About Us
Who are Sharon and Michael Bott? Well for a number of years we were both actors. We met doing a show together in 1983 and married the next year.
A daughter and son arrived in quick succession and we moved out of London to the edge of the Cotswolds. After a few happy years as a fulltime mum, I turned to writing and producing corporate videos. Michael became involved and together we set up a video production company, Illuminated Word. He was behind the camera and in the edit suite and I did the ‘people’ stuff, interfacing with clients, writing and producing. We made a great team. Still do!
Gradually Michael turned to making special interest documentary DVDs for direct sale via the internet and I moved into presentation skills and media training and life coaching.
Then at the age of 50 it dawned on us. Our finances weren’t really where we’d like them to be. The fame and fortune we’d assumed would come our way had somehow eluded us. Our freelance lifestyle hadn’t equipped us with fat company pensions. Unless something changed soon, retirement didn’t ever look like being an option. The future was uncertain.
That’s when I tripped across Forever. I met a Forever distributor at a business networking breakfast and she invited me to take a look at the business. I’m afraid that in my ignorance and scepticism, I declined. I thought that this business, assuming that it wasn’t a scam, was about selling soap to strangers (or even worse – to my mates). No way was I interested! But out of politeness I inquired about Aloe Vera. Why would anyone drink a wacky cactus juice?
What I heard about Aloe’s properties convinced me to try it, and I became a customer. Experiencing the benefits made me a convert. A few months later, when I took a proper look at the business opportunity, I realised just what I’d potentially got my hands on:
- an ethical company, using a sound business model, with products I was happy to endorse and recommend
- something I could begin with almost no investment, which I could fit around my other commitments
- a way of achieving a pension style income that would give us security for life, without pouring half a million plus into a pension plan.
I signed up as a distributor, took home my box of goodies and started putting a plan together.
As promised, my hand has been held every step of the way but I’ve never felt the slightest pressure from anyone else to achieve ‘targets’. I’ve set my own goals, and been given incredible help, support and encouragement to reach them. But they have always been MY goals, not someone else’s.
I’ve loved every minute of it, especially helping others to build their own bridge between where they are now and where they want to get to. You can only be successful in this business by helping other people to be successful so the sense of job satisfaction is enormous.
So is the personal growth that happens imperceptibly alongside building your business. I’ve grown in confidence, I’ve developed new skills, I’ve become a better listener … And the future is now looking far brighter than I ever imagined. Particularly given the current economic uncertainty.
