taking on a 2nd, 3rd,...

[utopiandream78]

When i first started i naively thought that people must take on multiple DS companies because they were not succesfull enough with one. Now i see, that there are just so many awesome products and companies that it seems impossible not to take on more. for those that do or have done multiple companies at once, do you find one takes from the other? Do you keep things totally separate or do you say, put both companies on one business card or mention one company while doing a party or event for another? Do you think you take in more money by doing two or more separate companies than if you jist put more time into one? Why do you do more than one? Is it reasonable to to think i can "work" one business and just sortof have the second just there for when someone is wanti g it?

[BellaCandleMom]

I personally cannot do more then one I tried doing 2 businesses in the past, but between working a job outside the home and 3 children (running to sports every night), I found it almost impossible time-wise to focus on both. Now I am not as stressed and I focus only on my candle business and I am enjoying doing it, which is important

Alison

[bianca5454]

I agree with SoyCandle. It just depends on you as an individual and what other things you have going on in your life. I am more comfortable focusing on one home business and staying on top of all the new and changing events that go along with it.

Good luck with your decision and do keep us posted!

[carolsumrell]

I believe it depends on the individual and their circumstances. I am a stay at home grandmother. I babysit my grandchildren after school and holidays, therefore, I have a lot of time on my hands. I promote THREE businesses online with NO problem. IF....it gets to the point that one Really takes off, then I will probaly downsize!

[kimalee]

The majority of the people I know that promote different companies tend to jump ship from one (or more) within a year's time. I'm of the mind set that I would rather do fabulously with one company, even if it's a slower journey than I'd like then do "fine" with more than one company. There's also the fact that I reserve my DS work for evenings and weekends since I run an in-home daycare...need that steady income right now...so I couldn't fit another one in. PLUS the fact that once you get to a certain level with some companies you can't represent other companies or you don't get all of the perks the company has to offer in some cases.

[jammintj]

I think it depends on the person. Every since I started in this industry a couple years ago as a faster way to pay off my student loans-- I realized this has always been a hot topic. Some people think positively of people adding different "eggs" to their baskets if they can balance and others feel you should only concentrate on one thing. It's interesting to hear both sides. My take is, if you have a team-- it's your responsibility to lead, coach and mentor them. So if you can do all of that and you're with 2, 3, or 4 other things then great!

[liz.jewels]

I do think that, being in direct sales, the exposure we get to other companies make it hard not to be tempted to sign up! We all know direct sales works! If we find a new product we love, it often can be a good idea to sign up even if just for personal use.

I do think that for me, I at least need to have in my mind which business is my "primary," an prioritize my work time and recruiting that way. But I have represented a second company for 10 years as well. And there is another company that I know I will sell for when I retire from my day job, but would need too much time from me until then.

That is, unless I get so high up in my "primary" business that I can't - wouldn't that be cool!

[starbirdy66]

It is easy to get tempted. I'm excited to get out and about with one but my primary focus is to invest the time I wanted into building an online business with the companies I represent. Some shoppers are online shoppers and that is the audience I want to reach. I'm only with two companies now, but find myself considering more for other niche sites I have. They are separate so as not to compete with each other (home storage & organization, food, and in the future children's books and toys maybe).

[mom22Rs]

I've been with one company for just under a year now. For me, trying to get party bookings for one is enough work but I did at one point consider signing up for one of the energy companies. In Pa we have competition for electric providers and if you sign up with one of them, all you have to do as I understand it is get people to switch providers and it saves them money and you get bonuses for switching customers and for every money they stay with the company you just keep getting a %. This is mildly appealing to me as a second biz bc I would have one that was doing parties and one that was just word of mouth, facebook promoting, etc.

[DesignsbyLiz]

I have known only one person that has successfully worked two direct sales business, but also acknowledged that both suffered because of one another. Like others mention, you need to devote so much time into one to keep it successful. I really believe you would need to be a master at time management and very disciplined to give both equal time and care. I too think there are a lot of great products out there but, but would not give it a go myself.