Selling Around The World, One Person At A Time
By Kathie Hightower and Holly Scherer
Winter 2006-07
If you’ve been married to the military for a while, chances are good that you’ve been invited to at least one Pampered Chef, Longaberger Basket or similar home party.
Why do these seem so prevalent in our military communities? For one thing, it’s a good excuse to gather people together to give us all a chance to make new friends. But the other reason is to start a business that may be operated from home and can move with them as they move.
Network marketing, or direct selling, provides flexibility and an opportunity to start a business with a very low up-front investment. These companies provide a ready-made product, training and assistance to help you succeed. Although you are a one-person operation, you have the support and camaraderie of other distributors and the help of your director.
Direct selling is the person-to-person sale of a consumer product or service away from a fixed retail location. Depending on the company, these independent salespeople may be called distributors, representatives, consultants or various other titles. Products primarily are sold through in-home product demonstrations, parties and one-on-one selling.
Army spouse Ann Strand calls direct selling “a way to bring our products to life. It’s the only way to sell a product!”
Once a customer is sold on a product line, direct sellers earn money from each future order the customer makes, no matter where they are in the world – an obvious advantage to mobile military spouses. As other people are recruited into the business, the direct seller also earns a percentage of all their sales and follow-on sales.
Your income level is a direct result of your own initiative, creativity and effort, and you can work at your own schedule.
Flexibility And Community
After trying other career paths, Strand finds that this kind of business fits her needs perfectly. Like many military spouses, she wanted something that would allow her to move as she moves, stay home with her children, have a chance to help others, continuously learn and grow, provide additional money for the family… and have some fun!
Is a direct sales business for everyone? Of course not. We’ve heard of spouses making more in their network marketing business than their military spouses make in salary and benefits. We also know of spouses who spent more money trying to launch a network marketing business than they ever made.
Tracy Ziomek is a Navy spouse who has moved seven times in 16 years of marriage. As she home-schools four young children, she finds that direct selling fits her lifestyle. She recently started a business with Heritage Makers, a company that helps people create photo/word books online.
“This is a great way to meet people who have a similar interest or passion, always a plus with a move,” Ziomek says. “I can work and set my own hours based on my husband’s work schedule and the kids’ schedule, and I have the flexibility to work around deployments, vacations and moves.”
Strand found that her Pampered Chef business provided the flexibility and a wonderful outlet during her husband’s Iraq deployment. With three children at home, she finds it manageable to work on her business only once a week. “It also allows me to get out of the house and laugh and connect with a lot of other great women,” she says, “and to eat chocolate as I bring in some money!”
Ziomek cites another advantage. “They recognize and acknowledge that each of us has different levels of commitment to the business – from the hobbyist or part-timer looking for additional income to the full-time careerist.”
Strand also loves the fact that direct selling businesses are accessible to everyone – no matter your education, experience, age or economic background.
“The biggest reward from my business is that it gets me out of my comfort zone,” says Arbonne representative Brook Christenbury. “Being a shy person, this has made me reach out to meet people where I wouldn’t have before… New friends, fun, accomplishment, role-modeling hard work and perseverance for my children – what’s not to like?”
Some spouses find that their direct selling business evolves into other ventures. Army spouse
Check The Details
Make sure that your business really can continue in all locations where you are likely to be sent with the military, including overseas. Ziomek recalls that in one job, “there was no overseas component for the company, so you had to go inactive. Plus all the materials added to our weight for household goods, which was restricted for overseas.”
Some companies require a certain sales quota in order to move up in leadership. “Some will waive the quotas allowing for the transition of a move,” says Ziomek, “and others won’t.”
Each of the service branches supports home-based businesses for military spouses. But if you are living on a military installation, it’s important to remember to stop by your local housing office to complete the necessary paperwork to operate a home-based business from your military quarters.
A helpful resource for more information is the Direct Selling Association (www.dsa.org; 1667 K Street NW, Suite 1100, Washington DC 20006; 202-452-8866). Also try the Direct Selling Women’s Alliance (www.mydswa.org) and the Independent Homeworkers Alliance (www.homeworkers.org). Good luck!
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Military spouses Kathie Hightower and Holly Scherer are public speakers and co-authors of “Help! I’m a Military Spouse – I Want a Life Too: How to Craft a Life for YOU as You Move with the Military.” For more information or to request a presentation at your community, go to www.militaryspousehelp.com or send a message to kathie@militaryspousehelp.com
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Tips For Selecting A Direct Selling Company
- Select a product you love and will be excited to share with others.
- Don’t rush the decision. Select a few favorites and research each one.
- Ask questions about the training, products and services, realistic costs of doing business, average earnings of distributors, return policies, etc.
- Talk to distributors with the companies you are considering.
- Understand all start-up costs and ongoing sales requirements.
- Learn about the company, its mission, vision and track record.
- Read all the company literature and study its website.
Some important considerations:
- Start-up fees should be minimal, usually the cost of a sales kit. Avoid companies with high entry fees or requirements to purchase large amounts of inventory.
- You should be able to return unsold inventory.
- The money you earn should be based on the sales of the products or services. Beware of any business that claims you can get rich by solely using its products or by recruiting new people.
- Believe in the products or services you’ll be selling. Ask yourself, “Would I buy this product if I weren’t in the organization?” If the answer is no, seek a different opportunity.
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MILITARY
