Advancing against the odds

My career with Oriflame got off to a head start at age 16 when I persuaded my mother to join – so I could have Oriflame products to sell to my friends and to their mothers. Two years later, I was old enough to become a sales Consultant myself, and my mother and I continue to work closely – and successfully.

 My first Oriflame trip was to Crete in 1989 and there has been at least one new journey every year. But my successes meant battling against the odds – it was not common to be a male Leader in a cosmetics company. It took me longer than most to advance to Manager* and eventually I made it to Gold Director* in 1992.

But in Oriflame, there are always new opportunities, and in 1995 I was offered to become employed as Sales Manager. It was an exciting and instructive five years. But I longed to get back to being a Gold Director*, so I could return to doing what I consider the fun things — holding meetings, finding and developing people, and, above all, controlling my own time and income.

In 2004 I became a Diamond Director* when in only one week our sales were a cool 1 million SEK. Yes, the money is one good reason to be with Oriflame. Even better, no doubt, are the travel and other experiences.

I remember especially the 25th anniversary luxury Caribbean Cruise with 2,000 Oriflame people from 27 countries. In the beginning, I admit, I wasn’t really interested in cosmetics and skin care. But now they are my passion. I love it when I get to talk about our fantastic products, put really gorgeous make-up on someone, and see how
happy everyone becomes.

 It gets even better when I can invite them to join our fantastic company and decide for themselves how far they want to go. The company fundamentals of Togetherness, Spirit and Passion make me very proud to be part of  Oriflame.

Mikael Svanberg
Diamond Director
Sweden