Your Online Business

This blog is about my venture into network marketing which I run primarily as an on-line business but more for systems support than an integral Internet business. While I do generate some leads on-line now, I started by simply asking people I knew if they were living their ideal lifestyle.

All I needed was to start with a few people to join my business because they have a problem (the need more money for life, more free time to live it and better health as an insurance policy). They also know they have a problem and want to do something about it.  I work with these people, teaching them to teach a few of their contacts. The mathematical leverage of this structure is one of the Great Wonders of the World. It is also good to work with people you like, work when and where you want and while it takes some early investment of time and education, once the structure begins to build, the rewards are very significant.

Few people would disagree with the comment that these are uncertain economic times. Recession or looming depression is in the news often, governments are over-spending, lenders have offered loans on hollow assets which are tumbling in value, home prices are falling and repossessions rising. Companies are restructuring (or closing down), retrenching, going virtual or moving off-shore which are all signs of difficult times. Even the explosion of interest in network marketing with investments in the industry by financial greats such as Warren Buffet, Donald Trump, Robert Kyosaki, Richard Branson and others as a measure of uncertainty in traditional business models and the fairness and value in the network marketing industry.

A few years ago, I was invited to join the management team of a direct sales opportunity. Before I agreed, I fully investigated the network marketing industry as it was different to my experience with traditional businesses. It didn’t take long for me to realize that this model was so much better.

I do admit that I had some initial reservations because like most people, I had been exposed to that uncomfortable meeting which was passed off as a social invitation to a BBQ but instead was a sales pitch to join a particular MLM. I had also gone to other opportunity meetings where the openness was more palatable but the offering still didn’t suit my needs at the time.

So I researched the modern network marketing industry and I was excited to discover that it has matured significantly. The sophistication has elevated network marketing to a valid business choice with professionals embracing the structure and applying strategies and systems to increase their income, build net worth and create free time. Many start part time with little disruption to their existing activities but once the network income rises and looks to be sustained (we recommend a target of twice your wages) they go full time.

It allows distributors, people who know and embrace our product, to start a real business of their own recognizing that this is rapidly becoming known as the smartest way to escape the rat race. Network marketing is also the lowest risk method.

The more I researched network marketing the more evident it was that even a franchise, with the best systems, promotions and support was less attractive than a network marketing business. Franchises suffer from high establishment costs and on-going expenses making it high risk whichever way you look at them. And the licensing fee alone of a popular franchise can cost tens of thousands of dollars even up to 1.5 million for a particular hamburger franchise.

I liked the fact that a network marketing business also allows you to test the waters as it were and start part time and build or if you wish to jump in boots and all, you can and take it full speed from the start.

I also compared networking with conventional businesses where sales teams go out hunting for customers. If they win an account it’s because someone else lost out. They have to convince, persuade and price bargain until they get a tenuous relationship going with their clients. Then they are at the mercy of market forces and a product can live or die depending on the economy, the size and effectiveness of any advertising and PR and the budgets that drive it. Even the season or the retailers or the political climate or any number of other factors can kill off a great product that just doesn’t make the grade quickly enough. So much risk and all of it amplified in tough economic times when product cycles are short and investments supporting new products are tiny.

By comparison, we have a primary business model which has very low start-up costs; no inventory, no premises, no staff nor most of the associated expenses of setting up a business.And the real difference is that you can start part time, work closely with a mentor and coach and have a lot of fun helping others get what they want in life so that you also get to do the same.

Think about this:

We have been doing this sort of networking since we were 5 or 6 years old. We’d recommend toys, foods, movies, books, experiences and so many other things we enjoy.

Tom “Big Al” Schrieter has a story which demonstrates this ability to do the business:

He recounts how you might have discovered a movie, say Titanic. You go to the theatre, buy a ticket and before you watch the show you buy up some snacks from the food concessions in the movie house. Finally, you watch the show where Celine Dion sings really high and everybody drowns in the end. You go home where you find your useless brother in law waiting to scam a free meal. Luckily you’ve eaten so you tell him about the late show at the movies and how much you enjoyed seeing Titanic where Celine Dion sings really high and everybody drowns in the end. So he goes and buys a ticket, gets some snack foods and watches the show.

The next day he’s at work (holding up the water cooler) and what does he talk about? Absolutely. He recommends that his work mates go see Titanic where Celine Dion sings really high and everybody drowns in the end. They do the same, paying for the tickets, snacks and so on. At the end of the month the movie theatre owner adds up his takings and is impressed at how much he’s made even before adding on the profits from all the food concessions he also owns. Now. Does he write you a cheque for the referrals you made to increase his takings? Obviously not. And that’s the difference between referring for free and earning a margin on the increases sales for which you are directly and indirectly responsible.

What I learned while evaluating this business model was that the above process is known as WOMBAT marketing (Word Of Mouth, Buy And Tell) and it can all start with part time effort. But what I discovered was missing in most network marketing companies were the tools to coach others through this process of education and information flow. I embrace Mark Januszewski’s website which fully supports any MLM and takes the pain out of understanding recruiting, coaching, mentoring, training to teach and and other parts of the mechanics of network marketing.

The idea of a global business really appeals to me. I love traveling and running teams in different countries means that a networking business will generate income 24/7/365 days a year and I can visit my international teams on tax deductible trips and earn in currencies that might be worth twice the value of the Australian dollar. How good is that?

Lastly, our primary business also helps preserve some of the biodiversity of our planet; provides opportunities for indigenous communities in remote regions; and significantly contributes to reducing health care budgets, your own and those of governments. You can plan to live better, longer and happier knowing that many of our modern ills are of little concern to you.

If you are evaluating your options, you need to consider all the attributes of the perfect business. Download this check list of important characteristics for evaluating your online business and remember to subscribe to updates on this blog.

PS. If  you like what you’ve read and see how it can help your downline, contacts, friends and associates, please do me a huge favor and Pin, Like, Tweet, Share and Plus Up.