In this month’s Executive Connection, Direct Selling News Publisher and Editor in Chief John Fleming speaks with Tim Brown, Founder and CEO of Jamie Oliver At Home, about leadership, falling in love with the industry, and sharing the mission of health and well-being.
DSN: What is the one thing you enjoy most about being the CEO of Jamie Oliver At Home?
TB: Working with our wonderful team, building the mission and sharing it with as many people as possible.
DSN: Launching a new company is obviously a lot of work, but what has been the most fun about it?
 Tim Brown |
TB: To be able to work with all the things that we’re passionate about: being in the kitchen, good food, Jamie Oliver, and his message to help others. So many things have been fun, and they connect all our passions. It’s been wonderful to work with such an amazing young man and to launch his first commercial business in the United States.
DSN: What is your long-term vision for the company?
TB: To be able to support our amazing Better Food for a Better Life community and to spread our mission of health and financial well-being.
DSN: If you hadn’t become an entrepreneur, what career path would you have taken?
TB: I love to be in the kitchen, to garden and to exercise. I would probably have chosen a path in health and fitness.
DSN: How did you get into this industry?
TB: I cut my teeth in this industry as an independent distributor for Reliv International. At the time, I was working with Christian Dior Perfume when friends introduced us to their products. I worked that business for three years and fell in love with the industry. Then I was recruited to work at Princess House, where I learned so much about our great direct selling business model.
DSN: After all these years, what still gets you excited about direct selling?
TB: People. We’ve heard the expressions B-to-B, or B-to-C. I like to refer to direct selling as P-to-P— people to people. How exciting it is that we get to build the platform for independent entrepreneurs to have their own businesses.
DSN: What other direct selling company or leader do you admire most, and why?
TB: I have always admired my mentor, Charlie Collis, the founder of Princess House, and Doris Christopher of The Pampered Chef for their amazing vision and the communities they each created.
DSN: What’s on your bucket list?
TB: I feel so fortunate and blessed that every day I get up and do the things I love. There are lots of things I want to do, and I do them as I can. I’m living my bucket list.
DSN: You and your wife, Amelia, are a team, not only in life but also in business. What does her involvement in Jamie Oliver At Home mean to you?
TB: It’s beyond words. It’s so cool. We’ve been able to raise our family together, and we have two beautiful children. She is such an amazing partner and person. We talk about business all the time now, and it’s fun. We’re creating so many unique things, and we’re helping a lot of people. That’s our goal.
DSN: What’s something few people know about you?
TB: I’m a bit of an open book. I love to ride bikes, play in our garden and pray. Maybe people don’t know that I have two brothers and four sisters. Or that I’m an amateur photographer. I love taking pictures, and I’m told I have an eye for a great photo.
