‘I’m working to beat the cost-of-living crisis’

Dorothy Norris, 73, who lives in Worthing, West Sussex, with her husband Nodge, earns £2,000 a month from direct selling.

‘In my 50s, I was juggling a busy work life as an on-call midwife and university lecturer just to make ends meet. I loved being a midwife – it was part of my identity – but despite that, as I approached retirement, I began to worry about how I would be able to afford to give up work.

I had a hefty mortgage to pay off, two daughters to put through university and a dependent husband. My three modest pensions put together weren’t going to stretch anywhere near far enough.

A friend mentioned direct selling, where you sell products from home or at fairs rather than in a shop. I loved the idea and in 2001, after researching every UK company I could find, I decided to join Forever Living, which sells aloe vera health and beauty products. I loved the products because they made a huge difference to improving my family’s health. Friends were intrigued and wanted to try them, and the sales started.

At first, my aim was to earn enough to allow me to drop the university job. When I was made redundant, I was relieved to have the earnings from my Forever Living business to make up the shortfall, and

I used the extra time I had to build up a team of saleswomen, showing them how to create an income, too.

Within three years I’d created an income to match a very good NHS pension and I was able to retire from midwifery. At one point I was working up to 30 hours a week, because I wanted a good full-time income, but there were no night calls, no pressure to work, no managers telling me off! Now I work four to eight hours a week and my income is £2,000 a month. I’ve increased my direct selling, partly due to the rising cost of living and to give me a financial cushion to help with the costs we’re facing.

Flexible retirement has worked for me. I feel useful; I meet people, I’m constantly learning – and it brings in good money. What’s not to love?’