Mother who owns three houses and an Audi convertible reveals how she turns over £3MILLION a year... selling Body Shop products at parties
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Loading... - J. OLIVEIRA
- 16 Jul 2020
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A mother-of-two who quit her £32,000-a-year high-pressure job to spend more time with her family is ranking in a six-figure salary - after buying a £45 kit to host an at-home pamper party.
Mandy Philpott, from Cheshire, grew tired of working 60-hour weeks when a chance encounter with a neighbour led her to become a consultant for The Body Shop At Home, selling beauty products to friends - earning about £55 a night.
The 53-year-old, who is married to husband Bruce and now manages a team of 1,000 people, turning over millions of pounds a year, owns three properties, drives a luxury Audi convertible and goes on five-star holidays around the world.
After spending 11 years working her way up through the ranks of the a logistics company, Mandy - who now earns £110,000 in commission alone - struggled to fit her demanding job around caring for her then young children, Oliver and Nick.
'I did enjoy it but I was working 60 hours a week, spread over five or six days depending on the projects,' she said.
Even when she got home from a hard day at the office, Mandy couldn't ignore her work. 'My youngest son's birthday is on New Year's Day and it broke my heart being on call that day,' she said.
Mandy recalled one particularly heart-breaking incident while picking her sons up from nursery. She felt on the verge of tears as she battled to juggle everything.
Despite receiving a good salary and a company car, Mandy felt as though she could no longer juggle her hectic work life with her family life and decided to quit her job in 2003.
She took a year out to spend time with her sons and Bruce, 48, who was studying for a degree in business studies.
Later that year a neighbour invited Mandy to her house for a The Body Shop At Home party.
'The Body Shop lady who was presenting and demonstrating all of the products said that during the day she was a school teacher,' Mandy said.
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Mandy, pictured with husband Bruce, decided to become a Body Shop At Home consultant
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Mandy, pictured on holiday, said she has her 'feet on the ground' when it comes to money
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Thanks to her high turnover, ambitious Mandy has been able to treat herself to a luxury Audi A3 S convertible
'She was 29 and had only been in the profession for a few years but felt under a lot of pressure.
'She decided to launch a Body Shop business as a side project. I just sat there thinking, "I could do this".'
After purchasing a £45 Pamper Kit, which contained The Body Shop products and business tools, Mandy became a consultant in 2004, earning up to 30 per cent of each sale.
She said: 'I began working part-time, two or three evenings a week to fit it in around my family.'
In the early days, Mandy says she made between £55 to £150 per night and was encouraged to hold around four parties a month.
'It's a very people-orientated job, you just need to be very good at chatting to people,' she added.
Mandy spent the next four years working her way up to become an area manager and in 2010, she was promoted to the position of senior executive manager.
'If you grow your business and become a manager with a team you will also earn commission from their sales too increasing your monthly salary,' she said.
She now manages a team of over 1,000 people.
'My ladies are all fabulous and we get on brilliantly,' she said.
'I have mums who want to stay at home and fit work around their children, as well as professional people who tend to do it as a side project.'
'It gives ladies the opportunity to run a home-based business and the decision about how hard they want to work,' she said.
'I could go and care for my mother but shove my laptop in the back of the car and work wherever.
I don't work more than 40 hours a week, and that would be a busy week
'I have also been able to attended every parents evening and not miss out on things with my children.'
Mandy has treated her two sons Oliver and Nick to their own properties in Cheshire for when they are ready to settle down
In 2011 Mandy was fast tracked to become a regional manager.
But despite her new high-profile role her work-life balance didn't suffer: 'I don't work more than 40 hours a week - and that would be a busy week.
'I travel around the country twice a month if I have big regional meetings to attend, training to do or events in London.'
With an estimated turnover of over £3 million which is expected to grow by 10 per cent in the next year, Mandy is able to now treat herself and her loved ones to the finer things in life.
The 53-year-old enjoys luxury breaks, jetting off to exotic destinations such as Thailand and Mauritius
Despite her wealth, Mandy has no ambitions to move out of her four-bedroom detached house in Cheshire
When she started with The Body Shop Mandy, pictured on holiday, would make 'between £55 to £150' per night and was encouraged to hold around four parties a month
'I'm a feet on the ground type of person when it comes to money,' she said.
'But I do enjoy splashing out on my family and friends.'
Although she's not planning to upgrade her four-bedroom home any time soon, she has bought a one-bedroom and two-bedroom home in Cheshire for her sons Oliver, 21, and Nick, 27.
'I love my house. I don't want anything bigger,' she said. 'My youngest son has just finished university.
'I have cleared off his student debt and have refurbished two homes for when both of my sons have stopped partying and are ready to settle down.'
Mandy and her husband Bruce are also planning to buy a holiday home in France.
She has also splashed out on an Audi A3 S and enjoys 'three to four' exotic trips a year to destinations such as Thailand and Mauritius.
What advice would she give others considering party hosting as a career?
'Anyone can do it. You just have to love the product and love talking to people.
'I ordered a starter pack all those years ago and the rest is history,' she said.
Mandy has treated Oliver and Nick to their own properties in Cheshire for when they are ready to settle down
Mandy, pictured outside luxury jewellers Tiffanys, said 'anyone' can do what she has as long as they 'love the product and love talking to people'
