In January 1997 Richard was a Chartered Accountant with a busy consultancy practice, working for major blue chip companies. In the twenty five years since he qualified he had been Company Secretary of a Public Company, Financial Controller for the UK subsidiary of a multi-national and Finance Director and General Manager of a large family owned business.

Ann had been a Veterinary Surgeon for over twenty five years, having had her own practice in Northamptonshire, before moving back to Warwickshire for family reasons. She was, at that time, working in a veterinary practice in Birmingham, including evening, weekend and night duties some of the time.

Richard was concerned about his pension and was looking for a business opportunity that could provide him with one. A friend introduced them to Forever Living Products, a company founded in 1978 By Rex Maughan. The company trades in more than 120 countries, turning over in excess of $2 billion, has no debt and $1.5 billion of assets. Richard saw the business potential of working alongside such a company at once. Ann was very sceptical, but within three weeks had obtained relief from a long standing stomach complaint. She eventually proved, to her own satisfaction, that the benefit had come as a result of drinking one of the company’s products, the Aloe Vera Gel.

They founded The Freedom Group and as a busy professional couple they built their business very part time, as Independent Distributors of Forever Living Products, a member of the Direct Selling Association.

After only three years Richard was able to give up his consultancy business and just work part time on this business. Ann was able to turn the job she loved into a hobby. Now she works four mornings a week, doing that part of the job she loves best, operating, without any anti-social hours. They take extensive holidays and travel widely.

More than nine years later, working just part time, they have built a business in twenty eight countries around the world, with more than five thousand distributors in their team turning over $500,000 a month.

Their African business was recently recognised as being the second largest on that continent. They earn more than double their professional incomes for a fraction of the hours that they used to work and they do it all by helping other people with both their health and their income.