Ryan Higgins is one of those people whose road to the top started out very differently than many in the direct marketing field. He never set out to be a 8 Star Sales Director in one of the most successful marketing companies in the world; he only wanted to earn money to provide for his children.

Ryan still lives in his hometown just outside of New Orleans Louisiana where he lives with his four children, life and business partner Angel, and her children. It’s also here where his story began.

After graduating from Southeastern Louisiana University in 2003, Ryan went to work for his family business of producing and marketing souvenirs and other tourist related merchandise. It’s a business that his Mom and Dad still run today. It required working long hours and sacrifice to support his family the mere $20,000 to $30,000 a year generated from that business. As if that wasn’t a challenge in itself, when hurricane Katrina struck the New Orleans area in 2005 it all but wiped out their struggling business as well as many others. As a business based entirely on the tourism trade, the storm had a devastating effect on the Higgins’ business while the recovery and re-building of that amazing city took place. Even today, years later, the effects of that storm are still impacting their business.