Who is David Ward and how can he help you?
My name is David Ward and I live in southern California. My wife Kathy and I have been married for 29 years. We have one daughter, Caitlin (Caity) who lives in DC.
I started my professional career as an attorney. I had my own law practice for more than twenty years and earned a very good living, but, as you can imagine, I was always working. If I wasn't at the office or in court, I was stuck in traffic.
Like most people, lawyers trade their time for dollars so the bigger my practice grew, the more hours I had to work. Vacations were few and far between. I was always working, always tired and stressed out. Eventually, I started looking for a "Plan B".
I had a brainstorm. I had grown my law practice using various marketing techniques I had learned and I thought other attorneys would want to know what I knew. Over the next three years, I wrote a marketing course for lawyers. I put ads in newspapers and magazines read by attorneys, and started getting orders right away. I was in business.
Over the next few years we did millions of dollars in sales. Once again, I had a successful business. But once again, the business depended on me and my efforts. I still didn't have the freedom I was looking for. On top of that, I was spending a fortune on advertising and overhead and payroll and I realized that I was working to support the business instead of the business working for me.
I was frustrated. I had followed all the rules. I'd gone to school and gotten an education, opened a successful law practice and business, but even though I brought in a lot of income, by the time I paid overhead, taxes, and living expenses, even after thirty years, I still wasn't able to retire. Not even close. So once again, I started looking for a 'Plan B'.
I thought about real estate and the stock market but decided the smartest choice was another business, but this time, I'd do things differently. I'd work smart and not just hard.
I came up with a "wish list". Some of the things I wanted were
- Low start-up costs
- Low overhead
- No inventory or quotas
- No employees
- Part time, flexible hours
- Work from home (something I always wanted to do)
- Products or services with real value
- A large market with little or no competition
- Unlimited income potential
- Leverage; I didn't want the business to depend solely on my efforts
- Residual income (so I could retire one day)
And, I wanted to feel good about what I was doing, to know I was making a difference in the world.
I liked the idea of a franchise because you get a "turn-key" package, but they're expensive and require too much time (something I did not have). And again, I didn't want to hire and supervise employees or take on more overhead. I wanted to simplify my life, not make it more complicated.
Over the next year, I looked at many different ideas. I'd set my standards pretty high but still, I had a hard time finding anything that even came close. So many businesses make no sense at all–I still can't believe what some people get involved in. I was getting discouraged but I kept looking because I knew there were people who had what I wanted and I knew that if they could do it, so could I.
One day, one of the subscribers to my newsletter asked for my opinion about an article he'd seen in a legal publication, about the growth of Pre-Paid Legal plans in north America. It said that in western Europe, legal insurance is as common as health and auto insurance and that over eighty percent of the population has a legal plan. The author predicated that one day, they would be as common in the US as they are in Europe. It makes sense since we have more laws, more lawyers, and more lawsuits in the US than anywhere in the world.
I decided to write an article about this for my newsletter and began doing some research. I learned that Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc. is, by far, the leading company in the industry. They offer legal plans for individuals and small businesses and have 1.5 million members in the US and Canada.
When I saw what their legal plans covered, I was impressed. I remember thinking, "everybody needs this," because every day, I would talk to people who needed legal assistance but couldn't afford to hire me and I had to turn them away. Pre-Paid Legal gives them access to high quality attorneys for less than a dollar a day. "Not only does everyone need this, everyone can afford it," I thought. A few years ago, when Pre-Paid Legal introduced identity theft protection, I saw the need for this, too. (Identity theft is a nasty problem and it's only getting worse).
The company markets their services through a network of independent Associates. I could earn income by signing up people for the plans and I could earn a percentage on people I signed up as an Associate when they enrolled someone for a plan. Plus, residual income is paid on renewals.
I liked what I saw. I saw huge potential, but I continued doing my homework.
Fortunately, the company is publicly traded (NYSE: PPD) and I could verify everything. I looked closely at the legal plans, the company's balance sheet, the size of the market, the competition, the compensation, the back office support, the marketing tools, and everything else I could think of. I read the annual report, and did weeks of research. I even interviewed one of the officers of the company.
I did my due diligence and when I was done, I knew I had found everything I was looking for in a business. I signed up as an Independent Associate with Pre-Paid Legal Services and enrolled as a Member. (I've used the Membership several times a year; it's saved me thousands of dollars and the service is excellent.)
I was busy running my other business at the time and so I started my Pre-Paid Legal business part time–just a few hours a week. In a few months, I was earning thousands of dollars per month in extra income. In a few years, I had replaced my six-figure income with a six-figure passive (residual) income.
Passive income means the money comes in month after month, year after year, whether I'm working or on vacation or doing nothing at all. It means I have "real freedom"–money and the time to enjoy it. Sometimes, when I'm talking to someone who makes a lot of money I ask them what would happen to their income if they stopped working. When they admit their income would stop, I ask, "How long would you be able to last before your savings ran out?" That helps them to see the power of passive income.
Ironically, now that I can retire, I don't want to. I'm having too much fun! I get to work from home–no more stress, no more traffic jams, no more employees or overhead. I work two or three hours a day, and I love what I do. Every day I get to help people improve their lives, either with our legal plans and identity theft plans, or by helping them earn more income or find financial freedom through our business.
I'm proud of what I've accomplished in Pre-Paid Legal. I've built a team of thousands of Associates, in all fifty states and in Canada, and have reached the highest levels of our company. I've been recognized on stage at conventions many times, including being one of the top recruiters in the company my first year in the business.
By the way, I think it's important to note that a lot of attorneys are becoming marketing Associates. I've signed up over 150 myself. Attorneys are starting to realize that this is the wave of the future for the legal profession and they want to be a part of it. Many attorneys have given up their law practice to do Pre-Paid Legal full time. Why? Well, how about more money, less time, less stress, less overhead. . . shall I go on?
The above photo was taken at a convention in Las Vegas a few years ago, in front of 13,000 Pre-Paid Legal Associates. There are seven attorneys on the panel (that's me on the left), all marketing Associates, sharing our views on Pre-Paid Legal and how it is changing our profession.
I'm passionate about helping others succeed in this business. I've coached hundreds of Associates, showing them how to use our marketing systems to succeed in Pre-Paid Legal. Here's a training I did in Texas, followed by some authentic Texas BBQ with some of the team.
Our organization is one of the fastest growing in the entire company. I'm privileged to work with a group of very talented individuals who believe that training is one of the keys to success. On our team, we work closely with our business partners to help them get started. Our goal is to help them get paid as soon as possible, ideally, their first day. We coach and mentor them and conduct twice-weekly training calls, online training and live training events. We never stop training because there are always new people joining the team and there are always new ways to grow your business.
I work with people from all walks of life. Some have advanced degrees and some didn't finish high school. Some have owned businesses before, some have never had a job. Once thing I like about this business is that someone's background isn't important. Attitude is the key. If someone has the desire to succeed and they are coachable and willing to put in some time and effort, I can show them everything they need to know. And it feels great to know you have been a part of their success.
Because of my background, I do work with a lot of professionals. Many are "stuck" in their careers, like I was, looking for a 'Plan B'. When they look at the alternatives available, like I did, they see there's really nothing that compares with Pre-Paid Legal. It's perfect for professionals; they can work the business part time and, if they want to, transition out of their careers.
Here are some of the team at our awards banquet. The couple in the middle, Matt and Lydia Smith, just earned their six-figure ring. Not bad for working the business part time while holding down full time executive jobs with Fortune 500 companies (and raising two boys)!
Pre-Paid Legal plans are available throughout the US and Canada. You can learn more about the different legal plans, the Identity Theft plans, and the business opportunity here and here. We also have plans for small businesses, so if you already own a business, take a look at our business plans.
Pre-Paid Legal plans are one of the fastest growing employee benefits. We work with a lot of insurance and sales professionals, so if that is your background, or you're interested in working with businesses, let me know if this area interests you and I'll send you more information.
Whether you want to create passive income and time freedom, start your own home based business, or just make some extra money to pay your bills, I encourage you to take a serious look at Pre-Paid Legal. It has completely changed my life and the lives of so many others.
To learn about the services we offer and how we earn money in the business, start with this excellent online presentation.
For additional information, here is my Pre-Paid Legal website.
If you're ready to get started as a marketing Associate, click here. To sign up for the Legal Plan and Identity Theft Shield click here.
If you have questions, you can reach me at (949) 888-2800 or via email.
I look forward to speaking with you and helping you get real freedom in Pre-Paid Legal.
David Ward
P.S. Hey, we also have fun in this business. Here are a few photos. The first picture is from a team event in Palm Springs. See me smiling? I never did that as an attorney!
Here we are on a recent trip to Cancun, all expenses paid by Pre-Paid Legal. That's my wife Kathy (in front). The resort had 12 gourmet restaurants and no prices on the menus. We had room service every morning. I could get used to this!
I didn't make this trip to the Turks and Caicos, but I like this picture. These are some of my friends in Pre-Paid Legal, showing everyone how great it is to have passive income.
