Look at this lady. Does she look like a Direct Sales success story? Does she look like someone who is going to be an inspiration? Does she even look like someone who has anything at all worth-while to share?

I mean, her hair is falling out of a pony-tail tied with wrapping paper ribbon and there’s… is that a shark in this picture? Not a shark under the sea in some Caribbean wonderland because she earned a fantastic tropical cruise from her company. (Which she did, by the way, but that’s not the point right now.)  No. It’s a shark… wearing a Santa hat.

So, she doesn’t look successful. That’s okay. She’s happy and she doesn’t need anyone to think she’s successful. She’s on her way to an Ugly Sweater Party with her best friends. Some of those friends are also teammates in her direct sales company. She didn’t ask them to join, they asked her if they could join. Not because she looked successful, but because anyone could see that whatever she was up to, it was making her happy. One of those teammates is hosting the party in their newly renovated home that now has the space to host a dinner for 12 couples.

(No kids allowed! Yay! Getting invited to go to a dinner party without kids means you have permission to act like a child until the party is over. It’s the BEST!)

The reason her teammate has room for this kind of gathering is because of a home remodel, which was partially funded by the side-hustle. The one we both signed up for. Oh, this pic is of me, by the way. And when I signed up for my first ever direct sales gig, it was for no other reason than that I really – I mean really – love the product.

Oh, and I wanted the starter kit.

And the 25% off.

I’d love to tell you it was because I recognized the value of a ground-floor opportunity, or that I was recruited due to my impeccable reputation of past success and real-world experience, or that I had a great understanding of the quiet complexities of the comp plan and I recognized its value.

But I can’t tell you that. I had no experience and no idea what I was getting into. Understanding the Jump-start rewards program, which was less than one page long, was too much for this girl. Forget it.

But it looked fun.

It was pretty.

That’s about the extent of my research. Eleven months ago, I straight up bought a business because I wanted a box of goodies and a discount on ordering more. A year ago today, I had never even heard my company’s name.

Photo by Jessica Lewis on Pexels.com

That is so strange now. Because now I have a business. My own business! At home! I have new skills, a growing team, a savings account, and a purpose outside keeping small children alive. And not only do I have it for myself, I have it for strangers that I meet who become my friends, and friends I’ve had all along who can now realize their dreams of having big dinner-parties in their beautiful homes and inviting their friends to come over wearing whatever makes them smile. Even if it’s a Santa-hat-Shark Christmas sweater. Sorrynotsorry.