‘Changing Your Life Starts with You’
What makes someone successful? Many would say it’s by one’s life accomplishments. Some would say its money; others would say it’s fulfilling one’s dreams. Some would even say that true success is happiness; satisfaction; fulfilment. The definition of each, however, is relative to the individual. Is there, then, a universal definition of success that is true to all?
Chakrapani Reddy, an upcoming star in QNET from Hyderabad answers these questions.
Can you give us a brief background of yourself? Where are you from, what have you studied, and where were you brought up? Any previous work experience before starting QNET?
I come from a small village in Andhra Pradesh, where my mother and father were farmers. They didn’t receive any education. Regardless, they worked hard and ensured that my brother (who is also a QNET Distributor), and I received a proper education. From age two, I studied in a government school in my village. When I was 15, I shifted to a hostel in Guntur, a small city in the same state and lived there all through college. Once I finished college, I moved to Hyderabad, the capital city for post-graduate studies.
After completing my studies, I landed a job at a big automotive company in Pune. Interestingly, that job was both my first and last job ever since within a few months of working there, I was introduced to QNET and I saw what a powerful opportunity it was. Realizing QNET’s vast potential, I quit my job.
Why did you choose QNET to start your direct selling journey?
From an early age, I watched my parents go through physical and mental hardship as agriculture farmers. It is a demanding job. Apart from that, there were also many financial challenges. Witnessing their difficulties since childhood, it was my dream to be able to provide for my parents’ retirement one day. I had asked them to retire while I was still studying, but they said, “Once you get a job, we’ll retire.”
From then on, my only goal was to get a job. After I graduated and got a job, I was struck with a reality check – my salary wasn’t enough to fulfil my dream anytime soon. It was really difficult to watch my parents continue to work so hard at their age and not be able to support them. My aspiration to provide for them pushed me to look for different opportunities to increase my income. Eventually, I found QNET through a friend and a professor at my university. They introduced me to the concept of direct selling and spoke to me about QNET, its great products and how I can leverage the opportunity offered by the company to establish a great sales business. I saw this opportunity as the key to giving my parents a better life. It was just the opportunity I had been searching for.
What were your initial challenges when you started this business? How did you overcome them?
The mentors I had in this business were in Hyderabad while I was in a different state, but they still guided me in the initial stages and taught me everything I needed to know to get my business running. I was still working in Pune at the time, so I took a personal leave from work and came to Hyderabad to learn from them. Soon after, I started promoting my QNET business and within just 2 weeks, I built an efficient team of 18 people. However, I went back after a while and tried to manage my team from Pune. I didn’t have much experience at this stage and I didn’t lead them the right way so within a month, I lost all 20 members who started with me.
Unfortunately, after they left, they also began to spread negative rumours and other times, false information in the circles that we used to work in. Due to this, no one wanted to work with me. For the next 10 months, I endured many challenges since all I experienced were rejections.
Despite this, I didn’t want to give up. My mentors were very supportive during this time. We created a support system wherein everyone would motivate each other by sharing their personal difficulties. This helped me stay strong as I knew other people were going through the same things I was. We told each other that it is during the hardest moments when we have to focus our efforts and never give in. The results will follow.
After I attended two important training programs by QNET under the Network Seminar Series, I started to believe that through this business, I could really change my life. I finally resigned from my job in Pune and in February 2013, I moved to Hyderabad and became a full-time entrepreneur. Soon after that, I attended my first V-Convention in Penang, Malaysia and was more motivated than ever. In May, I started cold-calling people to make presentations to and going out there to promote our wonderful products and business. Once I invested all my time in the business, I started to slowly build my second team in Hyderabad.
Can you describe your life before and after QNET? What were some of your life-changing moments at QNET?
It took me nearly two years of hard work and perseverance to save up enough money to provide for my parents’ retirement. I was able to give them 15 lakh rupees. It may not have been a large sum of money for many people out there. To them, It is equivalent to 4 years of their income. I had achieved my lifetime dream!
Being a part of the QNET business has not only changed my life financially but has also helped me develop and grow as a person. Until a few years ago, I was unable to speak and understand English properly because of my background. I also didn’t feel confident enough to pursue opportunities because of my financial situation at the time. Since I started my journey with QNET, I feel like a new ‘me’ has been unlocked from within. I limited myself from so many opportunities for the first 23 years of my life. The business model, the support system, and the training programs – all these things have truly helped me believe in myself and go after my dreams. Now I know that if I believe I can do it, I can achieve it.
How important is teamwork in direct selling? What do you do to ensure your team members are happy, satisfied and working to the best of their capabilities?
I really believe in the saying, “Alone, you go fast. As a team, you go far.” In the direct selling industry, we cannot succeed by working alone. Only teamwork brings you success, and in my team, we follow that principle. Each of us grows every single day to overcome our weaknesses and not think or worry about problems. Instead, we focus on the solution by simply enjoying what we do. When we love what we do, we give our best, every day.
In direct selling, following professional practices, while doing business is of utmost importance. Do you have any advice on how to practice professional marketing in this business?
The crux of the direct selling business lies in people meeting other people and discussing the products and business opportunities. Yet, there are many instances where people are misled into believing they are signing up for some kind of investment scheme. We hear news of people filing a police complaint stating they haven’t been informed anything about this business, they were deceived, they were cheated etc. Such practices are harmful and they destroy the reputation of our industry.
I always ensure that my team members clearly explain the business during presentations to prospective customers and distributors and then re-confirm if they’ve understood what was explained. In fact, we have also added a second layer of verification to this process by getting prospects to sign an affidavit that states something along the lines of – “I was explained everything about this business. I understand clearly and I’m paying money to purchase X product.” It’s a matter of honesty and integrity. That is the only way we can build a sustainable business.
Do you have a milestone that you are proud of? If so, can you take us through the journey of what inspired you to achieve it?
I have! I achieved the rank of a Sapphire Star in QNET. I worked very hard to get to this benchmark. I planned for it strategically worked with my team on goals, and tracked our progress diligently. This approach also allowed me to evaluate where I was lacking and work on it. I’m so proud that all the hard work has paid off and by being consistent with this approach, both my team and I achieved the Sapphire Star rank.
Did you ever face situations where you wanted to give up? If yes, how did you tackle them?
In my first year of business, when my team quit on me and spread false rumours, I doubted whether I would ever be able to succeed in this business. I used to often think, “I have been alone for so many months now and still have no team. Is this even worth it?” So, yes, I felt like giving up many times. But I had strong motives which didn’t allow me to – providing for my parents’ retirement. Every day, I spoke to them to remind myself of my dream. That kept me motivated to move forward.
Any success tips for young entrepreneurs who are looking to join the direct selling industry?
👉If you are consistent with your efforts to achieve success, no matter how many problems you encounter, your life will change. The key is to never give up.
👉Keep growing every single day, in all aspects to become a better person. This is imperative to succeed in this industry.
What are your plans? Where do you see yourself and your team in the next 5 years?
Thanks to QNET, I have changed my and my family’s lives completely. I’ve had immense growth personally as well as professionally. My ultimate goal now is to help 1,000 people change their lives completely through the QNET business. I aim to make at least eight of my team members make it to the V Council (an Ambassador Platform that works closely with QNET on business direction) in the next five years; and for myself, to become an Associate V Partner.
