Wheelie Bins and Charity Shops - Clues to A Nation's Wealth

You wouldn't think of a wheelie bin as an indicator of economic performance, would you? How about considering the existence of charity shops as a key factor in an area's economy?

Well, in Rugby at least, they are.

I walked into the town centre with my children over the weekend and discovered two new charity shops. A town of around 70,000 inhabitants now has 2 British Heart Foundation shops plus one each representing Shelter, PDSA, Oxfam, Cancer Research, Scope, YMCA, Sue Ryder, Rugby Bareboards Trust, Warwickshire Air Ambulance, Myton Hospice and Age UK.

Add to that the 3 pawn-brokers, the half-dozen shops that accept pre-owned goods in part-exchange for credit notes or new purchases and the plethora of cut-price bargains in national chain stores catering to the minimum-waged and you get the picture of a retail shopping crisis. We are losing our independent retailers and with them, variety and personalised service. Those with credit and debit cards shop online or drive to out of town malls with free parking; those with cash and no car have fewer and fewer options.

As for wheelie bins - this time last year, there was outcry at the imposition of fortnightly bin collections. Overflowing bins were put on pavements, emphasising the need to return to a weekly routine. Now, the collections are still fortnightly, but the bins are no longer full, and not due to an evangelical approach to recycling. We are, as a town, just using less, which means we are buying less.

Apparently, according to figures released today by the IPPR, the only reason we're not officially in a recession is because our exports last quarter were greater than our imports. That's more because we're not buying as much from overseas, than because the exchange rate is working in our exporters' favour.

Charity shops are flourishing for a number of reasons, including reduced business rates and a lack of funding from other sources which means they have to rely on retail footfall and donations of goods.

In the meantime, there is no deterioration in Kleeneze orders - the range of goods and the personal service provided by Kleeneze distributors are filling a void that our customers are keen to let us fill. There's never been a better time to build a Kleeneze business.

Rising Petrol Prices? Kleeneze Can Help

I filled up my petrol tank on Monday and discovered that, even using the cheapest petrol I could find (133.9p per litre), it now costs me £82 for a full tank of petrol.

Makes the £10 a week I was getting from the girl I was giving a lift to seem paltry, really.

It's getting to the point where I need to consider my day job options. I can't afford a new car - I get 36 mpg with this one and can't do better unless I spend money I haven't got on a much more up-to-date model. I may have to find another job closer to home.

At this rate, anything I earn in retail profits from Kleeneze will be topping up the tank!

When I started work at the fashion retailer's Head Office in December 2009, petrol was 108.3p per litre, or £4.82 per gallon. By August 2010, it was 116.5p per litre, or almost £5.30 per gallon. In January 2011 it was 128.3p per litre - £5.83 per gallon. The latest figures, for April 2011 are horrific. At 135.8p per litre, we're now spending £6.17 per gallon of petrol.

It really doesn't matter what has caused these price increases; what matters is we're currently stuck with them.

That's where Kleeneze comes in. It's extremely simple to earn the cost of a tank of petrol every week - all it takes is consistent action and a little self-discipline. How much peace of mind would an extra £80 per week give you?

Back On The Retail Track

After a poor month last month, caused by my spending too much time on recruitment activities, paperwork and Life, I'm happy to confirm that my retail is back on track.

My Kleeneze Group Sales Analysis report (all my own work, at the moment) shows that I've got my 10% Volume bonus this period.

As in previous months, I managed to do that with 3 weeks worth of retail.

My next SMART goals are:

• To write up my new 90 day plan for the next 3 periods no later than 10pm on Thursday 12 May 2011.
• To achieve 13% Volume bonus by the end of the next 3 periods, based on personal retail.
• To add another 200 regular customers by the end of the 90 days.
• To contact every person on my current active warm list by the end of the 90 days.
• To add 1 team member per week over the next 90 days.

Now, to do all of that, and juggle being a single mum, working full time and supporting my fiance, who's working overseas again after 2 weeks in this country - that's going to be fun!

Stress, what stress? This is what I do best - setting goals and sticking to them.

The Secret of The Kleeneze Gene

Despite my best efforts, I've yet to get onto one of Gavin Scott's conference calls, despite receiving the invite every period. This period was no exception - I made sure I was sitting ready to dial in when a family emergency blew up and I was off in full support mode again.

What was even more annoying was the fact that I missed Chris Mason-Paull talking about how to build your Kleeneze business - Chris is somebody I've never met, but I deeply respect him because of the effect he has on Kleeneze distributors I've talked to.

Thankfully, Gavin provided his downline with a link to a recording of the conference call, so I caught up with it today. I am so glad I spent my lunchbreak listening to it.

There were so many nuggets of information, including:

• There's no limit on how high you can go with Kleeneze. 
• You're allowed to do as much as you want - you're also allowed to do as little as you want.
• There's a myth that you can only be successful in Kleeneze if you have the "Kleeneze gene" - if you've got a special talent that gets people to buy from you or sign up with you.
• That's not the case - if you sit down next to somebody like Chris Mason-Paull or Gavin Scott and do the same things as them, you will get the same results as them. Success is not down to who you are, but what you do.
• The three most important things are - get really excited, take consistent action and train as much as you can.
• Everybody wants what Kleeneze offers. Everybody wants to retire early, to pay off their mortgage early, to grab that one chance to become wealthy.
• What they often don't believe is that a Kleeneze business can do that for them. It can be seen as too simple. The catalogue does the selling for us; the more you put out, the more income you get.  Once you've learnt how to run your own business, all you need to do is teach others to do the same.
• A successful Kleeneze business can give you financial freedom.
• When you go out retailing and it's cold, wet and dark and you're soaked through, it's very difficult to relate that activity to what your business can ultimately bring you. You need to stay focused on the outcome.
• There's a point in every learning cycle when you suddenly realise how little you know and how much you still need to learn. It's very easy to quit at that point; whether you do or not determines whether or not you will be successful.
• Ask yourself this - why is it that whenever you hear reasons why somebody isn't successful, they never blame their own actions - they always blame external influences?
• Let your dreams run wild - become a child again and dream without limitations. Set goals based on those dreams and work towards reaching those goals.

It was a brilliant half-hour and I've got a lot to think about. Which part inspires you the most?

I Need to Quit My Day Job!

There just aren't enough hours in the day to do everything - I'm not complaining, just stating a fact.

As shown in a previous post, I juggle being a single mum with running a Kleeneze business, a two-hour round trip commute five times a week, and working full time.

This week, my eldest son, despite being dependent on public transport, has been sent by his company on a fork-lift training course in Burton Latimer, just south of Kettering. That's an hour away from Rugby by car, and a minimum of three hours away from Rugby by train.

In fact, to get there by train for 7 a.m. means he needs to leave Rugby at 11 p.m. and wait overnight in a railway station for the first connecting train to Kettering, followed by a taxi ride to the industrial estate.

After prompting from me, he raised this issue with the personnel manager, who has arranged a lift for my son and a colleague for 4 out of the 5 days of the course. I may have to take Friday off to get him there so he can finish his course.

I really do wonder what planet some managers live on.

If I could run my Kleeneze business full time, this wouldn't be an issue. What an incentive to work harder at building my business.

Kleeneze Supports Rural Communities

At a time when local councils are cutting their budgets, which means village residents can no longer rely on their, admittedly limited, range of public transport - it's nice to know that we're there to help.

My online Kleeneze shop is available to anyone living in the villages around Rugby, including:

Church Lawford
Long Lawford
Kilsby
Barby
Crick
Yelvertoft
West Haddon
Dunchurch
Toft
Newbold
Harborough Magna
Pailton
Thurlaston
Princethorpe
Long Itchington
Marston
Bretford
King's Newnham
Churchover

To name just a few.

We have over two thousand products for you to choose from with the knowledge that your order will be delivered direct to your door. No more waiting in all weathers for buses that don't arrive, only to find that the nearest town doesn't have the items you wanted. Just shopping from home, in comfort.

Why not have a look now?

Back On Track

After an abysmal month last month, caused by my trying to do too much with too little time and resources, I've gone back to basics.

As a result, my retail is back on track with a 10% bonus just a few points away. 25% of my warm market has been contacted directly and pointed at my Kleeneze website and the new Kleeneze online shopping experience; the rest are being contacted by email or via my Facebook and Twitter accounts. Thanks to a nudge in the right direction from my day job (see this for details) I'm well and truly focused on running my Kleeneze business.

The sooner I can resign from the day job and focus on my Kleeneze team, the happier I'm going to be.