Forrest Shaklee started Shaklee Corp. in 1956 as a nutritional supplement business. Jackson resident Patty Spencer was working as a nurse when she was introduced to Shaklee 30 years ago. She appreciated the science background the company had and decided it would provide a good retirement business. Three decades later, Spencer is a Shaklee director. She has seen the company develop products and make improvements as a home-based business. Freelance writer Shannon Maynard recently sat down with Spencer to discuss the business and why it was something she wanted to be a part of.
Question: What does Shaklee offer?
P.S.: We offer a whole line of nutritional products, children's vitamins and baby products. Then we have a wonderful line of skincare products and we have healthy home products which are for laundry, dishes and cleaning your floors. They are all biodegradable, all concentrated so you dilute them according to the use. And all the packaging is biodegradable and recyclable. And they work.
Question: What makes the business unique?
P.S.: I think Shaklee Corp. is unique because of its philosophy. The company believes that everything should be in harmony with nature. They were the first company in the world to be a climate-neutral company, which means that it leaves no carbon footprint on the earth. That makes it unique. The other thing is that they believe in the Golden Rule, so they are a really excellent company to work with because they believe in treating people the way you would like to be treated. Also, the scientific background and the quality of the raw materials (they use). They are so specific about the purity of the raw materials that often times they reject a lot of the raw materials that come in because they don't meet their standards.
Question: Why do you feel it is so important that Shaklee's products are environmentally safe?
P.S.: I think people are looking for things that are good for the environment because people are more concerned about not polluting. People are also concerned about their own welfare because a lot of cleaning products and laundry products that are used in homes can be toxic. And that's not good for the living environments of our families. People are into recycling now, too. And people like to save money, and when you buy concentrated products, you save money.
Question: What does Shaklee do to ensure their products are safe?
P.S.: It's the ingredients that they use and the processing … Shaklee doesn't wait until somebody says something is bad. If there's any hint that something could be harmful, they take it out of the products. They are so concerned that they have a high quality, safe product that works.
Question: How has the recent flu outbreak affected your business?
P.S.: People are buying more for their herbal medicine chest. They are buying the echinacea, the Vitamin C and the garlic because many people have decided they don't want the flu vaccine. They're looking for something that can support their immune system and help them weather the flu season.
Question: What is your most popular item?
P.S.: In the nutrition line, it would be our vitalizer, which is a multiple vitamin … and our anti-aging tonic, which slows down the aging process. In the cleaning line, it seems like everyone knows about Basic H because Basic H is the all-purpose cleaner for your floors, windows, countertops — all kinds of things.
Question: What is a little-known fact about Shaklee?
P.S.: Shaklee does wonderful things all over the world. They have worked in different countries to develop health stations. They have worked with 2004 Nobel Peace Prize recipient Wangari Maathai to plant trees throughout the world. They have a whole program called Shaklee Cares, which helps people if there are floods or hurricanes. They send products into those areas. They do a lot of behind-the-scenes help throughout the world and around the United States that never really gets any press. They don't do it to get press. They do it because they're sincerely interested in helping people all over the world.
Question: What are your future goals for your business?
P.S.: I'm interested in growing my business
, and I'm interested in looking for a couple of people who would like to share products and develop a business. There are still a lot of people out there that haven't heard of Shaklee. I think it's important to get the word out.
Visit Shaklee today:
http://roberttruitt.myshaklee.com/us/en/join.html
