This is Sally. Sally is a nice person. Sally is trying her best to make a great life. Be nice to Sally.

Okay, confession, Sally is not real. Today we are going on a fictional story following Sally on two possible paths. Sally 1 and Sally 2. But first- Sally’s background story.

Sally has always had a passion for ‘candles’. As soon as she was old enough, she always had candles burning, giving them as gifts, recommending new and exciting scented candles to anyone who would listen to her. To her, candles were not ‘work’ just something she loved. But, Sally had to grow up and go to college and get a real job. She decided to major in business and figure out what to do with that later. After college graduation Sally has to decide what to do. This is where our sliding doors, two-Sally-story begins.

Sally 1- she decides to take that new business education and open a new store in her home town. She has to take out more loans (on top of the loans she has from school) to pay for this- but it’s her dream! She is going to sell candles and other related items. She announces this to her friends and family. Everyone shows her an outpouring of love and support! Everyone wants to hear more about it, wishes her luck, and promises to stop in soon to support her business!

Sally 2- Sally wants to use her new business education and figure out a way to follow her passion for candles. She is considering opening a shop but doesn’t want to take out more loans and knows that it will be years before she makes any money. So, she does some research and finds a direct selling company that has the best, highest quality candles on the market and other home decor products. She can become an independent distributor for a couple hundred bucks. She can directly sell the products to her network and anyone else she meets. She announces this decision to her friends and family. She is surprised there is such a negative reaction. Some people seem curious and supportive, but it seems like everyone else is avoiding her. She even got a few Facebook comments like ‘oh great! Another one’ and ‘didn’t you just finish business school and THIS is how you’re using your degree?’ and of course- ‘isn’t that one of those pyramid things?’ Lucky for Sally she has pretty thick skin. She is going to stick with it despite the fridged response.

Sally 1- owning your own business is hard work! She is loving what she is doing but she is working 60 hours a week and struggling with a social life. But, she has lots of local friends and family helping her by coming into her shop as well as spreading the word for her. Word of mouth marketing is a total boon for her business. Her parents are SO proud of their little business owner!

Sally 2- she is doing pretty well with her little business. She is off to a fast start and is even being recognized by her company. She is frustrated though because she still can’t convince her parents that this is a legitimate business. She has shown them the business model and has tried to explain the potential of residual income, but they don’t want to hear it. Dad even commented- why did we spend so much on college then?

Sally 1- she is doing pretty well now but is looking for ways to expand and reach more people. She decides to sell her products on-line too. She makes a website, starts a blog, and gets to work. What an entrepreneur! Everyone is very impressed that she is taking her small business ‘nation wide’.

Sally 2- things are coming along nicely for Sally 2. Her customers are happy and continue to support her. Occasionally they tell their friends too and she is getting referrals. Sally 2 also wants to expand outside of her immediate network. She creates a website, starts a blog, and try’s to spread the word. She tells her friends, some of them like her page but don’t really engage. She is seen as ‘another mommy blogger’.

Sally 1- Sally 1 starts realizing that other people and shops are interested in selling some of her products as well. They ALSO love candles! And since Sally 1 has already perfected the business model, it’s just smart to join her. Sally 1 welcomes new business partners. Why not? That’s smart business! Now she makes money on what she sells and she makes money on what her partners sell. And the partners get to walk into a successful business. Win-win-win. Wow- we are all very impressed with Sally 1!

Sally 2- a few people have noticed that Sally 2 is doing well and seems to be having a lot of fun in her business. She is always doing something fun and seems to have tons of free time and flexibility. She gets some new business partners and they model their business after Sally 2. Why re-invent the wheel? She announces her new partners on Facebook and still gets a luke-warm response. She hears that one of her friends said- SEE! It IS one of those pyramid things. Those things never work! People think that the new partners are suckers… People just ‘don’t get’ Sally #2.

Sally 1- carries on with her life, is totally happy with her choice, and loves the support she received along the way.

Sally 2- carries on with her life, is totally happy with her choice, and wishes she had a little more support along the way. But, remember, she has thick skin. She’ll be fine (more than fine- silly-happy)

BUT, Sally 2 is going to work really hard to change how people perceive her business. Sally 2 feels responsible for elevating the entire profession. You have not seen the last of Sally 2.