1.    The Products – Know, love and stand behind the products you sell. If you know how they work, why they’re worth it and actually like and use them yourself, you’ll do a better job selling it to others. Know what similar products are all about as well. If your competitor sells a product like yours, be able to tell your customers why yours is better even if it costs more. Don’t bash the competition; just highlight your strengths.

2.    Network, Network, Network – It’s important to build a business network. Be yourself and take the time to build friendships and other contacts beyond just potential customers. Building rapports doesn’t happen over night and it takes time to simmer.  Keep spreading seeds and you’ll reap a great harvest.

3.    Online Presence – Create a professional website for your business. You are missing a huge opportunity if you’re not doing business via the Internet. One of the first places people go to find something they need is the Internet and your product is no different. Even if you sell a lot locally, broaden your horizons by going online too.  Note:  No website is better than a cheesy, poorly designed one.  If you don’t have the resources to have a professionally designed website, then hold off until you do.

4.    Take Your Business Seriously – Just because you work from home doesn’t give you permission to be any less professional. Your website, business cards, products, presentation and everything else you do in your business should exhibit that you’re serious about your business. Sometimes this will take a bit of money, like hiring a web designer to put your website together if you don’t know how (see #3 for the importance of this). However, most of your professionalism will show in you personally, so treat it like a real business and you’ll obtain the benefits of doing so. If you want to work from home, you still need to show up for work each day.

5.    Honesty is Key – When your customers feel they can trust you they will be back. Don’t be shady or pushy in order to make sales or gain team members. When you make a mistake, admit it, correct it, and move on. Hopefully you won’t forget to mail something or to make a phone call, but if you don’t admit it.  Most will admire your forth righteousness and over look it. “I’m sorry I dropped the ball. I will make it up to you by …”

6.    Accept Rejection – Your home based business job entails sales, whether it’s sales of a product, a service or of yourself; so the word No is one you’ll hear frequently. Don’t take it personally and realize it is a part of this business. Keep working hard and you’ll get positive replies and more sales too.  It is important to recognize that it takes time and many rejections to build up thick skin about this.  So when you feel like throwing in the towel, remember what you are experiencing is perfectly normal and it WILL get better.

7.    Attend Meetings – Take the time to attend meetings for your team. Not only will you learn about new products and sales techniques, but also you’ll receive some needed encouragement from others who’ve been where you are. Even better, you will be able to help some of the newbies on your team eventually.   On a long distance team?  No problem, attend telecons or participate in team forums.  You can get all the benefits of a local meeting… and don’t have to figure out what to wear!

8.    Set Goals – Goal setting is an overused term. Yet this tip is extremely important when it comes to the success of your home based business. Write your goals down or cut out photos of achievements desired. Setting goals and constantly working toward them will help to make your business more profitable. Set big goals and then break them down into smaller easier to achieve steps. As you work your way through your list you’ll feel like you’ve accomplished something and your ultimate goal won’t seem so out of reach. Be realistic with your goals, but don’t be afraid to set them high either.

9.    Be There for Others – You will someday remember what it was like when you first started out. The help you received from others was valuable and once you’ve worked your way up, be sure to lend a helping hand to others. If you weren’t helped by anyone, but felt you climbed all alone, the remember what that felt like and ensure others don’t have to go it alone. Being of assistance to others in all areas of life is very rewarding.

10.    Work Hard and Stick with It – There will be hard times and maybe even times you are ready to throw in the towel in your business. Remember, any business takes work – nothing happens overnight. Keep moving forward even through the rough patches.  Some resources have said that it take 2 years for a new business to take off.  If you throw in the towel after 6 months, are you even giving it a fair shake? If you built or rented a brick and mortar building to run your business, it’s unfathomable to think you’d quit after three months of initial struggles. Yet some people have unrealistic expectation when they work from home. Keep on keeping on.

Take these tips and apply them to your home based business and you’ll see success. There are many other things you’ll need to consider in order to have a profitable business but the 10 discussed here are important and should be your starting point. Here’s to your success!

About the Author: Laurie Ayers is a Michigan work from home mom and a Superstar Director with Scentsy Wickless Candles. She enjoys helping men and women start and maintain a home based business in the US, Canada, Puerto Rico, Germany, Ireland and the UK. To download a FREE Start Up Guide which provides more details about how to start a home business as well as to learn about our compensation plan go to http://www.thrivingcandlebusiness.com/how-to-start-a-candle-business/

In addition to topics on Work From Home advice, please browse this site to find more articles about how you can successfully work from home.

I was born and raised in Michigan. Except for a small stint when I lived in California, I’ve been here all my life. I love it here. This is where I make my home and this is where my home based business is headquartered. I care about my state and also about my Scentsy business. So you can clearly see how easy it was for me to make the leap between the Governor’s State of the State speech and how it applies to my (and hopefully your) home based business.

Below are three quotes and nuggets of advice from the speech tonight that all entrepreneurs who have a home based job should heed:

1.  ”You can only build a brighter future by setting a higher standard.”
2.  “We cannot afford to slow down. We must maintain a sense of urgency and finish what we started.”
3.  “Success through Relentless Positive Action. No blame, no credit. Finding common ground and solving problems “

Set a high standard – achieving minimum monthly goals is not a high standard. Do you just want to get by and survive? Or do you want to thrive? Just because you work from home doesn’t mean you should accept anything less than high standards from yourself, your coworkers and team members. You may be home based, but it’s still a real business if you treat it as such.

Maintain a sense of urgency – throughout the whole year. Many home based direct selling businesses are prone to be seasonal with emphasis on the busy holiday selling season. I see consultants working overtime and pulling out all the stops from October – December, but then all sense of urgency comes to a screeching halt in January. You cannot afford to slow down.

Relentless Positive Action – this translates into keep on keeping on. You can’t just work your home based business when you feel like it or when it’s easy. If you’re in the midst of a slow period or if sales or recruiting is down, more than ever that is the time for relentless positive action. Don’t find an excuse; find a way.

I’m excited about the future of Michigan and the future of my home business. Both show promise of great changes in the near future. I’m pumped for a 2012 full of success – how about you?

About the Author: Laurie Ayers is a Michigan work from home mom and a Superstar Director with Scentsy Wickless Candles. She enjoys helping men and women start and maintain a home based business in the US, Canada, Puerto Rico, Germany, Ireland and the UK. To download a FREE Start Up Guide which provides more details about how to start a home business as well as to learn about our compensation plan go to http://www.thrivingcandlebusiness.com/how-to-start-a-candle-business/

In addition to topics on Work From Home advice, please browse this site to find more articles about how you can successfully work from home.

Dear Less Than Fabulous Home Based Business Owner,

I want to take this opportunity to thank you. Thank you for being a less than fabulous home based business owner. Because of your less than fabulousness, I have new customers and new recruits. For this, I have you to thank. You did not take care of your customers; but I did.

Remember all those sales you made during the holidays? Many of those were going to end up being gifts, don’t you think?  I appreciate that you didn’t take the time to put your contact information on all of the products that you sold. Because of this oversight, when your customers gave them as gifts, the recipient did indeed love it, as anticipated. Yet they had no idea where to go to get more.

That’s the great thing about selling a consumable product – the repeat customers. And when you introduced these people to our fabulous products, they had to go online to find another consultant to buy from. Because I’ve worked hard to make sure I come up fairly high in the search engines, your former customers found me easily.  Thanks. You did not take care of your customers; but I did.

And remember that party you had a few months back? Thanks for not submitting the party in a timely fashion because your guests had to wait a very, very long time to get their orders. No surprise when they finally did receive them, they loved them. But they were frustrated with how long it took to get them when they ordered through you. Because of your lack of timely order submission, I have had more website orders.  Thanks for that too. You didn’t take care of your customers, but I did.

I really, really can’t tell you how much I appreciate that you didn’t want to let your host sign up as a consultant before turning in her huge party order.  She told you she wanted to be consultant and was hoping you would let her sign up first before the order was submitted. Then she could have her launch party with her contacts who would be reordering with her, not with you. Letting her have all her friends’ orders as her first party to really start her business off in the right direction would have been such a classy thing to do. So thank you again for not taking that route. Because of that, I now have a new consultant on my team. And she is selling like you would not believe.  I think she could sell sand in the desert.

No sales business is ever a cake walk 100% of the time. Obviously some products are a much easier sell than others. Some months I sure have to work much harder to get new customers and recruits. So you can imagine how much I love it when I wake up to look on my website to find new product orders and new team members. These customers and recruits would likely never have found me if they hadn’t been so disappointed with the service and/or treatment they received from you.

Your loss truly is my gain, and for that I can’t tell you how grateful I am. Thank you. Thank you so much for being less than fabulous. Because you did not take care of your customers, I did.

Hugs and Kisses,

Successful Work from Home Business Director/Manager

About the Author: Laurie Ayers is a Michigan work from home mom and a Superstar Director with Scentsy Wickless Candles. She enjoys helping men and women start and maintain a home based business in the US, Canada, Puerto Rico, Germany, Ireland and the UK.  To download a FREE Start Up Guide which provides more details about how to start a home business as well as to learn about our compensation plan go to http://www.thrivingcandlebusiness.com/how-to-start-a-candle-business/

In addition to topics on how to Take Care of Your Customers, please browse this site to find more articles about how you can successfully work from home.

My former boss at Notre Dame gave me one of the most valuable pieces of advice about effective communication.  He said whether you are communicating orally or in writing, you should always provide as much detail so that you leave no room for misunderstanding or for the need for additional clarification.  Be thorough on the first try.

I still use this advice daily with my Scentsy business. Let me give you some examples to highlight this point.

1. You have a new team member who asks, “Is there a minimum amount I need to earn before I’ll get an electronic deposit?”

Poor response: “No.”

Mediocre response: “Nope, as soon as you earn $1, you’ll get paid on the 10^th of the following month.”

Effective communication: “You start earning on your very first sale and will see your commissions deposited into your pay portal by the 10^th of the following month. There is training on our pay system located in the training center, in the upper right corner of our workstation. You can also find information about bonuses and commissions in the Policies and Procedures located in your Workstation under the Resources tab. It starts in Chapter 10.”

Do you see the difference? One response is just lame. One gives the answer but doesn’t provide any source documents. The last response would be considered effective communication because it answers the question, shows the new consultants (the one who asked the question and the lurkers who have the same question) where she can find the information in print and also shows where the source documents can be found.

2. A consultant is unhappy because she thinks another consultant in town is breaking the rules.  She complains on a team forum.

Poor communication: “There’s a lady selling cash and carry out of her hair salon.”

Mediocre communication: “I was at XYZ salon today and saw a candle warmer on the reception desk, there was a big pile of wax for sale too. I didn’t think she could do that.”

Effective communication:  “I was at XYZ Salon today on Main St. in Anytown, USA. Some consultant had a whole display of products that were for sale. There were about 12 candle bars, a couple of Buddies, six room sprays and a whole bunch of plug in warmers.  I took a picture with my phone and grabbed a biz card of the consultant then I submitted it to compliance.”

The first one is just complaining. The second one provides a little bit of information but would still require additional communication to ask specifically where the salon was, what was for sale, who was selling it and if she had any evidence so that action could be taken. Otherwise it would just be hearsay. The last communication is effective because it provided all pertinent details that required no additional follow up.

3.  Finally, let’s say you’re a leader and wanting to provide information to your team about an upcoming meeting.

Poor communication:  “Meeting at my house next Tuesday 7pm.”

Mediocre communication:  “Save the date, Tuesday January 17, 2012 at 7pm, team meeting to discuss changes. Email me if you need directions”.

Effective communication: “We’re having a team meeting at my house, at 123 Main St., Anytown USA from 7pm-9pm EST on Tuesday Jan, 17, 2012. I’ll have plenty of snacks so if you don’t have time to eat after work, don’t worry about it; come hungry. We’ll be talking about the Upcoming changes to the policies, What to expect with a catalog changeover and then I’ll leave the last 30 minutes for Q&A.  We are pretty good about starting on time and ending on time so if you want a few minutes to chit chat, you’re welcome to arrive anytime after 630pm. RSVPs appreciated so I know how many to expect. Call/text me at (123)456-7890 or email me@myaddress.com if you have any questions, comments or concerns.

Clearly the last one took a few seconds longer to write out, but can you see where it is very thorough and leaves very little to question?

Perhaps the next time you ask a question, or provide information or a response you can try this method of effective communication. Pause for a moment to ensure you’ve provided enough information that there’s no room for misunderstanding or for the need for additional clarification; then you’ll know you are using effective communication.

About the Author: Laurie Ayers is a Michigan work from home mom and a Superstar Director with Scentsy Wickless Candles. She enjoys helping men and women start and maintain a home based business in the US, Canada, Puerto Rico, Germany, Ireland and the UK.  To download a FREE Start Up Guide which provides more details about how to start a home business as well as to learn about our compensation plan go to http://www.thrivingcandlebusiness.com/how-to-start-a-candle-business/

In addition to topics such as Effective Communication, please browse this site to find more articles about how you can successfully work from home.

I was thinking about this subject last night as I was eating in one of my favorite restaurants.  I experienced some of the most awful service I have ever received.  Regardless of menu price, I believe a server should always provide great service, but especially when you’re dining in a place that is known to be higher end, I would expect service should be exceptional.

I won’t bore you with all the errors our server made but in general it consisted of her being crabby, slow, inattentive, and unsanitary. She was also obviously bothered that the guests would want to be waited on or receive the items they ordered. I kept trying to allow for the possibility that she had a horrific day or was battling some traumatic personal problems. Yet her pathetic service just continued to compound itself until finally we put on our coats and sat there bundled up until she eventually came back to give us the check so that we could leave.

I usually only go to this restaurant on special occasions and now won’t have another reason to return again for quite some time. Because I do enjoy the food, and realize that this one person does not represent the entire company, I may return next year at some point to try it again. I may. But it’s not the only restaurant in town, that’s for sure. If they don’t take care of their customers, someone else will.

If you are a direct sales consultant you already know competition is keen.  Not just competition from other companies that sell a similar product but also from other consultants within the same company who are not in your downline.  If your customers enjoy your products, they can and will get it anywhere. If you give them a reason to go elsewhere, they will.  If you give them a reason to stay and to be loyal to you, they likely will – although there is no guarantee of that either.

Do you handle each sale knowing it could be the very last one this customer will place with you? Or do you take for granted that you have a great product so you just assume they’ll be back for more? If you’re having a bad day or are irritated by something in your personal life, check it at the door before you deal with your customers.  Your problems do not need to become their problems.

About the Author: Laurie Ayers is a WAHM from Michigan and a Superstar Director with Scentsy Flameless Candles. She enjoys helping men and women start and maintain a candle business in the US, Canada, Puerto Rico, Deutschland, Ireland and the UK.  To download a FREE Start Up Guide which provides more details about how to start a candle business as well as to learn about our compensation plan go to http://www.thrivingcandlebusiness.com/how-to-start-a-candle-business/

It’s a common practice in business to send out survey’s to poll your peers employees and supervisors how they perceive your performance. It’s also a wise business practice to do it in direct sales.  Survey your downline to see how they perceive their upline’s performance.

This is certainly not a practice that anyone should fear or loathe.  Typically, those who are not fans of having their downline (or employees) polled are afraid the survey is being sent so they can be criticized. That paranoia is only in the minds of those who are being evaluated. The purpose of requesting feedback is for continuous improvement. None of us are above improvements in how we manage our business.

Measures, grades, surveys, matrices, dashboards – are all tools to facilitate Relentless Positive Action.  How do you know if you’re succeeding if you don’t collect data?  It’s a way to recognize success. It’s not a negative; it’s a positive. So we measure it.

It also gives us an opportunity to focus attention in areas where improvements are needed and not focusing efforts on areas that are working well.

If you find yourself one who is being measured, embrace it. Don’t fear it and don’t view it as a negative – that is unless you are doing something unethical that you don’t want anyone to find out about – but that is an entirely different topic.

If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it. In God we trust … all others bring data!

About the Author: Laurie Ayers is a WAHM from Michigan and a Superstar Director with Scentsy Wickless Candles. She enjoys helping others start and maintain a candle business in the US, Canada, Puerto Rico, Ireland, Deutschland and the UK. You can find Laurie at http://la.Scentsy.us or http://www.ThrivingCandleBusiness.com

For example, take the word No. Not too many of us like to be told no when there is something we want. This afternoon Bella wanted to get up on my favorite mid-century Danish Modern chair. I told her No. Then in a more “This time I mean it” voice, I told her no again.

She thought better of the idea and walked away looking somewhat defeated.  A short while later I returned to the living room to see Bella Bella Short and Swella sitting in The Chair.  “Get Down, NOW!” I tried to utter in a low but commanding voice. She slowly lifted her droopy eyes, looked at me and eventually got down.

So is this dog stupid? On the contrary.  She knows what she wants and she’s not going to let a little No get in her way. Now it’s a battle of wills. I don’t want her up on the furniture and she wants to be up there. Of course I wear the pants in this house and she will have to listen to me, but that is not to say she won’t keep trying.

Bella says: No means No for now. Not No forever.

What’s the takeaway from this? Just because people tell you No when you talk with them about purchasing your products or possibly starting their own direct sales business doesn’t mean you should give up. No means no for now, not no forever. Timing is everything and perhaps the timing wasn’t right for the person you were speaking with.

Like Bella, after a while, go back and try again. But you’d do well to ask if it’s okay if you check in with them in a few months. Or they may have spoken loudly enough that you know you haven’t a chance at getting a different response – not in four months and not in four years.

Don’t let their No speak for all the others you have yet to approach. Their no simply means No for now. That’s it. It doesn’t mean your business opportunity isn’t working. It doesn’t mean no one wants to buy any. It merely means you received a no. Get used to it. You get lots of noes in sales.

Bella will get many more Noes in her lifetime too, but it won’t stop her from trying. Nor should it stop you either.

About the Author: Laurie Ayers is a WAHM from Michigan and a Superstar Director with Scentsy Wickless Candles. She enjoys helping others start and maintain a candle business in the US, Canada, Puerto Rico, Ireland, Deutschland and the UK. You can find Laurie at http://la.Scentsy.us or http://www.ThrivingCandleBusiness.com

con·sis

Think about any achievements that are worthwhile – losing weight, playing an instrument, earning a black belt, getting a college degree, becoming BCS champions, writing a book or learning any new skill. What do they all have in common? It takes consistent dedication to reach the goal.

Consistent dedication.

Now look at any successful direct sales business. Consider the consultants who have reached top ranks and who have financial freedom. What do they all have in common?  It took consistent dedication to reach that goal.

Yet look at most failed direct sales businesses. Consider the consultants who quit or complained “it didn’t work” or that they were spending more money than they were making. What do they all have in common?  Likely they either gave up too soon or they can’t honestly say they were consistently dedicated to working their business.

What are some activities you can do consistently to help you reach your goal of managing a successful direct selling business? Consistently – meaning daily or at least multiple times per week:

• Social Networking (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Ning, etc.)
• Blogging
• Phone calls to prospects, new recruits, customers
• Follow up postcards
• Mailing catalogs
• Reading training documents
• Participating in training phone calls or webinars
• Distributing catalogs and samples throughout your daily travels
• Setting up displays or lead generation boxes

What else can you do?

Remember it took you more than ten m&ms to put on that weight; it’s going to take you more than ten sit-ups to lose it. If you want significant results you’ll need to be consistently dedicated.

About the Author: Laurie Ayers is a WAHM from Michigan and a Superstar Director with Scentsy Wickless Candles. She enjoys helping others start and maintain a candle business in the US, Canada, Puerto Rico, Ireland, Deutschland and the UK. You can find Laurie at http://la.Scentsy.us or http://www.ThrivingCandleBusiness.com

As business owners, we can all take a lesson from this company.  If their philosophy and personality are shining through on a website – so much so that it makes customers want to throw money at them, then refer others, plus create quite a viral buzz, they must be doing something right.

I recently stumbled upon a company that is oozing with personality. I chose to do business with them because they had the item I was looking for at a reasonable price; but more so because of their fun personality. They made me want to give them my hard earned dollars. The fact that they are a fellow Michigan business was just an unexpected bonus.

For starters, I checked their return policy because I was purchasing a gift. Theirs is one of the best return policies I’ve ever seen:

OUR GUARANTEE

If you aren’t thrilled with your purchase, return it AT ANY TIME as long as IT’S IN SELLABLE CONDITION and as long as you aren’t dead. If you are dead, your heirs can still return the goods but they should probably keep them in your honor. We are fully available to answer all your questions and advise you. We were voted “Best Virtual Boot, Clothing, Gear fitters” by made up customer #323. Load bearing climbing equipment like a harness or carabiner, and all Gift Cards, are final sale and cannot be returned. So, if you don’t like your climbing stuff just hang it on your wall to impress your friends and if you don’t want your Gift Card, use it as a ruler.

Oh yeah, proof of purchase required for all returns. IF YOU RETURN THE PRODUCT(S) IN UNSELLABLE CONDITION we will ship the product back to you and will NOT PROVIDE YOU WITH A REFUND. Sorry for being so mean about it.

After I placed the order, I received this ditty:

Your Order Has Been Placed

Way to go. You’ve won the best email receipt we’ve sent out all day. We recommend either printing this receipt and framing it in your foyer or using it as a screensaver. It would probably also be nice for you to forward it around to a couple friends and maybe even an enemy or two.

If you’re bored, check us out on Facebook or Twitter. Our CFO said he doesn’t understand why anyone would use Twitter. He also thinks that a narwhal is a made-up animal. Please don’t tell anyone about it.

If you care more about your order than our nonsense you can track your package right to your doorstep. As soon as we have your tracking information we’ll email you the tracking information. You can also check your order status online. Don’t be scared if you don’t see your order right away. We just have to process it first. Check out your Order Status and Order History.

No chance you’re still reading this but if you are, we’re posting pictures of folks using the products on product pages at Moosejaw.com. If you fall in the folks category please email a photo of your gear in action to Moosejaw and we’ll add your picture to Moosejaw.com and add 100 Reward points to your account. If you have a Moosejaw logo in your picture we’ll double the points. Not sure what MOOSEJAW Reward points are? Check it out. Oh, we only give points on one photo per product and you need to have bought the product from us. A customer tried getting a million points when he sent us his wedding album so we had to write this.

Then today I received the notice that my order has shipped.

Thanks again for placing such a fantastic order at Moosejaw.com!

“Your Order Tracking and Order Summary Information is above in red. We recommend printing this information and mounting it into a mahogany frame for a foyer or living room. If you don’t have a printer they’re very easy to take from a friend and bring back later, just something to keep in mind.

If you have any questions about your order please email us, hop on Live Chat, or give us a call at xxx. Now I’ll stop bothering you.

Love the madness,
Moosejaw”

Do you see what I’m talking about? Can you see the personality of this business? What about the business concepts… did you catch everything they did right?

1. Their web content is stupendous.

2. Their return guarantee is clearly spelled out; and isn’t boring mumbo jumbo.

3. They complimented me on my purchase and gave me a call to action to visit their social media sites and provided info on the order tracking and encouraged me to earn more reward points, thereby increasing the odds I’d be a return customer. Yes, I know that was a run-on sentence but they did a lot in number three.

4. They kept me informed when my order shipped. They again complimented me (one can never have enough compliments). They gave me the tracking information and make their contact information easily available should I have any questions.

Time will tell, but I have the sneaking suspicion I will hear from them again to see how I liked my order and to keep me apprised of more fabulous reasons I didn’t know I had to be a return customer.

What about you? Does your business have personality? Do you have a USP (Unique Selling Proposition)? What sets you apart from your counterparts? Do you have an overwhelming reason I should do business with you and not just any ol’ website that offers the same product?

If you’re just blending in with the rest of your competition it’s time to step out and dare to be different!

Lest you think I am anti-direct sales; on the contrary, I have had a home based business since 1988 and currently lead a large successful organization.  I love being in this industry, else I would not have stuck around for the past 23 years. I simply do not agree with the statement that anyone can be a direct seller.

According to the Direct Selling Association (DSA) the average direct seller in the United States earns $2,400 per year. Clearly with any statistics or averages, those numbers tell us what we want them to tell us. And an average means there are plenty who earn far less, as well as plenty who earn far more.  Also, less than 9% of all direct sellers work their business thirty hours or more each week.

Though to make the statement “Anyone Can Be a Direct Seller” true, I can concede that anyone with a credit, debit or prepaid card, and a balance of $100 can be a direct seller. That much is true. What I am referring to is that not anyone can be a successful direct seller. Again, if that were true, then anyone would be.

Some of the recruiting tactics I’ve heard is that their product “sells itself.” False. If it did, we could just put our inventory on the porch and people would throw money at us. Or that it’s a “lucrative business.” Well; there is some truth to this. Having a successful direct selling business can be lucrative; but not without a whole lot of perseverance, dedication and time on the job. No get rich quick deal here.

I frequently hear prospective recruits lament that they : are shy; or don’t know anyone; or don’t want to do home parties; or don’t have any start up money. Yet eager recruiters poo-poo those concerns and tell them “how anyone can do this business.”  So then the shy, isolated, broke person signs up, only to learn it’s not as easy as it was foretold. Then they get frustrated and quit. They feel they were bamboozled.

A more accurate statement is: Anyone Can Be a Direct Seller if:

• You are prepared to make a way, not an excuse
• You are prepared to work far more hours, at least initially, than you care to
• You are prepared to get out of your comfort zone
• You are comfortable, or willing to work through your discomfort of, talking to strangers
• You realize you need to experience rain to get a rainbow (read: rejection is part of this gig)
• You commit that Failure is Not an Option
• You are willing to Keep on Keeping on

Well that doesn’t sound nearly as glamorous as “Anyone Can Be a Direct Seller”, does it? Perhaps not; but it’s authentic. Wouldn’t you rather have someone be up front with you than to blow smoke up your skirt?

But there is GOOD NEWS! Direct Sales can be a fun business. Direct sales does give you freedom to set your own schedule (most of the time). You can earn a full time income with direct sales. You can earn exciting trips and prizes and meet some wonderful people; some will become lifelong friends.

You will get out of direct sales what you are willing to put into it. If you’re willing to keep on keeping on, even when you really want to quit, you can have a very rewarding career. If you go into it with realistic expectations you will be able to soar with the eagles.

See you at the top?

About the Author: Laurie Ayers is a WAHM from Michigan and a Superstar Director with Scentsy Wickless Candles. She enjoys helping others start and maintain a candle business in the US, Canada, Puerto Rico, Deutschland, Ireland and the UK. You can find Laurie at http://la.Scentsy.us or http://www.ThrivingCandleBusiness.com