An Avon calling! Woman becomes first millionaire door-to-door make-up seller

A woman who was made redundant has become the first person to earn more than £1m selling cosmetics door-to-door. Debbie Davis, 31, who now has an 8,000-strong sales team, is the first Avon representative millionaire. Her rise began six years ago when she was laid off by a Sunderland printing firm where she had worked since leaving school. She was unemployed for six months until she paid £15 to become an Avon representative. After selling £18,800 worth of products in three weeks near her home in Sunderland, she recruited her partner Dave Carter, 42. She has achieved a cumulative turn-over of £9.3m since 2004 and earned £1.4m. She still goes out pursuing door-to-door sales but now drives a Mercedes SLK car and lives in a spacious house. Davies said: "I have been able to travel the world, drive my dream car and purchase my own home – a far cry from the council estate I was brought up on."