Building the Canadian Market

 

Some of our top doTERRA Canada leaders told us exactly what building a doTERRA business in Canada is all about. See some of their answers below:

 

 

“Building in Canada is different from other markets because some of our oils have recently been approved and labeled as “Natural Health Products” (NHP). This means that they are licensed products that have been assessed by Health Canada (our version of the FDA) and were found to be safe, effective, and of high quality. The most exciting part though is that NHPs have approved claims so we're able to talk about the NHP oils’ benefits openly and in a powerful way. Up until now we've been extremely limited in what we were able to say—not even being able to make structure/function claims that were otherwise compliant for use in the US. What Health Canada has licensed us to say varies from oil to oil, but it feels extremely liberating to now be able to share the life-changing gift of essential oils so openly.” –Lindsay Hamm, Diamond

 

“Some of the opportunities in Canada are pretty distinctive. For example, Canadians are, for the most part, educated about the importance of living a healthy, natural lifestyle but are often frustrated with the results they find readily available as natural solutions. Canadians are also in a time when they are looking for hope—for their health and their finances. doTERRA offers them that hope.” –Kimberley Milousis, Diamond

 

 

“I discovered doTERRA way back, so it has been quite a journey for me. Initially, the obstacle was simply public awareness. No one had heard of doTERRA, and very few had heard of essential oils. There was a lot of education needed, my own as well as all the clients and colleagues I was introducing to doTERRA. There was also some resistance in my family in the early days. (We had eliminated all scent from our household due to allergic reactions, so bringing highly aromatic product into the house was quite a mental shift for some of us.) Probably the biggest obstacle for me personally, however, was my lack of belief in what I could achieve from a business and financial perspective. The personal growth required to break through those limiting beliefs has actually been the most rewarding achievement so far, and I’m not finished with that by a long shot!” –Cynthia Incze, Diamond, Canada Founder

 

“At first we didn’t have a lot of paperwork or materials specific to Canada. So we learned to build in a true relationship model: person-to-person and heart-to-heart. We asked a lot of questions about people’s needs—what was working, and what wasn’t. We then introduced the concept of highly effective and incredibly empowering ways to care for our families in our own homes. For many of us, our first why was definitely to put oils in every home. We worked to build excitement about the idea that we have the tools we need to care for our families, ourselves, and our communities. We built a grassroots effort to increase awareness of health possibilities, and we built incredible tribes of women who started to share in that vision. And we grew.” –Marissa Heisel, Diamond, Canada Founder

 

“We've had little to no online presence because of different restrictions and yet have successfully built and trained up a strong Blue Diamond team. The majority of our business is still based on personal contact, sharing face-to-face, and caring about others on a personal level. I believe that is where strength in a team is nurtured. While an online platform is helpful, it is simply a tool to support the work we do in educating others. Canadians are unique in this way because we only know how to build person-to-person with strict attention to compliance standards, and we are stronger for it. Building doTERRA in this way does have its own set of challenges, but I think we have done very well in finding ways to overcome them.” –Holly Lo, Blue Diamond, Canada Founder

 

“Canadians are strong, determined, and durable! We grew despite all the limitations we had, including not being able to make any sort of claims with the products. We just became more creative in the way we worked and we were still able to share and grow at a rapid pace. One of our biggest challenges was the exchange rate. If we could share and grow like we did with a challenging exchange rate that continued to decline as our enrollments and revenue trended upwards, I don’t think there’s anything we Canadians can’t overcome.” –Jenny Crawford, Diamond