“I’m proud to be recognized as Executive of the Year by the Business Intelligence Group,” said Wuerch. “In just our first year in business, we’ve seen tremendous growth with hundreds of thousands becoming members with Solavei and our social commerce network driving down everyday expenses for families across the country.”

Each year, the Business Intelligence Group seeks to recognize true talent and superior performance in business. Judged by some of the business industry’s biggest names, the Business Intelligence Group selectively measures performance across multiple business domains and then rewards those companies whose achievements continually stand above their peers.

“We love Ryan Wuerch’s vision for the future of mobile services and the development of a social commerce network,” said Dawn Fordyce, managing director, Business Intelligence Group. “It’s exciting to see a business model shaking up the industry and positively impacting lives.”

People join Solavei to enjoy contract-free, unlimited voice, text and data mobile service on a leading nationwide 4G network for just $49/month, and in the future Solavei will also offer its customers reduced-cost primary household goods and services such as general merchandise, broadband, energy, cable and financial services.

The Solavei social commerce network enables individuals to easily sign up, save money on primary goods and services and earn money when members refer their friends and family through the Solavei platform. To learn more about Solavei, visit solavei.com

Solavei is the world’s first social commerce network – it represents a whole new way of doing business. The Solavei mission is to make commerce less expensive and even profitable. While other companies spend billions on retail locations and traditional advertising, Solavei rewards its members for sharing Solavei with the people who know and trust them. Solavei does this by providing a social commerce network that enhances its members’ social connections and naturally rewards them for sharing the products and services they use every day. Former Fortune 100 telecom and retail executives and advisors lead Solavei. For more information, visit Solavei.com. For the brand’s latest news and updates, find Solavei on social media at Facebook.com/Solavei and Twitter.com/Solavei.

About the Business Intelligence Group

The Business Intelligence Group, creator of the BIG Awards, was founded with a mission of recognizing true talent and superior performance in the business world. Unlike other award programs, real business people with experience and knowledge judge the BIG Awards. The organization’s proprietary and unique scoring system selectively measures performance across multiple business domains, and rewards companies whose achievements stand above those of their peers.

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Photo Credits, Tim Alamenciak

What is a defining characteristic you see in high-performing athletes, successful entrepreneurs, well-respected artists and high-level educators? The characteristic I see in all these individuals is present despite their different socio-economics, upbringing, education or experience levels.

It is PASSION.

I have spoken on the difference between a leader and a follower. Consider for a moment, how many successful leaders have you followed who have lacked passion or a drive to accomplish that which was in front of them? The answer is probably none.

Now consider where you are right now. What goal do you have for your business that you believe in so strongly, one you will go for despite all challenges and obstacles?

Accomplishing a dream and making a real change in the world around you is hard work. Steve Jobs said we have to have a lot of passion for what we do because if we don’t, any rational person would give up. I agree entirely.

Other successful entrepreneurs have said similar things on the importance of passion in work; Jeff Bezos said, “One of the huge mistakes people make is that they try to force an interest on themselves. You don’t choose your passions; your passions choose you.”

And when your passion is intertwined with love and the optimism of what could be, you will be driven to capture what most would think is impossible.  Mark Twain, I feel, said it best, “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”

See more of what Steve Jobs had to say on passion in this short video of his talk to entrepreneurs:

My passion is to see millions of people’s lives positively impacted through a social commerce platform that will redefine distribution as we know it.

I would love to hear what your passions are in the comment section below. Remember, when leaders are truly passionate, everyone around them who is part of their pursuit, feels that passion in themselves as well.

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Photo Credits, ExtraMileGirl

The fundamental element of trust is following through with what you say you will do. It is finding a way to come through with what you promised, even when you have to do more than what was originally planned. Whether it is committing to more hours during the week or weekend to get it done, or going beyond what you would you would normally do. It is ensuring you will not let down those who are relying on you. People who are trustworthy will fight to fulfill commitments in order to be true to their word.

Trust is an important element in people’s willingness to follow your lead. It is earned slowly but constantly grows as promises are fulfilled. Trust indicates a belief that once you make a promise you will fulfill it. However, reality can put you at odds with your promise and trust can be compromised.

If you are focused with a long-term perspective and understand what will be best for the business and those around you, you will be driven to fulfill your promise, regardless of what challenge you face. You may at times have to make decisions that are for the greater good of all in the long-term, but those closest to you may not initially understand. The key is to always have integrity, character and the interests of others as your priority. In the end, you will prove you have made the best choices along the way.

At Solavei, we are working to make commerce less expensive, and even profitable, for everyone. We are changing the way commerce works and creating a revolution in the industry.  We have come across challenges, but have made decisions we believe align with our vision and will be the best for our members.

What is a promise you’ve made recently? How do you cultivate trust? Was there ever a time you had to face reality and find a way to fulfill your promise despite challenges?

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Photo Credits: Derrick Collins

Rubber bands are meant to be stretched. In fact, they are fulfilling their purpose and are most useful when they are stretched fully. Think of yourself as a rubber band, are you stretching yourself or are you lying loose on the table or in a drawer? Do you know how far you can stretch yourself? If you have been hesitant to stretch yourself further, remember the greater the challenge, the greater the victory.

Sometimes we are stretched pretty thin, feeling like we are about to break, and a storm still looms in front of us. It is at these times that we actually see what we are made of and how much more we can do. In the midst of a challenge, always keep your goal always in front of you and never forget that every storm will end. Try not to lose sight of your goal in the fog of the storm. The reward of accomplishing your goal is far greater when you had to struggle and stretch to reach it.

When training for a marathon, it doesn’t matter if it is raining, extremely hot or my body doesn’t feel like it can handle more, I know I must do what it takes to complete my training runs. While I am running marathons, despite any pain or desire to quit, I focus myself on the finish line and the sense of accomplishment I will feel when I cross it. Whether an injury at mile 18 of a marathon forced me to slow to a walk, but felt like I needed to crawl, or passing out at the Singapore Marathon at mile 20 due to the heat, I always press on toward the finish line because I know how great the reward of fulfilling my goal will be.

At Solavei, we do the same thing. We are creating something that has never been done before and it isn’t without challenge and hard work. But it’s the stories of our members who are benefitting from the opportunity that keep us stretching and doing whatever it takes to accomplish our objectives. When our members are able to buy groceries, pay for their mobile phone bill or even pay their mortgage, it is a constant reminder that we must keep stretching at all times. It positively impacts their lives, their relationships and their health because we push through a challenge, work to find solutions and create success for our members. The stories from the members are our reward and each one is far greater than any challenge we face.

Are you ready to stretch yourself beyond where you’ve been before?  What are the goals that keep you pushing beyond your mental limits?

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Recently, I spoke at the Video Plus University 2013 conference, where I delivered the vision of Solavei to CEOs and senior executives of the top 100 direct sales companies in the world. The presentation was similar to the one I give during our Solavei Socials, but I wanted to share additional details form the presentation.

The creation of a Social Commerce Revolution.

Solavei was created to fully capitalize on converging trends where consumer behavior gravitates toward saving money, being connected in a social environment, using a mobile phone for primary communication and sharing with those closest to you when you find something of quality and good value.  Solavei offers consumers an alternative, a less expensive form of commerce that benefits individuals by moving the millions of dollars spent on traditional marketing and advertising to people. History has shown that in order to create a strong movement, you cannot settle for thousands, you must have millions. That is why Solavei strives to create real positive change in millions of people’s lives across the country with something as simple as mobile service.

We have created a low barrier to entry with Solavei, just $49/month for unlimited mobile service and no membership fee. We want to focus on the consumers who share with other consumers. This is a consumer-to-consumer relationship, not business-to-business.

Of our members, 90% do not have experience in direct selling, yet over 35% of them have enrolled someone. That’s because Solavei is about sharing, not selling, and has made it easy by creating a platform that empowers its members to share Solavei through the social networks they’re already connected to. It comes naturally to members and we make it easy for them to tell their friends.

Mobile service is our first offer. From here we will expand and continue to make everyday commerce less expensive, and even profitable for members of Solavei. We can do this because we do not spend our money on advertising but instead on the best advertisers in the world, people!

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Everyone has heard it before, “Do what you love.” The idea is if you are doing work you would do even if you didn’t get paid, you will be happier and more productive. They say when you set out to find work, you should look for something that you will enjoy because, after all, you’ll have to do it for at least five days and 40 hours a week.

However, identifying one job that encompasses what you love doing, then actually getting that job, may not be possible or practical. And unfortunately, we don’t all work at our dream job. So, how are we supposed to do what we love if our job of choice is not practical?

Instead, consider what you love on a broad scale. Is it teaching, writing, building, being with people, being outdoors, planning, creating or something else? Determine what is the foundation of your passion. This isn’t always an easy task. If you find it difficult to identify your passion, think about what makes you happy. Then break those things down until you find a common factor that represents what you really enjoy.

If this cannot be incorporated into your profession, find another way to express it through a hobby, an additional job, volunteering or a club. Expressing your passions through doing what you love, even part time, has a positive impact on your life overall. You will feel fulfilled, happy and less stressed. Doing what you love is good for your mental and physical health.

My passion is helping others. I am fortunate to be able to incorporate this into my profession everyday through the vision of Solavei as I, along with our members, work to positively impact millions of people’s lives. However, even outside of Solavei, I create ways to do what I love by pursuing philanthropic interests, including sitting on the board of Miss America, a foundation that makes a wonderful contribution to the education and leadership of women.

The objective is to continue to do what you love, even if it can only be part-time.

What do you love to do? Tweet to me @rwuerch!

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There are a several situations often overlooked by driven and high-energy entrepreneurs that, if ignored, can be detrimental to the overall business. The key to avoid using resources on unnecessary activities is consistent evaluation of the overall company strategy, goals and values. If your activities do not align with these, then it is time to pause or even to stop a project.

Quick questions to determine where to allocate resources:

1. Does this project add value to our company- either monetarily, culturally or through customer loyalty?
2. Does this project require resources that could be better utilized for a higher priority project?
3. Does the project help us meet our goals?
4. Does this project align with our overall strategy?

Dedicate time to evaluate your business in accordance with your overall strategy each week to determine what areas need adjustment. This will prevent the unnecessary use of resources on something that should have been ended earlier. It will also lead to higher productivity, efficiency, and a stronger ROI on activity.

Tell me! How do you allocate time to pause and reflect? Tweet to me at @rwuerch with your answers, I’d love to hear!

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Just as I strive to be a leader to my team, you are a leader to each person you share Solavei with daily. As leaders, part of our responsibility is to grow and build those we lead. I was recently reading an article online titled The Five Traits All Top Performers Share. The article lists five traits to look for when interviewing a new staff member. However, I believe these traits are also important to build within the teams we lead. I have chosen three of them I believe are essential to a strong team:

Intellectual Firepower: What does this mean? This is more than being academically educated. This has to do with listening, knowing what questions to ask and what information to supply. When you are sharing Solavei with friends and family, you will begin to develop a rhythm for your conversations. The more people you talk to the more intellectual firepower you will develop. You should also make sure to familiarize yourself with the resources available to you online as well as stay up to date on announcements. Remember, know all there is to know about what you are sharing and you will build trust in your team and your new connections.

Values: Solavei is built on values and those are at the very foundation of everything we are doing to revolutionize the social commerce industry. We wanted to provide individuals with the ability to save money on what they already buy every day so they could spend that money on something more important. Then we added the ability to earn income when you share Solavei to increase the benefit to everyone involved. Remember, a single relationship has the power to change the lives of many.

Work Ethic: The dedication of a leader inspires those who he or she leads. Show your team that you are committed and you believe in your cause through your consistent work ethic. Not only will you be inspiring those you shared Solavei with, but you will be able to accomplish more, grow your network and earn more. A consistent work ethic will expand your sphere of influence, enable you to learn new leadership strategies and accomplish your goals.

I build these traits in people in my team through example, education and counsel. I look for these traits in others when adding to my team. And most importantly, I keep these in mind as I go through my day.

Which of these traits resonates the most with you? Are there other traits you look for? Tweet to @rwuerch with your thoughts!

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Solavei is a member-driven business whose success depends on the success of the members. It is each and every member’s drive to share something beneficial with someone else that continues to expand the reach of the company. These members are determined to change their life and the lives of those around them.

Our Solavei members work hard towards a goal. They may be looking to eliminate their phone bill, to change their life by earning enough to pay for their groceries, for a car payment or to pay off their student loans. For many, it is to positively impact those around them. One of our top performing members, Staci Wallace, challenges herself to create a Trio a week. Some weeks she may find herself at Thursday and still needing one more person to complete that Trio. So she buckles down and focuses on enrolling that third person as a member.

However, a goal like Staci’s could never be realized without rewards along the way. Make sure to recognize your accomplishments as you strive towards the end goal. Remember, you deserve a reward for your hard work and achieving your goals. So take a moment and do something special for yourself. Our Reach the Beach incentive trip was a celebration of the hard work of these members. Even if you weren’t a Reach the Beach winner, it’s now your opportunity by setting your sights on the next challenge and focusing on winning a cruise in the Caribbean with us on our Cruise to Thousandaire!

I want to recognize every dedicated member within Solavei. Your energy, initiative and unwavering enthusiasm for Solavei has brought us all to where we are today. Together, we are at the forefront of changing social commerce forever, and making millions of lives better along the way. Thank you.

Join me on Twitter. I would love to hear your Solavei story and how it has positively impacted your life. Tweet to me @rwuerch.

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Solavei is about sharing something we believe in and, in the process, positively impacting peoples lives.  This attitude and mindset permeates throughout our company.  We are blessed to have so much this holiday season, so we wanted to ensure that local families and children in our area have a special holiday season, as well. Through the combined generosity and caring of our employees, we were able to give to the children from Childhaven, a center in the Seattle area that positively impacts children who have been affected by abuse and neglect. It was heart-warming to see the pile of gifts grow under our giving tree throughout the month of December.

This year was our first official Holiday Season with Solavei. Over the past several weeks, I’ve spent time thinking back on everything we have accomplished as a company in the last year. It really was amazing to see all the great things that were done. The team at Solavei, both employees and our members, worked hard to push our company towards creating a real positive ripple in people’s lives. Some of my favorite moments since we launched our company have come from listening and reading the real life stories that members submit about what our company has done positively for them. Solavei has become a financial source to thousands of families, even providing Christmas gifts this year for their children and loved ones.

I am proud of the abundant giving of the Solavei family and I cannot wait to see how it continues to grow each year.

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