Feeling bummed when 5:00 on Sunday evening hits and your weekend is over before it ever got started? You know that in just a few hours you’ll be back in “work-mode” ironing clothes, preparing lunch and going to bed early so you can go to the job you hate the next day. As usual, Monday morning rolls in faster than an express train and you find yourself sitting in your employer’s parking lot dreading to go inside. Your hands remain gripped around the steering wheel and you let out a sorrowful sigh as you wish you could turn the car around and go back home – but you can’t. Too many responsibilities. So, you resolve to sitting at your desk and nervously watching over your shoulder and pretending to be busy as you surf the net for something, anything that will make the day go faster.
You live for Fridays at 4:59 to escape your egotistical and cynical boss for whom no matter what you do your best will never be good enough. Three-day weekends, holidays, vacations and those occasional “sick” days are as close to heaven as you can get. Sound familiar? Trust me, not only do I feel your pain, I’ve lived it.
Even though you hate to admit it, this is your life, day in and day out. You wonder how you got here. You had plans, bold and magical plans that didn’t involve this routine misery. This isn’t you, not even close. The real you is suffocating someplace dark and hidden, buried beneath the guilt of responsibility and the fear of losing everything.
You have bills, kids, a spouse, car notes, a mortgage, aging parents and more, so you couldn’t possibly just up and leave your source of income stability to chase after some whimsical notion of entreprenurialship and freedom, especially when you haven’t a clue as to what you want to do – could you? Guess what? You’re not alone.
According to a 2005 USA Today poll, 57% of working adults want to be their own boss, yet most are still living paycheck to paycheck; trying to figure out how to get out of debt and stop wasting their life away realizing someone else’s dreams.
Being your own boss is high on the importance list, but you wonder if it is realistic. Like so many others, you’ve researched your options and as far as you can tell, there really isn’t a fit out there for you. You haven’t a clue as to what type of business to start from scratch, and buying a franchise requires a full-time commitment and you’re not ready to leave your full-time job just yet. Not to mention that buying into franchises are costly investments.
While there are some franchises with fees starting at less than $10,000, the average franchise fee in the United States is $20,000.00 - $30,000.00 and that’s just the average fee alone. This doesn’t include required cash on hand for attorney fees, equipment and furnishings, construction costs or leasing retail space if you’re looking into a storefront business like Subway, for example. And let’s not forget advertising to promote your new business. Lines of credit are a wonderful thing when you don’t have a lot of cash available, but if you’re not careful and leap before you look, you could wind up with hundreds of thousands of dollars of outstanding debt before you’re even open for business. Trust me on this one.
So you consider a trade, like a real estate agent or notary public. But that usually requires a certification and a dedicated amount of formalized instruction. Going back to school at night, on weekends or conducting self-paced home study, even if it is for 3-6 months, isn’t very appealing either with the full life you already have.
You’ve even thought about direct sales or multilevel marketing, also known as MLM or network marketing, and you immediately think of your uncle who gives you the sales pitch of his latest venture at every family gathering – so you give that idea an automatic NO and scratch it off your list. But hold on, before you toss that notion to the wind, take a deeper look into direct sales and know what you’re saying no to before you actually say no.
Direct sales is the business of sharing. Think of how many times you’ve recommended a great movie or book to a friend. Did Sony Pictures or the publishing company pay you for sharing your opinions after your friends saw the movie or bought the book based on your recommendation? Of course not. In direct sales, you are rewarded without fail each and every time someone takes you up on your suggestion and makes a purchase.
Direct sales is not about pushy sales tactics, but about sharing your passion and enthusiasm over a product or service with others. It is truly the entrepreneurial spirit’s dream come true and the cure to your Sunday night blues due to its flexibility to work around any schedule, low investment cost and potential yield of high returns well beyond the initial investment.
Most direct sales opportunities offer an investment of less than $1,000, and the ones I’ve seen or looked into myself were $600 or less. And your investment usually includes a certain amount of product and supplies such as order forms and brochures to get you started. So not only is your investment low compared to purchasing a franchise or starting a traditional brick and mortar business from scratch, but it gives you everything you need to get off to a great start.
Another benefit of choosing the direct sales industry is that it pays residual and override income. What are they?
Residual income is money that continues to come in even after the initial “work” to get the business is complete. For example, if you choose a direct sales company that specializes in a type of insurance, the “work” to have the policy activated is done once, but over a certain period of time if the policy holder remains a customer, the agent (you) who sold the policy will continue to earn a percentage of that policy each month. That’s on top of the commission you received when you first sold the policy.
Override income is money that is generated through the effort of a team. As you grow your frontline team and they grow their frontline teams and so on, you will automatically earn a percentage of any and all income generated by the people in your downline genealogy.
Never in my many years in Corporate America or even when I owned a franchise did I experience residual or override income. In my corporate jobs I made a one-way salary. And after all of the people I trained over the years, I never earned a percentage of their salaries once I had trained them to do their jobs and they went on to do them exactly as I had shown them.
So all things considered, the direct sales industry is a smart and affordable path to take in pursuing your entrepreneurial dreams. But before you sign on the dotted line, you want to be sure that you choose not only the right industry but the right company.
There is nothing worse than an eager new business owner getting all of the wind knocked out of their sails because the company they chose folds due to unethical business practices, or they can’t make sales outside of supportive family and friends because the market is inundated with reps from the same company
To avoid direct sales burnout and disappointment, especially during those critical first 90 days when people are most likely to give up and quit, here are some solid steps to help you find and select a business that is perfect for you:
1. Abandon All Negative Thoughts Of Direct Sales. First and foremost - eliminate the crippling thought of door-to-door salesman or approaching every stranger you see when you think of direct sales. Those days are long gone. There are a number of creative ways to get in front of the right people. Think outside the box. What are you good at? Take your natural talents and skills and turn them into innovative ways to share your business product or service with others.
2. Choose An Industry That Speaks To Who You Are. If you don’t have children of your own and can’t make that personal connection with parents interested in buying books for their little ones, choosing a company specializing in children’s books probably isn’t the best choice for you. Instead, if you’re a nutrition nut, stand behind a concept you’re passionate about, with a company that offers quality nutritional products for health and well being. Go with what makes sense for your interests and personality. Stay true to who you are both inside and out.
3. Choose A Company That Is Young. Companies that have been around forever most likely have very good market penetration. When you say the name in a group of people, chances are most if not all of them have heard of it. What does that mean for you? Well, that it may be tough to make a place for yourself because people either already have someone they work with, or, they’ve tried the products or services before and are no longer interested. A good rule of thumb is to choose a company that has been around for at least five years, but no more than ten. In some cases, you can make exceptions for companies that are much older, but still have not hit market penetration. You’ll know this when you ask family and friends “Have you heard of ______________?” and you hear more “nos” than “yeses”.
4. Choose A Company With Ethical Standards. There are a lot of companies out there with new ones popping up almost daily. Sometimes it’s hard to distinguish between who is authentic and who isn’t. To set your mind at ease, choose companies that have aligned themselves with organizations that promote fair and honest direct selling standards, and are swift to disassociate themselves with any company who falls short of these standards. The company you ultimately choose should belong to either one of the following organizations: Direct Sellers Association, www.dsa.org, or Direct Sellers Women’s Association (also open to men), www.dswa.org.
5. Research. Once you’ve chosen a company that matches your interests, do your homework. Is the company growing, meaning, are their annual sales increasing each year? How is their compensation plan structured? Do they have recognizable media coverage? Do they give back to the community? Are there celebrities who support the product or service? Is there any type of internal corruption such as lawsuits from disgruntled ex-representatives? These are all serious facts to consider. Do a little digging, and you will find that if there is anything to be said, good or bad about the company you are considering, you’ll find it.
6. Time Is Money. When thinking about a direct sales company that offers products as opposed to services, whenever possible, choose a company that offers direct shipping to your customers. Life is busy enough without having to sort, package and deliver your customers’ orders. Not to mention that once you start partnering with others as hosts, the burden falls on them to sort, package and deliver products to all of the guests at their party. This can be a huge turnoff for a lot of people.
7. Time Is Money…Still. Again, life is busy, yet, in order to grow your business you have to stay plugged into the latest information. However, are you required to attend more than one meeting a week in order to do so? Look at the company’s training system. Many companies now offer the convenience of teleconference training. A perfect solution for busy families – you can cook dinner and do other chores around the house and listen to your training call at the same time!
8.Go For Repeat Business. When strategizing how to establish your business, think seriously about how much repeat business you can expect with your customers. Think about products that are consumable or services that have monthly memberships. Food items such as nutritional supplements, makeup and daily self-care products such as deodorant and lotion are all products people consume within a month’s time or less and will need to replace regularly. For services, think about industries like insurance or internet-based memberships. As long as your customers maintain their memberships, you will receive either full payment or commission on those memberships depending upon what type of service your business provides.
9. Know Your Customer. Once you’ve decided upon a business, think seriously about who your customer is. Not everyone you know and meet is your ideal customer. For example, if you choose a business that specializes in bake ware and cookware, a young single woman who dines out regularly probably isn’t your ideal customer. A better choice would be a mother with young children at home, or better still, someone running a small catering or baked goods business from their home. Remember, “a niche will make you rich”, so it pays to know your customer.
10. Be Your Best Customer….Within Reason. A lot of companies require their representatives to load up on products or services each month in order to maintain active status with the company and support the idea of being their own best customer. Hands down, it is a no brainer that you and your immediate family should be intimate with the products or services you represent in your business. This means that when at all possible, if you are a part of a products business, you should be replacing your grocery store bought items with items from your own business, makes sense, right? What shouldn’t happen is business owners being required to spend thousands of dollars each month in product to create available “stock” and show your loyalty to the company. If that is something you desire to do, it should be an option, not a requirement to keep your business status active. Ask questions and know what you’re getting into.
11. Don’t Be Afraid Of Distance. When you’ve found a company and a product that you feel you can stand behind, don’t fret if the first person you connect with from the company isn’t in your immediate area. It can still work. My business partner who introduced me to my direct sales business lives in Washington State and I live in California. We connect weekly by phone, and in-between there’s always e-mail, fax, FedEx and the US Postal Service. Your long-distance business partner can and should connect you with others in your area to help you get going and eliminate the feelings of isolation. Soon you’ll have your own thriving team that consists of both local and long-distance business partners and you’ll be able to pass down the exact same advice that was given to you.
12. Have Fun. You’ve done your due diligence and found a company that you feel good about. Bask in your new title as “business owner” and get out there and start sharing. Let your passion for this company, the products and the possibilities of what this opportunity will do in your life shine through everything you do. When you start sharing people will feel your enthusiasm and likely act on those genuine vibes alone. This is a momentous turning point in your life. Enjoy it!
While it may seem like a lot, these are clear, simple and easy steps to get you on the path to being your own boss through the lucrative channel of direct sales. You’ve always had that yearning deep down within your belly that entreprenurialship is something you were born to do. You are now armed with enough information to take you from a place of yearning to a place of being with the ultimate cure to those nagging Sunday Night Blues once and for all!
© 2006 Kitara R. Wilson
WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE OR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include this complete blurb with it: Kitara R. Wilson, “The Writing Wonder Woman”, is an independent Warm Spirit Self-Care business owner and direct sales copywriter. If you would like to know more about her direct sales writing services, or are curious about Warm Spirit, visit either of her sites today at www.WritingWonderWoman.com or www.warmspirit.org/kitarawilson
