Rachael Johnson /// Pushing Through the Hard Times

Life puts us through unexpected challenges—but, as Rachael Johnson always tells her daughters, we get to decide how to react to them and how we move forward. As a stay-at-home mom with three little girls, she dreamed of helping her husband Matt—the sole breadwinner—with their finances. She had no idea that an opportunity would lead her through life’s toughest moments and into an amazing entrepreneurial future.

Preparing to launch

Everything began when Rachael happened upon “before and after” photos from Rodan + Fields® Independent Consultants on social media, back when the Company was only based in the United States, and wasn’t yet available to her in Alberta, Canada. “I didn’t believe that products could deliver such great results until I saw Marcy, a friend of mine. Her skin’s appearance underwent a complete transformation, and I was amazed.” In the spring of 2014, Rachael dove into researching the business and the products.

“I realized that this could be my golden ticket. We didn’t know when the Company was coming to Canada, what products were coming, or even what price point we were looking at. But I started talking to everyone with skin, taking down the names of everyone who was interested. People thought I was kind of crazy, but it was well worth the wait.”

Pushing through heavy adversity

As Rachael started building a network of others around her who wanted in, she eagerly awaited Rodan + Fields’ Canadian launch. She and her husband were also trying for their fourth baby, and had recently become pregnant after eighteen difficult months. Rachael was so excited. Unfortunately, just two weeks before Canada’s R+F launch date, her doctor informed the couple that they had lost their daughter.

“I have never been in a darker place in my life. We’ve never gone through anything so devastating. I had no idea what I was going to do. I thought, ‘How am I going to talk to people about skincare when I can barely get out of bed and care for the kids that I have?’ I had worked so hard for a year waiting for this to come and it felt like it was slipping through my fingers before it even began.”

Finding an anchor in the storm

Rachael decided to go ahead with the launch in February 2015, despite her incredible heartache. “People encouraged me to take my time recovering, but I knew that I would regret it if I didn’t start my business immediately. I had already built a pretty significant team that believed in me and trusted me, and I felt like I would be letting them down if I gave up.”

Thankfully, the work helped ease Rachael’s suffering. “The launch was an incredible whirlwind. All I did was work, and it helped keep my mind off of what had happened. I worked non-stop for at least 50 hours a week, and focused a lot of my attention on this business. I’m so glad that I did, because it gave me something incredibly positive to focus on during the hardest time of my life. I’m beyond thankful for my Rodan + Fields business. To be completely honest, it saved my life.”

Pulling her team together

With plenty of help from Rachael’s Upline leaders, Team Grace & Co. began working hard. “Marcy, Stephanie, Kristin, and Jen from Team Give were all really incredible. I asked probably a million questions in that first month! My Downline also really came together to help the success of our launch. I’m so thankful for my powerful, collaborative, loving, giving, and abundant team. The culture we’ve created is like nothing I’ve ever seen, and that’s definitely what I’m most proud of.”

With the help of her dedicated team members, Rachael managed to earn Level V by the end of February, with eight minutes to spare. “I wanted to go on the Canada High Five trip, and I was working really hard to get there. It was 9:00 p.m. on the last day of the month, and we had a sick toddler. I’d been circling an empty parking lot for hours so that she could sleep, sending messages and making calls. At the last minute, two of my Consultants locked arms together and we made it happen! It was the most amazing feeling. I was so happy for my team’s success and so proud of all our hard work.”

The High Five trip helped Rachael grow a network with other Independent Consultants from all over Canada. “About 25 of us went on the trip to San Francisco. We really got to know each other and have maintained an incredible friendship!” From there, Rachael happily went on to pursue the “rewarding, exciting, and exhausting” journey toward becoming a Lexus Achiever in March of 2016 and RFX Circle Achiever in November 2016, dedicating around 30 hours per week to her efforts.

Living the fruits of her labor

“Helping others is my number one passion and purpose with this life-changing business. The Rodan + Fields products are the best on the market, and I’ll be an UNBLEMISH user for life, but the business side of things has done incredible things for our family.” In less than two years in this business, Rachael was able to give her husband a new kind of time freedom. She also took her family to Australia, celebrating the gift of global travel with her rainbow baby, Sadie, who was born exactly two years after the loss of their daughter, Porter.

“We just came back from our RFX trip to London, and I have never been more excited about the future. I’m so excited about what’s going to happen two years, four years, and ten years from now as we increase our global expansion. I know that I won’t be slowing down anytime soon! I will be starting a foundation in our daughter’s memory, and giving back in a bigger way as this opportunity grows. My family will be able to experience so much more than we ever thought was possible.”