Chapter 54

     Danny had to live in as clean an environment as possible.  His white counts were so low due to the chemo, that just the smallest of infections could kill him.  We were looking for antibacterial soap to clean with when a friend of Lori’s told her about a direct sales company that manufactured and sold high-end cleaning supplies. 

     Lori “signed up” and we tried the products of which we loved as they really helped with Danny's care as well as being of quality for everyday usage.  We also started sharing them with others, earning a few extra dollars.

     When I got back from Denver, I started doing part time work and took on a project painting a house.  The owner of the house had his field cut and baled and he asked me to help out with hauling the hay to the barn for a few hours one day.  It wasn’t much hay and I agreed to help.  A mistake for me.  I injured my back throwing hay bales. 

     The doctor informed me I had a herniated disk and not to lift anything at all.  I went to a chiropractor for a few months trying to get by but eventually gave in to having surgery that next spring.

     On top of that, Lori had ruptured a disc in her back while giving birth, at the exact same spot that I had and needed surgery, too.  She let me go first and had hers in October after Danny had passed.

     To say the least, we were living poor but our income from promoting the products was slowly increasing.

     Pretty soon we had a network of customers, and others who wanted to build the business, to earn a few extra dollars themselves. 

     I told a friend of mine in Springfield, Missouri, and my sister Janet, who was still living in Lawrence, along with other friends there, too. 

     As we continued to grow, we had groups in several states and our residual income was growing to the point where it was starting to make a difference.

     The groups grew to such an extent that I started taking trips out of state to teach them more about the products and help them grow their groups.  This in turn increased our residual income to the point where we could almost completely live off it. 

     We knew this had grown from a part-time income to a full-blown career opportunity.  This business was a gift from God for us.  

     Since I was a teenager, I enjoyed helping others with their projects and figuring out solutions.  I had done so on numerous occasions having never required payment for my efforts. 

     Six of our mobile homes back in Bozeman were on lots located in Belgrade Village Mobile Home Park.  It was owned by a fairly well-to-do woman from California.  We had rented these lots from her for about a year when she called me asking to meet with me.  I agreed and went to meet her for lunch.

     She asked me various questions about Gallatin Valley’s economy and such.  I was able to bring her up to date on the various issues she was facing.  She then asked me if I would be willing to take a consulting fee of three hundred dollars per month, stating that all she wanted was the ability to talk with me when she had questions concerning the projects she was working on.  I accepted via a verbal agreement and helped her work through those issues over the next six months.  This was my first paid position as a consultant.

     Subsequent to that venture, I started picking up other projects for pay.  It helped supplement our income but most of all, I really enjoyed the work.  In Lawrence, I was involved in several successful business startups, and back in Bozeman, projects from helping people purchase cars, to houses, and accounting, to tax planning.  As I went, I climbed the food chain to bigger and bigger projects.