2011 has been an exciting year for us at HBSA!

The big lesson has been GRATITUDE.

All of us here at HBSA have so much to be grateful for.  We are all so blessed, and in 2011, we’ve had the opportunity to fully realize the extent of that blessing.

Let’s recap a bit of this year.

Q1 2011 – “Irrational Optimism”

We started 2011 with a project that was bigger than any we had undertaken before.  We had made plans to develop a technology that was to compete with the largest e-commerce solutions available today.  We had a great idea – a great concept, and we were confident that we could walk into that market and begin slaying dragons.

We soon learned better.

This project failed.  It failed for a few key reasons:

- Lack of proper budget.  We began making financial decisions before we really had all our costs solidified and locked down.  We were making decisions with insufficient data, and we underestimated how expensive a project of this size could really get.

- Lack of focused vision.  Our vision grew as the project progressed, and we wanted this campaign to go like crazy out of the gate.  It’s much better to start smallish, with a “good enough” product, and then refine it over time versus having it “perfect” out of the gate.

- Lack of a detailed monetization model.  We knew “generally” how we were going to make money.  “Generally” doesn’t cut it.  One of the most important things to any business is the monetization model – how you are going to make the monies?

- Know your audience.  We didn’t know all that much about the e-commerce market, and decided it would just be a “good” market to jump into.  Knowing your audience is one of the most critical factors for campaign success.  Assumptions are dangerous.

So with that all said, we invested a huge amount of time and money, and it flopped.  Bad way to start the year.

Q2 2011 – “Rational Recovery”

After the first quarter, we knew we had to make some changes.  And we did.  We had to restructure our business in a way that reflected the lessons we had learned, and would set us up for success for the remainder of the year.

We were all very frustrated with the results of the e-commerce debacle, and the first thing we needed was a plan to move forward in an intelligent, healthy way.  We spent most of our time in Q2 getting that plan together.

Q3 2011 – “Execution”

After we had a plan, we started executing on it.  We launched new products out to market, which increased our revenues.  WE got re-focused and re-centered on our CORE business.  We were hungry again, which was a nice feeling; we’d had it easy for a very long time, and when things are easy, it can lead to complacency.  We had a fire in our gut again, and we were unsure of how it would all turn out.

Q4 2011 – “Redemption”

In this last quarter of the year, we decided to do something we had never done before – join a network marketing program AND invite our students to participate with us in that venture. The first reason we wanted to do it was because it had been a while since we had grown a networking business, and we had the “itch” again

We had also been getting some flack from people questioning whether our system really worked, whether we were the “real deal”, and if someone could really grow a networking opportunity online.  We had ignored these types of comments in the past, but we heard it enough that we decided that we would love the opportunity to answer the critics.

We were first uncertain if our clients even wanted us to do something of that nature, but after we got a response from this post, we decided that overall, it was a must-do.

We then walked our subscribers through the process of how to choose a network marketing company.

We finally decided to join a company (this company).  We were surprised about how well it has gone since launch.  We broke company records, qualified for a new BMW from the company (within 90 minutes of joining), and have helped 4 people qualify for their own BMW as well.

We became the 2nd top enroller in the company on our first month.

We helped 24 other people hit Rising Star distinction in the company.

And just so you know – we are not saying this to brag at all.  We’re overwhelmingly grateful for the opportunity, and could absolutely not have pulled this off without the team of very talented entrepreneurs that decided to work with us in this venture.

Below is a list of our top leaders in our organization right now.  (NOTE: if you’re on our team, and not yet on this list, we are TRULY looking forward to seeing your name on here in 2012!)

Patrick & Linda Logan
Sally & Lloyd Brogan
Hanh Ho
Kristine Huynh
Scott Fashimpaur
Jerry Pugh & Bridget
Linda Bertram
Scott Fashimpaur Jr
Trudy Arnett
Ron Ellis
Lynne Mongell
Aaron Sawyer
James Gomez
Gina Deere
Angela Thompson
Carol Saucier
Sean Brogan
Glenn Hunter
Yogi & Yoli Palenko
Ricardo Mendes
Daniel Musgrove
Travis Musgrove

We give these people ALL the credit for helping us build our organization.  These people are networking professionals, leaders, and very talented entrepreneurs.  We are SO BLESSED to have so many great people on our team.

The Take-Away’s

So if you’re reading this right now, there are just a few key lessons that I want you to take away from this:

1. You will make mistakes.  You will fail.  You will screw up. 

Get over yourself.

You’re not perfect.  You’ve got a lot to learn – we all do. We make mistakes, every entrepreneur that is worth their salt will make mistakes, and if you want to be successful, you will make them too.  It’s a reality, so instead of fearing failure, embrace it. You are not going to get to where you want to be without some failure.  And…the irony is that typically, the bigger the success you become in life, the bigger the failures you will be expected to overcome.

2. Move Forward With Courage

If you fail big enough, you’ll be tempted to quit.

Don’t.

Move forward.  And keep moving forward, with courage.  It’s scary to continue.  It may seem foolish to continue.  But the minute you give up on your dreams and goals, THAT’S the minute you start dying.  And chances are, right at your lowest moment, when you think you cannot possibly continue…that will be the moment it all turns around.

Don’t give up on yourself.  Move forward with courage.

3. Be Strategic

Many entrepreneurs are just throwing “you know what” against the wall, and seeing what sticks.

That business strategy works for some people.  But personally, I’d recommend you be strategic about your life.

That means you think through your decisions beforehand.  You weigh the positives and the negatives.  You do the hard homework ahead of time that yields a positive result from a well-considered and well-executed decision.

Be strategic about your health, your business, your relationships…everything.  I don’t believe you can be “too intentional” about any of those things.

4. Be Grateful

Whatever your current challenge may be…

However dark your present circumstances…

Consider that others have been in darker, more challenging circumstances…and have overcome.

That means you can overcome as well.

Be grateful for the many, many blessings and opportunities you have.  Chances are, if you stop to consider your life (honestly) you’ll find that you have a huge amount to be grateful for.

Don’t discount the power of gratitude.  It can transform your life.

And on that note, I want to let you know that we here at HBSA are grateful for YOU.  Thank you for being a part of what we do.

Here’s to your success in 2012!

- The HBSA Team

P.S. – Here’s a video we found that you may enjoy as well!  (Embedding has been disabled, so you’ll have to check it out on the youtubes