I've been involved in being in business for myself since 1st grade' back in 1954' I'd buy penny candy at the local corner store in my one corner home town on Vashon Island. Then took it too school and sold it for a nickel. Sounded reasonable to me but the school shut this budding business woman down after a couple of weeks but buy then I was hooked with the possibilities. As a youth I set up several businesses and even had my first employee, under the table of course.
My intent isn't to trash the concept of home based business, rather to share some of the lessons I've learned through the many years. You might call me a network marketing failure but I choose to call it one heck of an education. We either get bitter OR can look at each failure as one more step of necessary education.
Education can come in several ways: some you purchase; some you learn from your own mistakes along life's path and some come from working with a mentor who has walked that path before you. But who better to give advice to up and coming network marketers than someone who has failed. Learn from my mistakes! You'll find enough new ones on your own. I worked several what I call "straight" jobs and learned as I went that I wanted to work with my mind, not with my back and not where I'd be disposable by some company. I wanted some measure of control in my life. It's an old saying that a 'job' is nothing more than a grave without the ends on it.
I worked in a ski factory (dirty, noisy and the people that worked there looked like walking dead in the lunch room), gave notice and moved on. Got a degree and worked as a Respiratory Therapist in the Hospitals. Didn't take long for me to realize I wanted the director's job and she saw it too. Hmm, not room for two hens in the hen house as they say. I've always been a leader and a builder. So after a few years moved on and built a factory with custom made leather furniture, luggage and clothing. Well, you can only grow so big without enough capital and at the time I knew nothing about venture capital, so sold out. This just wasn't working. But was educational!
Finally started researching MLM companies and started selling 'swipe' – cleaning supplies; then moved on to fire alarm systems, upgrading to Fortunate Corporation of pet supplies, cleaning and vitamins. Went to several others along the way as each somehow collapsed and the leader had a new bigger and better thing for me to do. Somehow a picture was forming in my mind of what the game was.
Hit top rep in volume of new reps hired and total production in US when I set that a goal but the company was letting people down on its promises and I moved on. The company went out of business.
Now I was also training as a professional trainer and public speaker. Earning serious money teaching people in MLM companies how to make money. Their up line hired me to come in and train the organization. Good money there but couldn't get it through most people's heads that the BIG guys sell the concept of the Business, the Dream and the rank and file sell the product. So choose wisely what you are really selling. Then I found a company and went on to work. That company has the highest of ethics, doing good for both the client and the rep. Now that spoke to me. It was in Financial Services and I had offices in two cities, Bellevue WA and Honolulu HI.
I built a huge organization, made disgusting amounts of money and at the time really enjoyed meetings each week where my job was to get new people to 'see' the dream and then to train fellow reps how to win in being in a home based business. Then I'd take top awards for bring more people than anyone else to some exotic location for a 'Be All YOU Can Be Seminars" were we really teach them to dream.
All the while it was same old thing. Teach new folks to make a list of friends and family, go see them, do more lists of referrals and of course, get everyone to a meeting. Well, those types of building a network marketing or MLM program are still in use. But major changes hit the business world in the face.
Born is the Internet Revolution! Now the internet is a part of every serious marketers plan; be they a home based business or a brick and mortar business. 50% of all people in US buy some products or services on the internet and the numbers are rapidly growing.
Unfortunately most marketers are turning to purchasing leads which they are often told are 'honest opt in leads', meaning people who really want YOU to call them and talk about joining your business. Well, it just doesn't work that way. Those leads come from unsuspecting people thinking they are winning something for free, buying magazines, hitting the wrong key on your computer; YES you and all your private information are floating around being sold and sold again. I call that an invasion of privacy. I for one do not like telemarketers, mass emails invading my inbox and faxes for things I don't want.
Let us take a look at Avon Company. It has the highest of quality of products and an excellent compensation program for its representatives. It is a long standard leader in the Business Community. But if those Avon reps turn to buying leads, wanting to get a leg up in this tech age, Avon Leads being sold is a bad thing. They are normally not sold by Avon or any of the companies, (there are a few exceptions where the company double dips and makes money selling leads as well – shame on them)!
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