FEATURE
Optimistically Setting Sail One of the things that Kristin loved about Kristian right away was his drive and ambition to support her and their future family. Kristian already had his lawn care business, was working as a commercial plumber, and had just started his university studies to become a lawyer. “Kristian was doing all these things when I met him,” Kristin says. “I thought it was so cool that he was going to be a lawyer. But then he was introduced to his first MLM in 1997, right before we got married. I trusted Kristian, and he trusted that company— but it died four and half years later.” Kristian is the first to admit it—he allowed his life plans to change course because he was sucked in by the shiny
on thinking about my small businesses to pay attention to anything else!” Luckily, their their mutual friends couldn't miss out on the opportunity to see if they could help Kristin and Kristian fall in love, and a few months later the two of them were gently coerced into talking on the phone. Before she knew it, Kristin was flying to Disneyland to meet Kristian’s family for the first time. Less than a year after that first phone call they were married! “We talked for a long time on that first phone call,” Kristian remembers. “It only took me about five seconds to fall in love with Kristin’s voice. It was love at first sound! Once I got to meet her in person, it was game over—we needed to plan the wedding right away!”
things that the MLM world promised him. And as a 19-year-old, who wouldn’t be enamored by the prospect of major wealth, fancy cars, and stylish clothes? It seemed like they would be riding the waves of life in style! But hidden beneath the surface was a completely different reality. Everyone around him was spending more money than they made, trusting that their efforts would eventually bring the money back around. But nothing ever lived up to the promises. For the next 15 years, the Hoenickes could never quite get their sails up and instead were lost at sea, tossed around by wave after wave of terrible experiences. “It was totally self-inflicted,” Kristian explains. “Life was extremely difficult. We never had enough money. We ended up with literally hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt. It was just so miserable.”
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