For a large part of my life I’ve been involved in the Beauty business. Little did I know back then that it would eventually lead me to Become an Avon Representative leading a huge team of people who had also decided to Join Avon.
Finding myself a single mum of 3 at the tender age of 30 I decided I needed to get myself an income and to set a good example to my young children. I retrained as a Beauty Therapist, completing what was then the BTEC Diploma. I did come across Avon back then as they were the 1st company to harness and use AHA’s in skincare. I knew then from my beauty training that Avon was a market leader in new skincare research and technology.
To my surprise after the 2 year course finished, I was awarded Student of the Year. I went on to complete post graduate training including IIHHT Aromatherapy as well as advanced skincare courses and a PGCE.
I was determined to do well for my children’s sake. It was my children that had kept me going really if I’m completely honest. They held me up. It had been a difficult marriage that had battered my self esteem to an all time low….. how I found the courage to leave I’ll never know … but that is another story completely ….. and sunshine was definitely on the horizon… literally….
I took 9 years out of the industry to move to the South of France and bring up my – now 4 – children (I remarried and had another beautiful son).
We eventually moved back to the UK. Upon our return from France I initially wanted to get back into teaching in the beauty industry….. only problem was…. teaching was not really an option any more even though I’d updated all my qualifications.
Colleges across the UK were having their funding drastically reduced as the new government introduced ‘austerity’ and there were literally no new openings – in fact people were being made redundant left right and centre…
I applied for other work but companies didn’t like the fact I’d been out of the country so long and I guess I was getting ‘too old’ for many of them!! I was offered a job at interview with one large company but as soon as they found out I was stone deaf in one ear, their facial expressions changed. I faced rejection after rejection and felt I was now just too old for the new job landscape…
Anyway – I digress (sorry, I’m known for that!!)…… so as I was scrolling the internet wondering what on earth I could do…. I came across an advert….
My daughter (now 18) had been asking me to get her the Avon ‘Far Away’ perfume which of course is exclusive to Avon … I’d just moved back to England to a completely new part of the UK so didn’t know a soul, so I thought ‘well why not Join Avon?’ I also thought that with my previous experience in the beauty industry and in teaching it seemed to kind of make sense to me to Join Avon…
… and so began this incredible Avon journey of mine …
There’s a short story in “closer” magazine briefly outlining my Avon journey to success which includes how I felt ‘on the scrap heap” after job hunting for ages. I have a clipping of it pinned to my wall in my home office! I’m relieved I was rejected because I now have the best job ever!!!!
I remember it took me 3 attempts to pluck up the courage to start dropping the Avon brochures!! But eventually I did break through my comfort zone and started to really enjoy meeting new people and getting to know all my lovely new Avon customers.
I did get the odd knock-back but I learnt to view each disappointment as a step… a step closer to what I was really looking for which was someone who would be interested in seeing one of my lovely brochures.
I began to realise that Avon is actually a hugely loved brand in the UK and it was became absolute pleasure being a representative of such a widely loved company. Of course another bonus was that I could now get hold of as much of Avon’s lovely perfumes as my daughter wanted!!
In true Berni style I also threw myself into AVON Sales Leadership straight away.
As I was building my customer base, so I was building my team base. To me it made sense to try both being an Avon representative and an Avon leader, after all the way I saw it, being a representative is an income stream but so too is being a leader… no difference between the two really … as a rep you’re looking for new customers… as a leader you’re looking for new representatives!!
So…. that is the story of how I started up my Avon business… in a nutshell….
Fast forward 11 years and my little Avon business has grown so much that I’ve even heard it referred to as being a “huge juggernaut” now, with my Avon team turning over in excess of £2 million per annum! We are such a hugely supportive bunch of individuals who are constantly cheering each other on … I feel totally blessed to be honest….
To say I am proud of my fabulous Avon team that started with such humble beginnings and almost by default is a complete understatement and I am very much looking forward to the future with this fabulous company!!
Get ready for the next instalment of Avon Team BB’s Fabulous journey…
Thanks for reading. If you enjoyed this blog there will be many more to come. Got any burning questions? Fill out the form below and I’ll be in touch…
Berni x
