Explore Whitney Cardosi's journey in the Affiliate Marketing Industry

It’s funny, it actually reminds me of myself. My life has been kind of rootless. My family, my mom and dad were both born and raised in Utah and via Anchorage, Alaska we ended up in San Diego, California. So I was raised there from the time I was five and then moved to the Boston area about eight years ago, so into my early thirties. So, in some ways I feel like I kind of have always been rootless. Even though I grew up in San Diego, my family’s roots weren’t there. I also feel like whether it was my upbringing or just my personality, I’ve always been kind of a free spirit and I really do believe that my own rootless spirit is what got me to end up in direct sales, because it is very much a rootless industry. You can work wherever you are and as long as you have your cell phone, you can be successful in this business and I think that’s what appeals a lot of people to it. – Whitney Cardosi

I had a normal childhood. My mom was a teacher. My dad was a self-employed contractor. When I was growing up, I kind of felt like an outsider for being from Southern California. I was trying to always kind of keep up with the beach scene and things like that. My parents divorced when I was in middle school. My mom went back to school. It was very amicable and to this day they’re still good friends so I’m very fortunate there. My mom went back to school to get her master’s degree, and went into Administration. So, I think that instilled in me a lot of “female power” and that you can do anything. That was important but I also knew that I didn’t want to work in either of those industries. With teaching, I didn’t like the idea of starting a job and then knowing what I was going to do for the rest of my life. To me, I needed more excitement, I needed change and things like that. I loved that my dad owned his own business. I was always attracted to that. So I think those were kind of instilled in me as a young child. – Whitney Cardosi

So I went to college at UC Santa Barbara, which is a gorgeous campus. I really had no idea what I wanted to do. I think I’m like a lot of people, especially when you’re 18, you don’t know what you’re going to do. So I chose Communication as my major, which at my school was not Media Communication. It was Interpersonal Communication. So I figured whatever, it will at least help me, which was one smart decision I feel I made. I really did learn a lot from that, but I really didn’t have a passion for any particular career path or industry, so that was challenging for me. I really always just wanted success, but I didn’t really ever want to in a traditional way.I never liked being told where to be or what to do, not that I have a problem with authority, but I just wanted to be able to be more in control of my career path, I think. So that isn’t necessarily where I ended up at first, but it’s certainly what drew me to where I am now. – Whitney Cardosi

I did a lot of different things out of college. I did sell cutlery for a hot second. I went to houses and that was my first experience with sales, if you will. I really was all over the place during the first three years out of college. At one point I was in Honduras for three months because I was going to improve my Spanish, but I really just learned how to scuba dive. So, when I came back is when I really had my first career, if you will, and that was actually with Enterprise Rent-A-Car. I learned so much from that company about what I wanted and what I didn’t want. It’s where most of my business acumen came from. I learned how to run a business, how to treat customers, and how to manage employees. You learn the overhead and how to manage every aspect of the details of your branch. However, I also learned what I didn’t want, which was that I didn’t want to work in a retail environment. I didn’t want to have to be the person that was there to open the doors or close the doors. I wanted more flexibility. I loved the idea of running a business, but not in a traditional brick and mortar sense. So, I was with them for about five or six years and I learned so much. I met my husband there. That’s where we met, in San Diego. He had moved out there. So that was my first job. I stayed in the automotive industry when we moved to Boston, but I had a traditional kind of corporate job. I got a referral and just ended up there. I didn’t have a lot of passion for it, but I’m always a hard worker, so I was good at what I did. It was pretty easy, but I didn’t have any real passion for it. Then it all kind of changed after I had my first daughters and I ended up where I am today. – Whitney Cardosi

I think that with any opportunity, timing is everything. So when I originally became aware of this business model, it wasn’t the right time for me. I wasn’t yet married, I didn’t own a home, I didn’t have kids. I didn’t have a lot of responsibility other than just myself and my job. So, I didn’t really need the time freedom that this business can offer. I didn’t need an additional income stream, which now I know that everyone needs an additional income stream. So fast forward, I started using the nutrition side of the arbonne products. I had used its skin care before that. So, my daughter was about nine months old at the time. I was just looking to feel better, get healthier but at the same time I had really lost the passion in my job and this was back in 2015 going into 2016. So we’re in 2021, almost 2022 now. So even though that was only five or six years ago, companies were very different back then. You didn’t see the flexibility that you have now. I think that one blessing that came out of this pandemic is that more companies allow remote workers and they understand the work life balance, unlimited PTO and all those things but in my environment, we didn’t have that. So, I had 10 to 14 vacation days a year and that just wasn’t enough for me to travel for fun and then travel to see my family. I had this daughter now that I was raising in Boston, but I wanted my family in Utah to see her more. So that’s really where it came from, it was the first time I ever understood the concept of time freedom. I already was using the products I finally had this different understanding of the business model and realized that it was exactly what I was looking for, which was the ability to replace my corporate income, but on my own terms, being my own boss without the overhead of a traditional business and where I could do it wherever I was. At the time, my vision was traveling all over the place. You don’t realize, you’re not going to do that that much when you have young kids but we still do more than most people and I love that I can take my business with me everywhere. – Whitney Cardosi

I think for me and for everyone, it’s a little bit different. For me, it truly was that concept of time freedom but I also loved that unlike traditional businesses, you really can be successful in just a couple of hours a day. So, I built my business with Arbonne for three years alongside my corporate job. So, instead of sitting at my desk scrolling through social media on lunch, I booked a conference room and I went in there and I got to work. When I came home and put my daughter to bed, instead of sitting and vegging out some Netflix, I got to work. I might have done it on the couch with my husband but I was having conversations with people and I was reading books and educating myself on the industry and my company. I come from a corporate environment as I was and still am a professional. So, I love inspiring women that are successful in business to know that you can do both if you want. We all know having additional income streams is so important right now. So, I love that. I love that I could build it alongside my job but then when I had my second daughter I also loved that I had built it enough that I could walk away from my corporate job. So, I’ve done this now as my sole income for three years. Part of me sometimes thinks I will potentially add in another career path because I have the time to do that. Again, why not have additional income streams? However, it served me perfectly at that time. I didn’t know the pandemic would come but the fact that we never had to worry about where we were going with that was key. So, the time freedom was important. The other key thing was being in control of my income. In a corporate environment, you work really hard to sit down once a year and have your annual review and have somebody else determine what your salary or your raise will be. While I was generally treated well by my employers, at the end of the day, it was up to them. So, I love that this business is effort based and that you are in control of your income and it’s up to you how hard you want to work to how fast you want to grow and how much money you want to make, and that there’s no ceiling, which is really exciting. – Whitney Cardosi

I think it’s really simple. The first most important thing is to just do it. Most people say ‘no’ because of fear. It’s either the fear of failure, or fear of opinion, what will other people think or just fear of the unknown. I am so grateful for this opportunity because I truly think a lot of people just don’t understand what it takes to build these businesses. For so many people, if they don’t understand it, a confused mind just says ‘no’. My biggest piece of advice is to just jump in. Enthusiasm is so important. I always say ignorance on fire is better than knowledge on ice. The other thing is just super obvious: Use the products. Whatever company you’re with, you need to build trust with your consumer base. So while you don’t need to buy the whole catalog out the gate and I wouldn’t even encourage that, you just need to start somewhere. So start with some products, use them, figure out what you love about them, share those with other people, and then slowly start to incorporate whatever else your company sells, just like you would in your own store. – Whitney Cardosi

I think it depends which generation you’re talking to. So, my parents’ generation think of their brother in law who worked for Amway and because we didn’t have social media then, it was all about going into people’s homes and selling. We still do that. Surprisingly, they actually are still very successful because people, especially after the pandemic, crave that and that personal connection. Then you have the younger generation and their misconception is that if they just show up on Instagram and post the product, they’re going to be successful. Yes, it’s a marketing tool and it’s an amazing way to share with thousands of people what you’re doing. However, if you don’t show up consistently and you don’t ask, you’ll never get a sale without the ask. So it is a huge misconception that they can just show up, show some products and people are going to come running to them to buy what they’re offering. When you still have to go out there and do the work. Then of course, there’s the stigma. People in direct sales, we are our own worst enemy. Sometimes we’re spammy, right? We’re reaching out to people in an inauthentic way or we’re talking about products that we don’t actually even use or we’re making this huge announcement that we’re starting this business and then the next day we quit or are with another company. So, I think I wish more people in this industry would be less flaky, I guess there’s a better way to put it. So that’s my goal as a leader is to just try to show people who come into this business with me to be authentic, be real, be genuine, be grateful, because that’s what will make you successful. – Whitney Cardosi

We are totally fine with Jennifer Aniston showing up and saying that she uses a Aveeno when she doesn’t but then when your friend who uses a product that they actually do love and share and they show up and are offering to sell that, now all of a sudden that’s taboo. It’s weird and unfortunate, but it’s reality. So we try to teach people that you just have to get out there and share and you have to know that people will say ‘no’ and your product or your business isn’t for everybody. However, our job is to just share with as many people and let them decide. I think the misconception is that it’s our job in direct sales to convince people to use our products or do our business. It’s not. It’s just to offer it and then educate and let people make their own decision and you have to be okay with that. Most people have a fear of rejection but you have to be very gritty and you do have to develop a little bit of a tough skin in this business because you do hear ‘no’ a lot. That’s okay because your product isn’t for everybody but the people who it is for and that love it, that’s where you just have to place your gratitude and really thrive off of that. At the same time, I think people need to understand that there’s different ways to support your friends in direct sales. We in direct sales need to understand that as well. Not everyone’s going to show support in buying your products. Sometimes it’s just going to be a pat on the back or a referral and sometimes people won’t do anything but that’s okay. That’s not their job, right? They’re not here solely to support you. – Whitney Cardosi

I think that the beauty in this business is and you can be successful without that. I don’t mean that in a bad way, but direct sales really is a business in a box. It’s perfect for people that are looking to bring in an additional income or sole income, be their own boss, but without the financial investment that would be required in starting a traditional business. So that’s what appeals to a lot of people, it is a business in a box. It’s already there for them. Of course you want to set yourself apart from everybody else in the direct sales industry, not necessarily within your own company, but with others. That just comes down to being genuine and ‘you’. I think that’s true in any business. You have to show up, you’re enthusiastic, you’re passionate, you’re honest, you come from a place of service and gratitude and not ‘self’ and ego. That’s going to be what makes you successful. Just have fun with it. – Whitney Cardosi

I think that it’s something that is going to always grow with a person, and I think it’s going to be different for each person. However, it is very important that you sit down and actually figure out who that person is. For some companies it might be multiple, based on what products you offer and it may evolve over time. However, I think it’s extremely important and this isn’t something that I really dug into until a few years into my business. I think the mistake a lot of people make is they try to appeal to everybody instead of just one person. When you’re okay with just sharing or having this ideal client, there are some people that you may not speak to, but you’re going to have more success and engagement with that particular person because you’re speaking directly to them. So, I think it’s different for everybody, but it’s important to sit down and figure out who that is based on who you are, who you are in contact with every day, and what is your product. For me, for a long time, I tried to just appeal to all women, but I found that really my niche is moms. That’s my life. That’s who I’m around on a daily basis, the majority of people I talk to are other moms. The products changed my life because it made it easier for me to be a better mom. It gave me energy through my health and all of those things and the business allowed me to be more present with my kids. I think a lot of people will figure out that niche over time. – Whitney Cardosi

So, one of the things I love about Arbonne is just how long we’ve been around. That’s really important for anyone looking into direct sales. I find longevity is important because the majority of direct sales companies don’t make it past the ten year mark. So, while there’s a lot of appeal for start ups, just like in any company which is great and it can be beneficial, there’s always going to be that unknown as well. So for someone like me, who has this as their sole career or income (for me, not in my family), I want to make sure I’m with a company that’s not going anywhere. Arbonne has been around since 1981, so 42 years by the time we’re filming this. Our founder was a Swedish gentleman named Petter Mørck and he worked in the personal care industry and he brought those European formulations to the United States, but he wanted to use less toxic ingredients, which is pretty revolutionary. In 1981, no one was really talking about toxic ingredients, vegan products or all of these things. I don’t even know if vegan was really a term back then, definitely not as popular as it is now. So we started in skin care, but really our goal was just clean ingredients. We have reformulated, we reformulate all the time as we become more educated about ingredients that we’re using. So we’re not just passionate about formulating with clean ingredients, but also where we’re sourcing them from. So they’re very sustainably sourced throughout the country. That’s very important. then we’ve also expanded that product line then into other major product lines like make up and nutrition. That’s where I find most of my clients because it’s what I use the most. I use all of our products. Everything I’m wearing, all my makeup is Arbonne, my skincare is Arbonne But I talk the most about nutrition. That’s also because it is a growing industry right now. – Whitney Cardosi

So we have a wide variety. They’re all labeled supplements by the FDA. I kind of hate that term, but it is what it is. So I’d say our core product is our Protein Powder. It’s amazing, tastes delicious and iIt’s vegan. Another very popular product is our Energy Fizz Stick. Of course, everything we make is plant based vegan. It’s a great alternative to coffee or sodas, and it’s just a more natural, clean source of energy. So most people get introduced to our nutritionists or our 30 Days to Healthy Living program, which is where we teach people to eat clean, eat whole foods, eliminate foods that are causing inflammation and things like that. Then we incorporate the supplements sort of as an easy button, if you will. So it’s just like a 1-stop-package and then people kind of expand from there. – Whitney Cardosi

I would say your typical direct sales leader is leveraging it all. In our business your network is your net worth. So the more you can grow your network in whatever way works for you is great. So, for a lot of women that’s just about talking to others. When you’re at your kid’s basketball game, instead of being on social media, have a conversation with somebody and just start building a relationship. You’re not passing out your product, but just building that relationship. Certainly use social media. When I started my business six years ago, Facebook was still the most commonly used platform. I leveraged that immensely. The fact that I could reach out and have a conversation with somebody whose phone number I didn’t have and I could do that through Facebook Messenger, Instagram was huge. So, social media is great that way. We do a lot of presentations on Zoom. I also use those just to have a one-on-one type conversation. We still do a lot of in-person, in-home events which are still really a huge thing. There’s a lot of people that don’t want anything to do with those and that’s fine but I still love them. They’re so fun, I love being around people. So whether it’s, sitting on a couch with a handful of friends or meeting for coffee, I still think that that one personal “Belly-to-Belly” is so important but we kind of use it all. I love that as long as you’re willing to just have a conversation with someone, you can be successful. – Whitney Cardosi

I get that a lot. Actually, I am very outgoing, extroverted, I love social media and I love networking. I love all of that. I think for a lot of people, they can be intimidated by that because they do think that that’s what they need to do but honestly, I really think sometimes that some of the most successful people are introverts. It may take longer for them to get out of their shell, but they’re better at that one on one conversation. One of the most important things to building a business in direct sales and attracting other people that want to build a business is to keep it simple and duplicatable. Sometimes I almost feel like I have to hold back a little bit on that sort of outgoingness that I have because I want everyone to think that they can do it because they truly can. Do I think over time, as you build a team, you do become more influential within your own network and whatnot? Definitely. However, it’s certainly not a requirement to start out or become successful. – Whitney Cardosi

Great question. So of course, it runs the gamut. You have people that get their consultant ID and never do anything and iIn that case, it takes forever. You have other people that jump in and for whatever reason, they are hugely successful super fast. For the sake of the conversation, I’ll talk about the average journey. So I think it’s important for people to understand that this isn’t a ‘get rich quick’ scheme. Yes, there are people that are very successful very fast, but for the majority of people, it takes time. So I always ask people: What’s your five year vision? Most people underestimate what they can do in five years but overestimate what they can do in one. So, if you’re willing to stick something out for over a year and then even into that five year mark, that’s where you see the most success. The best thing about this business, though, is you’re making more money every month or every year as you grow. So it’s not like you’re going from 0 to 1,000,000 in five years. You’re growing every month or every year. I would say that if you’re willing to stick it out for that first year – 18 months is where you’ll really start to see that growth, because things just take time. People take time and you’re going to build credibility just by doing that in and of itself. – Whitney Cardosi

Most companies are going to have a resource library, which is awesome. Again, it’s kind of a business in a box. So, usually you can go there for any educational tools or training resources that you can share with your clients, whether it’s an overview on a project or anything like that. Most business leaders are probably going to have some sort of team platform, whether it’s a Facebook page or in my team’s case, we use an app called Band, which a lot of people like because it’s not on Facebook. Not everyone’s on there anymore, a lot of people are leaving it. So I love that. So, use social media or  Zoom, but like I said earlier, this is one of the few companies or industries where you really learn as you are. So, you just kind of jump and be coachable and you’re going to get a lot of your tools and resources just from your upline which are your leaders, etc. – Whitney Cardosi

We kind of touched on it earlier. So I think it’s about the concept of understanding that your products and your business aren’t for everybody. Most people start these businesses because they were super passionate about the products and they can’t imagine that everyone they talked to won’t have the same passion and that’s just not the case. Using my industry as an example, not everyone’s passionate about health and wellness. We tend to assume that everyone wants to get healthy and while maybe they think that in their head, a lot of people aren’t willing to actually do that. Let’s take make-up for example. Maybe your company does make up, maybe it does hair like or fitness clothes. Not everyone’s going to be passionate and I wish I would have known out of the gate that not everyone was going to love my products or be as passionate about them as me because while I still maybe would have asked them, I wouldn’t take it personally if they said ‘no’. That’s something I try to be very upfront about with new team members on my team. I tell them that they are going to hear ‘no’ and that’s really important because grit and thick skin is important as any entrepreneur but in this industry more so than others. – Whitney Cardosi

I think it’s so different for everybody, but for me, the first three years were different compared to now because I was building it alongside my corporate job. Just to give that as an example for people who are working, my car was a rolling library. I was listening to training or audio books to educate myself on leadership or my industry. I was squeezing in conversations here and there walking from one meeting to the other. I was utilizing our conference rooms and then I was doing a lot at night. Nowadays, because I am not in that 9 to 5 job anymore, I get to have all of that flexibility and freedom. I’m just very much an average mom. So I get up, I have two girls are three and six and get them to school. I usually take my younger one. We belong to Lifetime Gym, which is a great facility, so I utilize that as my office space most mornings. I get in a workout and then I spend a couple of hours there. Sometimes my work is just meeting new people and having conversations and building those relationships. My three year old still naps, thankfully, so that’s where I do the bulk of my business, of my administrative things, reaching out to clients, making sure their orders have arrived, checking whether they have any questions. I coach a lot of people through our 30 day program, so I check in with them and how they are doing. I check in with my team. That’s where I might do some of my social media content at that time. Then the rest of the afternoon is just about being a mom. Then a lot of times they do things in the evenings, whether it’s hanging out to go to an in-person meeting or for example, I have a new girl launching her business so they’re doing that on Facebook. So, there’s a lot we do in the evenings, but it’s totally up to you and you just work it around your schedule. – Whitney Cardosi

Yeah, I think that’s true. I think the beauty of this business is that we all start with zero, especially when it comes to clients. So I think that’s where we as leaders build our own credibility because and can work well with team members because we were where they are. As long as you’re coachable, we will teach you to do what we did that made us successful and I love that. I do think there’s a misconception that you have to have a lot of social media followers to be successful, but we know that’s not the case because people were building these businesses before social media existed. I will say, I think what builds credibility the most in this industry is being honest and genuine and then longevity is really important. The longer you’re in this business, the more referrals you’re going to get, the more people are going to take you seriously in your business. – Whitney Cardosi

Yeah, it’s so important. It’s probably the top three things we tell our team members: “You have to be doing self-development every day”. Most people don’t expect that. They think you’re going to talk to them about how to get sales and how to convince people but truly when you’re in business for yourself and you are the only person that determines whether you’re going to wake up and work your business every day, you have to have that grit and that positive mindset. So that comes certainly from reading books, right? I think John Maxwell and any of those self-development books are all amazing. That’s super important. So just work towards having a general positive mindset. I think I’m fortunate that I’ve always had that naturally, but you have to grow it every single day because you are your own coach. You can be your own worst enemy as well. That’s super important because it’s easy to get discouraged. You also need to have a mindset of gratitude as well, because you have to be grateful for what you have even though you may not be where you want to be quite yet; be grateful for the clients that you do have. I think in this industry, a lot of times we will get the opposite right. We think about all of the people that aren’t buying our products or aren’t talking to us, are ghosting us, as opposed to appreciating having three clients and being grateful for them because they’re what might have started your business. Have that service mindset of just being out there looking to help people solve problems for them with your products and your business. I feel like if more people in our industry had that mindset as opposed to constantly thinking what’s in it for them, they would see a lot more success. – Whitney Cardosi

For me, it always comes back to self development. For example, in spring I had COVID really bad. I ended up in the hospital and it was really easy for me to think about all those work days I had missed but the beauty of this industry is that it still works itself. You still have clients ordering products, you still have team members working in their business, sometimes even more because they know you need it. So we always say it’s okay to have a pity party for an hour, but then you get back on your course and you keep going. That’s where grit is so important. Again, as an entrepreneur, you’re going to have those days where you’re questioning what you’re doing or you’re going to have a bad day, but it’s only up to you whether you get up and do it again. So, yes, we have bad days, but whenever I need to get out of that, I always start with a training or reading a book and that typically sets me in the right direction. – Whitney Cardosi

Just do it. so many people overthink it and that overthinking is what holds you back. Like I said earlier, ignorance on fire is so important, that’s my biggest advice. At least just ask questions, get to know what this is all about, Give it a try. The beauty about this business is that you really have nothing to lose. For most companies, you need to make a very small investment and if they’re asking you to invest more than a few hundred dollars, that’s probably a red flag. So I love this business because it’s people that want to be entrepreneurs, that want to work for themselves but don’t want to take out a loan for hundreds of thousands of dollars and take that risk. However, that’s also what makes it kind of a flakey business because you don’t have that skin in the game and makes it really easy to quit. So, just jump in. You really have nothing to lose. Most companies have a return policy. Just do it and have fun, be passionate and use the products. – Whitney Cardosi

Yes, 100%. Absolutely. – Whitney Cardosi