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Steve Baker(Executive Director)
Hi my name is Steve Baker.
Before starting my Pre-Paid Legal business, I was a house painter and decorator in Southern California for 16 years. I had a pretty good life for a single man with no money. I started work about 6 a.m. and was done by 3 p.m. I was making a whopping $10 an hour. Most of my time away from house painting was spent playing soccer or at the beach with all my friends who worked in construction.
My lifestyle is completely different now. My income has increased every year for the past 5 years. Before I became involved with Pre-Paid Legal Services, I drove a very old Nissan ZX3000 with about 160,000 miles on it. Now I drive a Mercedes Benz 320CLK. Two years ago, I moved from Southern California to Minnesota after marrying my lovely wife Kathleen. We live in a beautiful house on a lake. It’s great because my office is about 20 feet from the water so I can work and fish at the same time. It doesn’t get any better than that! My wardrobe is also completely different these days. My old painting buddies wouldn’t recognize me. I love to dress up in a nice suite and tie, back in my painting days I didn't even own a suit. Before becoming involved with Pre-Paid Legal, I had not had a holiday (don’t forget, I’m from England where we say holiday vs. vacation) in 16 years. I have qualified for every incentive trip offered by the company since starting my business with PPL. My wife and I have been to Cancun, Mexico, the Bahamas and beautiful Lake Tahoe. I have also had the opportunity to take my wife’s parents to England, Ireland and France which has been a dream of theirs for years. It's great to go to another country for weeks at a time and have more money in your account than when you left. That never happened when I was painting houses.
It's crazy how I was introduced to Pre-Paid Legal Services. An old friend of mine who lived in Northern California called me up one day and said that I needed to listen to this cool phone message (I later learned it’s called a Sizzle Call). She said that it was not for her but she thought I might be interested. Well, I listened to the call and never gave it another thought. The crazy thing is that my friend in Northern California never mentioned the call to me again either. Eight months later, one of my friend’s girlfriends asked me to go to a meeting in Southern California. I had no idea what the meeting was about but she was persistent so I ended up going. I listened to the presenters from the back of the room. I had never used an attorney before, however there were a few times in my life when it would have been very handy to have an attorney on my side IF I could have afforded one and known who to call. I ended up getting signing up as a member more to help my friend out. Clearly, I hadn’t really “gotten it” yet. My initial goal was to earn an extra $500 or $600 so I could afford a plane ticket back to England for Christmas that year.
The first time I had an idea that Pre-Paid Legal might be a great opportunity for me was when Mr. Mark McDonald, my upline contacted me. I lived just around the corner from him and he asked if I would like to help him out with a group account that he had. I had no idea what a group account was but he said that if I helped him he would pay me!!!!!!! So I went and watched Mr. McDonald present to about 40 people. The presentation took about 20 minutes and 36 people signed up. On the way home after the presentation with a huge smile on his face, Mr. McDonald told me that he had just earned about $3,000. From that moment on I knew that I could earn great money with Pre-Paid Legal Services.
Pre-Paid Legal is in my SOLE now 6 years later, there is nothing that I DON’T like about Pre-Paid Legal. Like most people, I have my ups and downs, however I feel that is no different to life in general. I love the company. I love the products we offer. I love the Pre-Paid Legal mission. I love the friends I have made. I love the focus on personal development. I love the opportunity we can offer others. I will be a Pre-Paid Legal Associate for life.
Being part of Pre-Paid Legal Services has given me so much; it has transformed my life and me. It has given me time freedom, new friends that I will have for life, the opportunity to earn more money than I ever imagined. The opportunity has also allowed me to become the person that I always believed I had the potential to be, and never thought I could be.
What was your greatest accomplishment in 2006?
The greatest Pre-Paid Legal accomplishment for me in 2006 was being chosen Vice President of Group Marketing in the great state of Minnesota. The greatest personal accomplishment of 2006 was being able to share 3 great weeks in Europe with my wife and her parents, and having them seen where I come from, my roots.
What are your goals for 2007?
My Pre-Paid Legal goals for 2007 are: Become a $250,000 ring earner, qualify for Gold Executive Director, keep growing as a person and become the leader I know I can be. I’m also committed to helping as many other people as I can to achieve the success they deserve.
Additional comments:
There are many, many people I want to thank for helping me be where I am today, especially for what they have done to support me over the past 5 years. Special thank you's go to: Mark & Veini McDonald for standing by me and keeping me in the game every time I wanted to quit; Mary Weddle (My friend) and everyone in the group marketing division at Corporate Headquarters, nothing happens without their expertise; Kevin McDaniels in Minnesota, who gave me the chance that no one had ever given me before, without even knowing me, the day I moved to Minnesota; Marilyn Thompson for offering me the position of vice president of Group Marketing in Minnesota;
Team Work Makes The Dream Work, Steve, Kim, and Mike Melia for their leadership; my team and my friends: nothing happens without a team and without friends. Lastly, I want to thank my family and my wife, Kathleen for their support and understanding over the past few years.
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