With more than 50 years of experience each, six industry legends share their memories, knowledge and insight to offer a unique glimpse into the channel’s past, present and future.
There is a depth of wisdom that comes only from lived experience, and for six industry legends, that wisdom feels infinite. In this exclusive Legends Interview Series, produced by Direct Selling News, Jerry Brassfield, John Fleming, Stan Fredrick, Rick Goings, Rudy Revak and Larry Thompson share candid anecdotes about what drew them to the business model and offer powerful wisdom-filled memories that can serve as inspiration for young entrepreneurs eager to match their historic ambition and achievements.
As the industry faces challenges today, it is powerful to remember that these problems, although unique, are not new. There have always been obstacles, and as these legends generously share their knowledge, we’re given a peek behind the curtain into what it was like to endure some of the most earth shaking tumults the industry has faced—from customer behavioral changes to the introduction of the internet. Through their personal retellings, it becomes clear that the innovations and triumphs of the past can also be a powerful guidebook for the future.
Within their stories is also a shepherding voice, reminding us that although we see their victory laps, there were also years filled with tenacity and grit as they learned the fundamentals of the business. Today, as leaders who ascended to the highest levels of power, charisma and success, the legends are honest about their foibles, rocky starts and the failures that made them stronger. That generous spirit and commitment to help others lives in the memories and words they share and offers authentic advice for those seeking to follow in their footsteps.
Jerry Brassfield is the Founder and Chairman of NeoLife International. Brassfield started his career in network marketing at the age of 19 and within eight years was worth $5 million—an especially hefty sum for 1967.
Brassfield’s vision for a company that would reflect his own personal values while providing long-term stability for future generations led to the creation of GNLD, the global health and wellness parent company of his many brands. In addition to his passion for the direct selling industry and helping others cultivate success, Brassfield is an accomplished entrepreneur with fruitful ventures in restaurant chains, auto dealerships and real estate.
What inspired you to get involved in a direct selling business?
The product line. I suffered from severe asthma as a young boy, and my mother had introduced me to some very basic nutritional products because we didn’t have inhalers and instant relief for asthma attacks in those days. By the time I was 19, I was a believer in nutrition. I saw the product line of that first company, which was NutraBio, and I joined.
When did you decide direct selling was the right choice for you?
I saw lives being changed—some very slightly and some dramatically. I saw who I was—my self-improvement and having confidence in myself—growing, and I started to believe more and more in this direct selling model. That increases even today. I’m totally convinced it’s a good thing for people.
What are a few of your most memorable moments?
When I took Golden Products to South Africa, the authorities came and shut down the meeting, saying we needed a permit to host a public meeting where the “Europeans and non-Europeans” would be in the same room. I just kept my principles intact and didn’t yield to this apartheid system. After a year or so, friendships formed. When we had a large convention, we had all these different tribes that came together happy and celebrating. The South African government sent people down to look at this and said, “How do you get all of these people in the same room without them killing each other?” We became a model to break through that.
What is your outlook for the business model?
I believe it’s a very positive outlook. More regulation is a very good thing because all industries that mature have to go through a period of being regulated. That’s why I’ve incorporated into my companies around the world this belief: Love your neighbor. Who’s your neighbor? Everybody. If we can stick to that, our future is bright. It isn’t the marketing system or direct sales that cause problems. It’s abusing what you have, making it sound better than it is for the quick buck rather than building up and helping people and encouraging and loving them, and keeping the relationship alive for the rest of your life. It’s up to us.
What advice would you like to share with our audience?
I think the industry will improve a lot faster if we not only police our own organizations but that of our competitors as well. Let’s police what we say. Let’s let people know we’re a force for good. Let’s stick to our principles. Let’s love our neighbor.
For the full interview with Jerry Brassfield you can listen to the DSN podcast or watch the interview.
John Fleming has been one of direct selling’s most consistent and strongest advocates. His successful career as a distributor led him to a corporate role with Avon Products, Inc., followed by the distinguished title of Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Direct Selling News for nine years.
FLEMING was inducted into the Direct Selling Education Foundation Circle of Honor in 1997, is a member of the DSA Hall of Fame was honored and was the first recipient of the Direct Selling News Lifetime Achievement Award. In retirement, Fleming has devoted his time to researching the gig economy. His book, Ultimate Gig, which explores the history and potential of the gig economy, will be released later this year.
Fleming was interviewed by Stuart Johnson, Direct Selling News Founder and CEO. The two are long-time friends and colleagues who built Direct Selling News together, with an emphasis on advocacy and positive journalism that continues today.
What inspired you to get involved in a direct selling business?
I was inspired by authenticity. I’ll never forget because at the time, I never, ever considered direct selling to be a part of my life. My sponsor was so authentic and passionate and became one of my best friends. He was a school teacher with a family, and he was also working a part-time job in this business model where the masses could participate and it could be a way to add value to life. Quite frankly, he changed my life, so I’m very grateful.
When did you decide direct selling was the right choice for you?
I remember that year distinctly when the earnings from the direct selling business, part-time, were about three times what I was earning in the architectural firm. That was a defining moment for me because I was working in the office of Mies Van der Rohe, recognized as one of the three masters of modern architecture. I was so proud of my architectural career, but I also wasn’t earning enough money. I took a sabbatical from architecture and decided to do direct selling full-time. I was beginning to understand that I was learning a lot by working in the direct selling model. I was learning about people, passion and purpose, and about how to hook those things together. In architectural school, we learned how to design buildings, but this business taught me how to design a life.
What are a few of your most memorable moments?
The architectural concepts that had been so entrenched in my thinking process—the concept of less is more—began to kick in. We focused a lot on reducing complexity into simplicity in architecture and at Avon, we really had the opportunity to put that into play on a major scale and transform that company at a very significant moment in time. We built a new form of Avon, which became a billion-dollar business within a multi-billion-dollar company. That’s a memorable moment for me.
What is your outlook for the business model?
I’ve always been a believer that this channel of distribution is one of the finest forces for good on planet Earth. I see a very optimistic, growing future. The channel has a great opportunity to reduce complexity to simplicity, and as we do that, we are going to become more appealing than perhaps ever before. When you look at the evolution of the model, we did go through a period where perhaps we became a bit too complex. I’ve been around long enough to say that from observation. History is very, very important and we can always learn a lot from it.
What advice would you like to share with our audience?
We’re using technology now as well as anyone, and we can use technology in a more personal manner than anyone else. The dependency on physical presence is going to yield to the digital economy, so digital presence is where we need to be. And we’re going to be better and better at it.
For the full interview with John Fleming you can listen to the DSN podcast or watch the interview.
Stan Fredrick co-founded Colony House and Colesce Couture. He is a majority shareholder of WineShop at Home and Custom Fit Bra Company. Stan is also a founder and partner of Blue Ostrich Winery and Vineyard.
In 2001, Fredrick became a board member and the second-largest beneficial shareholder of Mannatech. As an industry advocate for more than four decades, Fredrick served as Chairman of the Direct Selling Associations Board of Directors in 1987-1988 and Direct Selling Education Foundation from 1988-1990. He was inducted into the DSA’s Hall of Fame and the DSEF’s Circle of Honor. Stan has also received the DSN Bravo Lifetime Achievement Award.
What inspired you to get involved in a direct selling business?
My dad always told me, “Son, you’ve got to go to college.” But when it came time to go, he didn’t have any money to send me and said I needed to earn enough to go myself. I had $10 in my pocket, and my brother told me that he would show me how to sell pots and pans. He said, “I’ve made enough to buy a new car. You can make enough money to go to college, easy.” So, I followed him, and my first event was at 7:30 in the morning, downtown. He pointed to two girls walking to work and told me to go talk to them. And these two gals really got me off to a great start in direct selling. If they had treated me harshly, I might not be here today.
When did you decide direct selling was the right choice for you?
I guess somewhere along the way, I decided to make it a career. I can’t imagine life without direct selling. I can’t imagine being in any other business or any other industry. I started out wanting to be a teacher, and then I realized after a while, I did practice teaching. I taught young men more than teaching them how to sell pots and pans; I taught them how to be a good person and make something out of their lives. I’ve done much more good there than I would have or could ever do in a classroom.
What are a few of your most memorable moments?
When I first started, if you heard me stop that first girl on the street, you’d think I was born a stutterer because I was so scared to talk and be in front of people. But today, I’m able to talk in front of people and not have to worry about it. There are so many blessings from this industry—it’s hard to count them all.
What is your outlook for the business model?
I believe direct selling being led by a bunch of entrepreneurs will always find a way to adjust to whatever the rules are, whatever society needs or wants because that’s what we do. We find products that customers really need, and we find a way to explain it to them. It may be standing on their doorstep, in front of a group at a party, or in front of a big group at a meeting—but we find a way.
What advice would you like to share with our audience?
I still use the fundamentals I learned selling pots and pans. If you want to learn to communicate with people, how to influence and persuade and lead people, then learn the fundamentals of direct selling.
For the full interview with Stan Fredrick you can listen to the DSN podcast or watch the interview.
Rick Goings is Chairman Emeritus and former CEO of Tupperware Brands. During his successful career, Goings held a number of global senior management positions in Europe, Asia and the U.S.
Goings was an outspoken advocate in redefining business as something that served not only shareholders but all stakeholders, including customers and employees. Humanitarian and philanthropic efforts have been a central focus of Goings’ career, and he served as an engaged member of the World Economic Forum, the National Board of Governors for Boys & Girls Clubs of America, and was an inaugural Champion with United Nations’ HeforShe women’s initiative, where he was a founding member of the Leadership Advisory Council.
What inspired you to get involved in direct selling?
I never made a decision to get involved in direct selling. I got involved in businesses, and their channels of distribution just happened to be direct-to-consumer. After I joined the Navy, I started to understand human motivation and figure out what I was going to do with my life. In my senior year of school, my friend had an idea for a fire and heat detector and out of that, I created Dynamics, Inc. I had a 10-year run that was fabulous, but the federal government started giving away what we were selling, and I had to pivot. In my thirties, I created Fortunate Corporation and lost all the money I had made in my twenties. The most important business decision I ever made was when I joined Avon. When people ask me why I joined, I say, “Oh, I remember, I needed a job.”
When did you decide direct selling was the right choice for you?
There really was no epiphany moment when I decided this is what I was going to commit my life to. I’ve always had a way of knowing, “if this doesn’t work, do that.” I’ve been seasoned for that. When I’m introduced at commencements, and they list my accomplishments and honors, I get up and say, “I’m happy and blessed for all of those things, but let me tell you about some of my failures, the faceplants and the flops, because those will happen to you and those are what will make you.” I spent three months selling encyclopedias, and I never made a sale. There’s never been a more unlikely person to rise to CEO. It’s how you deal with the failures and how you pivot from those—that matter.
What are a few of your most memorable moments?
One was five years ago with the Global Fairness Initiative, a nonprofit studying the effects of being involved in Tupperware. They found women moved from being lower class to middle class, and their attitudes switched from “I’m not good enough” to “I am good enough.” After three years of involvement, the number of women connected through computers or smartphones went from one-third to 70 percent.
What is your outlook for the business model?
There is a transformation occurring, and it’s not just driven by COVID-19. With the creation of internet technologies combined with disintermediation taking out everybody in-between the seller and consumer, I don’t think there’s been a sweeter spot for our channel of distribution.
What advice would you like to share with our audience?
Real success is helping other people.
For the full interview with Rick Goings you can listen to the DSN podcast or watch the interview.
Rudy Revak is the craftsman behind multiple highly successful direct selling companies, including Symmetry and Xyngular, which he founded in 1995 and 2009, respectively.
As the Chairman and Founder of Global Ventures Partners, an investment capital firm committed to creating opportunities for common people to achieve uncommon results, Bevak was instrumental in the acquisition and rebranding of PUREhaven in 2016. Born in Altusried, Germany and the son of World War II refugees, Revak is also the author of Iron String, the turbulent true story of a life affected by war.
What inspired you to get involved in a direct selling business?
It’s a pretty easy answer: opportunity. I was born in Germany as a refugee, and when I was five years old, we moved to America. I was raised on a chicken farm in New Jersey, so I didn’t have a lot of opportunity. After three years in the U.S. Army and 13 months in Vietnam, I used the GI Bill to go to college. I thought that would be the answer for me. One day, a stranger called and invited me to a business presentation. There were guys in nice suits at the front of the room, and the first thing they did was write $30,000 on a board, which had my attention instantly. It was quite an investment in those days to start—$3,117—and I came home excited to show my dad. Three weeks later, my dad came to me with a check for $3,117. They had no money, and he had put up his farm and his house for me. It still makes me emotional to this day.
When did you make the commitment that direct selling was the right choice for you?
For the first nine months, I was the most terrific failure in the company. Did I have some doubts? Boy, you bet I did. One of the benefits of that investment is that I could not let my parents down; I had to make it work. Jim Rohn was in the business with us in the beginning, and one of his basic statements was: “For things to change, you have to change—and for things to get better, you have to get better.” That stuck in my mind, and that same philosophy has done well for me over these last 50 years.
What are a few of your most memorable moments?
I was doing well as an area coordinator in Baltimore and attended a conference by the leader of the Bestline company. Chuck Simmons, the International Vice President at that time, went to the front of the room and said, “If any of you in this room want to go international, let me know.” My buddy leaned over and, as a joke, said, “Hey, Rudy speaks German. Send his butt to Germany.” When I got back to Baltimore, my phone was ringing off the hook—this guy says he can’t find me fast enough to try to convince me to go to Europe. I became the sales leader and eventually the head of the German company for Bestline. From there, they sent me to Canada to build a Bestline business there and then Italy to do the same thing. Those were challenging days, but golly were they good days.
What is your outlook for the business model?
I remember when the internet became popular, and people said there wasn’t going to be any more direct sales. The internet was nothing but a tool that people used to share the opportunity and products, and I see that same thing today with social media. Yes, these tools make communication easier, but this business, in my opinion, never changes. It’s still a people business.
What advice would you like to share with our audience?
Have a dream and be willing to go to work. If your vision is big enough and it’s worth it, you’ll be willing to do the work.
For the full interview with Rudy Revak you can listen to the DSN podcast or watch the interview.
Larry Thompson was once called “The Architect of Wealth Building” by The Wall Street Journal. With more than 50 years of experience in direct selling, Thompson, along with Mark Hughes, the founder of Herbalife, laid the foundation for what has become one of the largest brands in direct selling.
Thompson is also known to be a mentor and coach to Rolf Sorg, founder of PM-International, which achieved over $1.7 billion in sales last year. Nicknamed the “Mentor to the Millionaires,” Thompson continues to coach many of the industry’s leading companies and top network marketing professionals from around the world with the still-timely and relevant training concepts he developed more than four decades ago.
What inspired you to get involved in a direct selling business?
I didn’t know what a business model was. I was a long-haired hippie construction worker with no education and no self-confidence or self-esteem. I came to a meeting because it was held at the Hyatt, and I always thought it would be cool to drive in there and have them open your doors. I’d never been to a hotel in my life. When I got there, I could identify with the products; they were clean and organic and pure and kind of fit with the environment I was in as a hippie. I started doing the demonstrations and getting so excited about it. That’s what got me moving.
When did you decide direct selling was the right choice for you?
I knew right away. I couldn’t understand why anyone wouldn’t want to buy these products. I had no sales experience, but I did know this: I thought everybody should have these products. That night Jim Rohn and I joined at the same meeting Bobby Depew was leading. Jim is now known as a philosopher, and Bobby is the original network marketing strategist. That’s where I learned all of my stuff. They inspired me to be able to think I could do more and believe in myself.
What are a few of your most memorable moments?
That very first meeting where I met Bobby and Jim. They saw that extra desire in me, that extra willingness to work. They saw it because they had it in themselves. The second is working with Mark Hughes. Mark really influenced me because he saw things slightly differently than I saw them. If it had not been for blending the naivety and simplicity he had with the experience I had, Herbalife would not have been what it is today. Meeting those three people and working with them the way I was able to work with them and create what we’ve been able to create—in business, that’s it.
What is your outlook for the business model?
We had such a banner year last year. Just like in 1980 when everything changed with audience language behavior, it’s changed again, and we have to adapt. How can we be so naïve as to think that we don’t have to change as dramatically as other businesses have? Network marketing is competing in this gig environment, where there are 60 plus million people out there looking for the same thing I was looking for 50 years ago.
What advice would you like to share with our audience?
Your past does not determine your future. With technology, a day is now a week, and a week is now a month, and a month is now a quarter. Speed is of the essence. Make a decision. Do it now and get ahead of the curve. That’s what we did in Herbalife; that’s what PM-International did.
For the full interview with Larry Thompson you can listen to the DSN podcast or watch the interview.
