• Network marketing allows regular people to own their own business in a $130 billion industry with relatively easy start up and low investment risk, especially when compared with other businesses.  

• Networking marketing can fit your lifestyle.  You can work the business part-time and make a great supplemental income or work the business full-time and have the potential to earn a fantastic income that most people only dream of.

• There is literally no cap or ceiling on how much money you can make in Network Marketing – your hard work determines your paycheck.  In fact, you can actually earn more money than the people who are above you.

• The people above you in Network Marketing have a vested interest in your success more so than in a traditional business model.  Your success directly affects their paycheck!  This should translate to great support from others in the business. 

                - Generally provides less stress and more happiness than the corporate world 

                - Allows you to help your friends and family be successful – you choose your 
                co-workers

• If you work it correctly, Network Marketing can build residual income that lasts a lifetime so you keep earning even after you stop working!  Would you rather work smart and efficiently for a Network Marketing company for 3-5 years and be set for the rest of your life or work that 9 to 5 job for 30-50 years and have a smaller nest egg to show for it?

• Network marketing is a very legitimate, legal, and simplistic business opportunity that anyone can excel at and it can do wonders for your bank account.

Our Thoughts on Why We Only Hear the Bad and Not the Good:

This all sounds like some pretty great stuff, doesn’t it?  Well, it took learning those things for me (Jason) to change my perception.  You see I had pretty negative feelings about Network Marketing/Multi-Level Marketing, etc. and was very skeptical about the whole thing.  I actually told Jen “No, we are not doing that,” when she presented the information to me.  After some research of my own, my tone became, “We need to make sure this is the right thing we want to get into because a lot of people trust us and will give this a shot just because we are doing it.”  Then, after talking about it with friends, family, and other people I trust, I was amazed at how many people actually liked Network Marketing.  I learned how good the business model is as long as you are with the right people and the right product. 

So if all of these people that I know and respect think network marketing is a good business model, what causes the negative stigma that some people have with it?  As I can figure it, there a few reasons.  Probably the biggest is that there have been quite a few crooks in the business.  We do know that every business has its share of people who do not conduct business honestly and ethically, and admittedly, Network Marketing has had more than its share.  Does that mean, though, that you should discount Network Marketing all together?  I definitely do not think so.  I believe it is safe to say that 80% of the Network Marketing businesses out there are good and ethical companies. 

Another reason is that some of the businesses and distributors have been too sneaky about the fact that they are a Network Marketing business.  Why hide it?  Who wants do business, or even be friends with, someone who invites you over for dinner and then side-swipes you with a full-on business presentation complete with PowerPoint?  That’s not the key to success.  This should not be a business of manipulating and guilting your friends and loved ones.  There are quite a few Network Marketing companies out there that are straight forward and upfront.  You want to, of course, be a part of one of those. Be proud of what you do, and don’t hide it, especially from your prospects.  It can and will backfire.

As far as I have heard, the last of the three stigmas with Network Marketing is what we will talk about now.  This is not even so much of a stigma, but more of a reality with all of life.  It seems that many people have joined Network Marketing and expected to get rich quickly and with a minimal amount of work.  After a few months or so they get frustrated and quit.  Then they tell everyone who will listen how bad Network Marketing is.  I do not mean to offend those people, more than likely the keys to success were not communicated to them clearly.  This is a business that requires consistent work.  It is not a lottery ticket. The good news is that it is not back-breaking work and it is for a much, much shorter amount of time than the corporate world, but you must do some work to create success.  That is the reality of life.  The right Network Marketing business allows you to work smart instead of hard and create a lot of wealth for you and your family.  You just have to stick with it and work at it consistently and effectively.

What to look for in a Network Marketing Company:

I am not an economic guru or a renowned researcher so this list is not an official litmus test for prospective companies.  It is a list of common sense ideas that we can forget when we are in the middle of trying to make a decision.  Hopefully this helps you like it has helped me.

• Make sure you are getting paid commission and bonuses on the purchase of goods, services, products, etc.  This is legal.  As far as I have learned, it is illegal to “earn” money off of just getting people to sign up below you.  ie: You should not get paid commissions/bonuses off of annual fees, only when products are actually purchased, which does include promotional products.

• The product should be a consumable product that people will continuously reorder, preferably every month or less.

• The business model should be very, very simple.  The attraction of Network Marketing is that anyone should be able to do it.  You do x, y, z and it produces a customer or new distributor or you just move on.  No haggling or trying to be an all-star salesman.  It’s easy.  You then teach those under you to do exactly the same thing, which brings us to the next point.

• Easy duplication.  This is the reason to keep it simple.  The business can keep growing and growing below you without you having to break your back at managing it and without others claiming: “I can’t do that”.  You should never need to manage your business in Network Marketing.  The more people using the product and becoming distributors under you, the more successful you will be, but you don’t want to even think about having to personally walk each of those people through some training session. 

• You want to take a good look at the individuals already in the business and get a good feel and information on whom they are and if they are “good” people.  You also want to know who the leadership is and if this is the first time they have been a leader of a Network Marketing company or, heaven forbid, if this is their first Network Marketing business too.  There are plenty of other good Network Marketing companies out there that you should probably take a pass on the one that doesn’t pass this criterion.