The taste of victory

I am a lucky person. I grew up in a big working class family which always lived by the principle that “by helping others, you help yourself ”. As a child I dreamed of becoming a singer or an actress. I promised myself that I would study and work hard to make sure that my children would  have a better life than I did.

These days we shelter our children against life’s difficulties. It was different for me. I earned my first money when I was 13. By age 16 I was studying public catering in a technical school, working and learning to sew. I dreamed of seeing the world and that’s why I took a job working in the restaurant car of a train. At 19, I travelled the length and breadth of Russia, from Vladivostok to the Baltic.

Then, in 1990, I opened a small business manufacturing fur hats. It was my first experience of private enterprise, and though all went well, I’ve never had a feeling of real satisfaction from traditional business.

One fine day, I met a friend who told me: “Look what a wonderful complexion I have now! A beauty Consultant gave me some great advice about cosmetics – super! Do you want to meet her too?” That was my first encounter with direct sales. I bought a full range of skincare products and a lot of cosmetics. Moreover, I became very interested in working in direct sales, too. I went to Moscow on seminars, where I sat in the first row, looking at the women on stage and saying to myself: “I want this too!”

I came to Oriflame somewhat halfheartedly in 1999. I was invited to a meeting with Polezhaevas. Tamilla and Vladimir displayed their cheques and a car presented by the company. I counted up their results and compared them with mine.

In our business it is necessary to have patience. The first thing I did was to invite five people to a meeting. I started holding presentations, telling people about the company – in fact I didn’t know anything about the products yet! But I studied like crazy. And my efforts paid off: by January 2000 I’d reached Director status, advancing to Gold Director just five months later. In 2001, Sapphire Director and Diamond Director followed in rapid succession. I earned my Double Diamond in 2002, and rose toExecutive Director in 2003.

The secret of my success? I prefer the rigours of daily competition to a humdrum, guaranteed existence, and love the taste of victory. Oriflame is an international company with very high standards. If you wish to become successful – start developing yourself! This is the main prerequisite. Oriflame is my company, and I will be with it forever!

Valentina Akopyan
Executive Director
Russia