Pros
I enjoy the fact that I chose my own neighborhood, after personally doing the research. I work from my home office and can set my own schedule. I have a large family, and this is a huge pro. The product is good - I've been in the print industry a long time and the residents do enjoy the magazines.
Cons
But setting my own schedule has meant that I work 10 -12 hour days, 5 days a week, setting appointments, meeting with clients, listening to daily conference calls, taking conference calls with administrative staff for instruction, as well as developing content for the publication each month. I have recruited a couple of volunteers to help me; otherwise I would have quit by now. We are strongly "encouraged" to spend our weekend time developing our phone lead list for each week, instead of spending time with our families. We are also expected to attend initial training, regional training, and national conferences on our own dime. When I was struggling, I was told to go and visit another director for "field training". Again, at our expense. (There was a standing offer that, if the field training was over 100 miles, a motel room would be provided, but it was like begging to get that to happen.) And all of this, as others have said, without making any money. Yes, it is commissioned-based, but many sales people are used to selling a product and being paid in a shorter sales cycle. Not everyone is a 3 month closer, not everyone can "set 200 appointments and go to print". And not everyone is geographically near a manager to get help. Oh, and not having more than one or two sample magazines to show is not great, either. Ante-up some of your profits and get each trainee enough materials to sell. My sample copy is dog-eared and looks pretty rough. I have asked for additional material and have yet to receive any. Lastly, I have to agree that having unprotected territories is tough - in my case, another ADC was placed in my backyard with no warning. Clients that I have spent months calling on are asking questions. It's healthier for the "team" if we are more informed. But this would probably get back to what another reviewer said about researching neighborhoods. Don't grow so fast that you forget about the feet on the streets!
