Interview with an Avon representative

Donna Reid-Mitchell started out like many Avon representatives, hoping simply to earn a little extra pocket money by selling cosmetics. She soon realized she could make a full-time career out of it, both by selling Avon products herself and recruiting a team of salespeople to work under her, called "down-lining" in company parlance. (About a third of Avon's six million salespeople follow this route, becoming Leadership Representatives that earn commissions on sales from representatives they have recruited and trained, according to the company's website.)

Nine years after starting her Avon business, Reid-Mitchell reports that she has some 3,000 team members in 12 states, and that her team's sales reached $6.5 million in 2010. In an interview with CareerBuilder, she explains how she built her empire.

CareerBuilder: How did you get started selling Avon products?

Donna Reid-Mitchell: In 2002 I came to the U.S. from Jamaica, and I started working as a hairstylist in a salon in New York. In October 2002 I had my daughter. Four months later I just wasn't ready to go back to work, so I signed on with Avon and Mary Kay. I just wanted to earn an extra $100 a month, for some pocket change. About six months after I started with Avon I became a single mother with two children. So I decided to pursue Avon as a serious business opportunity.

CB: When did Avon become your full-time job?

DR-M: I wanted to replace the income I was making at the salon so that I could be home with my two children. After a year and a half of working at the Avon business it replaced what I was making at the salon, and I have been working at Avon full time since then. For six and a half years, this is what has taken care of myself and my family. The flexibility it affords me is priceless. And thanks to my Avon business I was able to move from a one-bedroom apartment in New Rochelle, New York, to a really nice house in Frisco, Texas, in June of 2006.

CB: Why did you decide to move?

DR-M: Warmer climate. Coming from the islands, I absolutely loved New York, but the winters were just too much for me. And in doing my research I found that the area I moved to was one of the fastest-growing areas in the U.S., so I knew there were going to be a whole lot of ladies here that I could get on board as part of my Avon unit and to sell some Avon products to. It has been a very good move.

CB: How did you build your business?

DR-M: At the first Avon meeting I went to, the district manager shared a 15-minute clip from a promotional DVD that featured some of the success stories, and that was when I started looking at my Avon business differently. I increased the amount of brochures I was distributing from 10 in a two-week period to 100 in a two-week period. I started recruiting on average five new team members per campaign. I started building a down-line, building a team. We get a commission of up to 50 percent on the products that we sell, and we also earn for each new business partner that we get on board. And Avon rewards us handsomely for that. I have been earning six figures from my Avon business for the last four years.  

CB: Describe what a typical day is like for you.

DR-M: Having structure is essential. I take my children to school, and I'm usually back home by 8:30. Then I get dressed and ready as if I'm going into an office, because I want to get into that mindset. I'm in my office by 9, and I engage in my Avon business-building activities until 4:30, when my children come home from school. Until 8 it's mommy time ... and then usually from 8 to 10 I'm back on the computer. The computer is off at 10.

CB: What are your biggest challenges?

DR-M: Maintaining the work and family balance. My business has grown so much that I have a team of about 3,000 representatives in about 12 states. But having structure helps, and I have two assistants as well.

CB: What are some advantages to what you do?

DR-M: The economy is presenting us an opportunity for us to sell more, because our customers are less able to shop at department stores...and we are recruiting more now because a lot of stay-at-home wives and mothers are realizing that their husband's income may not be enough to keep the household going. With the insecurity in the job market, I have a lot of career women coming on board, too.