Three weeks before her third child was due, Susan Drucker Hunsaker had more than 20 women over to her home in Burlingame, Calif., for conversation and refreshments. She also invited them to look at Stella & Dot costume and semi-precious jewelry, which she had begun selling the week before.

Ms. Hunsaker, a former high school art teacher with a master’s degree in education, sells jewelry because she needs cash, and she needs it quickly. In the first two months of this year, she sold $12,000 worth of jewelry at six parties, taking home 30 percent of that as commission.

Ms. Hunsaker is not alone in turning to direct sales to make ends meet. Many direct sales companies report rising numbers of sellers signing up. In February of last year, 24 new sales consultants joined Stella & Dot; this February that number is 160.

Some other interesting statistics from this article:

• The number of new sellers at Lia Sophia, another jewelry company, is up 26 percent from January-February 2008 to 2009
• The number of sales consultants at the Cutco Corporation, a manufacturer and direct seller of high-end kitchen cutlery, was up 20 percent this January over last
• The average annual growth in direct sales in nonrecessionary years is 3.3 percent; during the last three recessionary years — 1990, 1991 and 2001 — it was 4.5 percent
• The median income from direct selling is $2,400 annually
• About 30 percent of recent recruits will stick with direct sales even after the economy recovers

“Direct Sales as a Recession Fallback,” by Eilene Zimmerman, The New York Times, March 14, 2009.

For what could possibly be the first time ever, retail income has a chance to thrive within an MLM payplan. The reason why is because Eiro Research is going to be releasing it’s all natural, sugar free, energy drink in early March, and ladies and gentlemen this drink is a Red Bull killer. (Red Bull which does over a billion in sales each year…..)

“Eiro Research To Launch All Natural Energy Drink That Has No Sugar, No Additives, And Tastes Better Than Redbull In March 2009,” by Broker Jones, Network Marketing Diary, February 28, 2009.

ACN, the world’s largest direct selling telecommunications company, will be featured on an episode of The Celebrity Apprentice, later this season. The Celebrity Apprentice premiere episode is March 1 and will be aired on Sundays, at 9/8c on NBC.

“I’ve come to know Greg, Robert, Tony and Mike, the Co-Founders of ACN, very well. They have built a terrific company and their new ACN Video Phone is amazing. I simply can’t imagine anyone using this video phone and not loving it. I can’t wait to see how our Celebrity Apprentice Teams launch it to the world!” stated Donald J. Trump.

“ACN Goes Prime Time With Appearance On Donald Trump’s Celebrity Apprentice,” by Mehdi Lembirik, 1888 Press Release, March 3, 2009.

From his new site:

“Not only does PPL show an 18% decline in its most important measure for overall growth – the rate of enrollment of multi-level marketing salespeople – but in 2008 more salespeople actually quit the company than were recruited during the year demonstrating beyond any doubt that the scheme is collapsing.” — Barry Minkow, Co-Founder Fraud Discovery Institute, Inc.

Mr. Minkow also seems to have found a connection between Pre-Paid Legal and Madoff investments.

“Ponzi + Pyramid = Prepaidi Legal Services, Inc.,” by Barry Minkow, Fraud Discovery Institute, March 2, 2009.