October feels like a milestone month. The frenzy of back-to-school is behind us, fall is in full swing and the holiday season is just around the corner. In business, October kicks off the final quarter of the year, giving executive teams just three more months to achieve—or perhaps exceed—the goals they set on Jan. 1.
Lauren Lawley Head
In this month’s edition, our cover story explores one of the biggest strategic shifts many companies put in motion this year: distinguishing customers from business-building distributors. Writer Heather Martin spoke with a number of experts on the subject, as well as executives in the trenches, to provide an update on this transition. Our Company Spotlight on Nu Skin Enterprises examines how the company is managing growth on a global scale, and the Company Focus on J.Hilburn shares insights on how the company is using technology to scale. You’ll also find updates on the World Federation of Direct Selling Associations from outgoing Chairman Doug DeVos and the status of H.R. 3409, a bipartisan legislative effort to provide a clear definition of a pyramid scheme in the U.S., from U.S. Direct Selling Association President Joseph N. Mariano.
For the Direct Selling News team, the last quarter of the year marks the start of our two signature research programs for 2018: Best Places to Work in Direct Selling and the Global 100.
Nominations for our Best Places to Work in Direct Selling program close on Oct. 27. If you’d like your company to participate in the program, visit directsellingnews.com/bestplacestowork and complete the nomination form. Our research partners at Quantum Workplace will conduct the employee engagement survey portion of the program from Oct. 30 through Dec. 15, and the honoree companies will be featured in our April 2018 edition. This will be our third year presenting the Best Places to Work in Direct Selling, and we’d love to have your organization represented. Several companies have been honored each of the two years we’ve held the program, providing them with a great opportunity to attract top talent in recruiting home office employees.
You’ll start seeing information about the 2018 Global 100 program in December, but you can get a jump on the process by making sure that your company contact information is up to date. Each year, we work to survey all direct selling companies with annual sales of $50 million or more for consideration on our list of the largest direct selling companies worldwide. Please reach out to editor@directsellingnews.com and let us know of any changes to your primary point of contact for this program. The DSN Global 100 list is respected worldwide, and we want you to be a part of it.
So grab a cup of coffee and enjoy the issue!
All the best,
Lauren
