KAY: It is truly my pleasure and honor to interview you today.  You have been involved with Nu Skin for 10 years now.  Tell me about the first meeting that you went to.
TOVE:  I wasn’t ready for a business meeting.  I was stopping by to just say hello to a friend.  Carleric Lindstrom asked me to stay and listen, that this information could change my life.  It was a small meeting with 7 people.  John Sexsmith was the conducting the presentation and it lasted 3 ½ hours. 

KAY: What was John talking about that interested you most?
TOVE:  He was talking my language.  He was talking about a business, the old economy, the new economy, and the future.   Since I was coming from the old economy suddenly I realized that my business wasn’t going to work in the new economy.  I knew that I must listen.  I told myself that I was listening to something BIG!

KAY: What did you do after the meeting ended?
TOVE: I saw the picture of where the company is going and I had said, “I have to do this! This is genius!” I felt like I was the only person in Norway who had ever discovered a business like this.  After I signed the contract I bought 10 packages that each contained a blue bag and 18 products. 

KAY:  So you bought 10 packages because you wanted to sponsor 10 other people?
TOVE: Yes!

KAY:  What were your immediate goals?
TOVE: I wanted to work just 4 hours per week.  I told Carleric and John that in my life I had only 4 hours left in the week.  Can I do this business?  Do I have to sell product?  They told me, “No, you do not have to sell product and yes, you can do this business in just 4 hours per week if you focus on what the work is.   And go out and sponsor others who want to make money.”

KAY:  That is very good advice.  How quickly did you receive your 10 kits?
TOVE:  It took about 1-2 weeks to receive the kits.

KAY: Did you wait until you receive the kits to start talking about the business.
TOVE: When I arrived at John’s meeting I only had 10 minutes and I had to reschedule an appointment so that I could stay.  I met with my appointment about four hours later and I told them about this fantastic business and they signed up as well!  They signed up with 10 kits also!

KAY: People will do what you do and not what you say.  You made a commitment with 10 kits and you shared that vision with a new person who then also signed up with 10 kits.  From there what happened?
TOVE: I started to talk with people every day. The issue was that I was on my own.  Carleric was living in Brussels and John was living in Florida.  But they made a promise that they would help us and would alternate coming every month.   We started to build a group of people who wanted to make money and grew the business successfully with their help.  

KAY: You signed your Nu Skin contract on November 20, 1999 and it took you four months to qualify as an executive.  You were the first person to become a Blue Diamond in your 5th month.   Is this correct?
TOVE:  Yes, because I misunderstood the compensation plan!  I thought that I had to find a team with 12 people during the first four months and I did! 

KAY:  What was your first check as an Executive?
TOVE:  About $15,000 USD and about $19,000 USD  the next month and I was qualified as a Blue Diamond.

KAY:  After reaching your first goal and you were qualifying Blue Diamond, what was your next goal?
TOVE:  I was a single mom with a five year old son.  I was working so much with my shoe company and travelling up to 200 days per year and all I wanted was to be a full time mother.  So, my next goal was to be a full time to mother and I needed $17,000 USD a month to do this.  I saw how Carleric & Ingela and John & Giselle were living their life and that was really inspiring.  And then I met Trond through the business in 2001.
TROND:  Yes, I met her at a meeting and then we had several meetings, not so much about the business! (laughs)

KAY: You were an Executive on Tove’s fourth level and then you started dating.  How do you become involved in the business together?
TROND:  We didn’t plan this because I came into the business first and then we started to date.  Very soon we developed a relationship and sit down and decide how to work the business together.

KAY: What happened once you became partners in business?
TROND:  We sat down and discussed how we would work together and we started to develop new goals together like a family. 

KAY:  You had those goals in writing?
TROND:  Absolutely.

KAY:  And did your son know about your goals?
TOVE:  He knows about the goals because in the beginning I had to ask to get a few hours a week from him to do this and my promise was after two years I would be a mom full time. 

KAY: How has this business affected your son and his view on life?
TOVE:  After 2 years I gave my shoe agency to another colleague and we went full time (with Nu Skin) and that meant that I could be home with him when he came home from school.  I kept my promise to me and kept it.   My goal was to be a mother.  That was the actually the only goal.  He was 5 when I started and he was 7 when I was full-time mother.  He has travelled with us and been on all the Team Elite trips.  He really loves Nu Skin.

KAY:  I just found out you have reached an income of $125,700 USD for October.  Congratulations!  That is incredibly wonderful.  Was this the first time you reached this financial goal?
TOVE: This was the highest check we have had.  But this is just the beginning!

KAY:  What are your goals now?
TROND:  When we were making $30,000 USD per month John Sexsmith said to us (in a fun way) $100,000 is minimum wage.   Now that we have reached it we had decided that $1,000,000 USD per month is minimum wage!  This is our goal in the next 3 years!

KAY:  Excellent!  I will be here to interview for that too!  Let’s talk a little bit about the process that got you here. 
TOVE:  When we began the business it was the compensation plan that drove us.  Because we saw huge possibilities with it.  John and Giselle always said, “Focus on LOI, focus on the compensation plan.  Product will come, product will go, product will change, but the comp plan will never change.”  Nu Skin gives us very interesting products and it is easy to get distracted.  But every time we saw a challenge come and found ourselves not focused we would always call John and Giselle and they would always get us back on track.  We couldn’t have made it without them as mentors and coaches.  They were always there.  We always felt we were on their team.  They knew our goal and even when we got distracted they would bring us back to focus.  We could never, never made it without them.

KAY: Is there one thing out of all of these years that kept you focused and in the business?
TOVE:  Focusing on our goals and never, never left sight of them.  Quitting was never an option.  We had some challenges, we would get distracted but John & Giselle would always get us focused again.
TROND:  I wasn’t used to setting goals in the beginning but Tove was very goal oriented.  So, I learned a lot from her.  And I learned a lot from John & Giselle and staying with people who were setting goals and the importance of being around people who were inspiring and not being around people who were are not inspiring me.  This was really important.

KAY:  Is there anything else that you would like to add?
TOVE:  I am very grateful that Nu Skin exists.  They have a great product, they have a great comp plan and we have people around us that inspire us. Including you Kay!  You have inspired us so many times.  And when we see the ageLOC story, we can’t sleep anymore!  The ageLOC story and where Nu Skin is going, Nu Skin is the best gift ever!  I feel like Santa Claus 24 hours a day!   I am very happy to be part of this story.

KAY:  We all send you a tremendous amount of love and congratulations on your achievement of $125,000 USD and it would be my true honor to interview you again when you reach $1,000,000 per month.
TOVE & TROND:  We are looking forward to that also!