Unstoppable Foresight

Born with a degenerative eye disease, Arlene Maus hasn't let that prevent her from becoming one of Avon's top-selling Representatives.

Arlene Maus
Although visually impaired at birth from a progressive genetic eye disease called retinitis pigmentosa, in which peripheral and center vision is gradually lost, it wasn't until Arlene Maus was 19 that she was declared legally blind It effectively ended her career as a nurses aide. In fact, not only couldn't Arlene find work in the medical profession any longer, she couldn't find work anywhere. A serious car accident on Christmas night in 1984 only added to Arlene's financial woes. “I almost died in that car accident and as I recovered I gained a lot of weight and I wasn't able to do anything,” says Arlene. “We had so many bills and my husband said, 'we've got to find a way to get another income.'”

Arlene joined Weight Watchers and met an Avon Representative who was also a member. As Arlene began shedding the extra weight-eventually dropping 55 pounds-she became more interested in her appearance and started buying Avon products from the Representative. After noticing an increase in Arlene's confidence level, the Representative encouraged Arlene to start selling Avon herself.

With help from her husband, Richard, Arlene packed up Avon brochures and took them door-to-door throughout her neighborhood. She was immediately hooked on Avon. “When I first started selling, I was on my own and I literally went door-to-door selling Avon and I loved what I did so much and I was so determined to prove that I could be a businesswoman even with impaired vision,” says Arlene.

Arlene's determination to succeed earned her membership into President's Club her first year, followed by Honor Society her second year and Rose Circle her third year. Her career has been riding high ever since, and in 1997 Arlene was named an Avon Woman of Enterprise - an annual award honoring Avon Representatives who, in true partnership with Avon, has achieved the pinnacle of success.

A Family Affair
Today, Arlene's business is so vast-the Inner Circle member has over 600 Customers and had more than $325,000 in sales last year-she relies on her four children, Jessica, 24, Jennifer, 23, Meganne, 17, and Jonny, 15, for help. Although Jessica and Jennifer have successful Avon careers of their own-they're both President's Club members-they along with the two younger children are involved in making sure their mother's business continues to succeed.

“My children have been in business with me since birth,” says Arlene. “It's a lot of work when you're getting $15,000 in orders. It takes about 24 hours to enter the orders, two days to pull all those orders and two days to bag all those orders and go through the invoices and get them ready for pick-up, and my children help me.” Arlene also depends on an assistant to help her with computer entries.

To keep her Customer base growing, Arlene uses 103 helpers to find new Customers and gives them a 20 percent discount when they place their orders with her. But Arlene is still hands-on in her search for new Customers. She continues to go door-to-door and routinely blankets her hometown of Green Bay, Wisconsin, in Avon brochures, leaving them in her local stores, at service stations and banks. She even gives her business card to waitresses whenever she goes out to eat in a restaurant.

Staying on Top
To ensure that her sales keep growing, Arlene says that she continually invests in her business, spending money on printing business cards and labels with her contact information, which she places on all her brochures and samples. “You've got to let people know what you're doing. I know that it's not easy for some Representatives to start a conversation with potential Customers, but you have to be proud of the fact that you sell Avon. Let people know, 'I sell Avon, are you interested in buying some products?'” Making a sale, says Arlene, is especially easy when you're wearing the products. “I can't tell you how many rhinestone slides I sell just by wearing them. Take advantage of using your products and be proud of what you're selling,” advises Arlene.

And don't let a physical disability deter you from having the life you want. “Being blind is my disability, not my handicap and it's never an excuse for failure,” says Arlene. “Being blind is not an excuse to stay home and not be successful.”