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GARY AND VAL BISBEY Tenacity is Gary Bisbey’s stock in trade. Gary and Val, his wife of 29 years, joined the online shopping mall venture, BigSmart.com, in February, just two months after getting their first computer. Gary is still "looking for the ‘z’ on the keyboard," yet within nine weeks they are earning $1,500 a week. "I’ve been in welfare lines and in the earning-$45,000-in-two-weeks position," says the 47-year old entrepreneur, "and when you’ve been on both sides of the track you find out that the money, or how poor you are, doesn’t matter. It’s who you are that counts. People know that I will die or kill in less than a breath of air for my friends and family." A graduate of the school of hard knocks, Gary attended over twenty schools by age fourteen and learned the value of a dollar during a tough childhood. "My dad was a serious alcoholic," he explains, "and very, very abusive. When I was sixteen years old I left home and lived in a small shack. I met my wife when I was seventeen. I was a sophmore when she was a senior. She robbed the cradle! "A house is only as strong as its foundation and Val is mine. If it weren’t for Val, I’m nothing. She is a really powerful lady. It’s one of those matches that was really made somewhere else." The Bisbeys live in a remote corner of northwest Washington state with daughters Tess, 11, and Wendy Jo, 25. Wendy Jo and son Brendan, 27, are also involved in BigSmart.com. Working from home means more time for Gary’s beloved hunting and fishing in the nearby woods. A so-called day at the office often finds Gary, "Out by the barn, checking the fax machine!" They love the freedom. While the Bisbeys are on an upward curve right now, just last December, their world was rocked by the bankruptcy of International Heritage Incorporated, the network marketing company they’d been involved with for four years. "We went from a six-figure income to total devastation," Gary admits. "We lost everything. We were ready to have bankruptcy on our home of 27 years but two longtime friends pulled us out of it." Gary and Val regularly earned $2,500 a week and IHI, with its fine collectibles and nutritional products, had even given Brendan and Wendy Jo dazzling six-figure incomes in their early twenties. Fortunately, Gary’s business instincts are deeply ingrained. He first saw entrepreneurship in action as a child. Accompanying his father on his treecutting jobs, on the side they’d salvage waste from chicken houses. "We’d throw the chicken crap inside a mulcher with shavings," he explains, "and then sell 50lb sacks of chicken fertilizer. My dad had me go door to door selling it. At thirteen, I could make more money doing that than my dad could doing his tree work. Of course, he would keep all the money. "At Christmas time I’d wrap holly leaves around clothes hangers and sell those for a quarter. At sixteen years old I knew what it took to be successful. It wasn’t so much what you were selling, you had to really care about the people." Gary has never had a desk job and following in his father and grandfather’s footsteps, spent twenty years as a contract tree cutter. But he long ago decided that, "The Great American Dream is not there through the forty or sixty-hour week and I’m not going to put myself in that boat. "98% of our people 65 and older are dependent on family and friends or the state for their financial future. So what does that 2% do? They’re either self-employed or they’ve involved themselves on something on the side." Gary’s introduction to network marketing was over twenty years ago—his grandmother sold Tupperware. Gary flatly refused to offer his chainsaw-bearing buddies plastic bowls but did help her build her business and the network marketing principle stuck. In the early ‘80s, the Bisbeys were reps. for Melaleuca household products. At one point, Gary designed and patented a small boat, but network marketing always hovered nearby. Working in a chiropractor’s office for thirteen years, Val, 48, was exposed to vitamins and nutritional products and became a rep. so they could buy them more cheaply. The Bisbeys’ desire to work together inevitably drew them to working fulltime in network marketing where Gary—whom Val calls "a mountain man"—is certainly a memorable character. He is the antithesis of the conventional suit-and-tie businessman, and proud of it. "He always makes an impact because the people in the forefront of network marketing never have a hair out of place," Val explains. "Gary has long hair, a beard, an Indian blanket coat and cowboy boots. The common person can identify with that. Many have never worn a suit and can’t see themselves talking on stage and having to be dressed up so Gary takes the fear out of it for them." A man of simple tastes, Gary still likes to work his mining claim in Alaska. "Several summers I did in excess of $50,000," he says. "Some summers I spent $10,000 and made zero. But I wouldn’t trade that for anything. I’ve been chased by grizzly bears and a musk ox, and the fishing is awesome." Rich or poor, the family’s idea of heaven is not glamorous and centers on their deep love of nature, not consumerism. Yet Gary does have one longtime dream that, thanks to joining BigSmart.com, he believes will soon come to pass—owning a ranch in Montana. "We’re looking at one now with a small lake on it and a real old log house," he says, "and what sends a tingle up my spine, is that I know that I can have it. I will have it by this summer. "I love Big Sky country. It’s always been our dream and our dream has been taken away from us several times. It’s exciting for me to know that it’s back and it’s realistic, it’s not a pipe dream." Since they live a half hour drive from the nearest major town, Val’s interest in online shopping malls was a natural, but she was disappointed by the limited product choices she found. BigSmart.com, with its vast array of product options, opened up a whole new world. Key to Gary, it was three years in development, had great people at the top and did not demand customers change their buying habits. "If you’re buying Nike tennis shoes or a new Jaguar," he explains, "you can buy it through your mall, save money and time and get a rebate. Our good friends priced a Buick Park Avenue car between $37,000 and $38,000 on the car lots. On their own website it was $34,000 fully loaded. Val and I will make a commission on it, and they will too. The beauty of this is we’re not comparing lotions or potions. You’re doing what you do already but redirecting your spending." "I immediately went in and bought our dog and cat food, fish food, bird seed and cat litter," says Val. "That was awesome. I used to drive 25 miles to get one special cat food, now I can get it delivered to my door cheaper." While they build their business, life revolves around work not spending. A highlight? "I wouldn’t know what it’s like to run to the mailbox to get the check every Monday," Gary teases, "because Val beats me there." Besides the ranch, they have two other important goals in mind. "A lot of people are dependent on Gary," Val explains. "He has a quadriplegic brother and his mother is in a mobile home in our back yard." "I’d like to get my mom a nice little house," Gary admits, "and get my brother a van with a lift in it. You’ve got to have hope and dreams and look to the positive." They’ve been up, they’ve been down. What is the Bisbeys’ definition of success? "Compassion, delivered with passion and served with a heartfelt smile, will bring you success beyond your wildest dreams in all aspects of life," says Gary. Within twelve weeks, their income organization is 3,500 people strong. "I really believe without any reservation that this is truly a company of the future, for the longterm," says Gary. "What’s nice is that our friends can do well too, and that gives us huge satisfaction." Success magazine, USA,
2001 |