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Vicki Pike was frustrated. She had been laid off from two different jobs in a little more than a year.

When a friend who was selling Lady Remington jewelry encouraged her to try direct selling, she decided to give it a shot.

Pike started selling the jewelry (now called lia sophia) in early 2003, and within five months, she had surpassed her income from her previous job.

"I am earning four times what I made at my previous job," Pike said. "I decided to make this a full-time career."

Linda Nunley was looking for extra income when juggling a full-time job, her husband's work schedule and taking care of a 10-year-old child.

In August, after looking at several direct selling companies, she signed on as a consultant for Pampered Chef, a direct seller of kitchen tools.

"Working a traditional part-time job wasn't in the cards for me," Nunley said. "This one struck a chord with me. This gives me a chance to learn new things. I get to learn with my job."

The two Altoona women are among thousands of people involved in direct selling, where products and services are marketed to customers by independent salespeople.

Direct selling is recession-proof, said Amy Robinson, vice president of communications for the Direct Selling Association, which has more than 200 companies as members.

"We found during nonrecession years, the average gross domestic product grew by 3.3 percent, and direct selling companies grew by 3.6 percent," Robinson said. "During recession years, the gross domestic product grew by 0.8 percent, but direct selling grew by 4.5 percent."

Jean Jonas, Pampered Chef vice president of sales, said Pampered Chef is experiencing a recruiting boom. It's up about 70 percent over the same period last year.

Peggy Davidson, vice president of brand communication for Mary Kay Inc., said the skin care and color cosmetics company also is seeing more interest.

She said there was a 30 percent increase in new people looking to sell Mary Kay in January and February, compared with the last two months of 2008.

Flexibility is an important perk of direct selling.

"You work your job around your family, not the other way around," said Pike, who is a regional manager. "You make your own schedule and you are in control of your paycheck."

Nunley said people can devote as much or as little time as they wish and set their own goals.

"Some do it for the holidays; some do it as a part-time job, and some want to make it a career," she said. " I am working toward making it a full-time job."

The majority of consultants work on a part-time basis.

"About 85 percent of our reps do this part time. Some are stay-at-home moms," said Tory Kiam, president of lia sophia.

Start-up costs often are low, and there is a support network in place to help newcomers.

"You can get started for as little as $100," Davidson said about direct selling for Mary Kay. "You get a starter kit to hold your first demonstration.

"Mary Kay started with the idea of women helping women. You have recruiters and unit directors who are there to help you. You are in business for yourself, but never by yourself."

Similarly, lia sophia charges a one-time start-up fee of $149, which includes catalogs, a training video and 24 pieces of jewelry to show to people.

"We try to make things easy as possible for our salespeople to make money and to handle the business. We ship directly to the hostess - that takes the sales rep out of the delivery process," Kiam said. "We pay commission every week. It is pretty much instant cash."

Mirror Staff Writer Walt Frank is at 946-7467.