DSA is aware of the May 6th release of "Little Bosses Everywhere" by Bridget Read, an author whose views reflect a consistent misunderstanding of the direct selling channel.

Recent reviews in The Washington Post and The New York Times echo the book’s flawed and dismissive narrative, one built on outdated assumptions and elitist attitudes. DSA could not let this portrayal go unchallenged.

We have submitted responses to the Post’s and Times' Opinion Pages to set the record straight and defend the millions of Americans who choose direct selling to support their families, pursue entrepreneurship, and find flexible economic opportunities.

You’ll find these letters below. We encourage you to read what we've developed and use any language you might find helpful as you wish.

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Response to The Washington Post

In Becca Rothfeld’s review of Bridget Read’s Little Bosses Everywhere, both writers paint a grossly inaccurate portrait of direct selling—a sector that continues to grow alongside Americans’ interest in modern economic opportunities and that employs some of the strongest consumer and seller protections across industries.

The piece’s conclusions are built on faulty assumptions that bear little resemblance to the direct selling industry of today. Worse, both writers demonstrate a patronizing disparagement of millions of Americans because of how they choose to earn extra income, pursue a passion, or explore entrepreneurship. Such condescending attitudes fail to reflect the real values fueling direct sellers.

Direct selling companies continually grow and evolve alongside Americans’ interest in modern economic opportunities and feature strong consumer and seller protections. Many people want to explore business ownership without facing the hurdles, costs, and risks typically associated with a startup. Direct selling provides a pathway to entrepreneurship with low initial costs, quality products, state-of-the-art supply chains, business training and workshops, community support, and e-commerce storefronts. 

And many of the country’s most well-known, loved, respected, and successful consumer brands that have been part of the American fabric of business for decades, if not the better part of the 20th century, use direct selling as a means to sell their products to customers.

Further, most direct selling models offer generous product guarantees. For instance, Amway offers free training and education to all aspiring Amway independent business owners. If anyone is dissatisfied with an Amway purchase, the company backs its products with a full refund upon return within six months.

Those who find direct selling meets their needs and interests do so because it provides them with a flexible, economical, protected way to generate additional income to support their families, and because the community, training, and support available to them is unmatched in other secondary income opportunities.

Rothfeld and Read may wish to denigrate Americans who earn supplemental income through non-traditional opportunities. But while Rothfeld finds it “difficult to fathom why so many people” take advantage of these opportunities, what direct sellers might find more confusing are the misconceptions and faulty premises that underpin these criticisms.

Read’s book may have arrived a half-century too late, because it certainly does not reflect the realities of the modern direct selling industry—or its key role in our modern economy.

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Response to The New York Times

Emma Goldberg’s review of Little Bosses Everywhere recycles a well-worn narrative that fails to reflect the modern direct selling industry and the millions of Americans who participate in it by choice—not coercion.

While Bridget Read’s book may read like a thriller, its storyline is rooted in outdated generalizations and ignores decades of evolution in business practices, compliance standards, and consumer protection. Today’s direct selling companies offer robust product guarantees, transparent income disclosures, extensive training, and support systems that empower individuals to explore flexible, low-cost entrepreneurial opportunities.

To suggest that sellers are merely victims of a “shadowy” enterprise grossly underestimates their agency and dignity. Most do not expect riches—they seek supplemental income, community, and purpose. Painting this honest pursuit as exploitative is an affront to the values of hard work and independence that underpin it.

Moreover, the assertion that direct selling is inherently political or “anti-expert” is a distracting overreach. Millions of Americans—nurses, veterans, teachers, caregivers—engage in direct selling for reasons as diverse as they are.

What’s truly outdated isn’t the model—it’s the patronizing assumption that those who embrace alternative income paths must be misled. That misconception is the real myth worth dismantling.