ime passes by so quickly and I can't believe that two and a half months have passed in the twinkling of an eye. These two and a half months have been both eventful and exciting. I had a chance to meet with many of the leaders of NewLife™ and also develop rapport and relationship with them. What was most interesting was my DRP experience during this time – an experience that opened my eye to the excellence of its product range.

There's no doubt in my mind that NewLife™'s success is founded on products that are truly outstanding. I'm amazed as the wide variety of choices and I've no doubts that the existing platform will provide a great launching pad for NewLife™ to extend its territories and to build the next phase of its expansion.

These are trying economic times and the world is seeing a downturn that is unprecedented. People are lost and confused and those whose jobs are threatened are looking at a future that is fraught with risks and difficulties. I met a number of professionals in Singapore who have gone on to blue collar work and taking on second jobs. Conservation and savings have become the order of the day and the government is encouraging the general populace to conserve and to spend wisely. In a bid to support the government's move, we at NewLife™ are encouraging our Independent Business Owners (IBOs) to spend wisely and to buy correctly.

Besides promoting prudential spending, we have seen it as part of our responsibilities to help people to save. We are telling our IBOs not to stop all spending because such extreme and fatalistic thinking is bad for the economy. The whole idea is to continue with life but with a view exercising prudence in their approach to their own lifestyles.

With this in mind, we have formulated a 'Smart Saver Programme' to complement the existing marketing plan. It is not part of the marketing plan but it is structured to transfer savings and product benefits enjoyed by NewLife™ to our IBOs and affiliates. It is an honest-to-goodness scheme that has no other agenda behind it. The whole purpose of this programme is to transfer NewLife™'s ability to source high-use consumer products to be passed on to IBOs with great savings. It is our way of sharing the tough times together with our IBOs and to express our gratitude for the loyalty of IBOs who have stayed with us faithfully over the years.

Contrary to what the doomsday prophets are staying, I am of the opinion that 2009 will be a great year for those who would look at opportunities that could arise. The 'Smart Saver Programme' will represent a powerful opening for IBOs who would press on to make their involvement with NewLife™ a success.

Together, I have confidence that we can swim against the tide and persist when the going gets tough. It is my personal belief that the silver lining in the present dark storm clouds will definitely get brighter.

Yours sincerely,
Hock Siew