73-year-old Dororthy lives with her husband in Worthing where she runs her Forever Living direct selling business from home. Just a few years ago she was juggling a busy career as a university lecturer and a midwife for the NHS just to try and make ends meet.

While most people earn an extra £481 a month on average, Dorothy often rakes in between £2,000 and £2,500.

More than half a million (631,000) Britons work in direct selling - yet 98 percent of them are women.

The industry attracts a lot of mothers because they can choose to work part-time and fit the business around family commitments.

Susannah Schofield OBE, director general of the Direct Selling Association, said the industry has seen a 12 percent year-on-year growth of people becoming 'evening entrepreneurs' since the pandemic.

She said: “The events of the pandemic have served as a catalyst for a rapid transformation to far more sophisticated and widespread support of direct selling via online platforms.”

4. "Beware of rogue traders – As in many sectors, there are individuals that can do huge damage to the reputation of the wider industry.

Beware of individuals making unrealistic claims about direct selling being a chance to ‘get rich quick’ – anything that looks or sounds too good to be true probably is.

5. "Always look for the DSA logo – the Direct Selling Association (DSA) is the recognised trade body in the UK for direct selling and its members must adhere to strict Codes of Conduct, which ensure greater rights and protection, prompt payment of commission and adequate training.

A full list of DSA member companies can be found online at www.dsa.org.uk."