Editor’s note: This article was first published in June 2010; its view of network marketing as an internet-based activity that requires basic web and blogging skills reflects that time.
For anyone who doesn’t know what this business is about, put simply, network marketing is like multi-level marketing, but over the internet.
At some point you will have landed on a website that offers you the chance to make a lot of money with this kind of business. You will have heard or read about the great successes some people have had in it, easily and without any effort.
It is neither entirely untrue nor entirely true. The internet industry clearly generates many billions. But a business that is good for you does not have to be good for me, and vice versa.
Let me explain: to go into the network marketing business you need to be sure you meet these requirements:
1. Be clear that the network marketing business works exactly like any other business. It takes a lot of work to win customers, and since that happens over the internet, you need at least some basic computer skills. Even if they tell you that you don’t need them, believe me, if you have no idea what a website or a blog is, you will probably throw away your time and money.
2. Be a very persistent person. You will be your own boss and won’t have to answer to anyone. When you have spent 30 or 40 days working hard and enthusiastically without getting results, there is a high chance you will lose motivation and give up, having lost time and money.
3. Be prepared for rejection and criticism from your friends and loved ones. Most of the people around you will not understand this kind of business, so you will hear only negative words and doubts, which, combined with the lack of results in the first months, can make you quit.
4. Be prepared for the incompetence of your affiliates or referrals. If you have got this far and already have your first customers, now it is all about your affiliates finding other referrals to grow your sales network. Often your affiliates are people who, like you, thought it would be easy and are now discouraged to discover that it takes a great effort, one many are not willing to make or don’t know how to make. That can make you feel that all the work you have done was not worth it.
5. Have savings or another income. This may be the most important point. You should know that success in internet businesses, as in real-world businesses, does not come overnight; it takes a long road and time. That is why it is essential to start while you have some kind of income, because if you have left your job to devote yourself to network marketing, you will feel under pressure to make a profit. That pressure will lead you to make the wrong decisions.
Now, if after reading these points you are clear that you can handle each of them, you will be entering a business that can take you to the peak of the long-sought financial freedom. But if you have doubts about any of them, better not even try.
Further reading
- How to start a business with no money
- The mindset of an entrepreneur
- If you have a business idea, how to carry it out
Featured image: That Hartford Guy from Hartford, Connecticut, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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