New year begins with lots of good news for the channel
Economic turmoil, political chaos, a frightening global pandemic, an overdue social justice movement and more #metoo revelations, murder hornets and wild fires, masks, social distancing, remote work, online school and isolation.
Though many uncertainties remain for 2021, to be sure, most of us are just glad 2020 is over. There’s something satisfying about packaging up the past in a neat little 12-month box and putting it away to focus on the year ahead.
The Federal Trade Commission has been busy policing income claims during COVID-19 and plans to be even more diligent in the coming year. Our cover story details the agency’s new program “Operation Income Illusion,” a full-court press against illegal claims that the agency says have run rampant during the pandemic. Nevertheless, even with the pandemic as a backdrop, there’s a lot of good news in this issue of Social Selling News.
Quite a large percentage of both public and private companies in the channel have done remarkably well in both sales revenue and recruitment of new distributors.
As social distancing and lockdown slowed down many gig economy opportunities such as UBER, Lyft and Airbnb, direct selling opportunities rose to the forefront, and many existing sellers benefited from increased sales.
Our feature on page 8, “Direct Selling CEOs Reveal 2021 Growth Plans,” shares how many companies are positioning themselves competitively for the “new normal,” a phrase everyone is tired of but can’t stop using.
There’s no doubt things have changed and much of what we have been used to will never return, at both a professional level and a personal one.
Here’s to hoping that 2021 brings a greater share of good news and opportunities for more people.