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From Broke to Rich in Five Years

By IAN MACFARLANE, AOL SMALL BUSINESS
Posted: 2009-10-27 15:38:48
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Finding herself out of work and facing £400 ($655) rent payments, Debbie Davis, 29, from Sutherland, UK decided to turn her situation around and found such success that within five years, she's now making £250,000 ($409,639) a year, drives a Mercedes SLK and a BMW X3, and owns her own house. How, you may ask? By breaking out the makeup, of course.

Debbie is currently the most successful Avon representative in the UK, having sold £7 million in products for the company, and while she has a sales team of over 2,500, she still sells products to friends and family in her community.

Davis had been working at a printing factory until 2004 until being let go, but being an Avon customer herself and seeing her mother sell Avon products as a child, she took the plunge. She was quoted in the Daily Mail: "It's unbelievable. To go from nothing to this is amazing. I was absolutely skint. I'd been at the factory since I left school and I'd been used to earning all my life. The six months I was out of work was devastating. The main thing I needed was the £400 ($655) rent for my house."

In her first month, she earned £500 ($819) and brought on her partner Dave Carter to join the business. Their combined success led to being the company's top earners for the last 4 years, and Avon awarded them with two luxury cars and a paid vacation: "My friends say they can't believe I am earning this amount. It's phenomenal." It probably doesn't hurt that a third of British women claim to be Avon customers.

Most multilevel-marketing businesses (MLM for short), such as Avon, see success in their ranks when representatives recruit others to sell merchandise, and those new recruits find more new recruits in turn, and so on. A portion of the profits made by those on lower levels travel up the line, so it's in the best interests of the representative to recruit as many members as possible.

The Daily Mail explains Avon's process for new members: "To begin working for Avon, representatives pay a start-up fee of £15 ($25) which is deducted from their first two orders. From then on for every £100 (164) of products ordered, they receive a 20 per cent discount off the recommended brochure selling price, rising to 25 per cent for orders over £140 ($229). It is this discount which creates their earnings."

While members of MLM businesses can potentially make a lot of money, the majority see small gains -- in these businesses, success is mostly dependent on the drive and oftentimes good luck of the individual representative.

Before deciding to take the plunge on an MLM business (and this applies to every other line of business too), make sure you first have passion for the products and the enthusiasm necessary to woo customers. Things weren't easy at first for Debbie either, but one of the keys to winning is refusing to give up. Success isn't easy, but most good things aren't.

[The Daily Mail]

2009-10-27 13:35:47
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168 comments

willnax 04:13:56 PM Nov 19 2009

hobbygirl??? NO i can'lQuit ever if a wanted to I OWN it ALL in ALFY'S i own a Csmall XConglomerate. in a in a SKY scraper WHat about YOU Girl have any famliy? Girl Zero8 how about A KISS in my love club i know date fourbinddon but i can help but think is There a MERMAID WOMAN some where left alive that can LOVE me four who i am today?

hobbygirl08 11:18:18 AM Nov 18 2009

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hobbygirl08 11:17:44 AM Nov 18 2009

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ksupergenius 10:11:28 PM Nov 13 2009

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ksupergenius 10:09:02 PM Nov 13 2009

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tnsanfrancisco 02:26:13 PM Nov 12 2009

Watch it.Do not quit your current job , and keep looking for paycheck job. MLM IS HIGHLY SUSPECT, ESPECIALLY THOSE THAT REQUIRE RECRUITIING PEOPLE TO SELL.

willnax 11:33:02 PM Nov 08 2009

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Ariel yes pal BUT what ABOUT lady ga GA ?

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willnax 03:25:30 PM Nov 04 2009

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