When I decided to quit my job and stay home with my 6 mo old, my coworkers joked that I wasn’t allowed to join a direct sales company. I laughed with them, promising I’d never, ever, do that. Well. 2 years after quitting my job, I joined Usborne Books & More. Ohhh man it was hard to do, too. It seemed so low risk, but I couldn’t get past the idea of how stereotypical I’d be. Yet another SAHM selling something to her Facebook friends. Obviously, I got over it.
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So, why did I join a direct sales company?
The real answer is just not that interesting. My answer matches basically every person’s reason they join any direct sales company: they want to make money working from home and they want something flexible. That was me!! I wanted to make some money. Going from being an attorney, an equal financial partner in a relationship, to making zero sucks. It just does. It doesn’t matter how much you love being home with the kids! The residual guilt of not providing for the family in a financial way has a way of lingering.
The real stressor: vacations
I didn’t start freaking out about our finances until I became pregnant with my second child. At the time, we had 2 giant trips looming. January would take us to Disney World and then, a couple months after that, we’d be spending 8 weeks in France. You know, no big deal…
Hosted my first online party
So here I was, pregnant, one income family, two giant vacations coming up. Then, scrolling Facebook, I saw a friend post that she’d recently joined Usborne Books & More and could offer double the free book rewards to hosts. I messaged her pretty quickly saying I’d do it since free books sounded awesome and I already knew I wanted What is Poop so why not get it for free!?
Party results
I hosted a party that ended up earning my consultant over $200 in commission and I thought…whaaat…why is that her money!? I WANTED THAT. Now, because I’m overly cautious about how I spend my money (aka, I’m cheap) (plus, all direct sales companies are evil, right!?), I still waffled over joining for a couple weeks afterward.
No downside
In the end, both my husband and I couldn’t see how there was any downside! I’d spend $75*, get 10 books mailed to me, all of my sales would bring me 25% commission, even my own purchases…and that was it! I didn’t have to keep inventory. I didn’t need to recruit, I didn’t have crazy minimums to hit every month/quarter. I could just make commission off the sales of these awesome children’s books.
* Psst it’s now $25 to join!!!
Why am I still with Usborne Books & More?
I joined back in May 2017. My trips have come and gone, and so has a lot of my financial stress thanks to UBAM, but I’m still working my book business and I don’t regret it at all. I’ve been able to take breaks when my life needed it, I’m never pressured by “uplines” to do anything a specific way. I’ve been able to be as independent or dependent, creative or not, busy or as lazy as I’ve wanted to be. There are no minimums, no penalties for going inactive, no pressure to be inauthentic and spam.
My main fears before joining were around how I’d be perceived by my friends and family. And I’m SO glad those were unfounded.
Guess what: if you’re not obnoxious? Nobody is going to think you are obnoxious. That’s a pro tip, free, from me to you. I have lost zero friends, but have gained SO many just because I share my love of these books.
I no longer do this to save up for any trips (though we do love to travel, so that’s always in the back of my mind). But, for me, I continue because it’s important to me. I want these books to be in everybody’s homes. They are well-made, diverse, unique, important, inclusive, valuable, crucial to development, and make learning engaging and fun. I 100% believe in the power of these books. But most of all, the reason I’m still with Usborne Books & More:
It’s fun for me to do!
Recommending the perfect book to a party guest is the best! I feel GREAT when a customer takes the time to tell me how much their child loves the book(s) they received. I’m so glad I decided to join a direct sales company, but ESPECIALLY glad that that company was Usborne Books & More. I can’t imagine myself selling any other type of product. I don’t care enough about make up. I don’t care enough about my skin (sorry, skin). I don’t care enough about clothes or my nails. Those are all fun, but, all I really care about are books.
If any of this resonates with you, drop me a comment! What’s your favorite book you read recently? What is your kiddo’s favorite book? If you ever want to know more about becoming a consultant with Usborne Books & More, I’d love to talk to you about it!
Are you ready to join the literacy movement!?
We are always looking for book lovers!! Hop on over here, pick the size of your New Consultant Kit, and let’s get started!!
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