In this article, I want to share the good, the bad and the ugly about network marketing. These are my personal thoughts about the industry, based upon my ten years experience in network marketing. You may agree or disagree with what I have to say and that is perfectly okay. Listed below, we’ll briefly cover each area.
1. The Good: What I love about the network marketing industry is that you can start your own business for less than $500 (in most cases). You can leverage yourself and build a sales organization that spans the globe. You can earn passive income, also known as residual income. You can have some great tax advantages. You can associate with other positive, like minded entrepreneurs. You can develop a set of skills that will help you build and run a successful business (in any industry). You will become a better person due to your personal development. You can earn a high six or seven figure income and become financially independent at a young age. And there’s always room at the top for you!
2. The Bad: It’s only bad if you’re looking to get rich quick. It’s simple, but not easy to do. Our industry has a horrible reputation because we tend to attract the wrong type of people. Most people quit within 90 days. Most people never learn the right way to build their MLM Business. You will probably lose your enthusiasm within 60-90 days of joining. Most six figure earners take 5-10 years to get to that level. And most people aren’t willing to stick around long enough to develop the skills they need to succeed.
3. The Ugly: The industry is far from perfect. Most people who join our industry will not make $1 profit with their business. There’s a failure rate of approximately 97%. Many distributors will alienate their friends and family because they don’t join their business opportunity. I’ve even heard that this industry has led to some divorces (but it’s hard to prove). Most of the people who join our industry are not entrepreneurs; instead we tend to attract disgruntled employees, financially destitute folks or people looking for a job. I have nothing against these folks, but most of them shouldn’t be entrepreneurs to begin with.
Final Analysis
When I look at all these statements, I personally think the pros greatly outweigh the cons. In fact, for the average person, I am 100% convinced that network marketing is a good way to (1) reduce their tax burden, (2) to generate an extra $500 to $1000 per month and (3) develop new skills they can use in other business ventures. But it’s not for everyone. The weak usually weed themselves out pretty quickly.
So if at some point you decide network marketing isn’t for you, that is perfectly okay. But if you’re one of those people who has a strong desire to succeed in network marketing, a willingness to work hard, and a commitment to keep on keeping on, I’d like to say welcome home!
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of Network Marketing originally appeared on Online MLM Community on July 19, 2013.