Direct Sharing

Last week was a busy one at Direct Selling News. After we put the finishing touches on the April issue and got it off to the printer, we attended the Dinner with DSA event here in Dallas on Wednesday and Video Plus University on Thursday. Both events were characterized by the kind of sharing that makes the direct selling industry unique. In fact, when Jeff Olsen, Senior Marketing Associate for Pre-Paid Legal Services, took the stage on Thursday, he suggested that we should be known as the Direct Sharing Industry.

Jeff might be right. After all, when direct selling distributors meet with potential customers—whether at a party or one-on-one—they share their knowledge of products or services, they share their passion for the company they represent, and they share the benefits that a home-based business opportunity can provide.

And when direct selling executives get together, they are amazingly willing to share their knowledge and experience to help others succeed. Last week, I learned about one such example of sharing that I’d like to…um…share. I had the chance to chat with Nancy Bogart, Founder of Jordan Essentials, which, until recently was called Country Bunny Bath and Body. Nancy told me that as Country Bunny grew, it became important to find a name that would resonate with people globally and communicate that the company’s products are “essential” to healthy skin care.

Changing a company’s very identity is a tremendous undertaking and one that requires a lot of courage. Nancy told me that when she began to explore changing the name of Country Bunny—a name that was dear to her heart and the hearts of her consultants—she turned to someone in the industry who had recently undergone a similar transformation, Madolyn Johnson, Founder and President of Signature HomeStyles.

When Madolyn founded her company more than 35 years ago, she named it The Homemaker’s Idea Company. Madolyn, like Nancy, realized she needed to react to changes in the marketplace and launched her new name and brand last year. In fact, at DSA’s Annual Meeting in June 2006, Madolyn received the Success Award for her initiative. Who better, then, for Nancy to turn to as she considered a making a major change at Country Bunny?

Nancy told me that Madolyn served as her mentor and made herself available with invaluable advice and counsel as Country Bunny Bath and Body transformed into Jordan Essentials. Nancy promised she’d share more details about the decision she implemented in an upcoming Top Desk column in Direct Selling News (I’m holding you to it, Nancy!).

Over the last two years, I’ve heard so many stories similar to Nancy’s. In 2005 Julie Gordon and Kelly Majewski, Co-Founders of Baby Splendor, were introduced to Jim Northrop, then CEO of Princess House. What began as a mentorship turned into a full-fledged partnership, with Princess House handling all back-end functions for Baby Splendor. And just last month, when I was in Puerto Rico covering an event for 4Life Research, 4Life CEO and Founder David Lisonbee spoke with pride about attending the recent WFDSA CEO Council Meeting in Brazil. “The amazing thing that happens at the CEO Council Meeting is that we come together as competitors and reach out and help each other, working together to solve common problems,” he said.

So the next time your phone rings and it’s someone with little more than an idea and a dream, I encourage you to take the call and share your experience and wisdom. It’s the kind of sharing that makes the direct selling industry great—and sets us apart.