The stage was set in the early e-commerce days with eBay and Amazon paving the way in the digital shopping experience. More recently, we were introduced to flash sales and daily deals from companies like Living Social, Gilt Groupe, Woot and of course Groupon.

Looking back over the last 20 years, it’s extraordinary how one decision has now led to over 50,000 independent contractors earning their income from It Works! Global each and every month.

Nearly 16 million Americans engaged in direct selling in 2012, some as full-time entrepreneurs seeking to build a business and some as part-time representatives hoping to earn a little extra money.

Euromarket International has released a new report identifying the top five beauty trends in North and South America.

Over the weekend, a capacity crowd packed out Charlotte, North Carolina’s Time Warner Cable Arena for the ACN International Convention, where the direct seller of telecom and home services once again welcomed entrepreneur Donald Trump to the stage.

Today billionare investor Carl Icahn revealed his investment position in Herbalife. In what has become a clash of the Wall Street titans, Icahn paid $214 million for 14 million Herbalife shares, amounting to a 13 percent stake in the company.

Herbalife is providing further disclosure on its U.S. distributor earnings to offset accusations of illegitimate business practices.

Almost as extraordinary as Amway’s record $11.3 billion total revenue for 2012 is the fact that 90 percent of that business originated outside North America.

Reports that are now coming in from publicly held direct selling companies continue to reflect strong increases in annual revenues.

As we prepare to publish our annual list of the top 100 direct selling companies in the world, we are excited to announce early reports of record numbers from industry leaders. Alticor Inc., parent company of Amway, today reported record 2012 global sales of $11.3 billion, compared with $10.9 billion in 2011.

Shareholders in Herbalife and NuSkin experienced a roller-coaster day on Monday as a result of the battle Bill Ackman, Founder and CEO of hedge fund Pershing Square Capital Management, continues to fight against Herbalife.

Hil Davis, Co-Founder of direct selling company J.Hilburn, tells his story in the February 2013 issue of Inc. magazine.