September is an amazing month – it’s really the new year, a transition of seasons, a shift to a new energy, new routines. There’s something so special about everything that happens in September – there’s a sense of anticipation, energy shooting out to connect with others before turning inwards through the colder months.
September is convention month for doTERRA too. Convention is magical – it’s where all the new research + initiatives doTERRA’s been involved with + supporting gets shared, new products are launched, growth is celebrated.
So I really wanted to take some time to share what makes doTERRA different + oh-so-special for me + my family.
When I went to my first essential oils class I was in awe that such a simple + natural product could provide a solution to basically all of our health – physical, mental, + emotional – needs.
My sister had been talking about essential oils for a little while, so I had an idea of what they could do for our family – but honestly…there’s so much more to how they serve + support our well-being.
Then at the first class I attended…doTERRA’s mission, story, model just spoke to me deeply. I knew they were the company I needed to get into a relationship with. These are the main reasons why I choose doTERRA : their product, the lifestyle + community, how they do business.
PRODUCT
Their quality : it’s pure + potent. Each bottle is 100% essential oil. There is currently no regulation or real oversight on the contents of essential oil products. Something can be labeled as 100% essential oil, but could really only have 10% essential oil with the rest of the bottle as a synthetic filler or carrier oil, but because that 10% essential oil is pure the label can say the bottle is 100% essential oil.
doTERRA is beginning the trend towards transparency + educating customers on what to look for in an essential oil + what to expect from a good quality essential oil. There are many options to choose from, so you need to do your research + align with a company that makes sense to you.
You can find a lot of information about the chemical constituents in your essential oils, where they’re sourced from, + how they’re processed at sourcetoyou.com.
doTERRA has a huge line of products, not just essential oils, + they create really clean products. This fits with my priorities in sooo many ways. The main deciding factor is how clean the products are. You can check the toxicity of the ingredients or products you’re using at EWG’s SKIN DEEP.
It also makes it sooo much easier for shopping – I trust the ingredients they use on things like skin-care, or laundry detergent, or supplements. I don’t have to run around to different places trying to find the best for our family – it’s in one spot, I can order it online, + it shows up at my doorstep. I rarely do errands anymore…or if I do, besides groceries, they’re errands because I want to, not because we’re out of toothpaste.
LIFESTYLE + COMMUNITY
You can definitely opt-in to the business side of doTERRA, but 80% of doTERRA’s customer base is just that – customers. They have the highest retention rate of any network marketing company – meaning that once people sign up with doTERRA, they stay with doTERRA.
All of doTERRA’s events – unless you opt-in for leadership related training – is product-based. For example, doTERRA’s annual convention which happens every September, is 3 days, 35,000+ppl, 2 venues, all of it about research + the products + what the company is doing out in the world. It’s going to be a big ole’ doTERRA love fest. + not one presentation during these three days is about the biz. You don’t have to be doing doTERRA as a business to go to convention.
*Just a note on network marketing companies. They get a bad wrap. There are a few people in the biz-at-large who don’t do it with class, grace or even good manners really. But it’s not a pyramid scheme [which is the sales of an opportunity, with no product involved, + thereby illegal]. + I just gotta say…the success of how I do in this business is entirely on me. That’s it. But if I *do* want to work hard at it there is no limit to what I can earn or do with it.
If you’re working a regular 9-5 or your boss is someone other than you, I challenge you to reflect on whether your business or position would allow you the same sort of growth opportunity. I really dislike the criticism that it’s a pyramid scheme or that it’s exploitative, because honestly…if you’re working for someone else it doesn’t matter what sector you’re in, you’re working for someone else at the top of a triangularly-shaped business model. So…that’s something to think about.
The people I’ve met through this community are incredibly supportive + warm + accepting. I’m talking users + dealers alike 😉 We share DIY recipes, people are generally environmentally conscious, giving back is a huge component of how doTERRA does business + for the people who’ve been drawn to these products. I’ve always felt like a bit of an oddball or outsider – but this is a community where I feel I belong. Just as a user + eo lover. The biz side takes it to a whole next level, which challenges me in areas where growth would be beneficial😉 + we sometimes joke that doTERRA is actually self-development company wrapped in the disguise of an essential oil company. There’s a lot of judgement + negativity in the world. It’s been amazing to be connected with a community who’d rather share positivity + light, growth + change, doing more for others than what they can get for themselves.
HOW THEY DO BUSINESS
doTERRA is a product based company, they’ve fostered a very empowering + vibrant community, + basically base their business model on giving back.
So let’s start with their sourcing model which is referred to as Co-Impact Sourcing. doTERRA sources its oils from over 40 countries—more than half of which could be considered developing countries. To ensure that small scale farmers and harvesters in disadvantaged areas are treated ethically, doTERRA has introduced an initiative called Co-Impact Sourcing. Co-Impact Sourcing is an initiative that seeks to develop long-term, mutually beneficial supplier partnerships while creating sustainable jobs and providing reliable income in underdeveloped areas. doTERRA is committed to the ethical treatment of its suppliers by providing on-time payments at fair prices. Growers and harvesters are encouraged to form cooperative groups to share collective benefits and bargaining power while improving skills and capacity.
Vetiver is one of my favourite oils for sleep support + is sourced from Haiti. The video below perfectly explains how doTERRA’s Co-Impact Sourcing model along with their healing hands initiative works + impacts the people living there.
doTERRA’s charitable initiative is called Healing Hands! They do good on the ground where oils are sourced by helping build schools, hospitals, water, whatever the need is.
doTERRA Healing Hands was created in June 2012. The organization is one of the ways doTERRA reaches out and serves communities in need. They do this by partnering with organizations and doTERRA Wellness Advocates to offer hope around the world. Through the organization’s efforts, lives are freed of disease and poverty, and communities are empowered with the tools needed to become self-reliant.
Here are a few projects I’d like to highlight :
Bulgaria Project : a project involving the Social Teahouse, a Bulgarian social enterprise dedicated to creating equal opportunities + the development of an independent lifestyle for children in Bulgaria as they age out of the orphanage system. .
Guatemala Project : funded the construction of the Sika’abe Training Center. This center works to break the cycle of poverty by teaching skills such as construction, agriculture, + hospitality in courses that are government certified.
Haiti Project : doTERRA Healing Hands began drilling for water in Haiti + installing solar-powered pumps. Not only do these communities now have access to clean water, but the children are able to attend school instead of making the long walk to collect water every day.
Kenya Project : funding projects related to the Mwamose Primary School in Majoreni Village, as well as to begin providing this community with clean water.
Madagascar Project : Reliable healthcare can be difficult to come by in the area of Madagascar where doTERRA sources some of their Ylang Ylang oil. For this reason, doTERRA Healing Hands is working with a Co-Impact Sourcing partner to bring health to the people by establishing a mobile health clinic.
Nepal Project : When the 7.8 earthquake struck Nepal in April 2015, doTERRA and CHOICE Humanitarian were hard at work on a new Co-Impact Sourcing initiative for Wintergreen essential oil. Through a matching campaign between doTERRA and donors, almost $636,000 was raised for earthquake relief.
Somaliland Project : The doTERRA Healing Hands Foundation has assisted in the education efforts for clan children in Uurwayne, Somaliland. This project is providing education opportunities for more than 220 youth.
Through the Healing Hands Foundation, doTERRA will also partner with Wellness Advocates [people who have joined doTERRA on the business side] who have a vision + began creating change but who would like to create impact on a larger scale. They also have several corporate partners where they’re able to assist. I’ve included them below, but the one at the bottom, O.U.R. has spoken to my heart in the biggest way…
Corporate Partners
Mentors International : The first donations from doTERRA Healing Hands went toward a microcredit lending fund through the organization Mentors International. Through this fund, and the additional funds that have been created over the years, credit is provided to small business owners that do not have access to financing opportunities or whose only lending options are with unethical and even dangerous lenders. The partnership between the doTERRA Healing Hands and Mentors International provides hard-working entrepreneurs with small business loans and education to help them succeed in their business. These loans offer opportunities for personal and family growth and can help them elevate their communities through economic development.
Days for Girls : Days for Girls works to provide every girl in the world the education, safety, and dignity that they deserve through direct distribution of sustainable feminine hygiene kits; by partnering with groups, and organizations; by raising awareness; and by helping communities around the world start their own programs. Thanks to a global grassroots network of thousands of volunteers and supporters on six continents, Days for Girls has reached women and girls in over 100 countries.
Operation Underground Railroad : The doTERRA Healing Hands is proud to be partnering with Operation Underground Railroad (OUR Rescue) to bring healing and hope to the world. OUR Rescue exists to rescue children from sex trafficking by utilizing some of the world’s experts in extraction operations and anti-child trafficking efforts. OUR Rescue’s Jump Team, consisting of former CIA, Navy SEALs, and Special Ops operatives, lead coordinated identification and extraction efforts to rescue children being trafficked for sex. To ensure perpetuity and sustainability of these extraction efforts, OUR Rescue works with law enforcement in the countries where they rescue children to ensure that everything is done legally and with the support of the local authorities. The children rescued from these extraction efforts are then rehabilitated by OUR Rescue’s aftercare program, and the perpetrators are arrested, tried, and convicted to ensure that they don’t traffic children again.
I’ve been using essential oils with doTERRA since December 2015. + it’s hard to put in to words the difference I feel in my life because of how I’ve grown as a human. I’m going to write about the personal difference I’ve experienced soon, a small part is captured here. But, as it’s September this month, convention is rolling out…+ oh my goodness, I didn’t even dive into the research + scientific progress they’ve made, or the changes they’re creating in healthcare…I wanted to share why doTERRA was the choice for me. These are the reasons I joined, + these + so many more are why I continue to stay with doTERRA.
At last year’s convention the guest speaker was Hugh Jackman [what on earth?!], who [thanks to his wife Deb, who is always right – his words when he spoke at convention 🙂 ] has come to know, use, + love doTERRA too.
He spoke about his initiative through Laughing Man Coffee + the words of business ownership his father spoke to him. “Good business is good for everyone. If it’s not good for everyone, it’s not good business.”
+ this is how doTERRA operates…it’s good business from the people who grow + harvest the plants, to the distillers, employees + doTERRA corporate, to us who do this as a business of our own, to the people who use these oils + the healing + growth we get to experience. That is what real abundance looks like.