When it comes to the direct selling business, Amway has been a household name for more than 60 years. The company is known for manufacturing and distributing nutrition, beauty, personal care and home products through its Amway Independent Business Owners, enabling these IBOs to become entrepreneurs all over the world. The company’s CEO Milind Pant sat down with Jessica Abo to talk about where the company has been, where it’s headed, and his business advice.
Jessica Abo: Milind, Amway has been around for more than 60 years. What do you attribute to the company’s success?
Amway is one of the most powerful ideas in the world, and it’s a universal idea. It’s an idea that’s all about empowering people to live better, healthier lives. And this idea goes across time, across nations and across countries. It was as relevant 63 years back as it will be 60 years from now.
And your career has taken you around the globe. What was it about Amway that caught your eye?
What I love about Amway is that it’s such an inclusive idea that anyone, anywhere, anytime, can start their own business, and Amway is there to help them and to be as successful as they wish to be. So that was the main reason. But there are so many others. Amway’s got a great culture. It’s privately held, family-owned. It’s got 6,000 acres of organic farms. It’s got such great quality products. So there are so many reasons why it’s a privilege to be a part of Amway.
How does Amway help people become entrepreneurs?
Amway’s a powerful idea, and it’s a simple idea. In some sense, what Amway offers is entrepreneurship in a box. So we provide all the products, the digital and technology platforms, the last mile delivery, and an easy interface for our entrepreneurs to order and pay, or the customers to order and pay. And what our entrepreneurs do in return is build these health and wellness communities and offer real value by providing solutions to customers, be it healthy weight, healthy fitness, or healthy beauty. So it’s a simple and powerful idea.
What’s your personal philosophy when it comes to leadership and growth, and how has that become part of Amway?
I’ve been working for almost 30 years, and my philosophy, which has just got reinforced and inspired by our business owners and entrepreneurs across the world, is to live a life of a growth mindset. Entrepreneurs everywhere, be it Amway or outside, are uncomfortable with the status quo. There are continuous learners. They take every setback as an opportunity to keep getting better. That’s my philosophy, and now that’s your philosophy.
What advice do you have for people just starting their entrepreneurial journeys?
Well, as I observe and take inspiration from entrepreneurs across Amway and across the world, one thing that stands out is the ability to take the knocks and keep moving. Entrepreneurs have so many strengths, but core to their belief is their ability to rise and to keep moving forward. In Amway, of course, that is helpful because you’re not alone. You’re part of a leader led community.
And finally, what can we expect to see from Amway in 2023?
Well, in Amway, we always say this, we are just getting started. So through the pandemic and all the difficulties that society went through, we’ve learned our recipe for growth and our recipe for helping our micro-entrepreneurs build their health and wellness communities, and millions of them are helping hundreds of millions live a happier, healthier, better life. That’s what we’ve done. That’s what we continue to do in 2023 and beyond.
