As a Direct Sales Coach and trainer, I’ve always wondered about the other coaches that don’t tell you what company they were with.

They’ll tell you they earned fancy trips, shiny cars, and made a ton of cash climbing the leadership ranks, but the never tell you what company they were with.

When I became a coach, just over a year ago, I vowed I wouldn’t use my business as a recruiting platform, so while I didn’t advertise any of the companies I worked with, I also didn’t really HIDE it from anyone.

I’ve ben involved in numerous direct selling/network marketing companies in the past decade. None of them made me feel more at home than the At Home division of The Body Shop. I loved the values, the products and the people. They quickly became “my primary bizop”.

And today, regrettably, they have announced a closing of the doors in the US. Amid some other scandalous issues from late last year, we are all elft wondering the root of the decision, but ultimately, At Home was not a profitable, sustainable channel for The Body Shop brand.

People have already started coming out of the woodwork asking me if I’m going to be okay, which makes me chuckle.

Of COURSE I’m going to be okay. I never promoted The Body Shop in the first place.

I always branded ME.

This isn’t the first company I’ve been a consultant for that’s closed it’s doors (it’s the third, actually), yet, of all the companies I’ve worked with, they’re the ONLY ones that I’ve seen do it RIGHT.

A stream of correspondence showered the morning. With REAL commitments to help us transition to other opportunities, plus increases in pay, bonuses, etc for teh remainder of the term.

For some of these women, TBSAH was the ONLY source of income for their families. Many were earning $10,000 or more each month – and in 6 weeks that will all be gone.

The Body Shop has done a outstanding job of making a bad situation more tolerable. They are proactively seeking ways for us to transition to other opportunities, even offering up priority consideration for employment within TBSAH stores.

It’s never a good thing to have to lop off a division of a company – in terms of headcount, morale, etc. But if it has to be done, The Body Shop is a good example of the right way to do it.

And I’m not the least bit concerned about my direction now that TBSAH is closing in the US. I’ll just turn back to the sme methods I’ve been teaching in Home Party Solution. I know offers will come out of the woodwork, so it’s just a matter of finding the right fit for me.

And I never promoted my direct sales company – I took my own advice. I am the most important produt my company has to offer, so I promote myself first. That’s why people know me, instead of the face cream, candles, toys, kitchen gadgets, jewelry, and other products I used to sell.

Now more than ever, I maintain that you NEED to be creating a name for yourself first – your product second and your company third. Most companies don’t like that idea.

Who cares!?! It’s YOUR life that’s at stake here. Build it to YOUR benefit.