My life has been a bit like a rollercoaster, with a lot of ups and downs. But, my family and I are all still going strong. What saved us? Probably the friendships that this work has given me, all of which I’ve cherished for years. I often ask myself why I agreed to join the Tupperware world. I don’t quite know what attracted me to it, but I believe it was the challenge; a chance to show what I was made of. It certainly provided the boost I needed to get over a very difficult and troubled time that at one point cost my family everything we had. My husband had a trucking firm and I worked with him as a clerk. We’d made some risky decisions that unfortunately did not work out and our house had to be sold off. We rented a home and got back on our feet and I shortly began at Tupperware. The crisis taught all of us something about how to be careful with money and to not want everything at once. My husband was jobless for a long time and my work was crucial to pay our bills.
It all came about by chance. I attended a Tupperware party hosted by a neighbor, the way it happens to most of us. The demonstrator, without telling me anything, recommended me to her team leader. The following week she called to see if I’d be interested in giving it a try. I wanted to say no, but somehow I said yes. I was intrigued by the various products, but I knew myself; I never had a lot of patience and I thought it wasn’t the job for me. Instead, just a couple of months later I realized I was enjoying every minute of it. My family knew I was enjoying myself but soon realized the great commitment it meant. To me, it was a wonderful opportunity and I took it seriously. I had another morning job, working on a garment stall at the market, and I knew I could do both jobs without neglecting one or the other. Working as a sales assistant in the mornings never prevented me from doing demonstrations afternoons or evenings, but I decided after some time to devote myself full-time to Tupperware. Month after month, year after year, I’ve achieved a great deal and I have more self-respect.
Since I’d worked for my husband before, I had the idea I lacked great gifts or special qualities. Now I had a chance to be independent. But what really inspired me was that people liked me and enjoyed my company. They invited me to their homes to set up demonstrations and trusted both me and my products. At first my husband found it hard to believe I would keep up with the work, but I couldn’t afford to give it up. He didn’t understand at first, but eventually realized that it was a serious job with real benefits that was done by respectable people. If I needed help, he would be there to lend a hand.
I believe friendship means giving as well as taking. I have close ties with the friends I’ve made over the years and I think it's proof that this was the job for me. I always identify with people, including my customers. I understand sometimes they don’t buy because they’re not interested, or because perhaps they’re short of money. It does not hurt my feelings at all. The work has smoothed out some of the sharp edges in my personality because there is so much interaction involved. I’ve been very fortunate to meet some amazing people who have enriched me as a person.
I’ve cherished a lot of relationships that I have made through my work. The first person was Sara Berardi, who recommended me to her team leader and my first Distributor, Tony Placuzzi, who helped me to believe in my potential. Not to mention the many hosts over the years who have become close and irreplaceable friends. I never imagined so many wonderful people would become part of my life. Tupperware has changed my life because I believed in it. Of course there are times when things get complicated and it’s hard to move forward, but it’s when we are in trouble that we can prove to others and ourselves that we have that something extra that will make the difference. I never took it easy, even when things were going well. Our destiny really is in our own hands. I decided in 1994 (despite some misgivings) to take the plunge and become a team leader. It’s my job to choose and train the women who want to embark on this adventure. I teach them to stand on their own feet; exactly the way other extraordinary people did for me in the past. The only gripe I have is that I’ve never won a vacation with my husband. But he always tells me: “Go and have fun. I couldn’t keep up with your pace.” Like a lot of my colleagues, I’ve had had some wonderful vacations in recent years. I’ll always cherish the memories of my marvelous Baltic cruise and the visit to St. Petersburg, a city that I’d always dreamed of seeing. It was like something out of the Arabian Nights. We slept in grand hotels, with gala dinners and entertainments. From being Cinderellas in everyday life, there we became real princesses.
It all came about by chance. I attended a Tupperware party hosted by a neighbor, the way it happens to most of us. The demonstrator, without telling me anything, recommended me to her team leader. The following week she called to see if I’d be interested in giving it a try. I wanted to say no, but somehow I said yes. I was intrigued by the various products, but I knew myself; I never had a lot of patience and I thought it wasn’t the job for me. Instead, just a couple of months later I realized I was enjoying every minute of it. My family knew I was enjoying myself but soon realized the great commitment it meant. To me, it was a wonderful opportunity and I took it seriously. I had another morning job, working on a garment stall at the market, and I knew I could do both jobs without neglecting one or the other. Working as a sales assistant in the mornings never prevented me from doing demonstrations afternoons or evenings, but I decided after some time to devote myself full-time to Tupperware. Month after month, year after year, I’ve achieved a great deal and I have more self-respect.
Since I’d worked for my husband before, I had the idea I lacked great gifts or special qualities. Now I had a chance to be independent. But what really inspired me was that people liked me and enjoyed my company. They invited me to their homes to set up demonstrations and trusted both me and my products. At first my husband found it hard to believe I would keep up with the work, but I couldn’t afford to give it up. He didn’t understand at first, but eventually realized that it was a serious job with real benefits that was done by respectable people. If I needed help, he would be there to lend a hand.
I believe friendship means giving as well as taking. I have close ties with the friends I’ve made over the years and I think it's proof that this was the job for me. I always identify with people, including my customers. I understand sometimes they don’t buy because they’re not interested, or because perhaps they’re short of money. It does not hurt my feelings at all. The work has smoothed out some of the sharp edges in my personality because there is so much interaction involved. I’ve been very fortunate to meet some amazing people who have enriched me as a person.
I’ve cherished a lot of relationships that I have made through my work. The first person was Sara Berardi, who recommended me to her team leader and my first Distributor, Tony Placuzzi, who helped me to believe in my potential. Not to mention the many hosts over the years who have become close and irreplaceable friends. I never imagined so many wonderful people would become part of my life. Tupperware has changed my life because I believed in it. Of course there are times when things get complicated and it’s hard to move forward, but it’s when we are in trouble that we can prove to others and ourselves that we have that something extra that will make the difference. I never took it easy, even when things were going well. Our destiny really is in our own hands. I decided in 1994 (despite some misgivings) to take the plunge and become a team leader. It’s my job to choose and train the women who want to embark on this adventure. I teach them to stand on their own feet; exactly the way other extraordinary people did for me in the past. The only gripe I have is that I’ve never won a vacation with my husband. But he always tells me: “Go and have fun. I couldn’t keep up with your pace.” Like a lot of my colleagues, I’ve had had some wonderful vacations in recent years. I’ll always cherish the memories of my marvelous Baltic cruise and the visit to St. Petersburg, a city that I’d always dreamed of seeing. It was like something out of the Arabian Nights. We slept in grand hotels, with gala dinners and entertainments. From being Cinderellas in everyday life, there we became real princesses.