When Direct Sales Calls {part 2}

{To read part 1 of how direct sales called my name, click HERE}

....About a month ago, I realized that I HAD to find a job. I didn't have the luxury of treating another business like a hobby. I knew that whatever I did next HAD to be "it!" Even if it wasn't really "it," I was going to MAKE it "IT!" So I started soul searching and praying and trying to figure out my next move. Even as I started to pursue launching a brand new business idea of my own, I could still hear it....direct sales was calling.

So I started looking for a job. Not just any job....but a job where I was the boss and could write my own ticket, as they say. I wanted it to utilize my talents and abilities and make good use of my past experiences. For days, all I did was brainstorm ideas. What am I good at, what do people tell me I should do, what gets me excited, what would really make money?

Around that time, I attended a Christian Women in Business conference at a local church. My parents own a home painting business and I went representing them as their "color picker" but had an open mind as to other doors that God might be opening. In one of the break-out sessions, I was struck by the man who introduced the speaker. He was a long-time Arizona native and one of his many jobs was as a "business developer." I had a strong feeling that I needed to talk to him so I contacted his secretary and set up an appointment. Beforehand, I talked to my husband about my "dream job" and when I met with this gentleman, Jim, I told him about it. I told him that I love supporting women with their own businesses, I love planning and hosting events and I love networking. I also told him that I was ready to narrow my focus to ONE thing and really make a go of it.

Jim came up with a brilliant idea that involved me creating and launching my own business--something no one else was doing. I started telling people about it, making phone calls to set up my first event and pitched the idea to my family. I followed Jim's advice and read the books he recommended and purchased the domain name, too. {I hope, by the way, that someone would like to run with my idea someday because I'd be thrilled to give it away.} Ultimately, creating a business from scratch was terrible intimidating and when I told people about it, they were confused by my idea. I realized that I was even confused about what I was doing! So, I put it on the back burner and decided to wait a while before putting any more money into it.

In the meantime, I was still praying for God to open doors for me. At that Christian Women in Business conference, my mom and I shared a table with a realtor who belonged to a local networking group and she invited us to attend the next meeting. I wasn't able to go but my mom did. Besides having a great time, she met a lady who was also attending for the first time. This woman, Sherrian, happened to be THE Mary Kay lady of the retirement community only five miles away from our neighborhood.

My mom met with Sherrian soon after that for a Mary Kay skin care session and reported to me that I would love her when I met her. When she described Sherrian (a national trainer for Mary Kay who gave back to the community, had a beautiful home and happened to have her OWN networking group), I instantly thought, "She is who I want to be."

Mom and I attended Sherrian's networking group that next week. When they introduced me to the other 40-plus women in the room (all with a variety of businesses they owned), I told them about my business idea (the idea Jim had given me). Afterward, I met and chatted with Sherrian. She wished me luck with the business idea and said, "I can see you having your own networking group," and I told her that I actually wanted her life and that she was doing what I wanted to do! I told her about my passion for women and how I'd always dreamed of being a leader. I told her that I was going to pursue my other business idea...but that I definitely needed to make money in the meantime. She said, "Well, you need to do Mary Kay," and handed me their promotional flier for the business opportunity. She would later tell me that she just 'had a feeling' that she needed to share the business opportunity with me that night. Interesting.

So I mulled over the Mary Kay idea and when I went home and told my husband about what Sherrian said, he laughed. He'd heard that story before. I'd been tempted by the Mary Kay opportunity many, many times over the years, partly because I love their products and the company philosophies and partly because of the 50% profit. But I knew my husband was thinking, "Here she goes, launching yet another 'it' business," so I didn't pursue it any further. It almost seemed too obvious to do Mary Kay.

After that, my back-burner business idea still didn't take off. I was still searching. I attended a makeover event at Sherrian's house (which she used to help train the women on her team) and, once again, left thinking, "I could've done that better" and that I had an edge over all the consultants in the room. I knew direct sales, I knew skin care and makeup, I knew women and I even knew a lot about Mary Kay. My mom and grandmother also attended, and echoed my thoughts. "You could SO do that," my mom said.

Then I started thinking more and more about Mary Kay. I mentioned it again to my husband. I journaled and prayed. I studied the catalog. Was this really IT?!? Maybe just because it was obvious didn't mean it wasn't right.

{continue with part 3, coming soon!}

When Direct Sales Calls

Tupperware, Mary Kay and Creative Memories were among the first home parties I attended and that was back in the 1990s. There would be a cute display of fun products. Women would eat, talk and visit with each other while flipping through the catalog. The consultant, all dressed up, would tell us about the company and the items she was selling. We'd play games, she'd give away prizes and she'd try to book more parties or recruit new team members. I realized that this woman was running her own business, with the benefit of being under the umbrella of a big, well-known company.

"Direct sales," as I discovered it was called, appealed to me from the beginning. I loved everything about it: shopping, hosting, meeting new people, eating, playing games and finding out about fun, new products. Even as a teenager, I could see myself being a consultant for a direct sales company.

In my twenties, I was known for hosting a home party several times a year and I rarely turned down an invitation to attend a friend's business launch or home party. I felt passionately about supporting these women and their businesses. Often, I would go to a party, observe the consultant the entire time and go home thinking, "I could have done that even better." I saw myself building a team, becoming a leader, earning prizes, making money and helping other women start a business of their own.

In fact, after having my first son in late 2005, I dabbled in a few direct sales businesses with some success. With Tupperware and Blessings Unlimited, I was happy just to get the starter kit. BUT, with Arbonne, Southern Living At HOME, and especially Cookie Lee jewelry, I told my husband each time, "This is THE company" and I set out to "work my business." I would get excited about it, have a launch party, hold a handful of big shows and even recruit a few people. I dreamed of moving up in the ranks and becoming a leader. But eventually, I always lost momentum and then got distracted and moved on to the next thing.

Still, my heart was in direct sales. From 2005 to 2010, I helped a friend with her daughter, did some writing, launched a ministry and ran an Etsy shop, all the while thinking, "Gosh, I just always thought I'd make it big in the direct sales industry."

From August 2009 to August 2010, my family took a break from life. We sold our home and rented near my husband's job. We stepped down from leadership at church, I shut down my Etsy shop and we enjoyed a slower pace. I did sign up for Melalueca and still enjoy ordering from them, especially their natural cleaning products. Other than writing, I didn't "work" and it was marvelous to take a break.

That summer, we fulfilled a long-time dream of living closer to my parents and moved into their neighborhood in Chandler, Arizona in time for our oldest son to start kindergarten at the nearby elementary school. After we got settled, bills began to pile up and reality set in: I needed a job. I had to make real money.

Looking back, I realize that being a stay-at-home mom to a young kid (or kids) meant that I could only dabble in direct sales as more of a hobby. It would have been nearly impossible to have treated any of my direct sales businesses as a real "job," without a nanny, personal assistant and/or maid.

Nevertheless, about a month ago, I realized that I HAD to find a job. I didn't have the luxury of treating another business like a hobby. I knew that whatever I did next HAD to be "it!" Even if it wasn't really "it," I was going to MAKE it "it!" So I started soul searching and praying and trying to figure out my next move. Even as I started to pursue launching a brand new business idea of my own, I could still hear it....direct sales was calling.

{keep reading in Part 2, coming soon!!}