Looking for information on The Longaberger Company?
In this article you’ll learn some things you probably didn’t know about this long time direct sales company headquartered in the central Ohio area.
The Longaberger Company – The History
Back in 1896 the Longaberger family moved to Dresden, Ohio, a tiny village deep in the Appalachian Mountains. Back in the early 1900’s it’s said that baskets were just as popular as paper bags and plastic containers are nowadays.
At the time, ware baskets were made at the Dresden Basket Factory. The baskets were used to carry pottery ware, as the pottery industry was booming at that time in the area.
J.W. Longaberger, father of The Longaberger Company’s founder, Dave Longaberger, began a full-time apprenticeship at the Dresden Basket Factory back in 1919.
In 1934, J.W. had his 5th son, Dave. Dave Longaberger from a very early age turned out to be the consummate entrepreneur. As a youngster, Dave did so many odd jobs to earn money that his father called him, “the 25-cent millionaire.”
In the early 70’s Dave realized that baskets were becoming very popular. With his keen business sense, he asked his father J.W., then in his 70’s, to build 12 baskets that he could sell in a nearby town. He sold them immediately!
Shortly after, his father died – just as the business was taking off. However, Dave Longaberger’s mind was already made up, and he started J.W.’s Handwoven Baskets in 1976.
The Longaberger Direct Sales Business
As the company grew, Dave soon realized that he needed to expand. Dave found an unlikely building available that had been vacant for years. The old Dresden Basket Factory his father had worked in!
As the business grew, Dave had another idea. He believed that the company would grow faster if people actually sold and demonstrated the baskets inside of the home. This is where the direct sales company came to life back in 1978.
The Longaberger Products
Over the years it’s said that the customers of the Longaberger products have become very passionate about the Longaberger baskets. The company has remained true to its vision and manufactured primarily just baskets through the years. If you’d like to learn more about their products you can click here to see what they have available.
The Longaberger Business Opportunity
For those of you who may be interested in the business opportunity, I know the first thing a lot of people want to know is whether or not it’s a scam.
The immediate answer is no.
The Longaberger Company is not a scam, and they make some pretty cool baskets. But is it the right opportunity for YOU?
First, you have to decide if you are willing to have home parties? Without doing home parties you aren’t going to be able to showcase the quality of your baskets.
Of course people can purchase online, but they don’t know what they’re getting until they receive it. Which is why Dave Longaberger chose the in home direct sales approach many years ago, long before the internet.
What about residual income?
Now let’s be honest… there’s not a lot of residual income to be earned from selling baskets. Now don’t get me wrong, for those representatives who are motivated and continually doing home parties, there’s money to be made.
But for the most part, if you’re not selling baskets, you’re not making money.
And the profit potential on a single basket simply is not that wide because baskets are not high ticket items. So if you want to earn a large income, you’re going to have to do lots of volume and also build a sizable sales organization.
Final Verdict
While I definitely have nothing negative to say about the company, I must admit that it will take a super salesperson to earn a 6 figure income from selling baskets.
Not only that, but over the years the company has dwindled in size from once having 500 workers inside of the factory to just 10 workers this time last year in July 2016. Source: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2016/07/13/longaberger-empties-its-famous-ohio-basket-building/87055526/
Finally, I’d have to say that unless handwoven baskets is a passion of yours, you’d probably fare well in another business. Not to take anything away from The Longaberger Company, but in the age of the internet there are a lot of easier ways to earn income than doing home parties and MLM meetings.
My #1 Recommendation
My first recommendation would be to make sure you have advertising resources.
If your goal is to make money, you can sell anything. If your goal is to have the power to make money from anywhere, you need to learn how to market on the web.
Which is why my number one recommendation would be for you to find a program that has large commissions on the front end, and a residual passive income on the backend.
You also want a program that doesn’t rely on you promoting the next lotion, potion, or pill. But rather something that does not need to be stored in your home, no product samples to give away, and certainly no chargebacks after they cancel.
Which is why I strongly recommend you look at this program!
