”

Steve Tew, 4Life President (left) with David Lisonbee, 4Life Founder and CEO and his wife Bianca Lisonbee, 4Life Co-Founder.

Driven by People

4Life Research has a saying: “Together, building people.” This speaks volumes about the mission and focus of the company so motivated by science. While there’s great emphasis placed on the products, it’s once again balanced by the other pillars of success and service. And those pillars are clearly driven first and foremost by the people who give 4Life its purpose. “Relationships drive success at 4Life and empower our distributors,” says Co-Founder Bianca Lisonbee.

“It’s easy to point to areas where 4Life excels, but we can’t overlook the people,” Tew says. “It’s the people who differentiate our brand—our founders, our corporate employees, and our unrivaled distributors in the field.”

Whether building people up with better physical and financial well-being or spiritually through service to others, it all harks back to the original desire the founders had to make a difference on a grand scale. “The Lisonbees had been involved with other companies in the past; together they have 40 years of experience in the direct selling industry,” Tenney says. “However, they drew from their experience to make 4Life Research different. We value people for their contributions at every level.”

Launching a Legacy

If it’s people who drive 4Life Research, the thing that fuels them is their passion for service. Helping others become healthier and wealthier is a lofty goal, to be sure. But in many ways for 4Life Research, it serves as a conduit for an even greater cause&mmdash;to help others who are less fortunate to have a better way of life.

“We started 4Life to share transfer factor science with the world,” Bianca Lisonbee says. “As a result, we’ve realized our lifelong dream of making a meaningful difference in people’s lives.”

The third pillar of service shapes the company and breathes life into its culture. Through their humanitarian effort Foundation 4Life, the passion for helping others has become integral to what they do and who they are as a company. It permeates the entire organization, from the top executives to the newest distributors in the field, establishing a sense of purpose around which 4Life revolves.

Most important, it is not just some fancy idea that they will get to at some point. “The Lisonbees fostered that culture of service from the get-go with 4Life,” Tew says. “It resonates in everything we do as a company and in every decision we make. They wanted to truly make a difference in the lives of others, and so they created a culture that attracted people who had a similar vision.”

In keeping with their mission of service to others, 4Life Research will soon step it up to the next level. This fall, 4Life Research launches 4Life Fortify, a new product formulated specifically to combat hunger and malnutrition in populations that need it most. The nutritional meal packs are designed to meet the needs of young children, and will be sent to orphanages everywhere. “Each pack contains a meal of rice, lentils and beans combined with vitamins, minerals and Transfer Factor immune system support,” Tenney says. “In addition to being healthier overall, the children are going to love 4Life Fortify, because it tastes amazing!”

Once purchased, the packs will be donated to children in orphanages to help them attain the vital nutrition they need to live happy, healthy lives. On this new humanitarian project, Foundation 4Life is working in conjunction with the Feed the Children organization to ensure the products get to the children who need them most.

Advancing Toward Tomorrow

The market has spoken. Companies that are growing today have a commitment to scientific quality. Consumers are much more educated than they were in the past, and they are demanding excellence in their products. For that reason, 4Life is among the most successful companies within the direct selling industry and beyond.

In spite of a global recession that continues to linger on, 4Life Research is growing at a record-setting pace. The company opened three new offices in 2010 and has plans to open a number more in the upcoming year. The company was recently featured on the Direct Selling News Top 100 Companies list. While many companies have faltered in these tough times, 4Life Research, instead, has thrived.

4Life Research has offices in 19 international countries with the most recent opening of an office in Quito, Ecuador, and conducts business in more than 50 countries around the world.

Although they are always looking ahead, 4Life executives remain committed to the same basic principles that have served them so well over the past decade. “4Life Research has grown organically over the past 12 years,” Jolley says. “It started in the living room of David and Bianca Lisonbee—in much the same way we ask distributors to grow their businesses as well. So there is continuity between 4Life’s origin and where we are today.”

It always comes back to the balance so firmly rooted in the 4Life culture. “At 4Life, we can’t talk about science, success or service independently, because each supports the other to balance our overall value proposition,” Tenney says. That unwavering commitment to balance has helped the company overcome many challenges over the past decade, and will undoubtedly pave the way for an even more successful future.

Quantifying MonaVie’s Help 5 years have allowed MonaVie to launch a business and help Brazilians 80 percent of the annual açai harvest is purchased by MonaVie $60 million has been invested to help instruct Brazilians on the management, harvesting and pasteurizing of the açai berry Schoolchildren participate in MORE after-school programs, immersing them in reading and writing, math, the arts and music Children receive much-needed shelter and care for their basic needs through MORE Children receive ongoing dental care, as needed, with MORE 1,030 adults and teenagers acquire essential skills and knowledge to become productive employees at the MORE vocational classes 15 young men receive housing, job skills and care for their physical needs as MORE steps in to help break the cycle of poverty 236 adults attend MORE classes to learn reading, writing and computers—some of the most important skills for self- sufficiency

Randy Larsen, MonaVie Founder, Founder and Vice Chairman, repeatedly treks into the jungle of northern Brazil, bunks outside with the families who pick açai and builds the sourcing relationships crucial to MonaVie’s success.

The heart of MonaVie products is the açai berry from the Amazon rain forest, and MonaVie leaders are changing lives for thousands of Brazilians.

There are places in Brazil where even the police won’t go. They have been paid or warned off from these favelas, or slums, by the drug lords who are in charge. There are places in the rain forest where even intrepid scientists and environmentalists can’t make an impression. But MonaVie isn’t afraid. Through goodwill, understanding and local partnerships, the company has helped thousands of Brazilians improve their lives and their livelihoods.

It Started with a Berry

MonaVie is known for its beautiful bottles, reminiscent of fine wine, that contain fruit blends based on the açai berry. As “one of nature’s top superfoods,” the açai berry grows only in Brazil’s Amazon rain forest. This unassuming berry found nestled beneath palm fronds has now created an entire industry. MonaVie leads that industry, buying up to 80 percent of the annual açai harvest. It has also led Randy Larsen, the company’s Founder and Vice-Chairman, to undertake many treks into Brazil. He saw for himself the living conditions of local children. From the very beginning of MonaVie’s creation, Randy knew that it was all intertwined. He also knew that it was an opportunity to improve things for the Brazilians.

Rain Forest Sustainability

Despite national and international agreements to conserve the Amazon, the “lungs of the Earth” are still subject to tree harvesting. Subsistence farmers and expanding ranching and farming efforts are still cutting into the rain forest. Soybean crops and cattle ranching are two of the most cited cutters, but there are others. In fact, hearts of palm found in very chic salads and buffets come from the core of palm trees—açai palms (Euterpe oleracea). Harvesting the heart of palm almost always kills the tree. There has been monetary incentive for people to cut and clear the rain forest, which is a driving force for those who have very few resources. Yes, it is shortsighted, but for people who are hungry today, tomorrow is a distant worry.

MonaVie entered the picture almost five years ago and began to change things. “We were able to show people how to harvest the açai fruit,” Randy said. “We went down there and spent about $60 million on açai alone in the last four years, helping the people learn how to harvest, process, pasteurize and export it. This gave incentive for Brazilians up and down all the rivers to plant trees and to not cut them down. Now they can make more money, sustainably, by keeping the trees alive.”

As this açai berry industry began to grow in northern Brazil, it stimulated other industries and services. Transportation and processing plants blossomed. The funds that have been coming into Brazil because of the berry are allowing local people to build schools and enjoy the “luxury” of electricity and generators for the first time. “There are hundreds of families now making their living harvesting açai and other fruits that we export around the world,” Randy said. “One of my passions is what’s going on positively in the rain forest because of MonaVie, in that really poverty-stricken area.”

Randy estimates that thousands of acres are being saved from cutting because of the açai harvesting practices, and more trees are being planted. This will help slow and perhaps even reverse the deforestation trends in Brazil. As a corporate executive, Randy could conceivably stay at the corporate offices and direct others on his behalf in Brazil. However, he chooses to go to the Amazon himself and meet people, oversee initiatives and thoroughly understand how MonaVie positively impacts the region.

“Life has changed up and down the river for these people,” he said. “It’s amazing. That’s why I get up every day. We have always said, If you’re blessed, you’ve got to be a blessing to the world.”

Dallin A. Larsen, MonaVie Founder, Chairman and CEO, is a champion of the MORE Project.

The MORE Project

Another way that MonaVie blesses the world is by reaching out to those who live in southern Brazil. For a growing nation, there is still a significant divide between the haves and have-nots. It’s estimated that more than a quarter of Brazilians live below the poverty line. Seven and a half million kids live on the streets in Brazil, often as victims of ruling drug lords and rampant prostitution. Historically, there isn’t an infrastructure or corporate social responsibility underpinning to address the needs. Drug lords control the police and politicians, so there are no official efforts to “clean out” the problems. This is where MonaVie has chosen to work.

The company was in its earliest days and already knew that it wanted to pursue humanitarian efforts in Brazil, the country that was providing a bounty of healthful fruits. That’s when a distributor told the founders about Sergio Ponce and his family, who had been helping children in Brazil’s favelas but had just run out of funding. It was serendipitous.

“This guy was just an angel walking the earth trying to help the children in the favelas,” Randy said. “As part of our whole purpose, we wanted to give back to where our product comes from. As soon as we met with Sergio and his family, we got goose bumps. We knew we had the right guy, the right cause and the right time.”

Ponce is now director of the program and says that the deliverables grew as the program went on. “In the beginning, it was just to take care of these kids, just to give food,” he said. “Then we started to learn that they need healing.” The MORE Project—an apt acronym for MonaVie Operational Rescue—was officially launched to provide that healing. MORE is a stand-alone nonprofit designated to help entire families escape the cycle of poverty. MORE provides food, water, education, mentorship and even housing to those who are most vulnerable.

There are currently six homes for nearly 100 children, taking them off of the streets and offering a safe haven. The children are offered school lessons, and young adults can take vocational courses. Young men and women and even adults enroll in hundreds of classes for cosmetology, jewelry-making, computer sciences and mechanics.

“We teach them to go out into the real world and provide them a way to make a living besides drug trafficking or prostitution,” Randy said. “A lot of our classes are really helping people who have lived in orphanages but have no place to go once they get too old. We help them learn a trade and get placed out in the community.” This includes single mothers, many of whom work the streets, whose children have bleak futures without some sort of help. They’re finding that help at MORE.

Construction operations even help local families build homes or put proper roofs on their own meager dwellings. The MORE Project offers dental care for the children and their families, sometimes giving them their first-ever trip to a dentist. “When we get right down to it, we’re changing lives of children, teenagers, adults and families,” said Katy Holt-Larsen, Executive Director of the MORE Project. “We’re breaking the cycle of the generations before.”

Distributors and MonaVie employees play a significant role in the MORE Project. Children are “adopted” and their needs are met, their successes shared and their challenges addressed. Throughout the corporate headquarters, photos of children who have been adopted by company departments and individuals are posted, as are notes and well-wishes sent halfway across the world. Individuals step forward with donations and a sincere desire to help the disregarded poor in Brazil.

Many distributors also go to Brazil to work, learn, inspire and be inspired as part of the annual expeditions. These trips offer memories of a lifetime and sometimes tear-inducing lessons that persistence and faith can pay off, even in the darkest of places. Distributors roll up their sleeves to help with construction, laughing through sweat and blisters. They meet families that are being helped through MORE and indulge in talking to and playing with the children in MORE. Youth also can get involved with the MORE Expeditions, getting a taste of what it is like to help others who have so little compared to the “wealthy” neighbors from the north. These life-changing trips consistently are filled within days of their announcement.

Perhaps most important of all, MORE shows Brazilians how to believe in themselves. They hear a message similar to that delivered to prospective MonaVie distributors: You can live a better life. You can pursue a dream. For the poorest of the poor, no one has ever given them a glimpse of something more. They don’t even know that they can or should expect better. “We really work with these people on dream-building, to show them that there is a life outside of the favelas,” Randy said.

From helping with April floods in the MORE favelas to donating $500,000 in six minutes at the MonaVie annual convention, the MORE project and MonaVie distributors have proven that they can not only dream, they can inspire others through their support. All of the collective work in Brazil serves also to unite distributors, the corporate officers, and local people in the home country of the açai berry. It has created a magical combination that continues to build on itself—and keeps everyone coming back for more.

It is ironic that I am writing for “Top Desk,” or any desk at all. My philosophy as the leader of MonaVie is to get out from behind the desk and get into the sales field organization. You have a far better view of how your business is working if you observe it from the other side of the desk.

The mindset that can result from sitting behind the desk often allows us to believe that we, as CEOs, are the best at making all business decisions—decisions that I’ve now come to find are better delegated to the managers and directors within our companies whose job it is to manage and direct.

At MonaVie, I’ve also come to believe that my job is to get out from behind the desk and join the distributors in their journey of success.

The Heart of Every Business: The Distributor

A focus on the distributor experience and a respect for the entrepreneurial spirit have always been at the core of MonaVie. I understand what it takes to be an entrepreneur out there on the front lines. In fact, I’ve been an entrepreneur my entire life. I put myself through college at Brigham Young by selling shaved ice. How is that for Direct Selling 101? My brother and I had about 20 shaved-ice shacks throughout Utah. Then, in the 1980s, when I was in my early 20s, my family bought some weight-loss franchises. I talked my dad into co-signing on a loan to buy my first Diet Center franchise. It did pretty well, and I opened up four more. That entrepreneurial experience taught me that business success comes from the people you hire and, hopefully, inspire to join you in your dream. It sure doesn’t come from sitting behind a desk.

In the late ’80s, a friend of mine introduced me to network marketing, and I never turned back. I have walked the journey of being an independent distributor, and I learned what it takes: courage, smarts, faith, and lots and lots of hard work. Through my own experience as a distributor, and then as a corporate executive, I came to believe that I have a distributor’s heart—their journey is where my passion lies.

So, when my brother Randy, Henry Marsh and I founded MonaVie, we dreamed of having the most distributor-focused company in the industry—a company where you didn’t have to be Superman or Superwoman to achieve success. In our company, the average person who sponsors just two people can earn some money. Some of our people are earning an extra $1,000 a month, some earning an extra $1,000 a year. Some are earning a whole lot more!

From the very beginning at MonaVie, I was always a little desk-averse. In fact, early on, I moved my home from our corporate headquarters in Salt Lake City to Florida, just so I wouldn’t be tempted to be in the office every single day of the week. I wanted to be out there in the field, helping distributors build their businesses at least part of the time. I had, however, created either the reality or the perception that I had to have the final say on everything that was done at corporate headquarters. As I traveled the globe meeting with our distributors, I thought I had left the desk behind, but I found I was just dragging that desk right along with me. There it was, in the palm of my hand, in the form of a BlackBerry. Rolling into bed, having been in five or six countries in two weeks, I would look at my phone and find that there were hundreds of e-mails waiting to be answered. From every segment of the business, there were questions awaiting my response. I knew that something had to change, and change fast.

Unchained from E-mails

I knew I needed to reassess my role. I needed to refocus on where I personally spend my time. I knew I had to make some personal changes in order to meet the challenges of a growing global business. I needed to become even more distributor-focused. I needed to leave the e-mails behind, too.

A few weeks ago, I terminated my personal e-mail account. The only e-mails that I receive now are answered by my assistant. Rather than being asked about every aspect of the business, I have given the authority and responsibility to those whose job it is to lead. I don’t expect these managers and directors to make perfect decisions. I do expect them, however, to make educated decisions and to take ownership of the decisions they make.

I have asked them to fully consider the return on investment of each decision that they make and to treat corporate dollars as though each dollar were their own. Of course, as founders of MonaVie, Randy, Henry and I may override things from time to time when we feel it is in the best interest of the company. Dell Brown, President of MonaVie, also may override things, but 99 percent of the time, we expect our managers and directors to make decisions for their respective areas and to take full responsibility for the results.

Instead of spending six to eight hours a day on e-mails, as I did in the past, I am now able to focus my energy completely on our sales field leaders. They are our future. I have come to believe that my highest calling is to work side by side with them to help them build their businesses. My primary role is to carry the vision of MonaVie around the world. Of course, I am able to stay in the loop on high-level issues affecting each department by attending key staff meetings each week via videoconference.

The “E” in MonaVie stands for “exceptional.” I expect our whole team to be exceptional. I believe I have more of an opportunity to be exceptional doing distributor meetings and taking the MonaVie vision around the world than I do by sitting behind a desk, or responding to 300-plus e-mails every day! On my tombstone, I’d rather the words not be: He was good at e-mails.

Dallin Larsen is the Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of MonaVie.

Look again! Once floundering, Discovery Toys gets an infusion of fresh energy to usher in a new generation of parents and children playing together.

Somewhere along the way, Discovery Toys lost their spark. Their flame is growing in intensity now, after many years of near-darkness. But there was a time when their candle was flickering, teetering on extinction. And yet, before it was completely snuffed out, a small band of renegades swooped in and fanned the flame. Now, what has emerged is tantamount to a young startup—but with the added benefits of being a seasoned pro. Today, Discovery Toys shines as a beacon to guide others who have lost their way.

It was 32 years ago that early childhood educator Lane Nemeth set out with a small loan to create a company that would soon become an icon in the direct selling industry. Her mission: to foster an environment where parents and children could grow and learn together in play. That single, solitary goal led a team of dedicated educational consultants to grow the company to an estimated $5 million in the first five years. And within two decades, the company’s worth shot up to $100 million, when it caught the eye of an industry giant, Avon. Then ownership changed hands again to another group, who some say didn’t quite understand the value of what they had acquired or the beauty of what made it so successful. And the downturn had begun. Although it was a rocky road at times, many consultants chose to stay, and throughout it all, they had their mission to see them through.

On the Upswing… Again

Discovery Toys may be uniquely matched with the direct sales model in a way few other companies are. The party plan system works well for them, because the educational consultants need the small setting to help parents learn how to play with their children.

The company serves a very serious need parents have to talk with someone and get feedback about their child’s developmental progress. “Our products are designed to provide an answer,” says Jeremy Hobbs, Chairman of Discovery Toys. “You can read 1,001 books on various child development topics, but no place else has the type of discussion of the problems and solutions to help further learning.”

When parents peruse the aisles in a toy store or a discount mart for the perfect educational toy, they are often left to languish, because the same level of expertise about what toy is best suited to a child’s specific needs is a rare find. “Our educational consultants become experts who are ready and eager to help parents strengthen their bonds with their children,” Hobbs says. “They learn about maybe five toys to start with, and then their knowledge base grows from there.”

So in stepped Hobbs, who had eyed the company for several years before taking over in 2007. Coming from a family of lifelong teachers, Hobbs caught the spirit of the mission and saw great potential in the company’s ability to help further his other passion—helping women succeed financially.

“As a lawyer and a businessman, I worked with a women’s cancer group, where I saw a lot of moms who were forced to choose between poverty and not staying with their children,” Hobbs says. “It left a lasting impression on me, and I wanted to do everything in my power to help prevent people from ever having to be in that situation.”

One of the exciting things about being involved with the resurgence, he says, is that people within the direct selling industry are genuinely happy to see them succeed. It’s a testament to the respect for the way Discovery Toys was built.

“People want to work with us again,” Hobbs says. “For a number of years, we didn’t even send anyone to the international toy shows. And now, when people see us, they say they’d love to work with us again. It’s a validation that we’re going in the right direction.”

Mountains to Climb

As was to be expected, rebuilding has not been without its challenges. Admittedly, one of the most difficult has been rebuilding the trust of the field. “We’ve had to overcome the mistakes of the past,” Holland says. “The consultants were promised, then overlooked and underfed for many years. And yet they still stayed connected because of their deep love for what Discovery Toys had been in the past, and had the potential to become again.”

Looking in, as outsiders with loads of business experience, it was clear to Hobbs and Holland that the job of revitalizing the failing company would be a daunting one. But they were up for the task. “I’m a renovator. I take on something that’s been struggling and work to improve it—revive it,” Hobbs says. “There was a strong core that was surviving. It took a lot of effort and hard work to bring back the opportunity they deserve.”

For starters, the field’s needs weren’t being met. “Two things that were most vital to the company’s success were the people in the field and the product—the high-quality educational toys that the company was founded on,” Holland says. “Both of those things were being neglected, and the company was bound to suffer.”

The problems were mounting. Leadership and training had all but gone by the wayside, and business had become solely about individual sales. Product quality and ingenuity had taken a hit. To get back on track, Discovery Toys required an almost complete overhaul… from the ground up.
Meryl was brought in as a consultant to rebrand the company a year and a half ago, and she became the Chief Creative Officer in February 2009. “We took it all on in the first year,” she says. “And when we saw the new logo, we knew the company was on the mend.”

After eight months of refit, the ship is turning around. “For fourth-quarter 2009, we posted an increase in sales and recruiting for the first time in seven years,” Holland says. “In addition to that, the productivity per person is up 15 percent, which tells us that people are getting that much more out of the business.”

Since Holland and Hobbs came from outside the direct sales world, they probably infused the company with the new ideas it had needed for a long time. But they learned the business quickly, and they also brought in reinforcements by adding a vice president of sales who had virtually grown up in the industry. “Leslie Boyd-Bradley is our new VP of Sales, who worked her way up through the ranks in direct sales and has a solid understanding of the industry,” Holland says. “She is helping to turn the company around and present the results to the field. Her enthusiasm is so infectious and real.”

Another important part of the recovery process has been to completely change the compensation plan. “It was not designed to propel people to the top,” Hobbs says. “And it was no doubt responsible for many people leaving over the years.”

Almost nothing is the same since 2007, except the 10 core products Discovery Toys has had since the 1970s. “It has become somewhat of a running joke around the office,” Hobbs says. “It probably would have been easier to start up an entirely new company.”

The big turning point came in August 2009. At their convention, they rolled out all the new changes they had been working on, and basically introduced people to the new Discovery Toys. “It was simply amazing—everybody loved it,” Holland says. “The field was energized, and clearly that carried over when they went home, because we had the biggest August we’ve ever had.”

The new executive team has amped up the professionalism in the way the business is run as well. At the convention, in the midst of the relaunch, attendees were treated to a toy fair and a visit from guest speaker Suze Orman. With close to 300 people in the audience, the world-renowned author and trainer had an intimate setting that allowed her the unusual and welcome ability to interact on a more relaxed, personal level with the crowd. “Suze had fun at our event,” Holland says. “Before she left, our social network speaker, Liz Grumbiner, got hooked up with her on Twitter, and the next day sent her a tweet from the stage. When she got a response, everyone went wild!”

Layers of Support

Inside every toy are multiple layers of learning. There are activity guides and skill cards built into every package so that now customers have a chance to learn beyond the party. “We feel like we can never do too much,” Holland says. “We’re still playing catch-up at this point. However, the foundation has been articulated and has given us the springboard to do other things to make this company greater than it ever has been.”

And just like the layers of learning to enhance the experience with their products, Discovery Toys is dedicated to increasing the level of support to help their educational consultants thrive. “In the past, the field never really cared if the home office went to their kickoff meetings, and I thought that was sad,” Holland says. “Now we travel to be there for those meetings. We have more of a presence and are there to support our members in the field in every way. The field went crazy. Our planned visits gave them a great advantage that they never even knew they were missing before.”

Last August, 40 of 110 toys were all new, and another 20 or so were added this spring, so the management team just produced a video to highlight the features of the latest products. “You don’t have to be an expert from the start,” Holland says. “Most of our educational consultants do become experts, which makes them a valuable resource for parents, but there’s a lot of support to help them achieve success.”

Retaining Their Roots

Initially, the story of Discovery Toys conjures up images of the phoenix rising from its ashes—an amazing rebirth of a once-great company steadily limping its way back to health. But that would not be an entirely accurate, or fair, representation.

First off, the company was never really dead—at least not completely. And most important, the new executive team in place has gone to great lengths to preserve the company’s heritage, the strong foundation that once paved the way for it to become a direct sales staple, beloved throughout the industry for many years.

“When Lane was gone, the company lost a little bit of the magic,” Holland says. “In many ways, she was the reason people loved Discovery Toys. That heritage piece is still intact. We tried to recapture some of the magic she instilled in this company when she first started building it from the ground up.”

Ultimately, Hobbs says, it was the powerful Discovery Toys brand that has brought them most of the way through these tough times. “We’ve heard time and again about women in their mid-40s who see one of our shirts and say, ‘Wow, Discovery Toys, I always loved that company! I had no idea it was still around.’ ”

Together, Hobbs, Holland and their team have stripped away the parts of the business that weren’t working, and clung to the solid foundation that made Discovery Toys great from the start. And in doing so, they’ve embraced a new future filled with limitless possibilities. “Back in the late ’70s and early ’80s, when Lane started the company, developmental learning was very new,” Holland says. “Now we face a smarter, more knowledgeable group of parents, and they are eager to have us hold their hand to help them learn new ways to connect with their kids.”

In a way, it seems that not growing for a period of time has offered its advantages. Working with the leaner and meaner version of their company has given leaders a rare opportunity to rediscover all that was good about Discovery Toys. “We have been able to shake things up a bit,” Holland says. “What it  comes down to is that we are passionate about helping children learn and about helping women make money. We lost our way with both for a while, but we are definitely back in business.”

Category creator XanGo has been a pioneer in so many areas that it could rest on its laurels. Instead, it’s rejoicing in a new wave of vigor, enthusiasm and growth.

With upward trends in the important areas of new sign-ups, distributor retention rates, average order size, customer numbers and even rank advancement, it’s no wonder President and CEO Robert Conlee felt confident setting a bold goal that will have exponential effects on the business: to double the number of active XanGo distributors by the end of 2012.

Will it become the first (by then) 10-year-old direct selling company to accomplish such a feat? Its record says it will. It loves being an innovator: first to market with a mangosteen product, creating the category; and the first company in America to place its name on the jersey front of a professional sports team—current Major League Soccer Champions Real Salt Lake. It was an early adopter of social media, creating XanGo TV, which lets distributors post their own videos and celebrate their successes. And it created a unique brand with just a little edge that reveals its unique culture: XanGo is a community where you can have fun while doing a lot of good and making as much money are you’re willing to work for. Together, all those factors are creating mangosteen-momentum.

“Despite the challenging economic climate of the last two years, we are experiencing a resurgence and new growth globally in 2010,” says XanGo Founder and Chairman Aaron Garrity. “There’s a real sense of renewal and increased momentum at XanGo right now.”

Gary Hollister, Founder and board member	Aaron Garrity, Founder and Chairman
Joe Morton, Founder and board member	Gordon Morton, Founder and board member
Kent Wood, Founder and board member	Bryan Davis,  Founder and board member

First to Market

The journey to its historic spot in the industry started in Southeast Asia in 1997, when Joe Morton sampled a local delicacy, the mangosteen, which residents called the queen of fruits. Its flavor burst in his mouth—crisp, cool and sweet while slightly tart. Joe was no stranger to botanicals. His mother ran a health food store, and his father managed Canadian operations for a pioneering natural health company. But the mangosteen was new to him. He learned that Southeast Asian civilizations had traditionally eaten the mangosteen to combat the effects of dysentery and diarrhea. They also used it topically to treat skin disorders. Joe was intrigued, and when he returned home, he pulled together his brother Gordon and colleague Aaron Garrity to share his insights. The three immersed themselves in mangosteen research. The stacks of impressive documents and scientific studies they discovered convinced them that the mangosteen was a rich source of incredibly powerful antioxidants. Yet mangosteen products were unheard of in the United States. To the three entrepreneurs, that spelled opportunity.

“There’s only one chance to be first to market,” Joe Morton recalls. “This was it. When you’re first to market, everyone compares themselves to you, the original.”

They recruited business experts Gary Hollister, Kent Wood and Bryan Davis to help them get the company started. In September 2002, they launched throughout the United States with a single product, XanGo Juice, and soon expanded into Canada.

“Right from the beginning, we had a feeling,” Morton says. “People would show up on our doorstep wanting to know more about the product.”

Demand increased quickly. Morton remembers visiting the manufacturing facility for the first run of the product and begging for more samples just to keep up with demand. The number of distributors was growing at a dizzying rate. Soon, the founders started hearing personal stories from people who were seeing great benefits from drinking XanGo Juice.

Product Powerhouse

The testimonials increased the founders’ excitement and commitment to distributors who were making the company such a huge success. They wanted to ensure that the XanGo story was easy to learn and tell, so they kept a laser focus on their single product. That is, until spring 2008, when XanGo introduced the XANGO 3SIXTY5 vitamin pack. This complete blend of essential vitamins and minerals fully complements the daily dose of XanGo Juice and consumers’ other health and nutrition practices. XanGo utilizes “chelated technology,” which coats 3SIXTY5’s whole-food ingredients in amino acids, driving increased absorption. The chelated approach with whole food is designed to ensure greater bioavailability to better receive the benefits of a full spectrum of vitamins, minerals and essential fatty acids. Formulas featuring a xanthone-rich mangosteen-peel concentrate are available for both men and women.

Later that year came Glimpse Topical Skin Nutrition, the first personal-care brand to bring mangosteen topical nutrition to a global market. The Glimpse line features premium topical facial care, mineral foundation and highly concentrated mangosteen pericarp oil products. In addition to providing a bigger product portfolio, complete with additional income opportunities, Glimpse and 3SIXTY5 did something else: They subtly transformed XanGo from a nutritional beverage company into a wellness company, with a strong emphasis on the mangosteen fruit.

Today, the line of product powerhouses also includes Eleviv, a dietary supplement capsule that works synergistically with XanGo Juice. Eleviv supports natural vigor, a scientific term that describes a balanced state of physical energy, mental acuity and emotional well-being. Eleviv’s blend of four proven ingredients is precisely formulated to restore the body’s natural balance without the addition of unnecessary caffeine, sugars or other stimulants. Driving expanded business opportunity as another XanGo category creator, Eleviv is quickly gaining market share.

Juni Family Care, the latest product from XanGo, is a gentle line of hair and body care for the whole family. Juni’s blend of botanicals can help calm, cleanse, purify and hydrate hair and body. Mangosteen and fresh lavender combine to create a soothing effect and aromatic scent for an all-natural, clean feel. The word Juni was taken from a Chinese word that means “blessed,” and XanGo developed Juni to bless families with a safe, cost-effective shampoo, conditioner, body lotion, body wash and bar.

So that distributors and consumers can feel completely assured when they use anything XanGo sells, its products have been through clinical trials with stellar results. For example, one clinical Eleviv test showed an 82 percent improvement in vigor score in just seven days. The health-promoting effect of XanGo Juice on overweight persons with inflammation was shown in a double-blind, placebo-controlled, human clinical test. The test demonstrated the ability of XanGo Juice to reduce C-reactive protein (CRP), a key marker of inflammation, at three different dosage levels, while test subjects in the placebo group actually experienced a small increase in the amount of CRP.

Combined, the effects of XanGo Juice and Eleviv have an even more dramatic and synergistic effect on measures of metabolic balance, CRP and psychological mood state. The latest research, presented at this year’s prestigious Experimental Biology conference, shows a 59 percent decrease in CRP, a clear

improvement in metabolic balance (as measured by a 421 percent increased ratio between free androgen index and 24-hour cortisol exposure), 27 percent improved vigor and 34 percent reduced tension, all deemed statistically significant changes.

Dedication to Distributors

The clinical trials and expanded product line are just two examples of XanGo’s commitment to the success of its distributors—a million-member army that executives typically refer to as their business partners.

“It’s not a corporate versus distributor mentality at all,” CEO Conlee says. “We’re all on the same team. We just have different roles.”

Distributors have extraordinary access to company executives and facilities. Each distributor actually has Conlee’s personal contact information, and distributors hold meetings and presentations at company headquarters near Salt Lake City at least three or four days a week in rooms designed specifically for that purpose.

“This building was built for our distributors,” says Scott Smith, Senior Vice President and General Manager, U.S. and Canada. The building boasts customizable meeting rooms, juice bars, and even areas with toys and activities where kids can play while their parents conduct business.

XanGo’s goal is to create “legendary experiences” for its distributors, right down to their reaction when they walk into the lobby.

The headquarters is one of three expansive buildings totaling 280,000 square feet on a 30-acre corporate campus.

“We’ve invested millions and millions of dollars in our building and infrastructure because that’s an important element of our company,” Garrity says. “We’re not renting our office. We’re here to stay. There’s no smoke and mirrors. This is a brand that’s invested over the long haul.”

Even beyond the headquarters building in Utah, call center staffers are working 24 hours a day, seven days a week somewhere around the world.

“We try to provide service that our distributors will remember,” Smith says. “We want our distributors to feel like we have treated them better than any other company in the world.”

Goal: Maximum Success

In addition to its distinctive product line, unique culture and attention-getting branding program, XanGo shows its commitment to distributors by providing them with a compensation plan that delivers a true 50 percent payout on every product. They expand on that commitment in tangible ways every year. The result: XanGo now does business in 34 countries, has created several dozen millionaires and has generated nearly $2 billion in cumulative revenue.

The experience gained in achieving those impressive results has taught the company’s management a lot of lessons and has made them really good at launching new markets, Morton says. He cites Portugal’s nearly 500 percent growth during the last six months of 2009.

“With a great compensation plan, great products, strong branding and, most important, incredible distributor leaders who are visionary and united, XanGo has an enormously bright scope for the future,” Morton says.

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Brand Bonus

Coca-Cola, Apple, Tiffany, Google, Harley-Davidson. They’re all brawny brands known around the world. Whether or not you speak the language, in almost any country, you can order a Coca-Cola. That’s the kind of mindshare XanGo has targeted since its birth.

And it’s well on its way. XanGo’s six founders recognized right away that, although their initial success would be based on the mighty mangosteen, it takes more than one ingredient to build a brand. The founders wanted to create a lifestyle, a look and a culture that would be unmistakably XanGo. So they developed an ever-evolving family of brand elements that includes colors, shapes, practices and sponsorships that open the door to the elite club of companies with well-known brands like Google and Harley. They developed sleek, unified and sophisticated product bottles; attention-getting marketing materials; and distributor kits with a distinctive look. All of them deliver a can’t-miss message that says, We’re something special!

“That was part of our lead into the marketplace,” says XanGo Founder and Chairman Aaron Garrity. “We wanted our company to have a little sex appeal. From the presentation of the business opportunity to the way we do our meetings, that’s all innovative marketing that wasn’t happening almost eight years ago when we were founded.”

The unifying visual force: the vibrant orange color that has become XanGo’s signature. It represents the color worn by monks in Southeast Asia—the keepers of the book of remedies that has been handed down for generations, and the go-to guys for centuries when anyone got sick. Undeniably, the cheerful color helps the company stand out. Founder and Board Member Gordon Morton recalls a convention in Salt Lake City when the company handed out orange XanGo-branded umbrellas to distributors. Guess what? It rained. And 8,000 enthusiastic attendees turned the city streets orange as they made their way around town.

Becoming a household name is so crucial to XanGo that in 2006, the founders figured out one of the company’s many “firsts.” It became the first company in America to place its name on the front of a professional sports team jersey. The three-year sponsorship with the Real Salt Lake soccer team splashed the XanGo name onto television screens all over the world, offering great brand visibility. Garrity recalls wearing a XanGo shirt on a trip to Norway. The shirt prompted a stranger to tell him that they had seen the XanGo name during a soccer match on TV. The current Major League Soccer champions, Real Salt Lake, were seen by tens of millions of viewers last November when the club donned the XanGo logo across its chest and hoisted the Anschutz Cup as league champions.

“This sponsorship is front and center wherever the team plays and provides opportunities for our distributors to engage in conversations about what the name on the jersey means,” Morton says.

The company’s branding efforts paid off, and fast. When the company was only 5 years old and still had only one product, an independent survey found that 4.25 percent of Americans had heard of XanGo. That’s two times better recognition than high-definition TV had in its first eight years of business. The company believes it’s well on its way to boosting its name recognition to its 10 percent goal.

XanGo executives promise that their brand-building efforts are still in their infancy.

“You haven’t seen anything yet,” Garrity says. “We’ve got some pretty great ideas that have been brewing for a long time. It’s hard not to just do them all, but at the same time, we can’t sunburn the market.”

Every step the company takes to enhance the brand is another demonstration of its commitment to help distributors build their businesses. Having the status and support of a successful brand makes every conversation about XanGo easier.

“At the end of the day, what we do facilitates the distributors’ work,” Garrity says. “There’s a young, fresh and aggressive approach that carries over into everything we do. There’s not another company out there like us. We’re determined to carve out the path in this new generation of network marketing.”

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Seasonless Smiles

On any given day, you’ll find XanGo employees and distributors involved with one of their favorite things: creating smiles.

Whether it’s a mission to a foreign country to support medical volunteers performing cleft lip and cleft palate corrective surgeries, distributors buying XanGo Goodness Meal Packs, or some of the company’s 500 employees spending time volunteering for their favorite causes, philanthropy is in the company’s DNA.

It’s all part of the company’s charitable program, known as the XanGo Goodness Movement, a unique program allowing everyone in the company—from top executives and employees to distributors and consumers—to be part of XanGo’s commitment to giving back. The XanGo Goodness Movement actively supports service initiatives with charitable partners around the world. Last fall, the initiative grew, as XanGo launched the XanGo Goodness foundation, a public 501(c)(3) charity. The foun

dation raises money to supplement the company’s ongoing efforts, which are funded through a significant portion of net profits of product sales.

Beginning in XanGo’s early days, before the effort was so well organized and known by name, company founders were committed to charitable giving that would grow as the company grew.

“We were like most startups with very humble beginnings,” says Founder and Board Member Gordon Morton. “But the charitable contribution has always been hard-wired into our company.”

The company’s flagship effort is Operation Smile, a worldwide children’s medical charity dedicated to helping improve the lives of children born with cleft lips, cleft palates and other facial deformities. This spring, XanGo and Operation Smile initiated a series of joint missions to Mexico, Thailand and Russia that, when finished, will have provided life-changing surgeries to some 350 children. So far, XanGo founders, executives, staff members and local distributors have pitched in on-site to comfort children and families awaiting surgery and to help wherever they can.

The missions demonstrate just how hands-on XanGo’s charitable efforts are. People dig deep to make donations, but they also roll up their sleeves to do everything from build schools and sanitation facilities in Ghana to rebuilding a Thai fishing village decimated in the 2004 tsunami.

Even distributors who can’t journey around the globe to help out can participate in the company’s meal pack program, which has been active for almost three years. Donations from nearly 10,000 XanGo distributors provide the meals in extremely poverty-stricken areas of the world, such as Cambodia, El Salvador, Ghana, Haiti, Kenya, Myanmar and Zimbabwe. Each meal pack consists of a dry-powder formulation for the severely malnourished and is distributed by AmeriCares, a nonprofit disaster relief and humanitarian aid organization. XanGo distributors have donated some 1.5 million meals in just two and a half years and are expected to reach the 2 million mark by the end of this year.

Charity starts at home, and last fall, XanGo’s home office in Utah sponsored its fifth annual Best Buddies Day, held on the company’s seventh anniversary. Through a 5K run/1K walk, employees and distributors teamed up to raise more than $8,000 for a nonprofit organization dedicated to enhancing the lives of people with intellectual disabilities. Students from the local Best Buddies chapter partnered with a XanGo employee “buddy” for a day to learn about their job and spend some quality time together. That initial introduction often leads to relationships that last for years.

Full-time XanGo employees at the home office are encouraged to spread XanGo Goodness through a program called Taking Time 2 Care, which reimburses them for two hours a month spent volunteering for their own favorite causes.

“It’s very rare to go through a day here at XanGo without some mention of a mission or a charitable project that people are working on—and I like that,” Morton says. “It makes for a really great balance of business and humanities.”

At home and around the globe, XanGo has donated many millions of dollars and countless man-hours to a wide variety of charitable causes over its almost eight-year life span. And as its number of distributors and volume of sales increase, XanGo will have an even greater global impact.

Even before she founded Tastefully Simple Inc. in 1995, Jill Blashack Strahan, now CEO of the company, was already practicing “giving with gratitude.” Her simple philosophy to recognize the abundance in her own life, and in gratitude to give back to others, became the foundation on which she built Tastefully Simple.

Since its beginning, the company has given more than $5 million to worthwhile causes and organizations. But Blashack Strahan doesn’t do it for the glory or positive public relations. (In fact, for the first five years, all of the giving by the company was done anonymously.) She does it out of gratitude.

“At Tastefully Simple, we have a strong belief in pulling others up as we climb, and we believe that creating giving opportunities for our consultants and headquarters team will result in a team spirit of generosity,” Blashack Strahan says. “It really is a theory of attraction, not promotion. Our goal is simply to inspire others, including our own team members and consultants, to pay it forward… to reach out within their own communities.”

LaTresse Snead, Community Relations Team Lead, doesn’t believe the company does charity work for any reason other than that. “It’s not a marketing activity,” she says. “It’s just the right thing to do.”

Tastefully Simple has more than 28,000 independent consultants nationwide with more than 350 employees at its headquarters in Alexandria, Minn. They offer more than 60 easy-to-prepare products, from soups and sauces to desserts and beverages. The company earned $128 million in sales in 2009.

Abundance in Everything

Jill has suffered many personal hardships, which she talks about in her book, Simply Shine, Stories That Stirred the Fire. Yet, despite her challenges, Blashack Strahan exudes a positive spirit. This spirit comes from what she calls the Law of Abundancy. She uses the word abundancy deliberately, saying it’s “abundance in action.” She says it means there is always more than enough to go around, which means we can afford to be generous.

“Abundancy thinking takes more effort because it’s not something we often observe,” she says. “You’ve heard it before: You can choose to see the glass half-empty or you can choose to see it half-full. I’ve learned: Find a bigger glass.”

Her philosophy of giving, as well as living with positivity and gratitude, is built into all aspects of her company—from how she trains her consultants through how her teams operate at company headquarters.

“At Tastefully Simple, we have three principles—the Law of Abundancy, the Law of Magic and the Law of  Realness. The Law of Abundancy is about win-win attitudes and believing there’s enough to go around for everyone. The Law of Magic is about creating positive energy through celebration and excellence. And the Law of Realness is about building trust through humbleness,” she says. “These principles are more than sayings on a wall; they are truly the heart and soul of our company. Every day, we train to them and we live them with our consultants.”

Blashack Strahan’s positivity and desire to help others reap the benefits has led to Tastefully Simple creating and sponsoring the Impact Alexandria annual event. The event draws world-renowned motivational speakers to the small central Minnesota community. Featured guests have included Zig Ziglar, Jack Canfield, Stephen R. Covey and other authors and speakers. The event’s mission is simple: to motivate, unify and inspire the community to positively impact people’s lives.

Fighting Childhood Hunger… with Cookies?

In much the same way that Tastefully Simple’s business goal is to nourish people through quality foods that are easy to prepare, their charity goals are about nourishing communities.

This is another goal Blashack Strahan developed as she grew her company.

“During Tastefully Simple’s early days, we sat down and decided what we did—and did not—want to be known for as a company. We established a list of our core values, including nurturing the community in which we live,” Blashack Strahan says.

To this end, Snead explains that the company focuses on three main areas: strengthening families, empowerment of women and entrepreneurship.

For 10 years, the company searched for a corporate partnership where they could work to raise money for an organization that fit well with Tastefully Simple’s own goals. Snead describes reviewing more than 40 organizations in search of that partnership. Finally, the “perfect” partnership fell into place with Share Our Strength, an organization with the very specific goal of ending childhood hunger in the United States by 2015.

“They are committed to ending childhood hunger in America. It’s just going beyond what you would typically expect,” Snead says.

“We have a very distinctive attitude, passion and sincerity in our company to make a good product and to provide a good product. The people at Share Our Strength have the same passion to end childhood hunger in America. We don’t think we have this problem in America, but over 17 million kids are at risk of going hungry in our country right now.”

The partnership resulted in Tastefully Simple creating a cookie mix called “For the Love of Cookies.” The company donates $1 from the sale of each box to Share Our Strength. Since March 2009, the company has donated more than $284,000.

“When a child goes to school hungry because their parents have been unable to provide for them, that affects their ability to concentrate and do well in school. In turn, that affects their confidence,” Snead says. “How can you blame a child for going hungry? There is just no way you can.”

During regional meetings held for Tastefully Simple consultants at 16 locations across the country, the company also organized protein drives through their partnership with Share Our Strength.

“Each child needs 5 ounces of protein a day for proper nutrition,” Snead explains. “We challenged each consultant to give 25 ounces per person in each city.”

The Giving with Gratitude Protein Drive held in 2009 exceeded the company’s goal of collecting 100,000 ounces of protein and instead gathered 106,300 ounces, which translates to enough protein for 21,260 meals.

These protein items were donated to local food banks in the 16 cities where the training days were held. From Boston to Anaheim, from Seattle to Tampa Bay, and points between, the teams donated canned meats, canned fish, peanut butter, nuts, beans and lentils.

In addition to the “For the Love of Cookies” mix donations and the drives organized for Share Our Strength, the company also feeds others by donating discontinued products to organizations who work with those in need, as well as to U.S. troops serving overseas.

Tastefully Simple engages in another national partnership with the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life. Snead says that, in a survey designed to gauge the interest level of consultants participating in different causes, the group had a passion for cancer-related causes. “A lot of times, they have a loved one they have lost to cancer or are battling cancer themselves,” she says.

Because the American Cancer Society addresses all types of cancers, Tastefully Simple chose to engage in fundraising opportunities for that organization. Relay for Life is the American Cancer Society’s signature event, with more than 4,000 event locations across the country. Events begin at 6 p.m. and end at 6 a.m. “because cancer never sleeps,” Snead says.

In 2009, consultants and other team members organized 209 teams across the country and donated a total of $291,000 through Relay for Life. This year, Tastefully Simple will also participate in Relay for Life as a national corporate team.

Nourishing Communities Through Giving

The company encourages their consultants to “give with gratitude” within their local communities. By the same token, while this national corporation has giving commitments to national organizations, Tastefully Simple also focuses a lot of charitable attention on its home community of Alexandria, Minn.

Blashack Strahan, who grew up in a small community near Alexandria called Villard, has many hometown causes important to her, including environmental concerns.

“One of the other causes near and dear to my heart is preserving our woods and wetlands. In 2002, we purchased 100 acres near Tastefully Simple, including a lake we renamed ‘Lake Bountiful,’ to preserve it from future development,” she says. “Our team members are welcome to use the property with their families for hiking, canoeing and more.

“We’ve also embarked on awareness campaigns regarding everything from littering to water pollution, and we even have our own ‘Green Team’ at our headquarters who are always looking for new ways for our company to reduce waste, recycle, reuse resources and rethink our processes.”

Tastefully Simple seems to give to their local community in a very involved way—it’s obvious from the way their team members talk about the organization that it’s about far more than just writing checks. Snead explains that she and others at Tastefully Simple are on community task forces and boards and have worked with local nonprofits on everything from developing leadership to creating marketing materials.

Tastefully Simple has a unique way to support nonprofits in the local community through their paid volunteer, Mary Mische. Mische is a full-time paid employee of Tastefully Simple whose job is to serve as a volunteer with local nonprofits. She spends one day a week at three different nonprofits for a year and one day a week back at headquarters developing volunteer opportunities for other team members.

“I admit, it’s a little unorthodox,” Blashack Strahan says, explaining how the company came to the idea of having a paid community volunteer on staff. “When brainstorming more ways to give back to our community, we came up with the idea to establish a full-time volunteer—a paid team member to help nonprofit organizations that can’t afford to hire someone for their staff.”

During the last seven years, Mische has worked for 26 nonprofits (with some repeat performances). She just finished a yearlong stint at the new YMCA, which didn’t yet have enough office staff, so Mische helped with processing donations and related work. She also is helping the Douglas County Historical Society create a digital archive of community buildings. “I’ve taken 1,000 photos and have barely scratched the surface,” she says. She works in the local United Way office and just started a year in the Minnesota Lakes Maritime Museum, building a digital archive of their artifacts.

“As we all know, nonprofits don’t always have large staffs, so I do the projects that they don’t have time to do,” Mische says.

And what does the community think? “To put it simply, the response has been phenomenal,” Blashack Strahan says. “She’s inspiring people and making a difference wherever she goes.”

A project that was important to both Mische and Blashack Strahan was the creation of a 10-year plan for a garden project at a local nursing home called Knute Nelson. The project was designed not only to beautify the grounds, but to encourage residents to enjoy nature and participate in gardening. “When you enter a nursing home, you give up everything you care for and become cared for,” Mische says. “It gives their clients a reason to get up in the morning and care for something else.”

Mische’s job during her volunteer stint was to get the garden project mapped out and off the ground. She helped finish the first of the five gardens, which was set up for Alzheimer’s patients.

“My mother suffered from dementia, and all she ever wanted to do was go outside. So I had a special place in my heart for these people,” she says. Tastefully Simple donated money for the project, as well as Mische’s time.

Blashack Strahan also had ties to the nursing home through her father, who was a resident for a short time.

“When he was dying after a courageous battle with cancer, I developed a deep respect for the team at Knute Nelson. They were compassionate, attentive and engaged. So I’ve been honored to contribute to special projects like the gardens. Not only does the team at Knute Nelson offer wonderful care and opportunities for older adults, they create even more reasons to be proud of our community,” she says.

Giving from the Inside

While the company has a corporate giving commitment, Tastefully Simple encourages employees (“team members”) also to adopt the spirit of giving with gratitude.

Each team member is given eight hours a year of paid time to volunteer with local organizations. Mary helps the staff figure out where they want to spend their time with the annual volunteer fair. This weeklong fair is held at headquarters in April each year to coincide with National Volunteer Week. More than 35 nonprofits are represented.

The different teams within the company are also encouraged to hold their own fundraisers or team volunteer events. For example, Snead says the technology team recently held a pancake breakfast and donated the money raised to the local Habitat for Humanity. And companywide, the 350 staff members last year raised more than $50,000 for the local United Way campaign.

An interest in inspiring children also shows among employees. Kids in the Community is a program to spark an interest among children to volunteer.

“Four times a year, we invite our team members to bring their own children or children they sponsor to volunteer for a local organization,” Snead says. The kids and team members partner on projects together, like building steppingstones for the gardens at the Knute Nelson nursing home.

“Every year, the kids do a garage sale and donate their profits to an organization. Last year, they raised over $800 and donated it to the YMCA,” she says.

Tastefully Simple is proud to participate in Minnesota’s Adopt a Highway program. Every spring and fall, team members volunteer to clean up litter along three miles of highway near the company’s headquarters.

Giving in 28,000 Ways

Tastefully Simple has built the culture of giving with gratitude into training for its 28,000 consultants. Blashack Strahan specifically encourages consultants to give in their local communities.

“You know the old saying: ‘Give a man a fish, and you have fed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you have fed him for a lifetime.’ I think giving works the same way. It’s about more than making a single donation. It’s about inspiring people to open their hearts, creating an amazing chain reaction and working together to make the world a better place,” she says. “We all have the power to make a difference today, right in our own hometowns.”

While the partnerships with Share Our Strength and the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life are made at the corporate level, the consultants are, of course, behind the sales of the For the Love of Cookies mix and the development of the more than 200 teams participating in Relay for Life.

During the annual consultants meeting in 2009, the company  organized a day of service. More than 100 consultants arrived a day early to the meeting, which was held in Minneapolis. They divided into five teams to give a day of service to five hunger-related organizations across the city.

Consultants hold fundraisers for many organizations in their hometowns, and often will donate proceeds from Tastefully  Simple product sales to favorite charities. The company established the Abundancy Award to honor consultants who make a positive impact on their communities. The 2009 Abundancy Award earner was Michelle Tait of North Dakota, who raises money each year for Toys for Tots, an organization that provides Christmas presents for children in need.

With so many working toward giving with gratitude across the country, it’s easy to see how Blashack Strahan and all of the team members at Tastefully Simple stay motivated.

“Not only do our consultants and headquarters team embrace the idea of giving with gratitude, they inspire us to do more and do it better—every day,” Blashack Strahan says.