Over the past decade there has been astonishing growth in the number of Canadian women who are leaving the traditional workforce to join the emerging trend of female home-based entrepreneurs. Women entrepreneurs are one of the fastest growing segments of the Canadian economy and represent an emerging economic force according to a recent snapshot of Canada's labour force by Statistics Canada.
According to the report, approximately 950,000 women were self-employed in 2012, accounting for a third of the self-employed population. This number has grown significantly, by 23% when compared to its male counterparts (14% growth), over the past decade. In fact, women entrepreneurs annually contribute in excess of $18 billion to Canada's economy.
Ross Creber, President of the Direct Sellers Association of Canada, says a lot of women are choosing to branch out on their own in an effort to find a better balance between the demands of work and family. Many of them, he explains, are choosing to start a new business in the direct selling industry so they can enjoy the flexibility of being their own boss and setting their own hours.
When Courtney Haanen's husband was laid off for the second time, she turned to direct selling to help support her family. With a two-year-old to care for, Haanen needed to be able to work from home with flexible hours. After drawing up a list of requirements, she chose Avon due to the low start-up fee and potential for sales due to the variety of customers she could approach with the Avon brochure.
Within a month, Courtney saw that her home business was meeting her high expectations. "I started telling girlfriends who were home with their kids about what I was doing and I started building my Leadership team."
Avon Independent Sales Representatives are self-employed and receive up to 50% earnings on the goods they sell. Some choose to just sell the products for extra money and often work around part-time jobs. Others, like Haanen become Leadership Representatives, recruiting and training other independent sales representatives.
It's in Leadership where one can build a successful business because not only do you earn commission on your own sales, you also earn commission on the sales of your team of independent representatives.
The Avon Leadership opportunity has helped Haanen and others meet their financial goals while working from home. "With my second child now 2 ½, my home business gave me more financial freedom and flexibility during my maternity time."
