Tips for Getting Started as a Usborne Books Consultant

Today's "I Want to Be" series features Denise Ocker, who works as a Usborne Books consultant.  Denise has been married for 7 years; her husband is a dairy farmer.  She is a mom to two girls, ages 6 and 4, and they have another child on the way.  Find out how to connect with Denise at the end of this article.

How long have you had your business?

I started with Usborne books in October of 2011 and haven't looked back!

What led you to pursue it?

I wanted quality books for my children.  I had a party, but I didn't get all my books on my wish list. I decided to see how things would go if I joined Usborne. 

When I looked into the business one of the many things that stood out to me was that there was no monthly minimums. My husband and I talked, and he said go for it. It was a low start up cost, so I knew I wasn't going to lose any money. I started doing parties and it's been great. I love the extra income,  the library I've built for my girls, and the wonderful friendships that I have made.

Are you full time or part time?  If part-time, do you anticipate switching to full time?

Being in a direct sale company, I get to set my own hours. Currently, I would consider it part time, 20-30 hours a week. I work my business when it fits my schedule. If we have a busy month, I only work when I can. I love the no minimums because it leaves me feeling stress free when life throws a curve ball. For example, we took a week vacation in June and had some weekends with extended family. I didn't do much with Usborne that  month, but I wasn't worried at all. I just picked it back up in July and continued my business.

How do you market your business?

I market my business through my website: www.qualitybooks4u.com and on Facebook: www.facebook.com/UsborneBooksMoreWithDeniseOcker.  Also, word of mouth is a wonderful way to market your business to a wider range of people. When one guest tells 2 others about the amazing books she got, they get curious and soon they are great customers who tell their friends and family.

What is your favorite part of the business?

I love knowing that I am promoting literacy and making a difference in a child's life.

When you instill in a child the love of books and the importance of reading, you are setting them up to succeed in life. It helps them in all areas of life. I grew up reading all the time. I remember my Mom setting limits on how many books I could read in a day.

School was easy for me. I credit a lot of it to my love of reading.

The extra money is a bonus also. I love when I can show my husband a big deposit in our savings from Usborne. And that week we went to the beach? Usborne paid for the whole trip!! How great is that?

What advice do you have for others who want to get into a similar opportunity? 

If you are looking for a similar opportunity or a way to be a stay at home mom and still make some extra money, make sure you choose something that you are passionate about. Something you enjoy doing or talking about. For me, selling books was a perfect fit. I love books, and I wanted to provide my children with quality books. When I had started buying books for my first child I soon realize there were so many books from Disney, Nick and other branded characters. That is all good in itself, but I wanted something that would teach them about the real things of life. 

Find something that you love and put you whole heart into it.

What is the first step? 

Find someone who is willing to talk to you about their business. I personally talk to all my team members when they join. We meet once a month to talk about the business and learn from each other. If a team member can't make the meeting I will call them, and we will talk over the phone. We use email and Facebook to stay in touch throughout the month. 

If Usborne Books sounds like something you would like to know more about or you know it's something you want to try, just go to my website: www.qualitybooks4u.com and click on the Join link. There are 2 different kits. The $69 is a mini kit with just 8 books, and the full kit is $129 and comes with all the books you need to start your business. I would love to talk to anyone who would like more information about the business.

You can learn more about what Denise does at her Usborne Book's website.  You can also follow her on Facebook.