Network Marketing Success | The Healthy Beauty Project -by Todra Payne

Natural Brands Offer Career Opportunities

Women who are looking for a way to earn extra income for their family’s household budget, but don’t want to leave the kids to schlep out to a 9-5, may want to consider a direct sales job. Multilevel Marketing Companies like Avon and Mary Kay have offered women flexible hours and extra income for decades. With the growing desire for healthier beauty options – from natural to certified organic – MLM companies with truly green philosophies and healthy personal care items are getting more attention than ever.

The Healthy Beauty Project spoke with independent representatives from three very distinct natural MLM corporations. Here’s the scoop on how selling cosmetics offers these women good income and a chance to align their ethics with their careers.

Michele Gachowski, a former flight attendant, first tried Neals Yard Organics, an award winnings British line of cosmetics and bath and body products, while on a trip to London. Although Michele didn’t know anything about the benefits of using organic brands, she knew she really liked what she tried. Several months later, back in the US, a neighbor who sold the line (it’s called NYR Organics in the US) gave Michele a bag of NYR Organics as a gift. Later, when Michele wanted to purchase more products, the neighbor explained the business structure with Michele.

Michele had recently quit her job to stay home with her sons, who are 6 and 7 years old. The idea of bringing in money without leaving the boys was appealing. The one glitch? Michele was uncomfortable with sales and didn’t really know much about natural beauty products versus mainstream ones. “I had no experience,” Michele says. “And I was completely out of my comfort zone.”

Nevertheless, Michele signed up in January of 2010 and learned the business quickly, thanks to the company’s strong support system.  She is now a team leader with four personal recruits under her. Michele admits her team could probably grow faster if she were more aggressive with recruiting, but that’s not her style. “I like to allow people to try the products and fall in love with them, just like I did,” she says. “I always have the information out when I’m at parties. And women who are interested ask and I explain the opportunity to them.”

Michele says the pay structure is set up in a way that it’s not hard to earn income and incentives. As a consultant (without a team under you), you’d get 25% of the profits from your sales and between 5-15% bonus. Like most MLM companies, NYR Organics, provides a website for their consultants to procure online sales, in addition to the sales from “parties”.

In the nine months Michele has been with NYR Organics, she’s learned a lot about natural and organic ingredients and the high standards her company believes in. As a resident of San Francisco, she says it’s particularly important for her to understand the benefits of healthy cosmetics. “People here tend to know a lot about organic products and healthy living. So they want to know what makes this line great,” Michele says. “I explain that we’re certified organic in the UK, where the standards are really high.”

When we ask Michele if the brand sells in areas where people aren’t as health conscious as they are in California, she assures us they are doing just fine. “We have more consultants in [each of these states] Alaska, Wyoming and Montana than we do in California. And they’re doing really well.”

Want to speak with Michele about opportunities at NYR Organics? You can reach her here.

Company info:

Neals Yard Organics/NYR Organics

Started in 1981

Certified organic and Carbon Neutral in the UK.

Line includes: Skincare, Hair care, Body care, baby products, a men’s line and a growing color cosmetics line.

Start-up cost: $199.00 (includes $550 worth of products) or $99.00 (includes $250 worth of product).

Recent sales Incentives: An all expenses paid trip to New England; an Apple iPad; free NYR Organic products.

Andrea & her daughter, Anelya

Andrea Caesar, a consultant for Ava Anderson Non-Toxic, came to care about non-toxic personal care items through her own illness. While living in Sweden, where Andrea was working for a startup, she noticed her health declining. “I was exhausted all of the time,” Andrea says. “I started to lose weight. And in my 20s my hair was turning gray.”

Doctors performed blood tests and other medical procedures without any sure answers as to what was going on with Andrea’s body. Eventually, she had to return to her parent’s home in New Hampshire, where she sometimes slept for 18 hours a day. “I lost my life,” Andrea says. “And no one was able to tell me why.”

Finally Andrea visited a Naturalpathic doctor, who performed a series of tests and informed her that her system was toxic from various products she was using. And she had food allergies that were contributing to the overall problem.

As Andrea changed her products and her lifestyle, she began to get better. Today, she works as an office manager for that same Naturalpathic doctor (part time) and sells a brand of personal care and beauty products that resonates with her personal story.

“I initially tried Ava Anderson Non-Toxic in hopes of finding something healthy that we could sell at the doctor’s office,” Andrea says. “After six months of selling through the office, I realized the importance of educating people in their living rooms through parties. That’s when I saw my business skyrocket.”

Andrea, who signed up as a rep with Ava Anderson Non-Toxic in January 2010, just one month after the company’s launch, is now the #1 consultant in the country. She has 28 women and one man in her down line. “I want to share the message because people should be informed and concerned about the toxicity of personal products in the U.S. ”

Andrea says she puts in a lot of time training and maintaining her down line because she wants them to share the message with others and she wants to help them make money immediately.

“The part that surprises people is I have no direct sales experience at all,” Andrea says. “But I believe in the product and the message.” Andrea’s greatest success comes from parties where she gets to talk one-on-one with women. With creative themes like Mommy& Me parties, Andrea is able to bring her 21-month-old daughter along, while connecting with other moms.

We asked Andrea how she manages to juggle family responsibilities (she’s a single mom), a part time job at the doctor’s office and her business. “My daughter is in daycare while I work at the doctor’s office. After she goes to bed at night, I make my sales calls, book parties and encourage my team.”

Andrea says she expects to be working Ava Anderson Non-Toxic full time within a year. If you’d like to talk with Andrea about an opportunity with Ava Anderson Non-Toxic, you can reach her here.

Company info:

Ava Anderson Non-Toxic

Established in December, 2009

Products all register a zero on the Skin Deep Cosmetics Safety Database

Line includes: skincare and makeup

Start-up cost: $99 for sales kit

Recent sales incentives: An all expenses paid cruise to Martha’s Vineyard; 5-day trip to Atlantis, Paradise Island, Bahamas; free products

Erin Ely, a former forester, started with Miessence, an award winning Australian company offering organic personal and home care items, in 2005.  Miessence appealed to Erin because of their “deep green” stance. “Miessence isn’t new to organics or green/organic living,” Erin says. “This is a company that comprises the most hard core organic oriented, highly educated consumers.”

Because Erin has lived a green lifestyle for as long as she can remember, she finds Miessence to be the perfect fit as a business. “It’s USDA Certified Organic and organic certified in Australia,” Erin says. “And our customers, like me, tend to care a lot about product ingredients and environmental issues. That’s our niche market.”

Miessence products are made in the company’s own labs which are wind powered. And each product contains an expiration date to ensure customers are getting fresh products.

Unlike many MLM brands, Miessence allows their reps to create business structures that are unique to their own working style. For example, Erin has a personal website where she sells the products, not the company’s main website with a backslash and her name on the end. She can choose how she’d like to advertise her business. And she is able to approach retail establishments, health care professionals and even international distributors about selling the line, which is great for women who aren’t interested in doing home parties.

“I have a distributor in Denmark who’s also trying to get our products into the Ukraine,” Erin says. “This is where my focus is at the moment. You can’t make as much money from down lines unless everyone is working it. This is more like owning your own business.”

Currently, Erin is an executive with Miessence  with ten businesses that she’s partnered with to sell the brand. She does have individual reps under her care, as well. But she doesn’t aggressively recruit. “If someone wants to sell with me, I’m available all the time to help them as much as they need,” Erin says. “But I’ve learned that someone has to want to do this to be successful. It’s not a get rich quick scheme. You work hard at it.”

When we asked Erin how much she works to make her living, she is very up front. “I work between 12-20 hours a week and make $2500 a month on average.” She adds, “And it’s internet and businesses based. I don’t do parties.”

Erin contributes part of her success to her approach to customers. “I find people who want our products. I don’t waste time trying to convince people they want to use something organic or natural. This is a lifestyle product. And the customers who buy from me are not looking for the trendiest new ingredient. They’re looking for excellent products that work.”

Erin says she’s learned that trying to educate people on buying organic doesn’t always work as a great business model. But she finds plenty of customers who already understand and are relieved to find what she sells. And with an Internet based business, many of her customers find her through search engines. She says there are reps in Miessence who do well with the traditional party structure. The key, she says, is finding what works for you. “And Miessence allows you to do that.”

If you’d like to contact Erin about Miessence, you can reach her here.

Company info:

Miessence is made under OneGroup, the world’s first certified organic extensive product line.

Established: 1998

Line includes: skincare, body care, makeup, baby care, hair care and home cleaning supplies

Start-up cost: $30 to enroll, and $300 worth of products (30% off retail).

Recent incentives: $500 – $1000 cash incentives

Corrections: Erin Ely does work with reps on a regular basis and she is passionate about educating customers on the benefits of using organic products. HBP apologizes for any misrepresentation.