What's the best way to reconcile work and family life?

INDEPENDENT HOME SELLERS

We're going to help you find out everything you need to know about VDI status.

First of all, let's set the scene! For many women, especially those who have devoted themselves fully to their jobs as mothers, it's not easy to position yourself as an expert in the world of business, or to display your specialised know-how, or to turn your private life upside down. Retraining isn't always a panacea either...

That's why a career in sales is a practical and realistic solution for anyone who doesn't have a prestigious initial training (such as a BTS or BAC + 3 or 4), or technical skills that can be immediately put to good use on the job market.

What are the advantages of working as a VDI? Have you ever heard of it?

In particular, what are the selection and success criteria for VDIs (independent door-to-door salespeople)? In reality, it's only the results that count! If the VDIs are motivated, efficient and know how to organise themselves to sell a sufficient quantity of the products of the brand they represent, they've got it made!

Paid on a commission basis, VDIs plan their activity in the way that suits them best, according to the time of day they can and want to devote to their work.

They can prepare all the sales-related tasks they organise at their own pace and from home: preparation, file searches, customer contacts, product knowledge and selection, etc.

THE ADVANTAGES OF BEING A SELF-EMPLOYED HOME SALES ASSISTANT

What is the main advantage of being a VDI? Independence!

While benefiting from the support of a well-structured brand and a catalogue of quality products, the independent salesperson is not subject to imposed working hours, a cumbersome hierarchy or the strict directives of the parent company, as is often the case in a shop.

Depending on the brand with which the independent seller becomes a partner, she may receive training (particularly in marketing), she may be given a coach at the outset, she may be loaned products to get started without having to put up any money of her own, and so on.

Compared with an independent dropshipping business, the VDI business is more secure, as long as you choose your sector carefully and make sure that the parent company with which you sign a contract is not only serious, but also effective in terms of brand awareness and marketing positioning.

PROMISING SECTORS FOR HOME SHOPPING

The basic rule for success in sales is to love what you do!

The most promising sectors are, of course, those that are in vogue and know how to create a buzz: fashion, naturalness, vegan cosmetics, design, home decoration, etc.

Among the various opportunities available to you, choose the ones that suit you best.

If all you swear by are food supplements or honey, why not? If you have good taste, love dressing up and advising your friends on shopping trips, explore fashion sales! And so on...

HOW DO YOU BECOME A FREELANCE HOME SELLER?

The VDI status is in line with the auto entrepreneur status. The formalities are very simple, and can be completed in just a few clicks on the web.

Most of the companies that run VDI networks guide them through the start-up process, sometimes even providing a dedicated coach. So the administrative side isn't as complicated as you might think! What's important is to find out all you can about the partner brand, to ask yourself all the important questions... and to find out how much you can really earn from your work.

At Elora, for example, there are many advantages:

• recruitment in a spirit of openness to all profiles and goodwill
• transparency on all aspects of the collaboration and the work to be done
• contact with a 'mentor', who acts as a coach
• online and distance training, targeted and completely free of charge
• loan of a "starter kit", to ensure that VDI beginners can get off to a flying start, without taking any personal risks.

The commission, calculated on the amount of sales excluding VAT, ranges from 20% to 39%.

To earn the equivalent of a top-up salary equivalent to the minimum wage, you need to make an average of 2 sales a week, at €600 per sale. This is an easily achievable target, even for a beginner, given the attractiveness and excellent value for money of the collections.

CAREERS IN COMPANIES WITH FAMILY POLICIES

As the KINDER/IPSOS Barometer again highlights, the impact on young parents' perception of working life is clear. In France, 63% say that if they had the choice between a little more time or a little more money, they would prefer free time. The same proportion also feel that they never have enough time to enjoy their personal lives.

A practical solution for all those who love their jobs is to continue their career with an employer who adopts family-friendly policies, giving their employees a way to strike a balance between work and private life.

This may involve parental leave over and above that offered to every mum or dad by the social security system and the collective agreement, flexible working hours, in-house crèches or day nurseries, tailored training programmes, etc.

Let's be clear: companies that adopt this strategy of reconciling work and family life are not doing so out of pure philanthropy, but to enhance their profile on the job market and retain talented, highly-skilled employees who will enable them to develop their business and competitiveness.

In any case, it's often an excellent way of combining a professional career with a peaceful family life with children. In short, it allows you to devote the energy you need to your home life, while continuing to develop your skills.

HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGERS

One avenue worth exploring remains the different facets of the HR profession. Few sectors are so open to varied profiles, some of them even self-taught!

The increasing use of freelancers by companies, and the widespread use of remote recruitment on the web, have made new HR profiles essential - for both HR managers and their assistants: less 'senior', more agile on the internet, more likely to attract candidates who are looking for a start-up spirit.

Indeed, for the younger generations, while salary remains an important motivation, it is no longer the only one. It's all about balance and lifestyle choices! Between two jobs, the decision is no longer systematically made in favour of a small bundle of euros difference, but rather in favour of personal fulfilment.

The prerequisites for succeeding in this type of work and successfully completing the tasks required are:

• a good knowledge of the tricks of the job market, web-oriented
• a great deal of empathy and benevolent curiosity (always exclusively professional) towards others, while maintaining a sense of distance: the HR Manager is an essential cog in the wheel, an intermediary who carries the image of managers and teams high... but doesn't take sides!
• the ability, if necessary, to generate added value by providing a one-off boost to a project, an individual or a team
• good writing skills: formulating announcements well, sending motivating e-mail responses, knowing how to say no without getting angry, etc.
• meticulous organisation of work and tasks: keeping to schedules and diaries, writing and monitoring web publications, writing adverts and posts on the employer's blog, etc.

It may be a case of professional retraining, as suitable training courses enable people with different personalities to acquire the basic skills, before blossoming in this type of job, which is often largely carried out remotely via the Internet.

For a stay-at-home mum who is thinking of returning to work after bringing up her children, this can be a way of (re)taking up meaningful work.

A mother who has had to manage priorities within her family, deal with unforeseen situations in a cool-headed way and often even act to reconcile them, has generally acquired a great deal of maturity, both on a human level and in terms of managing her working hours. With the help of targeted training, when she returns to work she'll be able to use and build on her personal experience as an active, efficient and people-oriented woman.

PROJECT MANAGERS

The rise of the internet and intranet, as well as collaborative working and/or teleworking, has given rise to a new type of profession: that of project manager.

The traditional executive assistant or marketing assistant has been replaced by project managers, capable of acting as the interface between the company and its customers, and, internally, ensuring communication between sales and production teams.

If you want to move into this type of job, you may want to consider training in logistics. It's a fast-growing job that requires a high degree of versatility, open-mindedness and organisation.

You need to be able to (re)reconcile the different requirements of different teams (in-house and freelance), keep to a schedule, have sufficient product knowledge and know how to send alerts in good time.

On the customer side, project managers also play a key role, providing support and reassurance and ensuring that processes run smoothly.

CONSULTANTS IN COMPANIES

Business specialisation and new technologies have led to a boom in consulting, most of which is done on a freelance basis. Rather than employing an expert for 'niche' assignments and tasks over the medium or long term, employers generally prefer to use a consultant.

Web platforms are full of this type of job offer, each more tempting than the last! As long as you have a specialised professional skill, whatever the field, this is an option to be seriously considered.

This type of job offers a gradual return to work and considerable flexibility in terms of hours, as well as bringing in the hundreds or even thousands of euros you've been dreaming of.

Yes, but it's not a foregone conclusion! Make sure, though, that your expertise is still up to date if you (re)enter the job market as a consultant, because the competition is tough... very tough indeed! very tough indeed!

If you don't think you're completely up to speed, try to find free assessments and training courses on the internet. You can also explore, possibly with the help of a social worker, the range of government support available to encourage people to return to work and to get back into work, including training tailored to your needs.