Thursday, November 20, 2008
by
Cindy Droog
One of my son's favorite books is "When I Grow Up," by P.K. Hallinan. It's an adorable book, in which each letter of the alphabet represents a different career. A is for Actor. J is for Jockey. Anthony's favorite is "V' for Veterinarian. I highly recommend the book.
That being said, I'll bet that when I was growing up, my mom never said to my dad, "I hope Cindy grows up to work at Amway." In fact, I'm quite sure that working here was never my dream, per se. And you certainly won't find it as a career option in any children's book.
Now that I'm on Facebook and am reconnecting with friends from years gone by, their reaction when they learn I work at Amway is mixed. (You have to remember that I'm not from Grand Rapids, or Michigan for that matter, and the company's favorability outside of its own community leaves a bit to be desired. We're working on it, though!)
Some have asked me if I sell soap. Others have asked me *not* to try to sell them anything. And one called me a sell-out. It hurt. He said he'd always envisioned me doing something "bigger" with my life.
That's when I decided to write this blog post. I''ve been burning to respond to this; and here's the best way I know how.
I've had an interesting career. It started in New York City, representing companies like Compaq and LaBatts Beer on the media relations front. I then ventured into sports public relations, working as PR Director for one minor league hockey team before hanging up my skates. Through a placement firm, I landed a temporary gig in Grand Rapids, Mich., a city I'd never even heard of.
I thought I'd be here for a year - tops. But then I landed a job at Felder Communications Group, a local ad and PR firm that gave me an opportunity to work with authors, and I'd always wanted to do that. While there, I met some of the best friends I have ever had, and will ever have. Grand Rapids started to grow on me.
My work at Felder eventually led me to another gig in which I helped lauch the first soy biodiesel product available in the Midwest. After all, I love the environment, too - even as much as sports and books!
Life brings with it twists and turns, and just as I was about to accept a job in Chicago working on the Gatorade account, my then-boyfriend (now husband) said he wanted me to stay. And I thank God every single day that I did.
To me, Amway seemed to be the perfect next stop on my career path. There is absolutely, positively, nothing I love more than helping small businesses. I did it in my agency life. Start-ups. Franchises. Joint ventures. New products. People with big dreams, and little money. When my clients succeeded, nothing felt better.
I found my passion.
Amway has more than 350,000 active independent business owners in North America, with dreams both big and small. And I get to use what I've learned over the past 15 years to help them. Every single day.
What I do for them is just a teeny tiny little piece of what they need to succeed, and I realize that. But working here allows me to do my small part. It inspires me. I sing in the car on my way to work every morning. And Amway gives me the work-life balance I need to be a great mom, and to volunteer in my community. I never had that luxury when I was an agency- or sports-gal.
So, if selling out means doing what I love, for people who I believe really appreciate it, on top of enjoying my growing family to the fullest extent possible, then yeah. I sold out.
And for the record, I'd do it again!