· Become a real estate investor and buy houses for DIRT CHEAP
· Work from home doing data entry
· How you can make money selling on EBay
· Make money from marketing an eBook on how to make money
· “Share” the latest and greatest juice, weight loss pill and other health related items
· And the list goes on and on…….
Many of these ads claim that you can make loads of money. They try to entice you with a photocopy and some check with all the information blanked out except for the amount. I’ve also seen screenshots of daily payouts from places like “clickbank” or Google adwords. How can you actually believe these people and their extravagant claims to riches?
I’m sure we’ve all heard of infamous “pyramid schemes.” But I’ve asked people, what exactly is a pyramid scheme? I didn’t know either. So I “googled it” and here’s what I found. The definition according to the US Federal Trade Commission is:
“A pyramid scheme is a non-sustainable business model that involves the exchange of money primarily for enrolling other people into the scheme, without any product or service being delivered..”
I came across another scheme called a “Ponzi scheme.” Here’s the definition:
“In a Ponzi scheme, there is one person who takes people's money as an "investment" and does not necessarily tell them how their returns will be generated. As such, the people's return on investment could be generated by anything; it could come from money taken from new investors - which means new investors essentially pay off the old investors.”
Here’s a business model that is currently in the spotlight: & MLM (Multi-level Marketing) or Network Marketing. The FTC says that MLM businesses are illegal if they have no product or services and that they can disguise themselves as pyramid schemes. But, did you know that there is a legal MLM business structure? I thought all of these business opportunities were illegal.
Legal multi-level marketing (MLM) involves being recruited in order to sell a product or service that actually has some inherent value. As a recruit, you can make a profit from the sales of the product or service, so you don't necessarily have to recruit more salespeople below you. And while you may be encouraged to recruit other salespeople whose sales would give you more profit, you can stick to just selling the product directly to the consumer if you choose.
Most of us, including myself, have a fear of being scammed. So much, that it prevents us from taking any action. We don’t want to lose what little money we have to a pirate.
So here’s the ultimate question: “How do we know if it’s a legitimate business?”
Here’s what I’ve found through the months of research on this topic.
- DO YOUR HOMEWORK!
There are MLM companies popping up left and right. Just like any other companies and businesses in the corporate world, there are good and bad companies. You have to do your research so see if this company, compensation plan, product, etc. is right for you. You also have to believe in the product that they offer. There’s no point in selling a product that you don’t care about or may never use yourself.
When considering a MLM company, here are the topics that you should do your homework:
· Consumable product/service
· 100% Money Back Guarantee
· Track Record
· Compensation Plan
· Management
· Marketing Support
Consumable product or service
The reason why most people join an MLM is to receive residual income or as I like to call it, beach money (money that I’m getting paid while sitting on the beach doing absolutely nothing). You need to a find a company where people use the product or service that has mass appeal and usage. Such a product would be used or consumed over and over again. This is the key for building long-term wealth. You need to look for a company that has automatic monthly shipments to your customers. These payments would be debited from a checking account or a credit card. The key is to simplify the process for you and your prospects. You don’t want to be asking them to send a check out every single month. You want the system to be seamless and automatic as much as you can.
100% Money Back Guarantee
You should look for MLM that stands behind their product with “no strings” attached. Understand that the company may charge a small restocking fee.
Track Record
Researching about a company’s track record is extremely important. Finding a company that has proven itself in delivering products and paychecks on time is crucial to your future. Just remember though, there are no guarantees in business! Evaluate a MLM company like you would any other investment such as stocks and bonds. Call your prospective up-line and find out as much information as you can about the company. Call the company itself and ask them how long they’ve been in business and what they’re doing. This is to ensure that the work that you’re doing today will pay off in the years to come. You can also do a web search on the company. Be aware, there will be many complaints from people who quit from not doing their homework. Misery loves company. Do your homework, but remember…
- Eventually you’re going to have to go on faith and trust the company to be around long enough for you to make lots of money.
Compensation Plan
Why else would you join a MLM anyways? Well, to make money..Lots of money. You need to understand how the company will pay you. There are many different models on how companies will pay you. I will list some of the models, but I won’t go in depth here.
· Uni-Level
· Binary
· Matrix
· Break-Away
Whichever company you decide to be involved with, you need to understand which model they use. Ask your prospective up-line to explain it to you in detail. I’d be wary if my up-line can’t explain the plan or it’s too confusing. You know what happens when confusion occurs: NOTHING HAPPENS. That's called “analysis paralysis.” Again..Do your homework.
Management
You need to evaluate the track record of the people who are running the company. What are their visions and goals? What are their backgrounds? Do they support their distributors in field? You don’t want a CEO that worked at S&L Bank. Do you?
Marketing Support
How will the company support you in the marketing of the product or service? Is there a simple and DUPLICATIBLE training system in place? Why be DUPLICATIBLE? You want be able to train your down-line and have them train their people and so on. You want to create and organization that can eventually run itself with minimal effort from you. Do you think Bill Gates of Microsoft works 40 hours a week? Obviously no because he has built a big business to where it runs itself. This is where you deserve to be.
Realize that there is no such thing as “QUICK MONEY.” If you do come across one of those, RUN AS FAST AS YOU CAN! A legitimate business takes time to build and grow. So be prepared for the journey, as it will not be an easy one. I’ll be honest with you.
It will take some amount of work. How much work is up to you? My favorite quote is:
- “Being a millionaire isn’t easy. If it were, then everyone would be a millionaire.”
In the end, you have to ask yourself why you are looking for a home business.
Is it:
· So that you can stay home and raise your own kids
· Get out of debt
· Buying your dream home or car
· Traveling
· Financial Freedom
· Or leaving a legacy for your future generations
Whichever your goal is make sure you have it written down somewhere. Having a goal is like driving to a destination. Without a goal, you’ll just be driving around aimlessly and eventually running out of gas.
II hope that this article well help you in your quest. I wish everyone much luck and success in their future endeavors. See you at the top.
Here are some invaluable resource to aid with your research:
New Ebook reveals why the majority of mlmers fail in their business... Click Here!
How
to Achieve True MLM Wealth Online. Free Audio
To Your Success,
David Nguyen
Small Business Owner/Entreprenuer
Morgan Hill, CA
dmnprop@gmail.com
