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Ken and I split up for most of the second day of the Direct Selling Association’s annual meeting so that we could best take advantage of the various topics covered in the offered workshops.  There I listened.  I took notes.  And I anxiously waited for some of my burning business questions to be answered.  As the first and only company focused on selling licensed apparel and accessories via direct sales, LikeWear draws upon the knowledge and talents of both my husband and I who co-founded the company.  However, neither of our formal educations or work experiences includes direct sales.  Our company began on a grass roots level modeled after what I was successfully doing as a “hobby”.  And as such we’ve had to make up the company’s rules as we go (and grow).  We have a consultant and a board of advisors but there are still several questions, specific to LikeWear and our hybrid business model, for which I was hoping to get answers.

Why are there are so few clothing companies involved in direct sales?  Is it possible to grow a new direct sales company organically, rather than starting as an established business that moves into the channel, or by recruiting experienced network marketers with pre-existing downlines?  Is there a proven reason why we shouldn’t be somewhat of a hybrid of a hybrid direct sales company that not only offers our independent sales reps several ways to sell directly to consumers but also allows our reps to sell to boutique retail stores as well?  Etc. etc….

Luckily we were able to learn from and relate to a lot of what was being said in the various workshops we attended.   We also were able to walk around, meet and get ideas from several of the supplier companies who had set up booths to advertise their respective products and services (we took advantage of it all!).  And I was really impressed that as “first timers” we had been scheduled to lunch with luminaries Madolyn Johnson and Tracy Burton of Signature Homestyles.  They were warm, approachable and open to answer any and all questions we threw at them.  In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if they thought of Ken and I all afternoon – ya know, as their stomach’s growled in hunger.  We kept firing off the questions and they were so forthcoming with their experiences and advice that they didn’t have much time to eat!

So when all was said and done, Ken and I fought the DC rush hour traffic to get home. Needless to say, I had plenty of time to not only reflect on our trip and my apprehension regarding this getaway, but also to examine some of my underlying  concerns for LikeWear.  Like most entrepreneurs, I have wrestled with brief bouts of self-doubt and vulnerability - especially in regards to our timing.  I’ve thought how unjust it seems that we had this business idea on a slow burner for so long, and then we turn up the heat (translation: my husband leaves his job to work on LikeWear full-time) just as the economy falls, along with the stock market (and our friends and family round of financing!), into the worst recession the country has seen in decades.  But, if I gained nothing else from our attendance at the DSA’s annual meeting, I was taught, shown and practically hit over the head with the message that in fact, as a direct sales company, we are in exactly “the right place at the right time.”  That notion was like the parting party favor for me - something to inspire and play with once I had returned home.

While our uniqueness in the channel may make it difficult to find a company to model ourselves after and avoid pitfalls from, I am confident that it is this distinctiveness that will help us to gain awareness and stand out from the crowd.  And as a direct result of this trip, I also believe, given the current economic climate and the resulting influx of women looking to get into the work force that we will be able to attract women who had not previously been looking to direct sales as a career option.  That’s a powerful concept and one I intend to keep reminding myself of.

So, were my greatest fears for the trip realized?  Well, I had more than a few awkward business small talk moments, but we also met some really great people.  Did we find an angel investor?  No, but we made a bunch of connections that will hopefully lead us to one that will have more to contribute than just a check.  And did I have all of my burning questions answered?  Not entirely, but I definitely feel a lot more educated about the industry that we now call our own.  Even though I was arriving back to my office swamped with orders, calls to return and emails to reply to after being gone for a few days, (and I was more exhausted upon my return than I was before I left - as if that was possible!), Ken…I humbly admit, you were right.  Was I glad that we were “first-timers” at the Direct Selling Association’s annual meeting you ask?  Undeniably absolutely. 

So as the crowd of attendees at the Direct Selling Association’s annual meeting began to dissipate after the final words were delivered by Maya Angelou (the opening speaker of the event), I marched off to the first of several workshops I would attend over the next two days – feeling energized and ready to take on world! Really, she was that good!! The first seminar was run by 4 direct sales company figureheads and I was immediately awestruck by how willing they were to share information – sometimes specific information – regarding their company’s successes and failures. Never before had I heard about (let alone experienced) companies that are essentially competitive to one another openly sharing not only their mistakes but also the secrets to their success. It was a little bizarre.

As I hopped from meeting to meeting I began to realize that most of the members of the direct sales industry feel a unique bond to one another. Was this because direct selling has had to defend its modern day legitimacy in the wake of unprofessional scams that were once widespread in the industry’s history? Was it because there is almost a collective feeling of us vs. them (meaning direct sales companies vs. all other types of businesses) because our business model is so often misunderstood? Or was it simply a testament to the code of ethics that the DSA dictates and the qualities of the men and woman in the organization who have vowed to uphold and live by those standards? I pondered this notion as I jumped from one session to another – all of which followed the same protocol… open sharing.

Call me an optimist but my impression was that this “retreat” was centered around companies helping other companies. Seriously. Past performance is no guarantee of future performance and just because something worked for one company doesn’t mean it will work for another, but information sure is powerful. A piece from here, an idea from there – the entire event was a treasure trove of information. And I felt like an explorer who had hit the motherload.

As I sat in the opening session of the Direct Selling Association’s Annual Meeting, marveling at how many people were in attendance, I began to feel a buzz of energy building. I didn’t have long to query the thought before Maya Angelou was introduced. I have seen her on TV (I am an Oprah fan, after all) but I could tell just from her presence as she was helped onto the stage, that her speech was going to be good. My instincts didn’t disappoint.

I was awestruck by her eloquence (no teleprompter) and her comedic timing (who knew how funny she was?!) but also by her message. In fact, the underlying theme of her speech was “rainbows in the clouds” – as in, she felt that the direct sales industry was the “rainbow in the clouds” for this economy. We are offering jobs when most are not, an opportunity to feel useful, productive and fulfilled when most are not and the opportunity for unlimited upside potential when most are scared their incomes will be taken away or severely reduced. Her message was one of hope and inspiration, not only for the country and economy as a whole but more specifically for the direct selling industry. Add to that incredible notion, the telling of her personal history and the way it has brought her to be the woman she is today and I don’t think there was an unemotional being in the room. In fact, some were even brought to tears – myself included.

So it was with that fresh feeling of responsibility to my country and its unemployed that I lined up for the first of several roundtable discussions that would take place over the upcoming two days. While I still was skeptical about our attendance at the convention, a fresher, brighter outlook seemed to creep into my mindset. And I had Maya Angelou to thank for that. I guess as far as the DSA event was concerned, Maya – and her empowering words – were my “rainbow in the clouds”.

It’s late Sunday afternoon and I’m sitting in the car with Ken on our way to Maryland to attend the Direct Selling Association’s annual meeting.  We’ve recently been accepted into the DSA after a one year review period, so there was never any question - as far as Ken was concerned anyway – that we would attend the 3 day gathering chock full of speakers, seminars and shmoozing.  I, on the other hand, was not so sure of mind. 

It’s not that I’m not a “doer”.  I’ve repeatedly mentioned how jam-packed each day is with 3 active, involved children and a growing new business. This past weekend was no exception.  We jaunted off for this business trip at 4pm after a weekend that included our now 6 year olds chocolate dipping birthday party, a soccer practice, soccer game, lacrosse game and 2 hour dance recital (oh yeah, and the dress rehearsal for that dance recital too).  Not to mention all the packing and preparation of itineraries that needed to be completed for our 3 kids (and the dog) to be ready for their weekday stay at Mimi and Pop’s.  And after all that, here I sit with a four hour car ride – just Ken and I (meaning no turning around to yell at someone whining, poking or throwing snacks, no listening to an annoying movie playing really loudly from the backseat and no stopping every half hour on the hour for someone to pee).  And how am I choosing to spend this time?  I broke out the laptop and I’m blogging while I ride shotgun.  Obviously I’m not one to sit idly – literally.

So now that I’ve established it’s not laziness, why the hesitation to attend the DSA event?  I’m not a schmoozer by nature.  And, while I am ambitious, I am not a corporate ladder climber (never was).  I don’t even like the word “networking”.  It makes me think of scheming, manipulative, do-whatever-it-takes to succeed kind of people.  Events such as this conjure up (I admit perhaps naively) those types of opportunistic people and their descriptors.  My husband, who has been working from our house for the past 18 months, is desperately in need of a little traditional corporate pow-wowing.  He thrives on the art of idea exchange and the business small talk of the eye-to-eye meet-and-greet.  I on the other hand am a phone person.  I guess that characteristic has its roots in my cold-calling days.  I feel more in control during a conversation when I have access to my notes, my computer and I can stand and pace while I talk (another throw back to cold-calling).  And then there’s those lunch meetings.  Call me self-conscious but it’s hard to concentrate on the business at hand when you’re worried about whether or not you have a piece of lettuce in your teeth or a hunk of bread hanging from your lip as you try to delicately eat and sound intelligent.

That said, I’m all about out-of-the-box thinking.  In this case the “box” is my house.  I started my home-based business at home.  And, that’s where it primarily still is.  That’s my comfort zone.  But, I’m going to practice what I preach over the next few days and try to have an open mind to all the necessary networking.  The world is small.  And, the direct sales world is even smaller.  I get that who you know doesn’t necessarily translate into who you are – but given that we’re new and unique to the channel (not to mention looking for angel investors…), I also get that it certainly can help.  We shall see…