The Direct Selling Association (DSA) has added a new initiative for 2012: support of political candidates.

Over the past few weeks, the London Olympics have showcased the individual and team achievements of the greatest athletes in the world.

LR Health & Beauty Systems GmbH, Germany's leading direct seller of cosmetics, body care, dietary supplements and jewelry, today reported growth of over 5 percent for the first half of 2012.

Blyth, Inc., parent company of direct sellers ViSalus and PartyLite, saw second-quarter 2012 revenue jump 70 percent due to the strength of ViSalus' weight-loss and nutritional supplement business.

Scentsy, the Meridian, Idaho-based international party-plan company, has launched another new brand and business to join the Scentsy family.

In this month’s Executive Connection, Direct Selling News Publisher and Editor in Chief John Fleming speaks with Jerry Brassfield, Founder and Chairman of the Board of GNLD, about leadership, discipline and having the next generation join the family-owned company.

Last year, in the special report titled S.W.O.T. Analysis on Direct Selling, DSN postulated that those companies that "monitor and manage their Internet presence will benefit from the speed at which information now flows."

In an industry where long-term distributor retention is the gold ring, GNLD^® seems to have found the winning formula. In its 54-year history, the health and wellness company has created an opportunity and culture so appealing that its field salesforce spans generations of numerous families.

Imagine that it is early 2008 and you are an engineer working for a Silicon Valley-based software company. You are married to a statistician who teaches part time at Stanford, and together you are comfortably raising your family in the small Southern town of Apex outside of Raleigh, N.C.

About 15 months ago I had a personal conversation with Paul Zane Pilzer—author, speaker, entrepreneur and former economist—about the economy because it was the No. 1 conversation in the media.

Amway, LifeVantage Corp., ViSalus, Thirty-One Gifts, Charles & Colvard Ltd., RBC Life Sciences Inc., DOVE Chocolate Discoveries™

Wall Street can be a volatile home for direct sellers. Of course, it can be a volatile home for any company. However, this year has seen some significant volatility for many publically traded direct sellers, regardless of the trends underlying these businesses.