April DeBord is a 31 year old high school teacher who has her Masters and is planning to do her Doctorate within the next 2 years. She is also a Mary Kay consultant and aspires to start a restaurant one day. She inspired me with her multifaceted life and ambition! Enjoy!
What do you find most rewarding about being your own boss?
I can set my own hours and since my job is just on the side I can choose to work or not. I just get some extra money if I choose to work or not. I think that’s the best thing about having your own business you get to make it what you want to make it.
Has this given your courage to start another business?
I think that starting this business has allowed me to see some of the good and bad things about owning my own business. I know now that start up costs are going to be the biggest thing that will stand in the way of starting my own restaurant business. If starting a Mary Kay business is a bit costly and there are overhead costs it helps me to more realistically approach the restaruant biz.
Do you ever see yourself going away from the public school system into being a business owner full time? When?
I would like to retire from teaching when I’m 53 and open my own business. I don’t really see it happening before then because of money and stability. I really will enjoy retiring at 30 years and having a full pension while I also have my own business. I have 20 years to save for that starting now. :)
What are some of the ways you advertise your service? (flyers, word of mouth, etc)
Flyers and emails from MaryKay.com I also talk to people on the phone at home or at school to let them know about products and to find out what they need.
What is something that you think is hard about what you do?
Because with Mary Kay I don’t have a store front or an actual physical business I have to really stay on top of getting the word out about Mary Kay. I think that once I’ve been in the business for a while things will be easier, but for now this is the hardest aspect of my business.
What have you learned from being your own boss? (ie about yourself, about business, about people)
I’ve learned that it’s fun, but it takes a lot of money, energy and time. I’ve learned that if you have a good product then your customers will keep coming back and I’ve learned that I like the no pressure sales stance. I think I knew it before, but people are just like me and I want to be their friend who sells them MaryKay not a friend because I sell them Mary Kay.
Do you have any advice for future business starters?
Go for it and have a great time, but don’t be disillusioned it will take work and time to build things up, but the feeling you get from it being your own is worth it.
