GSW 22 | Direct Selling

 

With enough motivation, proper support, and a clear vision, direct selling can yield more rewarding results than you can ever expect. Join host Dan McCormick as he interviews today’s Greatest Salesman – DeAnne and Mark Stidham! They share the success story of LuLaRoe, detailing how their small clothing business eventually became one of the largest social retailer brands in the United States in just seven short years. DeAnne and Mark emphasize how the willingness to serve and uplift others plays a huge role in achieving direct selling success, as well as finding a meaningful determination rather than just earning money.

Listen to the podcast here:

DeAnne and Mark Stidham On Finding Success In Direct Selling

This is episode number 22. Every single episode, we have the opportunity to dive into that unbelievable philosophy for life and living that Og Mandino left in his priceless traditions and all those amazing writings and books that he wrote. I’m blessed that it was the book that was put in my hand when I was a nineteen-year-old young man with no self-esteem, no self-worth and no net worth. It has been the guiding force for my thoughts. Each and every morning when I rise, I get to say scroll number two in my mind, “I will greet this day with love in my heart.” I have been trying to get ahold of this man. He didn’t return my calls for a few weekends. Through their son, Kenny Brady, we got together. I am thrilled every episode to welcome my guest. You are sitting in that fabulous chair that I call the greatest salespeople in the world. Welcome to the show. How are you?

Thank you. We’re excited to be here. We feel honored.

Thanks for having us, Dan.

DeAnne, I know that we were fortunate to go out and discuss life, business, and family and have some dinner. We spent hours on end on the history of the industry, what you have built, and your company, LuLaRoe. You’ve gone out. I would say the greatest salespeople, the greatest story ever told is for clothing. You can correct me if I’m wrong, but what I love to do at the start of every show before I get into anything about your story and your journey is I always love to say, what do you think the three things are that shaped your life for each and every day of your life?

For me, it’s raising a large family. If you look at our bio, you know that Mark and I have a large family. We had an amazing time getting together with 24 of our 26 grandchildren on Thanksgiving. The majority of our kids were there and it was a huge blessing. We had so much fun chaos and it was crazy. In having a large family, you’ve got to make sure that you’re doing the things that you can to be an example, especially to your children and to people out there.

I was raised in a family where I’m the youngest child of eleven. I have 7 sisters and 3 brothers. I was the tail end. Me and my twin sister were born number 10 and 11. I watched my mom and dad who were entrepreneurs themselves and my grandparents that were entrepreneurs. My parents were caterers. They love to do catering and came to California to find their American dream in the ‘50s. It’s a scary time. They were trying to figure out how to make their business grow. “How do we keep eleven children intact and keep them all doing the right things?”

I tend to go back on the things that my mother would often say, and I refer to my mom because mom was the face. Dad was running the business and mom was also in sales and everything else. She was there making sure all of our job charts were being done. We got things that we needed to get done. She would often say things like, “Service is the price I paid for the space I occupied.” Service was a big thing in our family. It was like, “Don’t wait to be asked. Go ask what you can do to take care of the situation or be an asset.”

GSW 22 | Direct Selling

Direct Selling: Bad results provide lessons that allow you to put more effort or show up differently in the next opportunity.

 

It was great in dating, meeting other families, and meeting friends when I was in high school. I learned how to be a much more aggressive or cordial person by learning that confidence of, “Service is the price I pay for the space I occupy. Get up and do something.” The second thing I would say would be, and we say it over and over, “Get up, get dressed and show up.” I learned early on as a young mother with two little children that getting up and getting dressed was important. I could get so much more done if I got up with purpose and I showed up, especially if I put my makeup on.

I’ll never forget what my kids would say to me. Kenny, at the time, was 2, 3 or 4 and Amelia was two years younger than him. He saw me putting my lipstick on in the mirror and I wasn’t getting myself put together until right before my husband at the time was to walk in the door. I hung out in lounge clothes, which isn’t bad, but for me, they weren’t such great lounge clothes. Early on, I put on my lipstick. One day, I had a friend say, “I get up, get dressed, and put my makeup on right away so that I’m first, and then I can get my kids all ready.”

Kenny goes running into Amelia, I hear in the background, “Hurry, Ame. Get your shoes on. We’re going somewhere.” I leaned out of the bathroom into the family room where the kids were and I said, “Kenny, we’re not going anywhere. What do you mean? Where are we going?” “Mom, you put your makeup and lipstick on. We must be going somewhere.” I thought, “What kind of a mother am I if I’m not getting up and doing the things that I need to do?” Honestly, even during COVID, if we don’t have anything to do, we don’t get up and get going.

It sets a precedence of things that maybe we tend to be a little bit more laid back and not so efficient. We find ourselves feeling frustrated that we’re not getting things accomplished. That goes along with schedules. Schedules are important. To put my daughter, Amelia, who talks about time management and everything having her five children, she says there is security in a schedule. When you have a schedule, it helps you and your kids to know what’s going on, what’s next, and how to make it happen. Those are my three.

That’s great wisdom. Get up, get dressed, and show up, and you’ve got to have a plan. Mark, did you want to add anything on how you see it, or do you harmonize with that?

You only let us talk about 3 and I’m seeing 10 of them. Your scrolls are parallel on ten of those. It’s interesting that DeAnne and I did not coordinate because I wanted to give her the freedom to be herself and not have a script as we came into this. This concept of service, to me, has been something that has always guided my belief system. You need to bring value wherever you are. I love when DeAnne taught me the concept of, “Service is the price I pay for the space I occupy.” Meaning, wherever you are, you should be looking for that opportunity to serve. That would definitely be one of the guiding principles.

Another one that’s important to me is the work ethic. Owning your results, taking responsibility, stepping into the problems, leaning into opportunities, and then accepting the result whether it’s good, bad, or indifferent, but knowing that you put it all on the field and you gave it everything you had. The result that you got is the best result you could have gotten at the time. Oftentimes, it’s not the best result but the lesson learned from it allows you to put forth more effort or a different effort, or show up in a different way in the next opportunity.

Don't wait to be asked. Ask what you can do to help or be an asset. Click To Tweet

I love entrepreneurism. I’m driven by entrepreneurs and the concept of being an entrepreneur. That ties back into this idea of being responsible. You cannot be a successful entrepreneur unless you accept responsibility for everything. Whatever happens in my business is my responsibility. I prefer the word responsibility to the word fault because fault has such negative connotations. Just because something didn’t go exactly the way you planned it doesn’t mean it’s negative. It just means it’s different and you’re responsible for that outcome. If you want the outcome to change, then change the behaviors around it. That’s what I would add to what DeAnne had to say.

Every episode, I get a chance to take notes and think about what my guests come up with. All of those are incredibly valuable. I love your optimism. I love what Stephen Covey taught me about the word responsibility. He looked at it as an ability to respond. We have the ability to respond. We can be positive and we can be negative. I love your optimism. I think about Og as well. You think about here’s a guy that was an alcoholic and committing suicide.

Life was dreary. He has a wife and a kid that didn’t want to see him. He starts off with that famous first scroll, “Today, I begin a new life.” Every day, he’s thinking, “How do I begin anew, correct the errors of my ways, and move forward?” It’s a powerful thing to think about. When we were at dinner, and I did not know this, Mark, you and I met in 1987. You told me that the first time you read the book was in the mid-‘70s, way before I even got it.

I was nineteen years old. I read the book in 1976. In fact, I can tell you it’s probably October of 1976. I was preparing to serve a mission for our church and somebody gave the book to me and said, “This might be of use to you,” and it was. I read it, enjoyed it, and benefited from it. Life moved on like some of your other old friends that you haven’t stayed in touch with. When we went to dinner and you invited us to revisit it, it was in the back of my mind. I’ve been aware of it for a long time and hadn’t gotten back to it on the list. Rereading it was like being reacquainted with an old friend.

Mark is a reader. At the beginning of LuLaRoe even, he would read a book a week. He is the kind that retains it, which is amazing. For him to remember back then, that’s just him.

I read because I don’t have original thoughts. I have to get it from all the smart people. All my good thoughts come from somebody else, I swear. It’s all wisdom.

DeAnne, you reread it as well. We’ll come back to your thoughts on it. I was this young, moldable nineteen-year-old. I had nothing. I finished college in two weeks. Most people call that dropping out but for me, I was finished. He shows up in my life, so it becomes my mantra for living. It’s been with me all these years. As the ambassador of the company, I get to remind everybody, “It’s still here. Let’s read it again together. Let’s see what we can learn.” DeAnne, what were your thoughts? What did it feel like when you reread the book?

GSW 22 | Direct Selling

Direct Selling: As an entrepreneur, you must understand that sunk costs are irrelevant to your progress.

 

Mark and I were involved in another company. We did read it again. I read it for the first time more than 30 years ago. It’s a wee bit of time. Rereading it was emotional for me because you don’t know what you don’t know until you don’t know what. When you look back and you go, “I’ve been doing all of those things subconsciously because of reading it long ago.” I do believe that if you’ll take time. In fact, I love that we can download things on Audible. I can listen to it and I can hear this way. I pick up my book and I can read it this way and mark it. I love that it’s a quick read, but it’s deep and well thought through. Mark read it quickly because it is a short read. It took me about three days because I went back and then I rewound, and I listened to it again.

Any particular scroll that stands out for you, DeAnne?

The one that hit me was, “I will persist until I succeed.” I love that scroll three. I love it because it takes tenacity and dedication. Through the years, we always think in terms of, “Someday, I’m going to. I will be. I might. Ten years from now, when my life is this and that, I’m going to up here in the success status.” It doesn’t happen unless you become persistent, decide, think about the goals that you’re writing, and make it actionable. I love, “Today, I begin a new life.” Every day, we have to get up, get dressed, and show up. We’ve put them already there. That’s what I think.

It’s a favorite amongst a lot of people in the world of direct selling, “I will persist.” The word that was taught to me by one of our guests was the word until. It doesn’t say anything other than until. “You’re going to keep going and persisting until…” Mark, I wonder when you reread it if anything stood out for you.

That’s a hard question because there was so much of it. I enjoyed the second scroll where it talks about having love in your heart. We live in a society today where there’s so much divisiveness and pressure to choose. “Are you this or that? Where are you on the spectrum? If you’re not like me, then you’re like them.” There’s all this divisiveness. There’s this opportunity to look at each other and say, “We have so much more in common than we have that separates us.” To build on that, find what unites us and what we believe together, focus on that, and not pay so much attention to what divides us. DeAnne pointed out to me, “I know your favorite scroll. It’s number seven. I will laugh at the world because you have a sense of humor. You have to understand. This is all silliness.”

There are times when I’m wound up in everything and all upset, and then there’s that. He lightens the whole emotion and I love him for it. On a given day, he has a head full of jokes but then if you ask him to tell a joke, he can’t do it.

I’ll tell her to be more appropriate, so you have to be careful what you ask for.

You cannot be a successful entrepreneur unless you accept responsibility for everything. Click To Tweet

Let’s go back to that, DeAnne, because when we were at dinner, we talked about your story. You were sharing with me having a car full of clothes and you’ve got to go out and sell. You’ve got kids, rent to pay, and things to pay for your life. One of the things I appreciate about the founders of direct selling companies is when they start out in the field. What was that like for you when you started? How did this whole thing snowball to be one of the fastest-growing companies in history?

For me, it was a need. I was raising seven children. When Mark and I got together and got married, he had 4, and then we found 3 more teenagers in Romania and brought them into the family, so that makes fourteen. Bringing the teenagers here, I thought, “I’ll bring them in for the summer. We can take them to Disneyland.” I knew I couldn’t send them back. They were raised in an orphanage and their life was drastically different than ours. If you’ve been to a country like that, you would understand. I got them here and I went, “Mark, we can’t send them back.”

In order to be legal, we were able to switch them because you want to do all the proper steps, so we did. We switched their visa over to a student visa. In that, comes the high expense of tuition for three young adults and their room and board. It was out of state because that’s where we got their visas. It was awesome. With that, it became that desire and need, why am I doing it? We often quote Simon Sinek. He says, “People don’t buy what you do. They buy why you do it.” For me, I wanted to keep them here. I wanted to make money.

I say over and over that money does make the world go round. Money does make it better. Not a greedy kind of money, but the money that blesses others and can help you to give more in a season where there’s a lot of stress in the air. I was doing dress parties, but I usually did those three weeks before Christmas and Easter. This is the perfect timing. I cut out a skirt for my daughter. She posted it on Instagram and it started to snowball. When I say snowball, I don’t mean it’s automatically successful. No. I convinced one of my nieces to host a skirt party.

I made up 4 or 5 skirts, and then I put a sign up attached to each skirt that said, “If you like this skirt, put your name and phone number. It’s this much money and I’ll buy fabric. I will get them sewn for you.” Within about half an hour of that party, we had 65 orders and I thought, “I’m going to do this and I’m going to be great at it.” It started to dawn on me, “I was the one that was going to have to cut out and measure these skirts.” I went, “No.” I was stressed about it and I realized, “I can ask somebody else who knows how to do this to cut and sew these.”

We used the term cut, sew, bag and tag. The tags were a business card that I ran to the local printer. I stamped a hole in it. I got myself a tag gun for $6 on the internet and I was in business. I had no idea what I was doing. None of them had a hem in the skirt because my sewer at the time was going to charge me an extra $5 for that. I was like, “No, we’re just going to sell them without a hem.” Honestly, where there’s a will, there’s a way. When you are ready and you’re determined, you’re going to do whatever it takes.

Remember, “I will persist until I succeed.” I thought, “I’m going to talk everybody into realizing that it being a raw hem meant that if it frayed a little bit, you could cut it off with a fresh new pair of scissors.” I even invited people, “Go get a brand-new pair of scissors. They’re $0.99 at the 99 Cents store.” People love that. I gave them permission to enjoy it. In 3.5 months, I sold 20,000 maxi skirts with no hem. Now, we definitely are much better at that.

GSW 22 | Direct Selling

Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike

You have the hems now.

We’re good with that, and proper fabric that doesn’t stretch out and all that. There are some readers on here that can testify. What’s funny to me is that people kept that horrible, not so well-made measured skirt. Why? It brought them happiness and joy. I’ll never forget one lady who showed up and she goes, “Do you remember me?” She’s smiling, and I said, “Yes.” She rolls out a handful of skirts onto the table. “DeAnne, I’m here to buy nine more skirts.”

I’m thinking, “Are these for gifts?” She was like, “No, they’re for me.” I said, “How awesome is that?” She said, “I realized every time I put on my skirt, I feel happier. I must have a happier countenance about me because when I’m out and about at the grocery store, people give me compliments. I’m pumping gas in the car. I feel more confident and it makes me look good.” I went, “Alright then. We’ll add you right up.”

There’s no way to prepare a company for the growth that you experienced. The decisions you’re making every day to fulfill orders, build a new building and get more employees had to be enormous. I don’t know how you slept.

We didn’t. Not much. It started at our house. As DeAnne started to sell, she asked me to start helping with the production side, so we started getting more skirts made ahead of time. They were taken over the garage, and then we moved the furniture out on a couple of bedrooms. I took over the bedrooms and then we moved the furniture against the walls in the family room and the living room, and it took that over. Before we got our first warehouse, we lived in a home where our bedroom and the kitchen were the only two rooms that weren’t taken over by this business.

We moved into a small warehouse space. The warehouse space lasted us for a little while over a year. From there, we moved from 6,000 feet to 36,000 feet. From the 36,000, in about nine months, we moved into another 120,000 that we kept along with the 36,000. We bought a building, and then we rented another building, and we ended up with over 1 million square feet of warehouse space. Meanwhile, all of the systems to support that, you can’t even begin to think. We were on QuickBooks when we started and we were outgrowing QuickBooks.

We could see that we were going to outgrow QuickBooks, so we started plug for QuickBooks and plug for NetSuite. We started converting to the NetSuite system. You go down to the store, buy a disc, and put it on your computer. Now, you’ve got QuickBooks. Converting to a NetSuite system takes some time. During that conversion process, we grew quickly that it was taking 1.5 days to download a day’s worth of data into QuickBooks. We were flying completely blind. We couldn’t even identify what our daily sales were or where we were on it.

When you are ready and determined, you will do whatever it takes. Click To Tweet

We were watching cashflow in the bank and making decisions based on instinct with a few indicators, but it all worked. To that, I come back to that love of entrepreneurism. Entrepreneurs are people who show up and go, “What’s the problem? We’re going to solve it.” You know there’s nobody else that you can ask and has this answer for you. You’re going to have to take the knowledge that you have and the team around you, and come together and come up with a solution. Sometimes it’s wrong and you go, “That didn’t work.”

We bought software systems that never got implemented. We bought and paid for them. Before they stood up, they were obsolete and we were like, “Okay.” As an entrepreneur, you understand that sunk costs are irrelevant to your progress. This is a great example. We got in a spot where our production could no longer keep up with us, so we knew that we had to build our own factory. Something came up that forced us to move quickly. We lost our supplier almost instantly and we had to get a factory set up. We looked at a building on Tuesday and we produced clothing in that building the following Monday.

We got the keys, started throwing sewing machines in there, setting it up, and then as we went forward, we refined it. We started with 40 machines and eventually, we had 85 sewing machines in there. We were doing great, and then we moved to the next level of our business and we needed another supplier. We moved outside to another supplier and I said, “We’re going to shut that factory down.” My production manager at the time said, “Mark, we’ve got so much money invested in it. How can we shut it down?” That’s like saying I broke my leg and I bought crutches. I’ve got so much money invested in my crutches. How can I ever quit using my crutches? I said, “No, that served us then and it no longer serves us. Therefore, don’t be attached to it. Forget about what it is and look about where we’re going and what we have to do to get to where we’re going.”

You said, DeAnne, that he likes reading, I’m reminded of one of my favorite business books of all time listening to your story, and that is Shoe Dog by Phil Knight from Nike. He woke up for eighteen years in a row wondering if they were going to be able to pay the bills. When those Nike shoes started coming out, I remember buying them in 1977 when they would fall apart and the swoosh would fall off. They had many production problems. Same as you, they were growing fast. I’ve been in the world of direct selling for more than 38 years and we’ve been blessed.

Out of the 38 or so, I’ll bet 30-plus have been hard. Nothing is easy. Companies that I was with that I thought were like the answer to every prayer you could ever have, it was hard. I loved it when Phil Knight said, “For eighteen years, I woke up every morning wondering if we were going to go broke.” It’s unbelievable that you were able to buy all those systems, software, sewing machines and say, “We’re not going to use them. We’re going to go to the next deal.” Let’s move forward, DeAnne. What do you see going forward in 2021 and beyond for your company, people, leadership, and optimism for the world?

I’m excited about how things are happening. Let’s talk about positivity because there are a lot of other issues. I’m saying the positive is that women and men can sell online and they can rely on social media. We are social retailers. Meaning, we’re socially drawn to each other and it’s been hard for everybody to be in their confined spaces during this crazy time. One thing for sure is that you can rely on learning about people and seeing people if you are on your social media platforms. There are quite a few. If people will keep going to the various places that they are used to going and open up their minds and understand that you’re not alone. You are with a huge community of people and humans relying on other humans.

Especially women, we need to know, “My kids fell apart at school.” Those of you that are homeschooling are falling apart because mom is falling apart. It’s okay to have a bad day and meltdown, and go and do what you need to do. I’ve seen funny memes of women locking themselves in the kitchen pantry to eat their favorite ice cream or something for a moment of quiet and peace because the house is full of kids and nobody is ever leaving. At the same time, especially Mark and I, we’re excited about everything. For us, business is doing I feel awesome and great because people can buy on the internet and they can see how it is. They hold it up and they offer it to whoever is the fastest person to claim it.

GSW 22 | Direct Selling

Direct Selling: Acknowledge all the problems and have the proper optimism that you’re going to solve them.

 

It creates this urgency, excitement, and a little bit of frustration if you can’t get what you like. Be patient. Something else that somebody is going to hold up, I’ll bet you’ll fall in love with as much. I will tell you, I’m grateful. We’re driving home for Thanksgiving and we have a comment that social retail was up 21% higher than it’s ever been. I sat there and thought to myself, “How awesome is that? What a huge blessing it is that people can be able to shop.” With LuLaRoe, there’s a relationship. There’s a person rather than just a flat picture.

I remember one time I ordered some lipstick and it was a new system. You no longer have to go into the store because of the pandemic. I had to order it and I put in the wrong address, so it went to somebody else. Hopefully, they enjoyed it. There was not a human for me to talk to say three seconds ago, I pushed complete order. “I’m sorry. We don’t do that.” I was out of that lipstick. I’m okay with it, but I thought to myself, “I don’t want our company to be like that. We care and we want to be there for people. We want to be a voice and a face.”

I do videos to people that are succeeding and I want them to see me. I could do a copy and paste, but then it wouldn’t be personalized to them. If I had any advice for anybody, for a LuLaRoe especially, it’s about creating a stronger relationship and creating that culture that we started in the beginning. How are we going to help other women feel confident, feel comfortable, and love themselves no matter what they choose to wear that day? It’s okay to wear the size that they don’t want to wear as long as they feel confident in it. Mark will talk to you about business-wise. He does that way better than I do.

As I told you at dinner, you’re an inspiration to many people. Starting your company and how it changed your life and how it springboarded you to change other lives. I love how you said the word schedule early on. I looked up the scroll where Og says, “I will live this day as if it is my last.” He says this, Mark, “I will avoid with fury the killers of time.” Some people choose to be negative people and some people choose to be optimistic.

I look for the good in everybody and I look for the opportunity to say hi to everybody. Laird Hamilton, the great surfer, his wife said, “I want to be first every day to say hello when I see somebody. I want to be the first to shake someone’s hand.” It’s cool that you mentioned that thing about scheduling to avoid with fury the killers of time. Mark, give us some thoughts in closing here maybe about how you feel about the future, your business, etc.

Dan, I wanted to be an optimist, but I didn’t think it would work out. A great entrepreneur is a pessimistic optimist or an optimistic pessimist. You have to look for all the problems and acknowledge all the problems, but you have to do it with an optimism that you’re going to solve them. As we look forward to the future, I’m excited about what we have created at LuLaRoe. I know that every entrepreneur is proud of what they’ve created because it comes from their heart and soul. When we started this company early on, I read Good to Great and had a conversation with our team. What could we be great at? We’re not a great fashion company. We’re a good fashion company and we make good clothing.

We’re not a 100-year-old fashion house, but we’re a good solid. There’s so much competition in that arena. How do we become great as a fashion company? What we can be great at is to become a small business incubator. That was what we identified as we talked about what is our focus? Our focus is on training people to become entrepreneurs. Our mission is to help people become entrepreneurs and enjoy the freedom that comes from responsibility. I’m a stickler for language. We don’t help people create freedom. We help them create opportunities and greater choice. I can’t give you any more freedom and I can’t take your freedom away from you.

If you are serving others, the universe is fair to you. Click To Tweet

Freedom is inside and freedom is inherent. It’s a God-given gift to us. What we can do is increase our opportunities and choices. That’s what being an entrepreneur does. As you become responsible and as you serve others, money is the repository of the service you have provided. That is all it is. When I was younger, there was a bumper sticker that said something about, “Money is keeping score.” It had a negative connotation, but it’s not a negative connotation. It’s keeping score of the amount of service you have provided. Do you want to know if you’re good to your fellow man? You can check your bank account. That’s a controversial statement.

If you are serving others, the universe is fair to you. If you’ll serve others without worrying about what you get and worry about, what do they need? What do I have that I can share? What skillset do I have? What knowledge do I have? What empathy do I have? Can I just be a friend? When you look at others and you recognize their humanity, and you allow your humanity to connect with theirs, you will have what you need in this life. I’m super optimistic because our goal is to teach people that concept. The bottom line is we have no competition because if you’re going to teach them that concept, then we’re partners. We’re working together to get that taught.

If you’re not trying to teach them that, then you’re not my competition. If you’re just selling clothes, you’re just selling clothes. We’re selling clothes with a vision of helping people become entrepreneurs, take personal responsibility, and learn to serve others. Also, become part of a community that is inclusive, a complete meritocracy, loves and supports those who show up and produce. That’s who we are and that’s what we’re doing. For that, I have ultimate optimism because the world needs it. People are looking, “Where is that place where my effort will be rewarded, people will love and accept me for who I am, and I can grow personally?” Entrepreneurism is the greatest self-improvement course in the world, so I’m excited.

I’m excited to have your energy. You mentioned the word freedom. One time, I was going through my direct selling, network marketing, multi-level marketing, and every book in my library. I have hundreds of them. There was a book written about the Amway corporation years ago called Uncommon Freedom. Speaking to those things that you were talking about, they faced some of the most difficult challenges in history that any company could face with governments wanting to shut them down.

We’re here as an industry now because of what they stood for in the state of Michigan. I love it when you mentioned freedom because I get to choose, as Og teaches me every day. Hafeet is one of the characters at the beginning of the book. If you have not read this book, you need to add this to your life and get more optimism in your life perhaps. He says, “I love people. I love showing up and being a friend. I’ve always counted your friendship as my greatest asset.”

I can say that about your son, Kenny. I can say that about other relatives you have that I know. I showed up in a hotel where you’re doing your convention. The optimism, enthusiasm, speakers, and everything that’s going on. DeAnne, what would you say to a lot of your fans that are following and are watching and your reps? I love the fact that you use the word social retailing. That is a new buzz word. It’s happening in a big way. What would you say in closing to our audience?

I would say, let’s work on gratitude, and on loving one another more and assuming innocence. We use those terms a lot in LuLaRoe. A lot of times, we avoid anger or misunderstanding if we’ll first take a minute and assume innocence. I feel so much gratitude for this business and for what it has brought to our family and to Mark and I. We often say we’re guests in our own business. People used to say in the beginning, “You must feel lucky.” I want to go, “Yes, we do. We feel lucky but we also know that with it came a lot of work.”

GSW 22 | Direct Selling

AN Uncommon Freedom

We continue to do that lovingly and full of excitement. We’re wanting to get up and get going every day. We’re not retiring. We are on fire. We’re like, “What can we do next? What is the next thing that we can get to the next step of that? Who else can we help to fulfill their dreams and all that stuff?” Honestly, I hope that whoever is reading knows that Mark and I care so deeply. We’re here, we’re all in and we’re going to continue to be all in.

I have had the greatest time studying that word gratitude. We have this mutual friend named Dieter Uchtdorf who said, “We should have gratitude in our circumstances, not just for our blessings.” I would hope and pray everybody can take that to heart because I know Og would want that if he was here and he could share a message about where he came from. I was fortunate to meet him one time. What a remarkable individual. He had a philosophy for living and writing. I’m honored that you made the time to be with me on the show, share your story, some insights into the journey, the ups, downs, struggles, and the gratitude in our circumstances. I thank you both for being here. It’s been a lot of fun.

Thanks for having us, Dan. It’s been a pleasure.

It’s such an honor.

It’s episode number 22. It’s in the books. We look forward to being back with you. You can follow us on YouTube. You can follow us on any of our podcast sites you’ll pick us up on. We look forward to having more unbelievable people every single episode. Have the greatest day of your life and bye for now.

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