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Balancing a Start-Up and a Baby

Topics: Direct Selling, Entrepreneur, Sales, Venture Capital

Hard at It Jessica DiLullo Herrin describes herself as the go-go-go type." /> Hard at It Jessica DiLullo Herrin describes herself as the go-go-go type.'> Jessica DiLullo Herrin co-founded the prominent wedding website WeddingChannel at 24, and for the next few years, she devoted almost all her waking hours to her start-up. Her next business had to be differentbecause it had to accommodate a growing family. From the start, Stella & Dot has sold its custom jewelry through in-home trunk shows led by independent sales repsstylists, in the company's vernacular. Today, Stella & Dot has 10,000 stylists and Herrin has,…

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Finding Growth in a Recession

Topics: Consultant, Corporation, Direct Selling, Distributor, Human Resources

Crunching the Numbers: Inc. 5000 project manager Jim Melloan assesses this year" /> Crunching the Numbers: Inc. 5000 project manager Jim Melloan assesses this year's crop of companies.'> It will probably come as no surprise to savvy Inc. readers that it's not as easy to find growing companies as it was a couple years ago. In 2008, the second year of Inc.'s expanded list of 5,000 growing privately-held companies, there was much enthusiasm as firms across the country showed eagerness to be part of our list. The three-year growth rate of the company at the No. 5,000 rank doubled from…

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Taking the Direct Route to Sales Growth

Topics: Consultant, Corporation, Direct Selling, Marketing, Sales

Links in the Chain: Jessica Herrin has grown the jewelry company Stella & Dot by building a large direct sales force." /> Links in the Chain: Jessica Herrin has grown the jewelry company Stella & Dot by building a large direct sales force.'> Four years ago , Jere Thompson spotted an opportunity in Texas's newly deregulated energy market. The Dallas entrepreneur, whose grandfather founded the now ubiquitous convenience grocery chain 7-Eleven (No. 4,929), had worked for years in the telecommunications industry. He founded a long-distance company, ultimately known as CapRock Fiber Network, that topped 1,300 employees in just its first…

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Beyond the Idea; Why Execution Intelligence is What Matters

Topics: Direct Selling, Management, Marketing, Patent, Sales

A quote from my last post on Inc.com generated some significant responses. "This explains why management teams are so important; if new offerings are commodities it's execution by the management team - what I like to call execution intelligence - that makes the difference in the market." What does this mean? It means that a management team has to be focused enough not to be distracted, while at the same time flexible enough to respond to the market. It means there is a management team not a single super-hero entrepreneur, but a super-hero entrepreneurial leader that has developed a management…

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8 Things You Should Know Before Becoming a Direct Seller

Topics: Direct Selling, Marketing, Multilevel Marketing, Planning, Sales

Just about every consumer product or service imaginable is sold somewhere in the world through direct selling. As its name implies, the products or services of a company are sold directly to consumers by independent distributors-not employees. Many direct selling companies have been around for years and are likely here to stay such as Avon, Amway and Mary Kay. Other direct-selling firms have had a short life span lasting a few years, especially in the current economic climate. Some 15.2 million people in the United States are involved in direct selling, with total sales at $29.6 billion in the US…

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How to Assess a Direct Selling Opportunity

Topics: Direct Selling, Ethics, Market Research, Marketing, Sales

Though direct selling is by no means the get-rich-quick scheme it's often touted as, it does offer some distinct advantages to the aspiring entrepreneur. Chief among these benefits are the flexibility to set your own schedule and the infrastructure of a larger company manufacturing your products, boosting your brand, and hopefully providing you with the sales and leadership training. The central rule for weighing the legitimacy of a multilevel marketing or direct-selling opportunity is the promises the company makes. "Any company that tells you you're going to make $1 million or that this is something that's so simple, is a…

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