WHEN it comes to staying financially afloat, opportunity sometimes knocks.
Literally.
Remember Avon ladies going door to door selling eyeliner and lipstick?
Well, they’re back. Only nowadays, direct selling doesn’t stop with makeup. Women are offering everything from kitchenware to Dove chocolate, too.
“When my husband lost his real estate job in the economic meltdown, I needed to take on a second job to make ends meet, so I decided selling Avon products was perfect,” says Haizel McIntyre, a 29-year-old elementary school parent-
coordinator and mother of three from The Bronx.
“I can incorporate it into my schedule by bringing brochures with me to the salon when I get my hair done, and I even go door to door to neighbors, introduce myself and give out samples. All I have to do is order the products and deliver them to my clients, and I make a commission. It’s an easy way to make extra money,” she says.
Avon consultants make commissions from 20- to 40-percent, depending on how much they sell. In McIntyre’s case, she says she brings home more than $1,000 a month — the company average, according to Tom Kelly, senior vice president for direct selling for Avon.
“More and more women are turning to this type of work because the job market is terrible. Direct selling is a great way to get a supplemental income on your own time,” he says.
In fact, according to the Direct Selling Association, a national trade association representing more than 200 companies, the latest poll shows that the number of direct salespeople in the US has increased from 14.1 million in 2005 to 15 million last year.
And the practice has even expanded from door-to-door style to hosting house parties.
“I have a stroller fitness class business that has suffered from the bad economy, so I started hosting Pampered Chef parties three months ago to make supplemental cash,” says Melanie De Jesus, a 31-year-old mother of two from Queens.
Pampered Chef, a direct selling company that offers kitchen tools like knives, baking pans and food choppers, has had a 6 percent increase in recruits like De Jesus since January. As a consultant, she’s required to host a three-hour food show three times a month, where she uses a client’s kitchen to cook with the products she hopes to sell. She uses the complimentary Pampered Chef recipes to make everything from grilled chicken to penne al fresco.
De Jesus takes home about $500 at the end of the month.
“I have two kids and my own business, so the fact that I can manage to host parties for some supplemental cash shows that’s it’s pretty easy,” she says.
Heather Adamik, 26, from Long Island started hosting Dove Discoveries chocolate parties when her full-time day-care business began to lose customers.
“This economy is really affecting everything, and I was worried because I have a private day-care business, so I started hosting chocolate
parties to make extra money,” she says.
As a “chocolatier,” she’s responsible for selling a variety of Dove Chocolate Discoveries products, including cake mixes, bars, martini mixes, coffee beans and truffles. She, like De Jesus, uses a client’s kitchen to bake cakes, mix martinis and display other Dove edibles, so you can decide which products you want to buy. Adamik averages $350 in sales be party.
“Women love any excuse to get together and they love chocolate, so I make extra money by hanging out and eating sweets,” she says.
Lisa Pagano, a 44-year-old from New Jersey who became a chocolatier because she was worried her husband could lose his job, says she’s made up to $1,000 in commission money.
“Everyone is suffering somehow right now, so it was a good time for me to become a chocolatier,” says the stay-at-home mom. “My goal is to take my family on a trip to Mexico all paid for by my Dove money. I’m close.”