Mr. Edwin Haynes is an internationally respected and celebrated businessman and a successful business coach from Houston, TX. He has been in Network Marketing for twenty years, although interestingly, he started in the music industry. Today Mr. Edwin Haynes is one of the faces of the powerful ibuumerang project. He is also addicted to personal development and residual income. In this in-depth interview he tells us about his life philosophy, friendship with Mr. Holton Buggs, ibuumerang and other often surprising things.
Helping people gets me up every morning. Mr. Edwin Haynes
Welcome Mr. Haynes. Thank you for finding the time to have this interview. It’s great to have you here at RankingMLM.com. Let’s talk about your beginnings. How did you start your business adventure?
It’s been 20 plus years now that I have been in the industry of network marketing or direct sales. Something that I reluctantly got started with. I came from 13 years in the music industry. But at that time the music industry began to change. From physical units to streaming music. I knew nothing about computers so I decided I have to do something different.
I began to look at different things that I can do to keep up with the lifestyle that I had created. The first time I was introduced to the industry it was from an online infomercial.
I went to a meeting and that was the first time I met my good friend Mr. Holton Buggs. We instantly knew we would be friends. Nothing came out of that opportunity, but we remain friends to this day.
A year later a friend of mine was asking me to come to a home party. He told me we were going to a barbecue cookout. I went thinking it’s going to be free drinks and some food. I went in the car with him. When we walked in, they had a big board and the easel in the living room. That was the moment when I realized, I am going to eat but only after I see the presentation. I had no choice. I had no car to go back home. I had to wait.
Holton Buggs was doing the presentation that day. I watched that presentation from the kitchen, away from the living room and I had no intention of doing the business. I was so mad because they tricked me for this presentation. So, when they asked me to fill in the application, I put down everything wrong except for my name.
When Holton wanted to get in touch with me it wasn’t easy. Eventually he found me at one of my offices. Holton came to my office and he talked to me for four hours about this opportunity. Long story short, I partnered with him. Over 20 years ago we started doing business together and we have been together ever since and we have done Billions of dollars of sales since then. Many lives have been changed and impacted through our partnership and friendship. That’s how I was introduced to the industry.
In terms of network marketing, was it love at first sight or you needed some time to be convinced? To convince yourself that this is the kind of business you want to do in life?
After I finished with the music industry, I didn’t know what I was going to do. I invested a little money here and there. Some business ventures failed and I found myself in bankruptcy and repossession. The house that I was living in was about to be taken.
It was tough but it took me about three years to understand network marketing. I had success in traditional business so I wanted to do it my way. I was the CEO of my music company where I had made good money. When I joined network marketing, I came over thinking I would take the same skills and methods and do this.
That thinking was completely wrong. I had to become a student again and it took me three years to realize that. Luckily, I had a person that was patient enough to go through that process with me and that ended up being Holton Buggs.
What else shaped you in life and in your business life. You mentioned this presentation, and your music experience but maybe some other facts, experiences or events from your life that shaped you as an entrepreneur but also as a human being?
It’s not a cliché; your income growth will never exceed your personal growth. Where I came from, reading wasn’t a big thing. We didn’t have libraries in our homes. We were just glad to have rooms to sleep in. But I fell in love with personal development.
I became addicted to it. I never forget when I used to travel, I had a harder time packing my books than my clothes. I wanted the books to go with me. This was pre audibles.com. When I was reading I would highlight in the books, then I would read it one more time, and the most important sentences I would put in my journal. I just fell in love with personal development. I tell people – I’m addicted to personal development and residual income.
How much time did you need to succeed in network marketing and what strategies did you use to achieve what you have achieved?
The first three years working with Holton, it was about changing my thinking. I had to realize that I’m in a different industry. I learned about mentorship. People talk about mentorship quite often and they don’t realize there’s a difference between being coached and being mentored.
Mentorship is for a lifetime. I chose to be mentored by Holton but more-so he chose to mentor me. We are the best of friends and family, but on the mentorship level he’s the mentor, I’m the mentee and we know how to keep that respectful relationship with one another.
He has my best interest at heart and I fully trust him. We studied books together like “Master Key to Riches” and of course the Napoleon Hill “Think and Grow Rich” and “The magic of Thinking Big”. Those books are still impactful. If you will allow the information to get into you and into your DNA, it can make a major difference for you.
There are three libraries that I worked on: a reading library, a listening library and a viewing library. I have videos that I still watch, to help me grow.
Right now, we are redoing my office and I just ran out of room for my books. My wife was saying: we’re gonna have to put some in storage. I said no, we’re gonna buy a bigger house so I can make sure I have space for books, I feel empowered just from seeing the books around me. I invest quite often in audio books. I listen to them when I am running. I understood that if you stop growing then most likely you’re dying as a human.
Edwin Haynes, ibüümerang
After all that time, you are still addicted to books. Are you into books, into reading as well?
All the time. Especially with what we’re doing. We were just regular distributors in this industry, but now we have stepped up to a whole different level of business, because it’s owned by Mr. Holton Buggs completely. In the business that we do now, there are certain skills that we have to have. To carry what we are currently working on into where it is going to go, and I know it’s going to be a multi-billion dollar opportunity, there are certain skill sets and the mindset that you have to have. In order for me to hit those goals I have to continue to become better and growth is a big part of that.
Mr. Haynes, why do you do what you do? What’s your drive? For many people it’s the money, for others it’s the security of their families, maybe the game, the adrenaline. What’s your drive? Why do you do what you do? Why do you do network marketing?
It started off purely because of the money. I wasn’t trying to save anybody or anything. I come from an old school way of thinking. It’s just like they say on the airline: if anything goes wrong on the plane put your mask on first and then help others. I had to put my mask on, I had to get my oxygen first. That was my financial freedom and being able to do things that I needed to do for me.
Now because of the bit of success that I have, I shouldn’t waste my talent. If you have a talent for something, go out there and pursue it. It would be a very unfortunate situation for me to have come from where I’ve come from, get to the level that I am right now and not continue to develop and grow. At this stage for me I am searching for significance more than for my personal gain. I thrive on helping others more than I do on helping just myself. That gets me up every morning.
This morning I was thinking about this interview and I knew we would be here with Maciek Wisniewski. He, just like a lot of different people that I work with around the world, became good friends. My aim is to help all these people to get to my level. In the time between when we were born and we when we leave this world we should spend each day with passion and purpose. What will my “dash” say? What would the report card of my life say? My goal is searching for significance. I want people to remember me for doing some good on this planet other than just taking care of myself and my family.
Let’s talk about problems, challenges. Mr. Haynes, what’s your secret to solving problems in business but also in life? Do you have a method of solving problems in your business and private life?
I have changed that term for me. I don’t have problems, I have challenges. The ones who solve the most challenges in life, typically make the most money. That’s why I changed the way that I think about problems. Challenges don’t like me, because they know I’m going to solve them. It’s just my mindset and my way of looking at it. Each challenge is unique and I get something out of it that helps me grow, to become a better person.
I have a private question, if I may. You spent 13 years in the music industry, so my question is what kind of music do you listen to? What kind of music do you listen to when you want to cheer yourself up? What kind of music do you listen to when you are making money?
I’m still a hip-hop guy. I did all kinds of music when I was in the music industry but to charge me up right now, I listen to the international rapper Drake. I love Drake, I also love Jay-Z. Jay-Z is not only an incredible rapper but he’s one incredible businessman. If you listen to some of Jay-Z’s rap there’s a lot of business philosophy in there too. I like Dr. Dre, an old school guy. I love his story, how he started and now he is a billionaire and the biggest mogul in the industry.
John C Maxwell said “Life is a matter of choices, and every choice you make makes you” You have decided to become a Global Master Ambassador distributor at ibuumerang. Why did you make that choice?
Because Holton Buggs asked me to.
Can you elaborate on that? Why have you decided to do it?
How did Mr. Edwin Haynes answer this question and the next ones asked by the rankingmlm.com, soon in the second part of our interview…
Editorial staff
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