5 years DAMSEL

Today marks 5 years since the day I Googled 

"up and coming direct sales companies" 

stumbling upon a young company trying to change the world by selling affordable self defense tools, and decided to give it a whirl.

When I enrolled, I told myself, "I'm going to do this for at least 5 years" because I knew you didn't build a business overnight and I didn't want to regret quitting on an opportunity, before I’d had a chance to succeed at it. Look at me! :) I really did it! 5 years, baby!

Now seems as good a time as any to get reflective, so here are snippets of my journey with Damsel in Defense over the last 5 years:

My babies in 2012

My work has changed as my life has changed! This has been one of my very favorite parts of working for Damsel in Defense.  At times it felt like failure, but I’ve come to see the value in it more than the loss.  When I first enrolled in 2012, my kids were 1 and 3 years old.  I didn’t have much time or energy to work my business, because my primary role was taking care of those sweet little ones.  But as the seasons in my life changed, my business did too.  I’ve walked (sometimes crawled) through some of the hardest years in my life in the last 5 years, and my business has walked (sometimes crawled) along with me.   I’ll never take for granted that I work with a company that enables me to have crisis’ and milestones, slow seasons and peaks, and I’m always welcome there and valued regardless of which season I’m in.

I’ve struggled with the direct sales industry.  (Notice my last blog post, from 2016, about Pyramid Schemes)  Off and on throughout the entire 5 years I’ve been working with Damsel, I’ve wrestled with the industry we operate within.  When I first enrolled, I was embarrassed I’d chosen to join a direct sales company.  I even told people so.  I’ve found myself everywhere on the spectrum from embarrassed to very proud of my work in this industry.  What I’ve learned most is this:  Most people generally have animosity towards the direct sales industry, but they also don’t understand it at all.  And what they think is wrong with it, in my opinion, is NOT what’s wrong with it.  People think DS is crappy because they think it’s a pyramid scheme with drones of lower level pee on’s getting duped by big wigs making millions off the masses.  In reality, this is entirely untrue, and it’s actually one of the BEST things about the DS industry.  ANYONE….literally anyone, any age, gender, education level, religious persuasion can be highly successful in the direct sales industry, and there are LOTS of average people making a really decent living wage running mid-level DS businesses, because they work hard and don’t quit. 

With that said, I have still wrestled with the industry, but mostly for a different reason.  And it’s this…most of the direct sales industry feels like it’s selling lifestyle or vanity with a super high price tag.   I think that’s the real reason most people are turned off, but they’re just afraid to tell their friends that they don’t want to spend that much money on things they don’t really need (or want). 

Despite that I have never for a moment felt that I sold vanity or lifestyle or that it was overpriced.  And this is why I’ve been able to persevere.  I have seen and felt the great value of bringing safety to our communities at a very low price, for a company with such high integrity that they give free products those customers who have been assaulted.  It’s been my great honor to hear from customers, old and young, who have deterred assaults thanks to having equipped hands, as well as those who have moved beyond years of fear and found peace of mind and healing through their purchases and partnering in our company.

I’ll never take for granted getting to play this role in my customers and hostesses lives, though I suspect my wrestling will continue for the next 5 years.  Because I’ll still be working in an industry that gets a very bad rap, so that I can continue to do that which God has laid on my heart as the best way for me to impact our communities and families.  The loyalty, friendship and connection I’ve shared with many of my customers and hostesses drives me to continue working in this industry.  As does the reality that my message often falls on deaf ears because of the industry we operate in.

I’ve found a community.  This I didn’t expect.  I wasn’t lacking community when I started.  That’s not why I joined.  But I found something that I never really expected.  It started with the people who knit their lives to mine, in some capacity, by deciding to work with me for Damsel.  I’ve seen lots of people….well over 200 people come and go, 73 of which have linked directly to me as their mentor in the company.  Though I haven’t come to know all of them well, I have come to LOVE some of them deeply.  The friendships and companionship that I’ve found from like-minded and passionate men and women joining with me on my team to try to change the lives of people recovering from trauma and prevent others from experiencing it have changed my life.  I could never leave Damsel, because my people are there.  And they’ve trusted me to work with them on this mission.

Me with Co-Founds, Bethany and Mindy, in 2014.

But it gets even better than that.  I’ve found a place in the larger Damsel family, as I’ve traveled around the country, met other Damsel Pro’s outside my team, and formed personal relationships with the men and women who run our corporate office.  I’ve found a tribe of some of the most beautiful souls I’ve ever met.  They push me to be better than I am, in business and in life.  They challenge my faith, by living selflessly their own, in ways I really hope I emulate.  They see something in me that many others don’t.  And they include me in a family that I’m truly, truly honored to be a part of.  Leaving Damsel would mean a loss greater than I could describe, because of the sisterhood and friendships I’ve developed with our home office staff and the other directors and Damsel Pro’s across the company.

 

So now that I’ve hit the 5 year mark…what’s next?!  Another 5 years?  Maybe!  I’ve been doing this long enough to know that I can continue doing it in whatever capacity I want.  I’ve also been doing this long enough to see the great potential I have still not tapped within my business.  As I enter, yet another, new season in life, with both kids in school and recently taking on another business opportunity, I feel really thankful that I jumped on board with Damsel in Defense 5 years ago.  I’ve made money.  Made friends.  Made impact.  And it feels, in some ways, Damsel is a bit knit to my soul.  I can’t predict what the future will hold for my business, family or life, but I suspect Damsel will continue to be a part of it.  And I’m pretty excited about that!