{"id":2732,"date":"2019-12-05T11:23:22","date_gmt":"2019-12-05T16:23:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/?p=2732"},"modified":"2019-11-26T11:25:19","modified_gmt":"2019-11-26T16:25:19","slug":"wboc-leading-lady-jill-merluzzi-johnstone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/?p=2732","title":{"rendered":"WBOC LEADING LADY: Jill Merluzzi Johnstone"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>By Jamie Jenson<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Jill Merluzzi Johnstone hadn\u2019t planned on becoming a consultant for <a href=\"http:\/\/jjohnstone1.myrandf.com\/\">Rodan+Fields<\/a>, the billion-dollar skincare company developed by Drs. Katie Rodan and Kathy Fields, the same dermatologists who developed Proactiv in the 1990s, but once she used their products, she was hooked.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>A physician assistant who has spent the majority of her career in surgery and orthopedic surgery, Jill said she started learning more about the company and its products after a friend of hers hosted a Facebook party for Rodan+Fields.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe fact that the brand was created by female dermatologists struck with me,\u201d Jill said. \u201cThey are clinically-tested, science-backed products that really do what they say they\u2019re targeted to do, and it just fits along with my whole being as helping people.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Jill was also impressed that the products came with a 60-day money back guarantee.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou see things on television and you\u2019re like, \u2018Yeah, right,\u2019 but no, it really is!\u201d Jill said. \u201cYou send it back and you get credited your money, and I had never heard of that with any other products before.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>In February 2017, after using the products, Jill contacted her consultant friend not only to order more skincare products but to also find out what being an independent executive consultant with the company entailed. Unlike other brands, consultants do not stock their own inventory. All transactions are done in-person and over the phone, and consultants encourage their customers to call Rodan+Fields where they can discuss their skincare needs with a registered nurse without having to wait for a dermatology appointment.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Having a career with flexibility was another attraction for Jill, who had orthopedic challenges of her own. She was recovering from neck surgery and was concerned about the physical demands of her physician assistant job. There were also more exciting things happening in Jill\u2019s life, too.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThings in my life changed,\u201d Jill said. \u201cI wanted to start a family. My husband and I took in a couple of foster children and one was a newborn, so I needed to be out of work for at least eight weeks anyway. So at that time, that\u2019s when I really started working the business full-time.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>While the flexibility is an added bonus \u2014 Jill says she can work wherever there is Wi-Fi \u2014 she said she also loves her consulting job for the same reason she loved being a physician assistant: she gets to both help and educate people.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy goal now,\u201d Jill said, \u201cis to continue to educate people about the products and what they can do for them to solve their skin problems, as well as bring on other men and women to become skincare consultants and lead them on my team.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Jill also uses her business to give back to local nonprofits and causes that she\u2019s passionate about. She\u2019s helped to fundraise for Francis House, an organization that provides a home for people with terminal illnesses, and most recently, the CNY Diaper Bank, which helps to distribute diapers to families in need.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Jill said making a career switch like hers as been easy because of the amazing people she\u2019s met on her journey.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Rodan+Fields community is so supportive, and it has been very inspiring meeting other successful consultants. Rodan+Fields empowers women and men to be their best self; it is so much more than skincare,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>For the past couple of the years, Jill has spent time as a member of the Women Business Opportunities Connection.\u00a0 In WBOC, Jill said she has also found a supportive local community where she can network and meet new people.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>While Jill said she still works part-time as a physician assistant, but her main focus is on her consultancy. Since going full-time, she hasn\u2019t looked back.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy only regret,\u201d she said, \u201cis not hearing about the brand years ago!\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Jamie Jenson &nbsp; Jill Merluzzi Johnstone hadn\u2019t planned on becoming a consultant for Rodan+Fields, the billion-dollar skincare company developed by Drs. Katie Rodan and Kathy Fields, the same dermatologists who developed Proactiv in the 1990s, but once she used their products, she was hooked. &nbsp; A physician assistant who has spent the majority of&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":2733,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[99],"tags":[1045,1046,243],"class_list":["post-2732","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","tag-jill-merluzzi-johnstone","tag-rodanfields","tag-wboc"],"gutentor_comment":0,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Jill-Johnstone-0004.jpg?fit=3470%2C5200&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3340,"url":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/?p=3340","url_meta":{"origin":2732,"position":0},"title":"WBOC Leading Lady &#8211; Adrienne Peltz: Forging a unique path","author":"Alyssa Dearborn","date":"October 11, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"By Alyssa Dearborn When Adrienne Peltz\u2019s husband, Aric, wanted to propose to her, he wanted to give her a special ring. The special ring he had in mind had to be handcrafted by a local jeweler since he did not know how to forge custom jewelry yet. After Aric learned\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;WBOC Leading Lady&quot;","block_context":{"text":"WBOC Leading Lady","link":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/?cat=1232"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Adrienne-Peltz.jpg?fit=801%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Adrienne-Peltz.jpg?fit=801%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Adrienne-Peltz.jpg?fit=801%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Adrienne-Peltz.jpg?fit=801%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3559,"url":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/?p=3559","url_meta":{"origin":2732,"position":1},"title":"WBOC Leading Lady: Devan Robinson &#8211; Coaching people past the barriers in their lives","author":"Alyssa Dearborn","date":"April 24, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"By Alyssa Dearborn Social conditioning affects most women at some point in their lives. Although some types of social conditioning \u2013 such as people-pleasing, perfectionism, among others \u2013 are learned at a young age, conditioning can be unlearned. Helping people overcome these obstacles was the goal this month\u2019s WBOC Leading\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;WBOC Leading Lady&quot;","block_context":{"text":"WBOC Leading Lady","link":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/?cat=1232"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Bloom-2023-28-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Bloom-2023-28-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Bloom-2023-28-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Bloom-2023-28-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Bloom-2023-28-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":952,"url":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/?p=952","url_meta":{"origin":2732,"position":2},"title":"Anne Notarthomas","author":"Staff","date":"July 28, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Building a Web of Connections By Kathryn Walsh | Photography by Alice G. 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