Melaleuca Made a Difference for the Paulin Family

Just a few years ago, the economic recession was poised to destroy Brooke and Jason Paulin’s finances and their hope for the future. But thanks to Melaleuca, the Paulins enjoy greater financial freedom today than they ever have before.

The Big Announcement

LITTLE MORE THAN TWO YEARS AGO, in 2009, Brooke Paulin made an exciting announcement to her husband: she was pregnant with their second child. After the initial celebration died down, Jason’s mind began swirling with questions and doubts.

“It was exciting, but it was also scary,” Jason remembers. “I wasn’t sure we could afford all of the expenses that come with having a baby.”

At the time, their personal training studio was hurting in a sagging economy, they had more than $70,000 in debt and Jason was working 16-hour days to make up their economic shortfall.

“I have friends who have lots of money but no time, and friends who have lots of time but no money,” Jason says. “I guess you could say we didn’t have either one.”

But the Paulins’ worries were offset by one ray of hope: Brooke’s growing Melaleuca business. That spring, in 2010, Jason joined his wife in the business, and they used Melaleuca to change their lives forever. Working together, they earned a hope-inspiring check for $6,761, and then eclipsed it with a monthly check for $21,662 before the end of the year.

Real Time Freedom

Along the way, the Paulins enrolled their friends Eric and Audrey Shaw. Eric was a successful realtor, but his work often left him with little time for family. When, at the end of 2010, the Paulins came for a birthday party driving a brand-new Cadillac Escalade, Eric couldn’t help but ask Jason about his new car.

“He asked, ‘Is your car in the shop?’” Jason remembers. “I told him, ‘No, this is our new car from our Melaleuca business.’ Then I told him my goal was to have a little more time with my boys, and that really caught his attention.”

Eric and Audrey started seriously building a Melaleuca business and reached Director the next month and then Director II two months later. Today, the Shaws’ monthly Melaleuca check has reached $4,534, and Eric no longer commutes to work 90 minutes each day. With the Shaws’ advancement to Senior Director, and Chris and Melissa Cretin’s quadruple advancement to Senior Director II, the Paulins reached Executive Director V. “We couldn’t have done it without either of them,” Brooke says.

“Melaleuca has given us an extraordinary sense of freedom, so we’re just trying to help others have that experience as well,” says Jason, whose Melaleuca income of $642,417 has all but obliterated his financial worries. “I used to wake up to an alarm at 4 a.m., but now my two boys are my alarm clock.”

Just last month, Brooke let Jason know his alarm clock is about to get a bit louder: Brooke and Jason are now expecting their third child this fall.

“I knew Jason was stressed when I told him I was pregnant with our second child,” Brooke says. “But when I told him I was pregnant a few weeks ago, he had a completely different reaction. It was nothing but hugs and kisses this time.”

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