My Biggest Mistakes In My Avon Business And What I Learned
Since I originally started Selling Avon back in 2001, I have definitely made mistakes and had my ups and downs.
I still believe Avon is the best opportunity out there to make money.
But I thought I would share some of what I learned because it might help you if you are considering signing up to sell Avon.
I have made definitely made mistakes and learned from them, and I’ve done some things perfectly.
It’s like that for all of us.
We’ve done some things perfectly and made some mistakes. As long as we’re learning from our mistakes and making course corrections as needed, we are golden.
There Are A Couple Of Mistakes I Have Made In My Avon Business That Stand Out.
I was working really hard on getting to the top level of Avon, called Senior Executive Unit Leader at the time. I was 13 people away.
To get to that level, I had to develop two people on my team to Executive Unit Leader. I had one there, and the other one needed those 13 people.
We had been renting a kiosk at the local mall to recruit on weekends. It wasn’t actually a kiosk, actually more of an information booth. But I lucked into that actually.
Normally the mall would never let a Direct Salesperson rent a booth to recruit, but one of my team members was the leasing person at the mall and she got us in.
We had been renting it one weekend a month. I was using it to work with my team and teach them how to recruit and talk to people.
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The Holidays Were Coming, And I Was So Close To Getting To My Goal Of Senior Executive Unit Leader.
So, I bit the bullet and rented it full-time for Oct/Nov/Dec and part of January. I figured I would earn the title in Oct/Nov and then have Dec/January to solidify it. It was going to cost a lot of money, but it was worth it to me.
But the year was 2008. I didn’t know it at the time but that’s when the big housing crash and the recession hit.
We had no idea what was happening, but all of a sudden nobody would talk to us at the mall.
Where we had been signing up 10-15 people in a weekend, we now couldn’t even get people to talk to us.
And then my Rep who was working to get to Executive Unit Leader disappeared off the face of the earth.
I had no idea what happened to her. She didn’t return my calls and emails, and I even went to her house a couple of times and nobody answered the door.
And then her whole team just disintegrated. I couldn’t hold it together.
I didn’t find out for many years, but it turns out she had been arrested and put in jail for a couple of years. She was a home health nurse and had borrowed money from a patient. I guess she was struggling in the recession too.
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I Was Having To Start Over.
At the time, I didn’t understand exactly what was happening, but I knew I wasn’t going to give up. I just needed to find another way.
My Division Manager had been bugging me to open a store. Avon had LABCs (Licensed Avon Beauty Centers – or stores) at the time. They still have some, but only those who had them then were grandfathered in.
I kept telling her that if I wanted to do that, I would have kept my day job. LOL!
But she kept pointing out that it would give me the exposure to help me get to Senior Executive Unit Leader.
And she kept pointing out many of the top Senior Executive Unit Leaders had stores.
So I finally did it – I opened a store. If that was what it was going to take, then sign me up!
That Was A Mistake!
A store can be a good thing for sure. But for me, it was a mistake.
Before the store, Richard and I were personally selling about $150K a year.
After the store, many of our customers didn’t want to come to the store so we lost them. We gained new store customers, but ended up still selling about $150K a year – so we just traded customers, except now we had a $5,000+ nut with rent, utilities, insurance, security, etc.
Another drawback was now I didn’t have time to go out recruiting, so my leadership business was also taking a hit.
So that was my first mistake. Don’t get me wrong. I have a lot of friends who have Avon stores and are doing very well, and they are very happy. For me, it just didn’t work out.
But here’s the cool thing about Selling Avon or any Direct Sales business really.
You don’t need a store. And you don’t need to spend all that money to be successful! You can work it around your schedule and not be locked into anything.
Ready to get started to Sell Avon??? Just Click Here, fill out a short application, choose the option you want to join with, and just like that, you’ll be ready to go!
So Here Comes One Of My Biggest Mistakes!
Throughout all the years I have been with Avon, Avon has made changes. A company like Avon or any other company is just like us and our business.
We set long-range plans, we reevaluate, we make course corrections, etc. and Avon is no different. In fact, a big company like that is going to be even more diligent about staying on course.
And there have been problems. No company is perfect.
But after all the frustration of my losing the leadership title that was so close, and the struggles I was having with the store, Avon was making more changes.
They decided they no longer wanted to be in the store business.
They took our price list away.
It’s not like we were getting better pricing than any other Rep. It was more that they guaranteed to keep us whole.
For example, if we owned a Clinical face cream at full price and it was on sale in the brochure, we could submit it to Avon and receive credit for the difference. And if it was often on sale, we could always buy it at the sale price.
I had been using another Network Marketing company’s products to support my business, but I had never pursued that company because I knew I was committed to Avon and couldn’t chase two rabbits.
So now Richard and I made the decision to shut down our store – we took a huge loss on it and had to end up buying out our lease because we couldn’t get out of it – and we were going to go after this other company.
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That Was One Of The Biggest Mistakes, I Think, That We’ve Ever Made In Our Business!
I had a close friend who earned $170K/month! In this company! I knew him personally and knew the income to be true.
I was positive I could replace my Avon business within a year with this new company.
Keep in mind, at the time, my Avon business was at $1.9 Million! That doesn’t mean I earned that much. That was the total sales of me and my team in that last year. I was making a mid-six-figure income at the time
I didn’t quit Avon, just put it on the Back Burner – Thank God!
Then I worked with this new company for 5 years, HARD…
But no matter what I did, my Avon earnings still continued to be much higher than I could earn with this company – even though I wasn’t actively working my Avon business.
I should have given up sooner, but I couldn’t understand why I couldn’t make it work. I thought I was doing something wrong.
Then Richard and I tried 3 other companies over the next year and couldn’t make them work either.
After 6 years, we were back to Avon full-time.
My biggest mistake was to let myself wander to “the grass is greener elsewhere” thinking.
This one mistake has cost me massive business growth with Avon, as well as hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Ready to get started to Sell Avon??? Just Click Here, fill out a short application, choose the option you want to join with, and just like that, you’ll be ready to go!
But My Mistakes Taught Me The Power Of Residual Income
The one thing I learned the hard way was the power of Residual Income.
I have always known what residual income was.
In the simplest terms, it’s doing something right once, and getting paid over and over again for the effort you did that one time.
A great example of this is a singer/songwriter. Think about Neil Diamond – my idol – he has written many, many songs which have become great hits.
He goes into the recording studio and makes a recording.
Now, every time that song is played on the radio or purchased, Neil earns money again and again.
That’s the amazing benefit of residual income.
Our Avon business provides the same kind of residual income.
And even though I understood that, it wasn’t until my experience with residual income during those 6 years hit me between the eyes that I really understood the impact of it.
Ready to get started to Sell Avon??? Just Click Here, fill out a short application, choose the option you want to join with, and just like that, you’ll be ready to go!
Now I Had To Suffer The Consequences Of My Mistakes
When I left Avon, my business was about $1.9 Million per year. That was like $65,000 every two weeks.
Like I said, I didn’t actually quit. My account was still open. I’d just moved it to the back burner and ignored it.
Avon continued to pay me on that like clockwork, every two weeks, even though I was doing absolutely NOTHING in my business.
My income stayed steady for about 3 years, and then it started dwindling as attrition happened, but for the entire 6 years I was gone, I never once missed a paycheck from Avon every two weeks. And I was doing nothing at the time to deserve it!
How many people can say that about their income?!
But This Mistake Cost Me Dearly.
Obviously, I lost 6 years of business building, and basically wasting my time with other companies and beating my head against the wall.
I was at $1.9 Million in sales when I quit. Other Representatives who were my peers in Avon and pretty close to me as far as earnings and title when I left, are now at $3 Million, $4 Million, and more.
My $1.9 Million in sales when I quit was about $65,000 every two weeks. When I came back after six years, that had dwindled to about $3,000 every two weeks. I had lost a lot.
I’ve now been back full-time with Avon for 2 years. We ended 2019 at really close to half a million.
Although that’s pretty good and nothing to sneeze at, and I’m proud of that number, it rips my heart out because in my mind I’m not growing fast enough.
I’m basically still paying for that stupid mistake, and I need to get back to where I was so I can grow from there.
But I won’t make that mistake again.
Ready to get started to Sell Avon??? Just Click Here, fill out a short application, choose the option you want to join with, and just like that, you’ll be ready to go!
And Now I Have A Powerful Story, Right? About The Power Of Residual Income.
There’s absolutely no doubt in my mind that Avon is where I need to be, and that the power of Avon can change people’s lives and I can help those people change their lives with Avon.
So, maybe this was just something I had to go through. Maybe having this story will help me excel even more in the future.
I’ve Learned So Much Through The Years
Before I stop writing, I want to touch on what I’m still learning
So, at the time I made the decision to leave Avon, my business had recently gone through a lot of changes.
Throughout our lives, and in our business, we have ups and downs. That’s just part of the process.
And as I said earlier, Avon, like any other company, has long-term goals and plans, and they make changes as needed to stay on course.
At the time I had walked away, I had had enough of the changes. I think a lot of it was me looking for greener pastures.
But trust me… every company goes through changes.
Now, Avon Has Recently Been Sold.
We are now owned by LG Home & Health – Yes, the company that makes TVs, phones, etc. LOL!
But they are also the number 1 in beauty products worldwide. They know what they are doing.
So LG has come in, and they have evaluated every part of this company they just purchased and every part of our business.
And now they are starting to implement some changes. There have been quite a few already, and I know there will be more.
So, if you are my customer and are watching this video, you might be thinking how does this apply to me?
It really doesn’t but I hope my story can help you when you have to make an important decision at some point in your life.
If you’re thinking about Selling Avon, I hope it gives you some insight into what you can expect and how my experiences can help you be successful.
If you are an Avon Representative, I want you to understand this. Many Reps are upset at the changes and wonder why Avon hasn’t consulted with us before making them.
Why would they consult with us? We are independent Representatives. We run our own business.
Sure, Avon wants us to be successful and will do what it can to help us be successful beyond belief, but it’s not always going to be on our terms.
Bottom line, they purchased this company and they are going to run it the way they believe is best.
And it’s important to note, none of these changes are really hurting us as Reps.
They’re just changes, and none of us like change, especially when they’re affecting us and it’s not us making the decision.
Ready to get started to Sell Avon??? Just Click Here, fill out a short application, choose the option you want to join with, and just like that, you’ll be ready to go!
I Walked Away From My Avon Business Before Because Avon Was Making Changes
I will not make that mistake again. It has cost me tremendously.
I’m not saying you should never quit because of changes. You have to make a smart decision about how it’s really going to affect you and whether in the long run it’s wiser for you to stay or go.
If you’re a Representative, I suggest you at least give it some time and see where the changes are going to shake out. I strongly believe we are all going to come out ahead.
I’m not happy with some of the changes either, but I believe they’re going to make us better as a company and help us grow our individual businesses even higher.
And I know that I can adapt and thrive!
But whether you’re an Avon Representative or a representative in another company, or maybe even your job is making changes… Changes can be hard.
It takes us outside of our comfort zones, and we don’t always have the power to be in charge of what happens.
But we do have the power to determine how we will react.
So Give It A Chance.
Or at the very least, sit down and really give it some thought.
Put it on paper, write down all the positives and the negatives and make a conscious decision.
Don’t let your emotions get the best of you, because I promise your emotions are not going to be good for your long-term business. Trust me I know.
I hope hearing my experiences helps you in some way.
Overall it’s been an incredible journey, and I still consider myself blessed to have this amazing opportunity!
We all have to learn, and sometimes it’s easier if we can learn through other people’s experiences rather than have to go through it ourselves.
And if you can understand what I learned about residual income; I believe it will totally change how you work your business. 🙂
Ready to get started to Sell Avon??? Just Click Here, fill out a short application, choose the option you want to join with, and just like that, you’ll be ready to go!
Now I’d Love To Hear From You – What Mistakes Have You Made?
Thoughts? I would love to hear from you.
Have you made a big mistake in your business or in your life that you have really learned from?
Please share in the comments below!
I would love to hear your stories.
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Online you can view the Avon Brochure, browse through different categories or search for specific items you want to buy and then add it to your online cart for check out.
Yep, it’s just that easy!
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