Empowering entrepreneurship through networking and community

The stories behind successful entrepreneurs are rarely those of one person going it alone. There are always people along the way who played a key role at the right time.

Whether it was a crucial referral, a sounding board for advice, the sharing of wisdom, a beneficial partnership, marketing assistance or some good old fashioned manual labor, entrepreneurs need networks and community to succeed.

Having a strong network ensures others know your business exists. It opens up learning opportunities from others’ experiences. It builds strong relationships and key connections that might make all the difference during challenging times.

The Amway community: A global network of entrepreneurs

As an entrepreneur-led health and wellbeing company, Amway understands the importance of networks and community. For 65 years, Amway has offered people an opportunity to own their own businesses selling quality health, beauty, fitness and home products without the high risks and huge capital investments that typically accompany entrepreneurship.

Amway Independent Business Owners (IBOs) don’t have to worry about research, development, manufacturing, shipping, inventory, customer service or other overhead costs. Amway and its 14,000+ global employees handle all of that so IBOs can focus on marketing and selling products to customers and building sustainable businesses.

As a result, there are more than 1 million IBOs selling Amway products in over 100 countries and territories across the world, including about 300,000 in all 50 U.S. states and Canada. Oumar and Fatoumata “Dèdè” of Houston, Texas, are among them. They had tried a few entrepreneurial endeavors in the past before finding success with their Amway business about six years ago.

“Amway is a really good way for new and experienced entrepreneurs to explore business ownership without the typical barriers, mainly financial barriers, associated with starting a business from the ground up,” Oumar said.

The Amway experience: How IBOs benefit from the Amway network

When people register to become Amway IBOs, they have the immediate support of their sponsor who introduced them to the Amway business and other IBOs on the sponsor’s team. Team members are there to connect new IBOs to the free training available through Amway Education, as well as offer guidance, wisdom, advice and mentorship based on their own experiences with building a customer base and selling Amway™ products.

New IBOs also often get one-on-one coaching from their sponsors on sales and marketing strategies, leadership skills and how to build sustainable Amway businesses. IBOs might find they develop other new skills, too, such as communication and public speaking.

As IBOs continue to work at their Amway businesses and see results, they may become eligible for discretionary incentives, including a variety of annual Amway events where they can also network with other IBOs.

“(The Amway business) connects IBOs to each other, and now we have this vast network of individuals who are going through similar situations as us,” Dèdè said. “Amway is big on ‘being in business for yourself and not by yourself,’ and I think it’s one of the main reasons we’ve been successful at Amway.”

Impact of the Amway community

While the Amway network provides benefits to IBOs, Amway also provides benefits to the communities where it operates – a priority since the company was founded in 1959.

Amway’s global headquarters and manufacturing base is in Ada, Michigan and it owns and operates two certified organic farms as well as manufacturing facilities in Trout Lake and Quincy, Washington.

Combined, the company employs more than 3,300 Americans and continues to strengthen its U.S. operations, investing $300 million in U.S.-based manufacturing in recent years in addition to a $127.6 million expansion to be completed by 2026.

IBOs and Amway employees also give back to their communities through charitable giving and volunteer hours. Through contributions exceeding $315 million and more than 4.5 million volunteer hours, Amway employees and IBOs have supported over 14.5 million people in the past 20 years.

IBOs also contribute to their local economies by doing businesses as trusted sources for quality products. In 2022 alone, IBOs generated more than $55 million in tax revenue for the economy and more than $347 million in the past 6 years.

Do you want to learn more about Amway and global network of Independent Business Owners? Read more stories on the Amway Insider or click on “Start a Business” on Amway.ca.