“I had never been out of New Zealand before I joined Avon. I didn’t do my big OE when I left school. I was more focused on saving money to buy a house. Then you have children and it just doesn’t happen – your priorities are kids and houses and I just couldn’t get my head around spending that money when we could be putting it towards the future.
I had always been financially self-sufficient before I had children – I used to manage a call centre. I went back part- time after my son Keegan (now 12) was born, but once I had my daughter Katelyn (now nine), I couldn’t afford to put them both into daycare. I knew I didn’t want to be on the benefit but I needed a certain amount to pay the bills. That’s when I started selling for Avon.
I wasn’t a single mum at that stage, but I later became one. And then I wasn’t. And then I was. And now I’m not.
I started building a team seriously once I was single because it was easy to do around the kids. At that time, it was really important to be able to support myself and my children while still being there for them.
I’ve got 500 representatives in my ‘down line’ and this year my team sold $1.38 million worth of Avon products. My next goal is to join the $2 million club – nobody in New Zealand or Australia has done that before.
My parents had their own business and when you grow up with that, you see what kind of lifestyle it creates. I learned that you have to work hard to get anywhere in life. My children have seen that results and rewards come from hard work, whereas I think some kids just get given whatever they want.
My children would say I’m a strict mum. If they don’t like what I do, I say, ‘Well, I’m doing it to protect you.’ Also, I treat my Avon business like it’s our business. If they pack a sad about delivering brochures, then they don’t get a treat.
I’ve learned that I’m very competitive. When Avon announced a car incentive for sales, I printed pictures of the car and put them all over the house! The kids were really involved – they knew exactly what a Mazda CX5 was and kept pointing them out every time we saw one. When I won it and drove home in it, they just couldn’t stop giggling.
We often find that men aren’t that supportive when their partners start selling Avon. They don’t see the potential and they can’t understand how it makes us feel good. One girl in my team is 21 and her husband wants her to stay home with the children, but she’s found that this job gives her a purpose. I’ve had ladies with postnatal depression sign up and it helps them deal with it and feel like they are somebody again.
In fact, my former partner didn’t think much of it when I started – I just think, ‘Well, that’s his loss.’
There are times when you’re up and it feels great, and there are times when you’re down financially, and you just have to hang on. It’s not easy but it’s really rewarding. I love offering people the opportunity to change their lives like it changed mine.
I like reading motivational books – I can’t read the soppy stuff, like Fifty Shades of Grey. I’ve thought about writing a motivational book myself, but I’ve heard it takes lots of time and commitment.”