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Monday, September 7, 2009

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Women are thriving on home-based businesses

They're finding flexibility at work and a good income, too

By JODIE TWEED

Staff Writer

Even during an economic downturn, women still buy lipstick.

And that's why home-based independent businesses like Mary Kay Cosmetics are thriving and even growing as more people, many of them women, are discovering successful careers beyond anything they could have ever imagined by working for someone else.

Renee Gorron, a Brainerd mother of two, has been a Mary Kay independent beauty consultant for 22 years. Before that, she spent 5 1/2 years working as the head of the customer services department at Mills Fleet Farm in Baxter.

Gorron was invited to a Mary Kay skin care party by a colleague - the head of the candy department - which planted the idea of becoming a consultant. She said at the time she didn't have the confidence to ask about becoming a consultant herself. A few years later, she took the plunge and became a Mary Kay consultant.

Renee Gorron, who has been involved with Mary Kay cosmetics for the past 22 years, gave women at a recent skin care class information about the company. She has earned many prizes and awards through the company because of her successful career in the business, including 12 career cars - six of them pink Cadillacs. She's currently on target to earn her seventh pink Cadillac. Brainerd Dispatch/Kelly Humphrey
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I always knew I wanted to be a stay-at-home mom, but I had to figure out how to do it, Gorron said, whose sons are now 19 and 21.

Five months later, Gorron was making enough money to quit her full-time job with benefits to dedicate her time to growing her personal Mary Kay business.

I had many fears when I began, meeting new people, talking in front of people, wearing a dress and showing others how to look good when I did not feel I did, Gorron explained.

After 1-1/2 years in the business, Gorron earned her first Mary Kay car, a red Pontiac Grand Am. She's since earned 12 career cars to drive, including six pink Cadillacs and she's now on target to earn her seventh Cadillac from the cosmetics company. She's also received jewelry, china, clothing and other prizes. Her home also has been furnished by Mary Kay, all Cinderella gifts for reaching personal and team sales goals.

Our dream did come true, Gorron said with a smile. I was able to be an in-school volunteer with a pink Cadillac parked outside. When you treat this like a business, it'll pay you like a business.

Pampered Chef consultant Carrie Espeseth of Crosslake showed guests at one of her recent parties a piece of the company's bakeware line. Espeseth said her goal as a consultant is to have fun. This party at the Pequot Lakes Baptist Church was her 300th show. She's been a consultant for six years. Brainerd Dispatch/Kelly Humphrey
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About 2-1/2 years into working with Mary Kay, Gorron became a Mary Kay sales director and provides training and coaching for her own team of about 120 consultants. The team has reached Circle of Achievement goals for 13 years, including three years at $300,000 in sales, two years at $350,000, two years at $400,000, two years at $450,000 and four years for $500,000 in sales. Gorron was recognized as a National Miss Go Give, one of the highest honors in the company.

Mary Kay consultants pay about $100 for the startup kit worth more than $400 in products to begin their own business. They also receive personal discounts.

But Gorron said the job is not just about the money.

Even if I won the lottery, I'd still do what I'm doing because I love what I do, said Gorron. I love helping women feel beautiful on the inside and outside. It's about empowering women. It is my passion to help other women and families live the life they want by coaching and mentoring other women as a sales director. It really is not just about the money, it's about the lifestyle. However, there are many multimillionaires in Mary Kay. You can bet many are philanthropists.

Kim Kraemer, often called the Tupperware Lady, arranged Tupperware products in August on the shelves of her booth at the Crow Wing County Fair. Kraemer, who said she has always been shy and started selling Tupperware on a dare from her husband, has made many friends as a result of selling the products. Brainerd Dispatch/Jodie Tweed
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Greg and I have reached our family goals we set out to achieve 22 years ago, to be home when the kids were young and do the things that are important to us, said Gorron. Now we are excited about setting new goals for the new season of our lives, keep passing this on to others, our retirement, family security for the next generation, give more and volunteer.

I would say I'd never do it in a million years, Carrie Espeseth of Crosslake said with a laugh, of becoming an independent sales consultant who hosts home parties. She has a teaching degree and taught elementary band in Palisade for eight years, as well as preschool in Crosslake for 2-1/2 years. But she wanted to stay home with her four children and find a way to make some extra money. Her cousin was a Pampered Chef consultant and Espeseth loved the products and found out she could get about $550 in products and supplies for about $155 if she became a consultant. She was only committed to hosting six shows, or in-home parties.

But I did the six shows and they kept sending me free stuff, said Espeseth.

That was about five years ago. It wasn't too long before she became a sales director, using her teaching experience to help train and support other Pampered Chef consultants. She currently has about 15 consultants under her wing but has signed up about 50 consultants since she's been with Pampered Chef; many of them sign up, like herself, to earn some free products. But Espeseth stuck with it. She recently hosted her 300th show for a bridal shower at the Pequot Lakes Baptist Church.

I found out how much I enjoyed getting together with other people, Espeseth explained. I found out that I really enjoy serving people through this. People get products that can really help them. Such as in today's economy, people aren't eating out like they did. They need products to help them out in the kitchen.

Espeseth said she enjoys the flexibility that comes with owning her own business. Her children are now 7, 10, 16 and 18, and she's able to schedule shows around her family's busy schedule.

Emily Wyman applied Mary Kay lip liner at a recent Mary Kay skin care class at Country Inn and Suites in Baxter. The classes are conducted on Monday nights twice a month by area Mary Kay consultants. Brainerd Dispatch/Kelly Humphrey
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I think a lot of women are looking for something flexible and something they would enjoy, said Espeseth. My heart is really to help moms who are at home. They can go and work full time and pay hundreds of dollars in day care or work two shows a week and make at least $200 and with the amount of money they'd save on day care, they'd be home with their kids and be way ahead.

I am not a sales person. I can show and tell and with Pampered Chef, all you have to do is show and tell; the products do it for me, said Espeseth. The income has really helped our family but I think really, the real key for me, when I really found peace about this, is my business plan was not how much money I could make but when I found out how I could serve people, whether through the products or the income opportunities.

While Espeseth works on a part-time basis, she said there are Pampered Chef consultants able to make upward of $100,000 a year.

Kim Kraemer of Aitkin is proud to be called the Tupperware Lady, even if some people don't know her real name. She's been selling Tupperware for 34 years, something she started as a dare with her husband.

My husband told me there was no way I could sell something like that, Kraemer recalled with a laugh. I was so shy my husband insisted there was no way I could sell anything. I had to prove him wrong.

Kraemer spent 20 years selling Tupperware full time, which allowed her to stay home with her children, now ages 27 and 29. She continues to sell Tupperware on a part-time basis and also works as a paraprofessional at Aitkin High School during the school year, spends her summers maintaining public accesses for the Aitkin County Land Department and also works as a part-time jailer at the Aitkin County jail. She and her husband, Duane, also have a 30-head beef cattle operation.

While working full time for Tupperware, Kraemer got a new vehicle provided by the company every two years for 20 years, giving her reliable transportation to drive her kids to school for which she only had to pay $2.50 a month for insurance. She also received many other gifts and money prizes for meeting her goals, including her first videocamera and computer, a rolltop desk and a trip to Mexico.

If I found something in the program I wanted, I'd work for it, Kraemer said. I got a lot of free stuff that way and then I also had the extra income, too. It's a good company. I enjoy it and I've met a lot of super people. I've made a lot of friends through Tupperware.

Pampered Chef consultant Carrie Espeseth (right) showed Phyllis Gardner (left), Vicki Trees and Margaret LaBarre how to make a veggie pizza using Pampered Chef's handy kitchen products. Brainerd Dispatch/Kelly Humphrey
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Amy Stone of Pequot Lakes had never completed a single scrapbook page when she decided to become a Creative Memories consultant in 2004. She was attending her first scrapbooking party and loved the products. One of her best friends told her that she'd buy from her if she'd become a consultant so Stone signed up on the spot, mostly so she could get the 30 percent discount.

I didn't expect to be doing this for five years, said Stone, who has two stepsons, ages 18 and 21; three children, ages 10, 12 and 13; and a 13-year-old foster daughter. This is a total hobby and part-time business for me. The kids are my full-time business. But I've gotten to meet tons of people. I stay at home and I would be lonely if I couldn't get out of the house and talk to people. I would go crazy.

Stone said the startup kit was about $70. She hosts frequent scrapping events at her church, Pequot Lakes Baptist Church, as well as weekend scrapbooking retreats twice a year. Many friendships have grown while she and her clients are working on their scrapbooks.

I'm a terrible sales person. I'm the worst. And I'm going to keep doing it, said Stone. I love it.

For Pat Holland of Brainerd, a small bottle of vanilla changed her life forever. It was 1985, and Holland was unhappily working in a human resources job at a Twin Cities company. She bought a bottle of white vanilla from a Watkins consultant to make a wedding cake since vanilla is usually yellow and it would show up in the finished cake. Her husband, Bob, actually talked her into becoming a Watkins consultant but it took him three months to convince her to take the plunge.

Within three years, Holland was doing so well she was able to quit her job and sell Watkins full time. She was so successful they were able to purchase their dream home, a 4,000-square-foot home in Little Canada, and put their youngest son through private high school. The Hollands have four children and six grandchildren. They also earned three free trips through the Minnesota-based 140-year-old company, two trips to Mexico and one to Portugal. They moved to Brainerd in 2000 soon after her husband retired. He also helps her with the business, which they work around their personal schedules.

I love the freedom that I have and, of course, the income is great as well, said Holland. This has been life-altering for me - my personal growth, being able to quit a full-time job, allowing my husband to retire and we can still get along on the income we make and we're here, it's God's country, what more could I ask for?

Holland said Watkins natural and certified organic products are finding new audiences as more people are looking for products made with fewer chemicals. A Watkins business startup kit costs $39.95.

I'm doing something I never thought in this world I would do, said Holland. In fact, I didn't give it a lot of credit until it just kind of happened to me and I realized what the potential was. If you really believe in something, you can do it.

JODIE TWEED may be reached at jodie.tweed@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5858.

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