Direct selling earns Melbourne mom trip to Washington, D.C.
By Amy Lyon
For Hometown News
BREVARD — Diane Nozik quit her corporate job in 2005, and that’s when the two-hour daily commute ended and the direct selling began.
Just as much as she knew what she didn’t want in a career, she knew what was important to her: flexibility, a good income, and the ability to learn and become a leader.
Oh, and she also wanted to be at home as her children grew up.
Sound impossible?
Well, Mrs. Nozik has done it, pulling in “well over six figures,” she said, working as a direct sales consultant for WineShop at Home, a licensed and bonded California winery.
As an independent wine consultant, she conducts home parties, networks in the community, attends chamber meetings and participates in community fundraisers – all to boost her business.
In fact, the Melbourne mother of two took a trip to Washington, D.C., earlier this month to meet with members of U.S. Congress, where she shared her story of how direct selling has empowered her throughout the past nine years, as a military spouse, and how it contributes to the local economy.
“It was a great way to connect with other people, who do what I do, and to share what we do with the offices of the senators and representatives, so they know that it is a viable form of business,” Mrs. Nozik said.
The Nozik family has moved six times in the last nine years, due to her husband’s rising rank in the U.S. Navy. They landed in Melbourne a little more than a year ago.
“I knew I would need to find a career that I could do anywhere in the U.S. without having to start all over every time we moved,” Mrs. Nozik said.
Moreover, owning a traditional brick-and-mortar business would be a hard sell for this military family.
Direct selling involves the direct sale of products and services person-to-person, through home parties or through a distributor’s website.
The process may conjure up images of moms working part-time, scheduling at-home parties to sell jewelry, personalized tote bags, candles or skin care products. And while it is true that many direct sellers are women, who work part-time and look at product sales as a hobby, Mrs. Nozik sees a bigger picture and even bigger benefits from her own business.
“There are people, who make it seem like you’ll get rich overnight,” Mrs. Nozik said. “Beware of scams. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.”
Beyond that, Mrs. Nozik said that individuals, interested in direct selling, must be passionate about digging in and running a business.
“If you run it as a business and take it seriously, you can build a successful business,” Mrs. Nozik said. “If you treat it like a hobby, it’ll pay you like a hobby.”
The challenge for Mrs. Nozik comes with each move the family makes, and new locales force her to break out into an unknown environment and meet people through various networking groups. The bonus is that she often makes new friends in the process.
Mrs. Nozik is only one of approximately 1 million direct sellers in Florida, generating $1.6 billion in sales, according to the Direct Sellers Association.
“Eighty-percent of direct sellers are women, as well as moms,” Mrs. Nozik said. “They make money and they spend a portion of it in the community where they live. That’s just one way they give back. Some people don’t realize the power of this community.”