People Helping People Help Themselves: Zero to Hero

[ A collection of writings by Rich DeVos & Jay Van Andel; Co-Founders of Amway Corporation ]

Rich DeVos and Jay Van Andel, co-founders of Amway Corporation, are so close that they have been dubbed "Amway's Dutch Twins."

They do share a Dutch heritage, but they are far from being twins, although they have been friends and partner since their teens. Sharing a mutual desire to be independent businessmen, they left the Air Force when World War 2 ended and started a flying school and air charter service. A short time later they also opened the first drive-in restaurant in Grand Rapids, their home town.

Their efforts were successful, but the business were not quite what they were looking for. Not until 1949, after testing a variety of other ventures, did they become distributors for food supplements.

Ten years later, married and with families, they had build the largest independent food supplement distributorship in the country. But they also felt constrained by the limited product line available, and so organized Amway, a company of their own, as source of additional products for their distributors. Started in the basements of their own homes, the new venture was so well received that it soon outstripped their original business. Offering an expanding variety of quality products, easily demonstrated and sold, it convinced hundreds and then thousands all over the country and then the world to go into business for themselves.

It was encouraged from the beginning by the co-founders' own philosophy. Amway stressed the importance of free enterprise because Jay and Rich believed that most people wanted to work - that they were not looking for a handout but a hand up. They constantly made sure that Amway provided that opportunity. As Jay points out,

" In Amway, it does not matter where you come from or what your background is. You start from whatever you are and build to whatever you want to be. The door stands open to those who want to move up and do more."

Furthermore, they made it easy. Rich observes:

" One of the main reason for Amway's success is that it is essentially a very simple business."

That simplicity is most evident in what they consider the most important aspects of the business: retailing products and presenting the Amway Sales and Marketing Plan. Both are simple and easy to understand.

Distributors are therefore strongly warned not to tamper with either one, but to present the Plan and demonstrate the products in the ways clearly set forth in Amway literature. As they put it:

" The easiest, quickest path to success in the Amway business is to keep it simple."

Asked for their "secret" on motivation, they say that they do not have any gimmicks, tricks or magic words. They simply believe in the personal philosophy of "I can", and they practice it with a firm conviction that almost anyone can do whatever he really believes he can.

"Believe you can," Rich says, "And you'll find that you can! Try! You'll be surprised at how many good things can happen."

And Jay adds:

" One of the most powerful forces in the world is the will of man who believes in himself, who dares to aim high and to go confidently after the things he wants from life."