A pair of at-home Friday night jewelry parties meant Erin and Tim Midyett could pay their mortgage just as they had run out of options.
The Arvada family of four is among thousands of cash-strapped Americans turning to direct sales of cosmetics, jewelry, pet treats and other products to beat back the recession. And it’s working.
The Midyetts hit bottom in September, nine months after Tim was laid off from a retail management job. Savings accounts were drained; 401(k) retirement funds were depleted.
“We have two little itty-bitty kids and I’m a stay-at-home mom, and I panicked,” she said. “We were getting really strapped, and I was looking for something I could work around my children or that didn’t have huge quotas.”
The family’s monthly budget has grown since that first sale of Silpada Designs jewelry.
Today, Erin Midyett is grossing up to $1,500 a month and Tim’s personal-chef business is taking off.
“I’m able to get the fast money we need to have for our household, and I have flexible time with my kids,” Erin Midyett said. “Now we are not depending on anyone. No one can lay us off.”
A soft economy historically triggers a surge in the direct-sales force, according to the Direct Selling Association. Nationally the direct-sales force is around 15 million people.
Direct-sales companies offer 25 percent to 50 percent in sales earnings potential, flexible hours, websites and training on hosting parties and handling sales. Sign-up fees run from $10 to a few hundred dollars.
The parties have morphed from the Tupperware themes of the 1960s and the lingerie gatherings of the 1990s to in-home displays of pet products, vitamins, health-care items and updated cosmetics.
Some of the lines are long familiar, such as Mary Kay and Avon. Representatives of both companies said they’ve seen an increase in interest and in the size of their sales force.
“Real estate had come to a screeching halt, and I needed to pay for my family’s Christmas,” said Angela McLaughlin, a Windsor resident who looked to Mary Kay to supplement the family income from a real estate business.
“It’s a lot easier to sell a tube of lipstick than a house,” the 40-year-old said.
Kevin Weiss found it in cutlery. The 24-year-old’s restaurant job disappeared while he was away on a temporary volleyball coaching job.
With Cutco since November, Weiss is now an assistant sales manager and earns nearly double the $1,500 a month he made waiting tables.
Not everyone does it solely for the money. Becoming a direct seller was a pre-emptive move for Peggy McEwen, 43, who said she’d rather be proactive about her future than wait for a pink slip.
She hosts her first party today for Booty Parlor, an intimate-gift-and- accessory firm.
“I did it for the extra income, to build a company, and I like entertaining women,” she said.
Elizabeth Aguilera: 303-954-1372 or eaguilera@denverpost.com
