| The idea that the majority of people who start any business fail is simply untrue. It was based on erroneous, doctored data published by Amway several years ago and has become an urban legend continually propagated among the Network Marketing community (I think largely by people looking to sell their company, methodology or system as a way to avoid that all-so-likely failure). Take a look at www.getfacts.com/amway/tosotp/tosp05.shtml. Unless you have some sort of bizarre definition of "failure", the fact is that only a small fraction of small businesses actually fail. The fact of the matter is that the odds against success in MLM/Network Marketing are STAGGERING. Take a look at this extremely well-researched study comparing the odds of MLM/Network Marketing vs. a pure Ponzi scheme vs. going gambling in Vegas: Where's the Harm?.
Don't get me wrong - I'm not opposed to the basic principal. Multi-tiered compensation plans are standard operating procedure in most sales organizations. But the reality is that most people who sign up for an MLM opportunity do not do well with it. The thing is, you'd never know that to talk to them, because they're all still trying to keep up the appearances, hoping that someone else will sign up for the same mistake they did.
I've researched dozens of these opportunities over the years - Excel, Amway, Melaleuca, and many more. In almost every case, the business model and the timing just didn't make any sense. By the time the opportunity got to me, the market was, by any sensible measure, saturated. I realized that the only way to REALLY make money on one of these things was to: - Get in early - preferably pre-launch.
- Find a product that didn't already have a ton of readily available competition (why buy vitamins through an MLM when you have a GNC right down the street?)
- Had a sensible, viable revenue opportunity without having to build a huge downline
- Offered real value and satisfaction to the end consumer
- Had a large enough potential market with a high enough influx of new prospects so as to avoid rapid saturation of the market
And yes, I did finally find something that met all those criteria. And no, I'm not going to list it here, because this is NOT a sales pitch for that - this is information you need to really consider when you're thinking about getting involved in an MLM. If you're interested, message me privately. For more guidelines about evaluating an MLM opportunity, see Too Good to Be True? 6 Questions to Check Out an MLM/Network Marketing Opportunity. You'll also find links there in the right sidebar to several other resources for researching MLM's - both positive and negative. I'm not trying to talk anyone out of MLM/network marketing - far from it - I'm just saying go into it with your eyes WIDE open. 
Private Reply to Scott Allen (new win) |
