The story started
About us.
Hi, We are Alecia and Michael Sparks and we are “Level 5” Senders of Cards. We currently live in Clarksville, TN. We are actively engaged in helping others act on their promptings to reach out to others in gratitude and appreciation. This act, whether it’s a person close to you or someone you do business with, is what allows you to touch someone’s life. In the days of email, text message and Facebook, there is still nothing like receiving a heartfelt card or gift from someone. Our goal is to change the lives of others for the good and we hope that we can connect with you on a personal or professional level. We truly believe in the philosophy that what you put out there comes back to you ten-fold!
Alecia’s story:
I originally hail from Amery, Wisconsin and lived in Minnesota for many years prior to relocating to Tennessee in 2007 for a job. It was here in Tennessee that I met Michael. He first introduced me to SOC by sending me wonderful, thoughtful notes in beautiful cards while we were dating! I was very impressed and will admit that I’ve saved every single one of them! It wasn’t until we had known each other for some time that we talked about SOC as a potential business opportunity.
After working as a project manager for over 15 years, I understand the value of building strong relationships with my team and my clients. You can make or break a project by virtue of the relationships you establish! I traveled very frequently for my job, and would always carry with me a big stack of greeting cards and stamps, for those occasions when I needed to send a note of sympathy, a thank you or a birthday card. But I seldom felt like I had just the “right” card with me; it was simply the available card and I made do. That also meant I really didn’t send a card every time I was prompted to! SOC changed that. I have been using SOC personally for over three years and I love the convenience and affordability! I can be anywhere in the world and send someone a card (with my own photos, my own handwriting and my own signature) — all for around $1.00 a card plus postage! I can even send gifts or gift cards with those cards.
I found that I so enjoyed sharing this relationship tool with others that it really made sense to look seriously at the business opportunity. I also really want to have my own home-based business, get off the road and be at home to support Michael’s AMSOIL business. SOC has given me the tools I need to achieve financial freedom and as of July 2012 I am focusing exclusively on my SOC business!
Michael’s story:
I grew up in Navarre, Ohio. As a kid, I enjoyed playing saxophone and got my first job at the age of 10. That first job was a paper route which I enjoyed a lot, mainly because I enjoyed “networking” with all of my paper route customers. Sometimes I would come home after dark, and my mom would have to come looking for me. She would find me at one of my newspaper customers, visiting and talking. When I was 12, we moved out to a country farm. I helped my uncles bale hay, brush hog and pick corn and wheat. Besides working, I enjoyed my own personal 90 acre “playground”. This was the farm where I would imagine I was an Army Soldier or would ride my dirt bike. During those teenage years, I played in high school band and worked several jobs, including Kentucky Fried Chicken and the Brewster Dairy. I even paid for my first truck, a 1965 Ford F100 pickup that cost $400. Dedication and work ethic was always a top priority in my life, something was missing. Was there more to life than working for 40 years only to retire with a gold watch and pension? What was my contribution to society, to others, and for my own personal being?
At around the age of 30, after being discharged from Active Army service, I came across a business opportunity. You see, many people after getting out of the service have no clue about where or what they want to do. I was in the same boat. I had been a machinist, a landscaper, a professional student, and a salesperson (as well as being unemployed several times). This was not fun and not the kind of life and career that I had dreamed about. Then this business opportunity popped up. I had been looking for some quality synthetic oil for my truck and came across AMSOIL. AMSOIL is a synthetic lubricant manufacturer that sells through independent distributors-a home-based business. I started this business with no experience in sales, marketing, or business. I saw the opportunity and ran with it. To this day, I still work with many of those same satisfied AMSOIL customers and have the website lube-direct.com.
This is how I found SendOutCards. My mentors, David and Carol Bell, teach appreciation marketing by sending out thank you cards to their business partners and customers. So I went out on the internet looking for an easy and efficient way to follow their example. I found SOC and knew this is the program that would work best for me. I registered as a distributor to get the best pricing on cards since I send on average 100 or more cards a month. With SOC my relationships have grown though the appreciation that I send out to my friends, family, and business contacts. I have been using SOC since early 2005 and can’t imagine where I would be without this program.
Alecia and I were dating for a while (I used SOC to send her cards and gifts) and she asked me how the system worked. After showing her how to send a card and explaining that it was a business, like my AMSOIL business, I saw the light bulb go off. As they say, the rest is history.
Now, as a couple, we have combined our talents so that we can help more people, as well as create our own lifestyle that allows us the freedom to work from anywhere, have fun and, best of all, be together. ThoseCardFolks.com is that freedom and SendOutCards.com is the vehicle.
