During the early years of my career as a journalist, I was covering an international women's entrepreneurship summit. During the inaugural address, the guest speaker said by 2025 the number of women entrepreneurs will be 100 times more than what it was then. The audience showered a loud round of applause, while I thought to myself, ‘Isn't that figure a little too high?’.
Cut straight to 2024, there are women entrepreneurs everywhere. I can immediately think of 15 names from my friends list who are running businesses big or small. As the honorable guest at the summit said, the numbers are doubling at a much faster pace creating new women entrepreneurs EVERY SINGLE DAY!
Epixel is synonymous with empowering women. At each of our offices, there is an equal representation of both men and women. Their ability to juggle between work and home has always amazed us and their contributions to the growth and success of the company are beyond amazing. And we take utmost pride in the women power that fuels our prosperity.
From being job seekers to job givers
From being passive job seekers to being top executives and entrepreneurs, women have indeed come a long way. This transformation is a multifaceted phenomenon stirred by numerous socio economic and cultural factors and the determination, resilience and creativity of the women in various sectors.
So how did this transformation take place?
1. Shifting societal norms
With time, the societal perception or attitude towards women’s roles in the workforce has had a drastic change. By understanding how crucial their contributions are to the growth of an organization, there came a gradual acceptance of women as leaders and business owners challenging conventional gender norms.
2. Higher levels of education and literacy
The number of women gaining education, skills and knowledge started increasing making best use of opportunities available for them. This helped them gain confidence to begin businesses on their own and think beyond conventional or pre-set business methods. Higher levels of education are directly proportional to increased entrepreneurship rates.
3. Technological advancements
With the advent of technology, tasks that once took ten days now get done in half a day. The same technology has helped women lower barriers to entering entrepreneurship. Digitality and technological advancements lets women begin low investment businesses and operate from anywhere according to their choice and convenience.
4. Collaborative support systems
A large number of women’s support networks and groups, and mentorship programs were made targeting the upliftment of women. This has helped disseminate training, guidance, assistance in finding funding opportunities and networking platforms to enhance businesses.
5. Policy revisions
Governmental policies that have changed over the years to accommodate women entrepreneurship giving them easy access to funding, subsidiary financial help, free training and support programs and affirmative action measures.
6. Work-life balance
For the amount of freedom and flexibility that entrepreneurship offers, women find this as a great opportunity to pursue their dreams of working while not having to compromise on taking care of their families at the same time. Entrepreneurship became an exciting and attractive option since women can set their own schedules and work from not just home but anywhere.
Women in direct selling
According to the 2022-2023 WFDSA report, there are 128.2 million people taking part in the direct selling business both full-time and part-time. Of which major contributions are made by women who comprise 70% of the total participants in the business and the rest 30% are men. Needless to say, this statistic is a clear depiction of how direct selling is paving the way for women to take part in the business as distributors and entrepreneurs.
Among various business avenues, what makes direct selling stand out as a realm for women is because of its flexibility, accessibility, and potential for significant earning opportunities. The direct selling sector ensures that women entrepreneurs get to realize their ambitions without losing the balance between their personal and professional lives.
Let us quickly delve into the 2023 statistics of top performing women entrepreneurs in the industry and their thriving success story.
Founder, CEO and Chairwoman
SeneGence
Founder, CEO and Chairwoman
SeneGence
Far-visioned women can never settle for something until they chase their dreams and live through them. Joni Rogers of SeneGence is one such woman who made her way through difficult situations in life to gleaming success with sheer perseverance and passion for business. SeneGence, Joni’s brainchild was born in 1999 with the intention to create a unique line of cosmetic products involving pure science. Joni amalgamated technology and proprietary formulations to deliver the best results for various skin conditions.
Endorsed and sold by tens of thousands of independent distributors across the globe, Joni has rewarding compensation plans and earning opportunities set concretely for women in aid of building a robust base for their careers from the comfort of their homes.
For her immaculate personality and intention to create a sisterhood in the industry, Joni is looked up to as a role model by both men and women within and outside the direct selling industry.
CEO
Modere
CEO
Modere
I have been following Asma for quite a long time now on LinkedIn. She recently posted a picture of hers with a quote saying, “In a world where change seems to be the only constant, there’s no room to stand still”, which very well explains Asma’s professionalism and her unending quest to conquer bigger heights. Her radiant personality, founder’s mentality and ‘common sense’ rules of ethics has always made me say to myself, “wow, what a woman!”.
Asma’s nutraceuticals company was acquired by Modere, a personal care and health and wellness company in 2017 and Asma was appointed as the CEO. Ever since, Modere’s revenue and EBITDA has rocketed high, increasing the profit by many levels and the brand is number 1 on the 50 fastest growing women-led companies.
Product development, formulation, manufacturing, marketing, finance, or any sector it be, you can see Asma winning it like a real boss with her extensive expertise and experience in the past years.
Co-Founder and Chairwoman
ByDzyne
Co-Founder and Chairwoman
ByDzyne
Can someone be sweet and strong at the same time? If you haven’t heard of this rare combination in person, you are in for a surprise. From being a Thai restaurant owner to a multi-million business owner, Chanida’s story is nothing short of inspirational. She co-founded ByDzyne with the aim of offering trendy products in wellness, training, travel and ecommerce.
Beyond business Chanida’s focus is on empowering women captivating their passion and confidence to dream and achieve success. The beaming aura that she carries divulges around her and ensures the wellbeing of those around her, more precisely women. With her humble, driven, and truly invested nature, Chanida encourages women to break barriers and pursue their dreams setting the sky as the limit.
With women like Chanida, the direct selling future is safe. The women-centric, humane approaches are driving more men and women into the channel that offers them ample freedom, earning opportunities, flexibility and immediate gratification.
There are countless remarkable women in the direct selling landscape each possessing outstanding talent and tenacity. While we look up to each of them with utmost respect and admiration for their dedication, experience, and expertise, we have highlighted only a few names from the Business For Home Top Female Direct Selling CEO 2023 poll list constrained by the limitations of the article.
Challenges faced by women in direct selling
Although the industry has seen multifaceted women driving success through the most unique and divergent ways, I foresee stagnation in their growth and rate of success due to various reasons that are often overlooked or ignored. Identifying these as the first step helps them defy constraints and keep trekking up the success hill.
1. Access to support and mentorship
From being a distributor to an entrepreneur, beyond a thousand theories, what works best is efficient and meticulous training backed by consistent support and robust infrastructure. Especially with work-from-home direct sellers, access to network marketing training tools, round-the-clock sponsor support, etc are crucial to enhance their capabilities and keep up with changing industry trends.
2. Gender pay gap
The gender pay gap is usually gauged by comparing how much women make compared to men. According to the 2024 GPGR (Gender Pay Gap Report), for every $1 that men make, women are getting $0.83. Which means that equal pay is still a myth regardless of the experience, education, or other factors that women possess. The gender pay gap which should ideally be zero never seems zero even under controlled data analysis.
The report also inspects reasons for the pay gap, and they are
Motherhood penalty – The motherhood penalty is a phenomenon where a woman’s pay decreases once she becomes a mother.
Age and education – The gender pay gap widens as women age. Women with higher education than men also don’t seem to be paid equal.
The gender pay gap seemed narrow for women who often switch jobs.
3. Discrimination and bias
Never at my workplace, but I have observed this on roads. If I speed at a 100kmph-110kmph overtaking a male driver in the highway who is in and around my age group, I have seen them getting agitated very quickly either trying to nudge me to the side of the road or race at a faster pace than me, because there is common myth that, women can’t be good drivers.
Coming to the direct selling aspect of bias and discrimination, most top-tier women professionals in the industry has always kept their key focus on ensuring that women are treated equal and are always given not just equal opportunities but even above their male colleagues considering their experience and expertise.
4. Persecution at workplace
We know how the #MeToo movement has surfaced over the years in leading corporate companies. Most women fear being fired and often fail to report especially when the abuser is someone in senior positions. Direct selling businesses over the past years have considered this a crucial element affecting the mental wellbeing of women and have founded the internal complaints committee to file petitions against any type of verbal, visual, non-verbal, or even physical harassment.
Effective strategies to overcome challenges
In a realm like direct selling, it is imperative to have a foolproof methodology and framework to help people grow irrespective of their gender. Growth is a natural process that occurs to those who strive to grow. With external factors like training and support, marketing, and digital tools one could expand their possibilities to newer levels. But the key focus must be improving the urge to seek knowledge and overcome our limitations, whether its gender, demographics, age, or any other factors. Cause, ideally, growth occurs to only those who seek it.
Key strategies for women entrepreneurs and direct selling business participants to achieve growth and success are:
Continuous enhancement of knowledge and skills – If you think you are up to date in terms of technology and innovations and stop learning today, you could be outdated tomorrow. Industry is witnessing major shifts often in terms of engineering and technics, and hence, constant improvement is relevant to staying at par with the rising speed of industrial growth. For which, attending effective training sessions, engaging in reading relevant learning materials, and seeking mentorship and backing from sponsor team or successful team members is the best way out.
Consider rejection as a chance to grow – Criticisms or rejections must be considered as insights for improvement with which one could refine their skills and strategies for the good. Every rejection is also a chance to improve resilience and stay determined to face obstacles in achieving goals. Also, rejections should be considered as a stepping stone to fostering professional growth with improved expertise and problem-solving skills.
Establish realistic goals and keep track of progress - Ensure that your goals are SMART – specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound. Break down your goals into specific milestones and celebrate each of them to encourage and motivate participants. Focus on how swiftly the progress is made and tweak your strategies as and when required.
Engage with peers in the industry – Collaborate and network with women entrepreneurs and direct selling business communities to gain insights and timely support. It could also help earn ideas and learn from their experiences over the past from within the direct selling industry. This could also pave way to future collaborations and partnerships letting you learn and expand your business at the same time.
Learn to prioritize yourself - No matter how much the business is demanding from you, keep yourself and your mental stability as priority. Learn to keep an ideal balance between work and personal life by setting specific boundaries. Take periodic breaks from work often to recharge yourself and come back stronger. Practice mindfulness and relaxation techniques to ease your stress, avoid depression and uphold productivity.
With women foraying into direct selling businesses as independent distributors, executives and entrepreneurs, the sector is undergoing a transformation like never before. To be more accommodative and inclusive for women in network marketing , the channel must implement strategies that gives them ample opportunities to grow and survive through each of their roles in the business.
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Leading the charge
Irrespective of what conditions they go through and obstacles they face each day, the direct selling sector is shielding women to help them flourish. Although the COVID era was the most trying times for businesses across the world, women felt confident to venture into direct selling businesses for the kind of opportunity and security that the sector offers. From being independent distributors to successful entrepreneurs, direct selling is a fertile ground for women to survive and sustain.
In the wise words of Brownie Wise of Tupperware, “Remember the steam kettle? Though up to its neck in hot water, it continues to sing”. The challenges around them are strengthening women’s capabilities to thrive and succeed, putting in their best efforts while bringing in newer strategies to beat all the odds.
On this women’s day, Epixel salutes every woman who inspires others to live by leading ways to better living and epitomize resilience and empowerment. Also, direct selling businesses from startups to enterprise level that supports women at each step of their way to succeed and attain a bright future!
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