Meet Colleen Markham of Conscious Mama & Arbonne Independent Consultant in South Shore

Today we’d like to introduce you to Colleen Markham.

Colleen, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
The foundation for my professional and creative life has always been a passion for helping people. I studied Education at Boston College because I wanted to make a difference in children’s lives, but I graduated in 2008 – smack-dab in the middle of the so-called Great Recession.  Finding a classroom teaching job proved exceedingly difficult, so I did the least-rational thing: I spent the next three years bouncing back and forth between the East and West Coast.  I lived in San Francisco for about a year, and while there I found work at a metaphysical shop.  I had long been fascinated by esoteric teachings, holistic health, and the “woo-woo” world so it was a perfect fit.  While there, I started developing my own intuitive abilities and learned how to do tarot and aura readings – things that my East Coast upbringing had deemed too “out-there” – but I loved every second of it. I also dove headfirst into understanding the preventative healing powers of a clean eating when the eczema that covered my hands completely healed from just seven days of avoiding inflammatory foods like gluten, dairy, sugar, and coffee.

I moved back to Massachusetts after being accepted into the Peace Corps (an opportunity that unfortunately did not pan out) and as I’m sure you can imagine, my newfound abilities and interests were not exactly mainstream here in the Bay State back in 2010. I suppose I wasn’t quite ready to let my freak flag fly either, so I yet again did the least-rational thing: I got a job in corporate. At a telecom company. In a dismal gray cubicle.  I knew right away that I had made a mistake and that became even more clear when I found out I was pregnant. I couldn’t imagine leaving my newborn son for eleven hours a day for a job I hated.  So, a few weeks after he was born, I opened an in-home daycare.

Let’s just say it wasn’t glamorous.  I hardly saw other adults, my house was a zoo, and while the money was decent, I quickly realized that the only way I could make more would be working longer hours with more children. Which meant less sanity, something I was very deficient in as a first-time mom. So, I started praying for an alternative. I desperately wanted to pursue my own passions – for helping others, for health and wellness, for the woo-woo hippie-dippie stuff – but I also wanted to make my own hours. And a good income. I knew that was probably impossible, but I prayed anyway.

Enter Arbonne. It’s amazing how opportunities that are meant for us also tend to scare us half to death, and honestly, I was so hesitant to join the network marketing industry. I was convinced they were all pyramid schemes, that it would never work for me, that the products couldn’t possibly be that great, that I would be “that lady” — the list goes on.

But when I realized that their cruelty-free, vegan, non-GMO ingredient policy was something I could really get behind, I uncrossed my arms. Then, when I heard about the gluten-free anti-inflammatory nutrition program, I started leaning forward. I stopped listening to the voices saying, “What if you fail?” and started making space for the small voice that said, “What if you fly?”

Four years later, I am grateful every day for my network marketing business. As a single mom now, I honestly shudder to think of what my life would look like if I hadn’t built this business and I didn’t have the residual income it provides. I get to work just a handful of hours a week while also pursuing my passions in other areas (teaching part-time at a Montessori preschool, Tarot and mediumship readings here and there, and my Conscious Mama Coaching business, just to name a few) and while being able to be there for my two young boys as much as possible.

Today, I teach self-love every day and train others on how to treat food as medicine as well as how to have their own successful network marketing businesses with this incredible company. I love helping other women to create more balance and harmony in their lives. Network marketing isn’t exactly how I envisioned I would get there, but it has been an incredible vehicle towards a better future for me, my boys, and so many others, and I am grateful beyond words.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
When I first started my network marketing business, I think I was subconsciously under the impression that it would be a get-rich-quick scheme and four years into it — *poof*– I would wake up as a multi-millionaire. The truth is, like anything, it takes more work and commitment than you would imagine, and to be honest, I’ve considered giving it up (as recently as last month, actually!) on more than one occasion.
The key to this business — and any business where you are your own boss — is that we set our own limits on our success. The biggest obstacles aren’t the “no’s,” it’s what we tell ourselves when we hear them. As a result, I’ve become obsessed with personal development and leadership, constantly growing and transforming myself so that setbacks don’t become excuses to give up. I’ve learned that when someone says no, it isn’t about me – it’s about them and their own fears, often ones that were so similar to my own.
With no one over my shoulder telling me to get to work, lack of organization and consistency can be a major pitfall. I have a few tricks to keep myself accountable but the best one is knowing that I have an incredible team of like-minded ladies (and a few brave men) who are right alongside me every step of the way. (Love you guys.)

We’re all afraid to step out of our comfort zones, but that’s where all the fun is. It’s a daily struggle to keep putting one foot in front of the other sometimes, but when I think about what’s possible with this business and the legacy I can leave for my family, I stop thinking of it as “work” and start seeing it as a gift that others need to know about.

So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Conscious Mama & Arbonne Independent Consultant story. Tell us more about it.
A quick Google search will tell you plenty of information about Arbonne, the company I’m affiliated with as an Independent Consultant. Their vegan health and wellness products truly are the epitome of healthy living from the inside out, and I am so proud to be a brand ambassador.   Success in the network marketing business, however, is not just about sharing products with others and encouraging them to shop in my online store.  True long-term success comes from teaching and training other individuals to launch their own businesses, which requires a very specific skillset and most importantly, the desire to lead with your heart.

I discovered early on that this – the coaching and encouragement side – was the part of the business that I found most rewarding.  I loved motivational speaking and my background in metaphysics and healing meant I was already well aware of the importance of our own mindset as it relates to our success. I love coaching and supporting my team, and I also wanted to work with people who aren’t necessarily affiliated with the Arbonne brand.  So in 2017 I launched Conscious Mama Coaching.

I received my certification as a Whole Being Coach and released an online talk show called “The Wealthy Lightworker,” where I interviewed other servant-hearted, spiritual entrepreneurs on the topic of abundance and wealth.  I then debuted my first group coaching program, The Conscious Mama Cocoon, which was a four-month transformative journey to help women awaken to their Divine Feminine, grounded in themes from the tarot.  I absolutely loved that program and I look forward to launching another Cocoon group later this year.

With Arbonne and Conscious Mama Coaching, I have two different avenues where I can apply my passion of helping others heal, and for that I feel very blessed.

Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
I am a huge believer in the law of attraction and the tenets of quantum physics, which demonstrate that what we think about, we bring about. I could write a list of twenty books on the subject that have been absolute game-changers for me, but suffice to say that I have seen firsthand how simply believing and trusting that things will work out for the best has been vital to my success and my happiness.  Some people may call that luck,  but I know that only by consistently working on myself, meditating, practicing yoga, taking care of my body and catching the negative self-talk will I align with the people and opportunities that will help me pursue my dreams.

I see signs all the time, and I don’t take them lightly. Repeating numbers, specific animals (butterflies and birds especially), songs that come on at just the right moment, thoughts I can’t shake out of my head – things like these aren’t coincidences in my world. They are messages to my intuition and I do everything I can to honor them.

One example? The first-ever Tarot deck I worked with way back in the day? It was called Voyager. Coincidence? Nope, never.

Getting in touch: BostonVoyager is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.