I don’t know why, but for some reason, I get mixed (almost silly) reactions to people hearing that I am an “Avon lady”. I actually have been a rep for Avon for a couple years, but never really used it for more than discounts on my own products (as I really do love and use many of their products regularly). So, needless to say, I am marketing my Avon business heavily now as another stream of potential revenue. I guess people think I am somehow not making use of my college degree by being an “Avon lady”. There’s a lot of real opportunity with this company though, and the women creating their own businesses with Avon are not simply ringing doorbells with tubes of lipstick… they’re real working women, like myself, navigating the opportunity of running their own business with the backing of an established and trusted product line. This is a legitimate and in cases, very profitable opportunity for women looking for flexibility.

There’s two ways to earn money with Avon, for those of you interested in potentially exploring this as an avenue. The easiest way is to simply sell the products. You buy (for a small amount) the catalogs, distribute them, and then collect and deliver the orders to the customers yourself. Avon sells you the products at a “rep only” discount, and you charge the customer the amount listed in the brochure, hence hopefully turning a profit. The more you sell, the more your rep discount comes out to, which also increases your profit margin. Of course, keep in mind that you do pay shipping for the mandatory twice a month orders, and you should also order things like samples, bags, and other business tools from time to time. You can also become an “eRepresentative” which allows you to sell to customers online, and have it shipped directly from Avon so that you are not delivering the orders yourself. (I have actually tried this in the past, but didn’t have a lot of success with it at the time.)

The second way is to bring in other recruits to sell Avon. I haven’t completely explored this option yet, but basically you sign up other representatives to sell Avon, and once you have established a “downline”, you begin to earn a small commission on their sales as well. This course however usually requires a lot more involvement in promoting and supporting your recruits though, including holding meetings or hosting other incentives from time to time. Not a bad option though if you are looking to expand beyond just the catalog sales.

Either way, I’m a fan. Decent opportunity, and you can never go wrong with their face creams.

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