Network Marketing

Network marketing – relationship marketing, multilevel marketing (mlm) doesn’t get respect. On one hand I understand why but on the other I don’t.

Do Understand: 1,000s have come and gone since Amway put this idea on the map (the first commercially successful one). Usually, the others are gone for “bad” reasons – products are terrible & don’t work, the founders end up in jail, weird people, and 1,000s “just like Amway only better” are duds.

Don’t Understand: Traditional business is tough. Very few make it longer than a few years. The money needed to start is tremendous.

Network marketing is a shared risk. The product developer doesn’t have to pay for advertising until after the product is sold, and the people promoting the product get to have their own business for very little startup money.

One of the best reasons to have your own business is tax breaks. If all you are is an employee, you are the most heavily tax person in America.

People: People do business with people they like and trust, whether traditional business or network marketing. People make network marketing a hard business but rewarding. It’s great to help other people use a business to make a positive difference in their lives. The successful people that I’ve met have: integrity, good business sense, and a heart for serving people. That’s a hard combination to come by, fortunately all of those characteristics can be developed. I found that the people who grow themselves become successful. They learn to attract people because of who they’ve become.

But, because it’s a people business you have your share of weird people (ethically challenged or strange – strange is fun, ethically challenged is a problem). I know corporate America and small businesses have their share of weird people too. (It’s not an exclusive privilege of network marketing.)

The key is: a good product at a fair price. Can the product or service stand on it's own? Can you develop a customer base and not just a distributor base?

I’ve been an Amway distributor longer than I’d care to admit. I’ve never made more than a couple thousand a year. But I like some of the products (they’re excellent quality at a good price). The big negative is how people say Amway in their whinny voice.

The merits: they are the big dog. They’ve been going for 50 years. They generate several billion a year in revenue. They are all over the world. You know they will be there for your kids. I think the only company that’s created more millionaires than Amway is Microsoft. If you build it you can make a lot of money.

An interesting new comer that adds credibility to network marketing is Donald Trump. He’s launched a vitamin based mlm, the Trump Network.

More recently, I've switched my vitamins to Univera. I also believe that there's a lot of potential in DubLi.

A recession is great time to build a network marketing business because people know they need a plan B and/or an additional source of income. Find a network marketing company that you can believe in and begin to share it with others.

Have Fun! Make Money! Make a Difference!

Steven Geothner