Inception
- Nutrilite: 1950
- Amway: 1959
Qualifications
- Double Diamond 1970
- Triple Diamond 1974
- Crown 1975
Success Story
Sponsored by Emerald Walter Bass, Fred Hansen and his wife Bernice began working with Rich DeVos and Jay Van Andel in the Nutrilite business in 1950 under the direction of Emerald Walter Bass.
To establish the American Way Association (AWA), which ultimately became Amway, Fred Hansen collaborated with several business leaders, including DeVos and Van Andel, Jere Dutt, Joe Victor, Walter Bass, and Eleanor Tietsma, in 1958.
Fred played an important part in the formation of the Independent Business Owners Association International, which exists today under the name of the Independent Business Owners Association of America. Fred died in 1968 after a long illness.
Fred Hansen serves on the IBOAI Presidents Cabinet as a member of the IBOAI Presidents Cabinet.
When Fred died of a heart attack in 1968, Bernice became the sole owner of the Diamond Company. Around this time, her daughter Susan and Skip Ross met at a conference in California, where they became fast friends. Skip and Susan Ross are currently in charge of the Hansen company.
It was in 1970 that she achieved Double Diamond status, followed by Triple Diamond status in 1974, and then Crown status the following year.
Rich DeVos introduced my husband and me to the Nutrilite business in 1950, when we were still in our early 20s. I've believed from the outset that if Rich and Jay Van Andel could achieve it, then we could accomplish the same feat."
That marked the beginning of a worldwide enterprise. Bernice had a history in accounting, and her husband, who had previously worked as a barber, had attempted to start another firm that had failed.
They put their all into the Nutrilite business, and their efforts were swiftly rewarded as a result. "It became abundantly evident to us that investing their time in the business was the finest investment that they could make.” Does this sound like a dream business to you?
“Having financial options and personal freedom is a dream come true for me,” Bernice expresses. “I am quite satisfied with this business. This is the most fantastic method to assist others in achieving their individual objectives."
Bernice died on September 27, 2012, after a long illness.
Bernice Hansen was one of the early distributors who assisted Amway founders Rich DeVos and Jay Van Andel in growing their basement business into one of the world's largest direct sales organisations. Bernice Hansen was one of the early distributors who assisted Amway founders Rich DeVos and Jay
Van Andel in growing their basement business into one of the world's largest direct sales organisations. In partnership with her husband, Fred Hansen, she became an Amway distributor, and her business grew under the company's umbrella.
According to John Parker, Amway's chief sales officer, her team has grown to include tens of thousands of independent company owners, also known as IBOs, from across the world. According to Parker, who has known her for more than two decades and has built a friendship with her, "she was immensely crucial" to the company's success.
Her pioneering position as an entrepreneur and philanthropist, as well as her death on September 27 at the age of 101, were remembered by the Ada-based corporation, which was founded by Hansen. She and her husband were instrumental in the founding of the American Way Association, now known as the IBOAI, which is credited with playing a critical part in developing the Amway business for millions of independent business owners and distributors, according to the firm.
It was in 1950 that the Hansens first collaborated with the Amway cofounders, when they were Nutrilite distributors. This was nine years before DeVos and Van Andel founded the direct sales company, which had sales of $10.9 billion last year.
When Hansen's husband passed away in 1968, she took over the family business and quickly rose to the position of top distributor in less than a decade.
Hansen, according to Rich DeVos, was a trailblazer who laid a firm basis for all those who came after him. During the years following Fred's death, Bernice carried on their Amway business with amazing energy and steadfast integrity, assisting hundreds of other distributors around the world in accomplishing their goals, DeVos said in a statement posted by the firm on Monday.
In the words of the late Bernice, "her legacy will live on for future generations to come, and she will be dearly missed."" In a joint statement, Amway's current leadership, including President Doug DeVos and Chairman Steve Van Andel, referred to the Ada resident as a "remarkable bundle of energy." According to the statement, "her lifetime accomplishments are absolutely awe-inspiring."
“We are appreciative for the cooperation we've had with her over the years, and we recognise the countless lives she has impacted. Bernice will be missed by Amway distributors all over the world, as well as by staff here in Ada and the DeVos and Van Andel families,” says the DeVos family.
At the time, she was in her late 30s and had just met then-23-year-old Rich DeVos, who had been to her Ohio home to facilitate a Nutrilite meeting. “I was like, ‘Wait, what?' In an interview for an Amway book published two years ago, she said, "Is this young kid going to advise us how to establish a business and generate money?" she added.
"There's no way!" But he was actually rather good. And, of course, the youngster in question was Rich DeVos. In the beginning, we just had one product and one piece of literature, which Jay (Van Andel) authored and mimeographed himself, so it only cost $1 to get started in the business.” At that time, the cost of starting a business was $1.
According to her obituary, she grew up on a farm in Coopersville, where she developed a love for people, horses, and cats, among other things. Her character is described as always having a smile on her face and words of encouragement for everyone she encountered in the article.
Karen DeBlaay and Susan Ross, two of Bernice Hansen's three daughters, have carried on the Hansen legacy as independent business owners.
“If there was one thing I learnt from my mother, it was to always be a source of encouragement for others,” Ross stated in the Amway advertisement. Her ability to bring out the best in people is unsurpassed, and she would go above and above to assist those who had worked tirelessly to see their enterprises prosper. Her entrepreneurial success paved the path for her philanthropic endeavours.
Over the years, Hansen has made contributions to a number of institutions, including the Helen DeVos Children's Hospital, the Van Andel Institute, and Cornerstone University. We at Cornerstone University are appreciative for the role Bernice Hansen has played in the promotion of our mission, said Cornerstone President Joseph Stowell.
Bernice Hansen is a professor of English at Cornerstone University. “This is especially true in terms of her philanthropy, which contributed to the realisation of the Bernice Hansen Athletic Center. The building is important in both student life and athletic competition because of its strategic location.
Her presence on campus will be remembered for a long time.” Besides her three daughters, Marianne Briggs of Gambier, Ohio, Susan Ross of Sarasota, Fla., and Karen DeBlaay of Ada; three step-daughters, Joanne, Susan, and Kathy; and 19 grandchildren, step-grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, Hansen is also survived by her second husband Ralph Gilbert. Hansen was preceded in death by her second husband.
For more information on the Hansen downline, which is believed to be the largest in Amway, visit the JaRi article on the company.
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