Book Review: The Secret is YOU by Chris Cicchinelli
photograph of a pink book called the secret is YOU by Chris Cicchinelli on a bookshelf with a plant to the left and blue and white mug to the right.
Synopsis: How a trailblazing business turned the hottest bedroom toy accessories into a $350 million global empire. In 2000, Chris Cicchinelli was twenty-five and at a crossroads. He had just been forced to leave a promising position at a large retail franchise when his mother, Patty Brisben, called. She wanted her son’s help in growing her women-only, in-home party business featuring relationship enhancement products. Cicchinelli had been earning well over $100,000 annually at his previous job. Patty said she could pay him just $24,000. Still, he said yes, planning to stay just a few months to get the company—which would soon be rebranded as Pure Romance—on its feet. But after recognizing its potential, he never left. Long hours on the road and a restyled business model initially led to financial struggles, and more questions than answers. But their strategy ultimately paid off in explosive growth that swelled the company’s revenues from $3 million in 2001 to $350 million today. Its workforce of independent consultants now exceeds 40,000 in the U.S. and abroad, despite the recent challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. In the secret is YOU, author Chris Cicchinelli charts his two-decade journey transforming Pure Romance into the world’s largest in-home/virtual party company of its kind, while also sharing his innovative approach for empowering women to become successful entrepreneurs themselves.
Review: As soon as I heard that Chris was publishing a book last year, I knew I had to have a copy. This book was published in the spring of 2021 when the COVID-19 pandemic was still very rampant across the world, and I was a social seller for Pure Romance. A little over a year later in July 2022, I became a Sexual Wellness Certified Consultant with the company and just finished reading this book in November.
Why did it take me so long to finally get around to becoming a full fledged consultant, and to also read this book? Like many women, I was embarrassed and afraid of what people would think of me. After talking to my now sponsor more, I took her advice and just did it. I dove head first into the business and am still figuring it out as I build my business. I am very much a learn on the fly kind of person and need the no nonsense advice that Chris gives in his book. He’s a natural born leader and it shows in his book, in his podcast, and in all of his presentations. He’s honest, but kind in his delivery. He’s pragmatic and a realist. I appreciate the fact that he comes right out and says that this business is difficult and the outcomes we get are only a result of how much work we put into our business, which is the focus of Chapter 4.
Chapter 4: Be Proactive, Not Reactive probably had the biggest impact on me out of all the chapters. As soon as I read the first 2 pages, I knew that would be the focus of my training I gave as part of a 30 Days to Success group training my team did. If you’ve ever played sports, especially baseball or softball, you may have heard the term “play the ball don’t let it play you.” It essentially means go after the ball rather than wait for it to come to you or in other words, take the initiative to control the situation or narrative rather than wait for things to happen to you. Proactive people take the bull by the horns and guide it instead of waiting to get speared. Your success is determined by how much effort you put into your project(s), and your ability to develop a goal and break that goal down into manageable steps. It also means that your goal(s) will evolve overtime as you learn and develop. You also don’t have to know everything is the biggest piece of advice I needed to glean from this book because this was me - I thought I had to know everything before I did my first party, and once I got over that, I’ve been seeing success in a different light. I’ve been telling my customers to ask me questions because it’ll help me learn. I realize that I don’t need to know everything now, I will never know everything, and I have had amazing success at parties. I talk about what I do know and it’s already helped several women gain the confidence they need which is my ultimate goal!
I could go on and on for several more paragraphs, but I don’t want to essentially rewrite everything Chris said in his book. I’ll leave you with one of my biggest takeaways and misconceptions about direct sales companies like Pure Romance, you do not have to recruit team members or be active every month if that does not fit your lifestyle! One of the biggest perks about being a consultant for a company like Pure Romance, is the ability to make this business my own, to make my own schedule, and make a profit without the overhead cost of creating products.
In all, Chris Cicchinelli does an excellent job at packaging honest truth in a way that is digestible without being condescending. He is also vulnerable and speaks about how he’s learned hard lessons along the way in attempt to show that he’s human too. I also appreciated how he includes Consultant Spotlights throughout the book, using real life consultant stories to illustrate a point he’s making in a chapter.
Recommended for all readers who are looking to learn a little more about the direct sales business from the President and CEO’s perspective.
