As the COO of Market America, Marc Ashley has seen it all. Marc has been here since the inception of Market America, and provides a very unique perspective on the inner-workings of this company. We had the chance to meet with Marc, to ask him a few questions about his experiences with Market America.
How did you meet JR and start with Market America?
I first met JR through Loren, when they were dating. For a while, I didn’t even know what he did. I didn’t know much about direct selling, but we got to talking and we clicked. I’m really close with Loren, so the three of us together would always talk about things. One day it finally got to a point where Loren and I pushed JR into getting something started, since he was a visionary and had plans to change the world. Now, he’s my brother. We’re all one big family which is funny because even when we are together during a holiday, we never stop working since we are all in the same business together.
Your role with Market America has evolved over the years – tell us a little more about your original position with the company?
I believe my original position was called Director of Corporate Relations, but to be honest I didn’t do anything like that. When you are starting a company, you have to do anything and everything that needs to be done. I recall giving up going out with friends on Fridays and Saturdays, to pack up boxes until after midnight sometimes. You have to be everything: a receptionist, a customer service representative, and shipping specialist – until you make enough revenue to bring in others. I think Grunt Relations would be a more accurate description of my original position here.
Being the COO, you see every product before distributors see it. What is (or has been) your favorite Market America product?
If I had to pick a product, I can’t live without my OPC-3 with resveratrol. I take it every day – along with Omega 3 and Heart Health. I love those products and use them every day. When I work out, I take the Torch chocolate shake, 2 scoops, water, ice and a little piece of banana to cream it up a bit. It’s great. I workout just so I can look forward to going home to that Torch shake. It’s better than a meal for me. There are so many other great products but those are the things I can’t live without.
You’ve played a pivotal role in the Shop.com integration project – could you give us an update?
Every distributor can shop on their Shop.com portal now – but the game is just beginning. Most of the heavy lifting was done in September, but we are moving over certain components such as the Home Shopping List, the AutoShip program and others that are still being worked on. This won’t happen all at once, as we’re implementing them over time. There will be over 30 components that will go live at the end of this month, and more will go out over the next several months. Another feature we are working on is Express Check Out. Customers will only have 3 steps to check out – billing information, shipping information and email. After that, we introduce them to their Shop Consultant. This should help streamline the process, and make for a better user experience. Also, Shop.com will get a great new look and feel when we are finished!
You’ve been vital to the growth of this remarkable company – with all of your success, have you ever doubted yourself?
I’ve doubted myself many times. Early on in the business, we made many sacrifices to make ends meet. When we first started, I was living on $35 a week. Whenever I was down on myself, I changed my mindset. A great book that changed my life is called “The Outliers”. The author did a study on what makes people successful, and he looked at people like Bill Gates and The Beatles. His principle is called the ’10,000 hour principle’ – meaning it takes at least that long to master a task. When you think about it, The Beatles played around 120 shows in Germany alone. Bill Gates spent at least that much time programming computers. To be successful, you have to put in the time. You can’t just pop into something and then say “it’s not working” because you’ve only spent 20 hours on it. Have you spent 10,000 hours on it? Now, I’m not saying that if you don’t like something, you need to spend that long doing it, but find something you like and desire and then put in the time and effort into it. It’s like any skill – when you practice, you get better. It takes practice to become successful, and the author found that to be the key factor.