WAINWRIGHT, Alta. – Deb Truman says she’s glad she works out of her home.
As she sits in her large, bright country dining room with a view of the cattle in the distance and the family dog sunning itself outside, it’s easy to see why.
She organizes her own time, establishes her own goals and doesn’t have a boss looking over her shoulder. She has plenty of time left in her week for her family and can grab a cup of coffee whenever she wants.
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“I don’t think I’d go back to the office ever. I like the books but not the pressure,” she said, adding she remembers one summer when she worked 12-hour days between two jobs.
Truman was a bookkeeper for eight years before she became an independent distributor of Jeunique International products. She spends about 10 hours a week promoting and selling a variety of products including custom fit bras, jewelry, skin creams, cosmetics and leather goods.
Her goals are to encourage other people to sell Jeunique products and to expose as many people as possible to the wares.
“I sort of have a mission. I would like to see every woman in Wainwright buy a (Jeunique) bra,” she said.
Benefits increase with sales
The company she sells for promises her a luxury car if she gleans enough sales and recruits enough distributors. If she meets certain targets, she’s even eligible for a retirement plan.
“I think home-based marketing is something many women pass up but I look at this like a career,” said Truman, who met Jeunique representatives in Hawaii last month to celebrate the company’s 40th anniversary.
“Some people think you’re just out peddling stuff. I want to change that image and make it like a career.”
Colette Roy of Fort St. John, B.C., also prefers working from home. She left her job in health care to sell kitchen knives through a company called Rada Cutlery, mainly because she wanted to stay at home with the children and solve the difficult issue of child care.
“If I’m doing inventory, they’re downstairs and playing around me.”
As well, she likes the flexible hours and freedom home marketing offers.
“I can close my door and walk away for a holiday knowing I don’t have to worry about it. I can make myself as busy as I want or do as little as I want.”
Truman has been home marketing since last August while Roy has been on the job for less than six months. Both are still building up stock and admit it takes awhile before a home marketer sees substantial profits.
Roy started with $500 worth of kitchen cutlery and utensils and now has a few thousand dollars invested. She would eventually like to acquire $5,000 worth of stock and have annual sales of $20,000 to $25,000. Now she nets $200 to $300 per month and hopes she can eventually increase that to $1,000.
Truman invested $500 when she started and now has $8,500 in inventory. In March she sold $3,000 worth of products and nets about $1,000 a month. But both say money comes in slowly at first. Truman has her first cheque from Jeunique – for $8.45 – hanging on her wall.
“The cash isn’t there immediately,” she said, adding her husband once teased her, saying she wasn’t making enough to put a loaf of bread on the table.
But overhead costs are low compared to purchasing a franchise operation or investing in an independent business and the two plan to stay their course.
“I want to drive a Lincoln,” said Truman, explaining that will be her reward from the company when she has signed 24 people who are selling $27,500.
But as much as the two women enjoy their lifestyles, they admit there are drawbacks compared to opening a conventional retail outlet on a main street.
“You really have to market hard to get your product out there,” said Roy, who attends craft sales, trade shows and farmers’ markets besides using traditional advertising strategies.
Keeping inventory
Coming up with financing without going through banks was a challenge, and so was learning how to establish an inventory system, she said, adding she gets help with the accounting. When she and her husband, who is a mechanic, both attend weekend trade fairs they have to find babysitters for the kids.
Roy said she has always been career-minded, but retail is a challenge she hasn’t tackled. She plans to join a women’s entrepreneurial organization to get more tips.
“Networking is crucial. Not only do you gain knowledge, but you also gain contacts,” she said.
“It’s really important to be connected in the community instead of just being isolated in your own home.”
