[4] In 1868, J. R. Graves discontinued the mail-order business model, and began training men to sell Bibles and educational books door-to-door as a way to earn money for college.

[7] Every year, the company recruits American and European university students to work as independent contractors who sell educational books, software, and subscription websites during the summer months.

[3][8] Students who accept a position complete a free, week-long training program in Nashville, Tennessee.

[9] After completing the program, students are assigned a position outside of their home or school states, and are typically responsible for housing costs of about $50/week, usually living with a host family.

[3] Some students report working 80 hours a week or more during selling season, though minimum quotas are not mandated by Southwestern.

The main product, Southwestern Advantage, is a series of educational reference books targeted to school-age children.

[21] In the UK University of Durham's campus in 2005, the Durham Students' Union, stating that the "Southwestern Company 'experience' is not marketed as openly as it could be, and some students may be misled", banned Southwestern from Dunelm House and mandated the union president "to liaise with Southwestern Books to work towards marketing which is clearer and to ask the company to develop its recruitment process to ensure Durham students are aware of the risks and pressures that the job entails.

[24] A non-binding motion was passed at the 2010 AGM of the Students Association at the University of Edinburgh, banning the company from all union premises.