"Just do the right thing, admit your mistakes when you make them, kick your ego to the curb, and help people."
In the 1990s Tara Paustenbach was frustrated, broke, and defeated in so many ways. She has been a repeat offender in all the minimum-wage employment opportunities someone like her (no college degree, very little experience) could get – retail at the mall, food server, and bartender. She tried a few home business start-ups and fell flat on her face, leaving her more stressed than ever by 1998, which is when she was introduced to a company almost as old as she was that offered a service she desperately needed for herself – LegalShield (PPLSI). She became a customer and after using the service twice she knew she’d tell everyone about it, and since she needed the money she figured she’d take advantage of their affiliate program until she found a “real job”. Tara hasn’t had a job since. Flash forward more than 23 years, and she has been a self-employed entrepreneur with this company (honestly) working part-time hours for a full-time income. Sort of failed her way to figuring out how to earn her first $1 Million within about 15 years, and now, as a full-time work-from-home single mom to a teen, she loves working her business around their family schedule, protecting and empowering people and other business owners along the way. She loves what she does … and as they say, when you do what you love, it never feels like work.
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Table of Contents
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
Tara Paustenbach: As I shared in my bio, I sort of crash-landed into PPLSI (the parent-company for LegalShield and IDShield – the two flagship products we represent) having failed at everything else I tried … well, “failed” in the sense that I was burnt-out from working crazy schedules delivering food, slinging beers or dealing with mall customers, and always being broke 2-days after my last paycheck. I remember once I bartended for 21 straight nights in a row because that’s how much I needed my tips so I could keep gas in my truck. Good times.
Honestly, I was at my lowest level of self-confidence and optimism ever — and I’m a pretty optimistic person — by 1998, so in the back of my mind, I remember thinking, “Hey, I love the service and will happily refer it for cash, but this will probably end up the crash and burning like the others, so while I’m looking for a real job I may as well earn some commissions here and there.” Little did I know, just reaching out to about 20 people in those first 30 days, even though the majority said no, I enrolled my first 9 customers – friends and family, you know how it goes – and they figured they’d also rather earn referral commissions telling folks about this service than send them to me, so they started my team. I earned about $3700 my first month, which was more than I’d ever earned do anything else at that time, and … my optimism went up a few notches. Haha!
Within a little more than I year, I reached that first prestigious position with our company, and it blew my mind because I always knew “those people” could have success, but didn’t believe I could do it. Until I did. Within 2 1/2 years, I was the 2nd female to ever reach a tipping-top rank in a company (at the time) that was about as old as me – 30. Along the way, in addition to being a sales rep and developing a lot of education in leadership, much through trial and error, I also served in a few corporate roles like helping to run the Southern California region, then, once moving to Austin, Texas, helping to lead the state of Texas toward more growth… and I did! Yay! I’m so grateful for all I’ve learned and all the opportunities. Frankly, had my back NOT been against the wall financially, I likely would have let this opportunity get by me because in 1998 I didn’t think that 2022 Tara could be real. It all worked out.
Can you tell us a story about the hard times that you faced when you first started your journey? Did you ever consider giving up?
Tara Paustenbach: Definitely. I’m sure many will be able to relate. So, I’m weird in the sense that I’ve never *actually* thought about quitting. In mind, my fallback was, what? Bartending? Working retail at the mall or taking orders at a restaurant? Don’t get me wrong, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with these professions, but, to me, that was WAY tougher than the rejection (which is hard on the heart and ego), and the missed goals month after month early on – heck, even still – than building a business with LegalShield. To each her own. Busting my butt for 10 straight hours to go home with $100 in my pocket and no control over my schedule next week, next month or next year was terrifying to me – it didn’t align with my vision of what I wanted in life to look like. So, quitting was never an option.
BUT, did I have hard times? Oh yes. Hahaha… My favorite saying during those early, lean years was “welp, this is going to make one hell of a story one day” (pardon the language). It did. It HAS – I’ve shared my struggles so many times to so many people so they understood we all have a journey. I remember in that first year, I was living with two roommates in Newport Beach, CA (because none of us could live there without at least two roommates), and the three of us conducted a seminar at this fancy hotel, educating invitees on our services and how, if they chose, they could earn commissions with us. We were wearing our best outfits, we smelled and looked as good as we could, and afterward, we waited until at least 45 minutes past the time the last people had left, so we could all pile into a car we BORROWED to get there for the evening, and, starving on the way home, we went through a Del Taco drive-through, and between the three of us, we could afford one small taco each then we splurged on a single 7-layer burrito and large coke that we shared. No joke. That was one of the times I busted out laughing and said, “this is going to make one hell of a story one day.”
I’ve cried real big tears many times after working so hard toward a goal that I missed, only to realize that had I not set the goal in the first place, I would not have gotten even as far as I did just for trying. I’ve been hurt – I’m pretty emotional – by business partners I thought I’d be working with forever who turned around and kind of stabbed me in the back (figuratively), but I survived, and, in time, realized they weren’t the people I thought they were, nor did they have the level of integrity of those I choose to work with now. Some of my growing up in LegalShield was probably growing up in life, too – they go hand in hand. Of course, hindsight is always 20/20 for us all, isn’t it?
Yes, I went through and GREW through many, many hard times in my business, but, you know what? That time was going to pass anyway, and I would have faced challenges and cried big, fat tears no matter what I did over 23 years, but I’d rather be doing something that created layered, real, long-term income that would take care of me even after I stopped working vs. continue trading time for an income and schedule dictated by someone else at age 50. I love what I do, and even though the toughest moments, I have genuinely loved my journey to today and I’m grateful for it.
Has the pandemic and transitioning into mostly online shopping affected your company positively or negatively?
Tara Paustenbach: Oh gosh, I’m so glad you asked this. Let me preface my answer by saying that I’ve never won a single award for being “best of” in any category with my company. Not even close. When the pandemic first hit, like all of us, I was freaked out – the unknown is always scary. But, I’ve been on social media since around 2005 and was already communicating with people across the continent regularly. Facebook is more my jam, because I love to laugh and interact with people, so I was already pretty much using Facebook as my main platform for business by 2020. I’m a mom, I work from home, and social media is 24/7 so it’s always on my time, which is around the time with my son.
Because our products, namely LegalShield, provide protection, security, and peace of mind, within about 90 days of Covid smacking us all upside the head, I had people reaching out to me left and right. “I need to prepare my will, Tara – can you all help with that?” “I own a business and I have so many questions about my rights, and my employees, and can I open or … I need to talk to someone who knows my rights – can LegalShield help with that?” “Tara, I’m terrified to go to work, but I’m a frontline worker and I’m afraid I’ll lose my job and I don’t know my rights…”, “Tara, how am I supposed to be a full-time teacher to my kids who are learning at home remotely now when my job is threatening to fire me if I don’t come in?” We all remember — this affected all of us.
2020 ended up being my BIGGEST personal production year ever, since 1998, and I didn’t even try. Please know I’m not saying that in a bragging way, I’m just saying that when preparation meets opportunity, success often shows up and it did for me. I’m grateful that I was in a position to just answer questions online – primarily FB messenger – and take order to help people. What’s amazing is that 2021 beat 2020 by more than 20%. Again, I didn’t do anything different… it was just timing. And, in 2021 I was on Facebook a lot less, because I decided to pull my son out of school altogether and just unschool / homeschool him (which has been so amazing, by the way). I don’t want to focus on how I “profited so much through the pandemic” because that’s not who or how I am, but what we offer was glaringly attractive to individuals, families, business owners, and employees because of the pandemic, and I’m so honored to have been in a position to help so many people.
In your opinion, what makes your company stand out from the competition?
Tara Paustenbach: Our company is 50 years old this year – like me! No one has been able to come close in all that time to offer the services we do, the way we do, and back up the delivery of those services like our company does. Truly, I feel lucky to be able to offer the value we do and such an incredibly low cost that my biggest hurdle is educating people on what it’s not “too good to be true.” Whether it’s LegalShield or IDShield, our company, started the industry of legal services and identity theft solutions here in North America, and we’re the leader in both industries, with no true competition. I feel lucky.
You are a successful business leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success?
Tara Paustenbach: Great question.
- 1.). HONESTY
- 2). INTEGRITY
- 3). HUMILITY
I don’t care if it’s in person, on the phone, or online – people see through b.s. and I can’t even imagine how difficult it would be to attain success if you’re constantly having to replace your customers because you lacked one of those three character traits. Just do the right thing, admit your mistakes when you make them, kick your ego to the curb, and help people.
What have you learned about personal branding that you wish you had known earlier in your career?
Tara Paustenbach: Mmmm… I’ve made all the mistakes. “Branding” is such a weird word. Haha! It has one meaning for a company and kind of the same, but a different meaning for us as individuals. As I shared earlier in that first presentation-gone-wrong, TRYING TO BE SOMEONE YOU’RE NOT is likely the biggest failure one can make in branding. I see so many people all over social media – Facebook, LinkedIn, TikTok, whatever – trying to emulate what they think they’re supposed to be. The biggest miss is just not being yourself. We’re all unique, so putting ourselves out there and being consistent with the character traits – honesty, integrity, and humility – is how people become attracted to who WE are, regardless of the message we’re sharing. For large companies, consistency is key; for individuals, consistency is key. The sooner we peel back all the layers and just be our best selves, the better our branding.
How would you define “leadership”?
Tara Paustenbach: Leadership is getting a large group of people to do activities and tasks they would not otherwise do without your influence … in a positive way. A boss says, “do this or you’ll be fired.” A leader says, “Do this because it’s going to help make YOU successful and I believe in you.” Bosses replace people all the time. Leaders inspire leaders who create more leaders.
What advice would you give to our younger readers that want to become entrepreneurs?
Tara Paustenbach: Do it! Even if you have a full-time job and a full-time family, start a side gig so that you can create your journey as an entrepreneur even spare time. What you’ll learn – mostly about yourself – is invaluable. Who you’ll become will amaze you. As long as you get started with the long-term endgame in your mind and heart, you cannot fail.
What’s your favorite “life lesson” quote and how has it affected your life?
Tara Paustenbach: I’ve had this quote pinned within view of my home office desk for at least 20 years now: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever does.” — Margaret Mead
It’s so true. So … true.
Jed Morley, VIP Contributor to ValiantCEO and the host of this interview would like to thank Tara Paustenbach for taking the time to do this interview and share her knowledge and experience with our readers.
If you would like to get in touch with Tara Paustenbach or her company, you can do it through her – Linkedin Page
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