I bet you have asked yourself all these questions and more. There are so many choices it can be hard to choose what to do. Think about it, if you are going to open a hardware store. would you not want to investigate how to run the store? Would you find out what you have to invest and what your chances for success are before you buy the store?
It is the same with starting a home business MLM. There are hundreds even thousands of companies out there to choose from and you need to get some education before you invest in one. Yes, it is an investment just like any other business. If someone is telling you can make money without investing in the business, they are a scam. By the same token, you shouldn't have to put up thousands of dollars up front just to join. There are plenty of opportunities out there where you can start at minimal cost if you need to. Most legitimate companies offer several ways to join and make money. Here are some tips to keep you from losing instead of making money.
• Get some education. There are plenty of places that will make you pay for the information but it is readily available for free. A group called Mentoring for Free will help you to learn the ropes. They have helped many people to be successful in a home business MLM. Read and think about what you read, take a look at the source of the article or website. Does this person want you to buy his cd that will tell you just what to do... and has he or she built a MLM business, or do they make their money selling the cd's and workshops? A very good question!
• Make sure they have a legitimate product. If the only money made comes from sponsoring someone, it is not legal. You may be able to make money for a while, but sooner or later the government will shut it down and you run the risk of going to jail. YES JAIL! Gifting programs are never legal no matter what they say. If you give money to someone, that is fine, but if you expect and/or get money back as a result, it is illegal. RUN, DON"T WALK AWAY!
• The product needs to be value priced, that is it should be something you would buy even if there were no business attached to it. If you are paying a hundreds of dollars for a product you can get for a few dollars anywhere else, how can you make money from the product? If the company can't make money from selling the product, your only customers will be the people you sponsor. Check on ebay and or Craigs list, see what it costs there. If you can get it for pennies on the dollar compared to the MLM companies price, you will have a problem. Would you be a customer if you weren't supposed to make money from this company? Money needs to come from products, not from someone signing up. Retail sales will give you a good foundation and this will make residual income, one of the really great perks that only home based MLM businesses can offer. Customers and business partners alike will purchase over and over, this will build a stable business for you.
• Don't fall into the easy money trap. Lots of offers out them appeal to the person that want instant gratification. Join this company, we will build your down line for you! No product to sell, no recruiting, make money the easy way! So where does the money come from if no one is selling a product, no one is paying to sign up, and no one is recruiting a down line? What good does it do you to have a hundred people that have signed up for your 'free' mall if no one buys anything. (and few do since it is easier to go straight to the stores website and buy there) And when they do you make so little that to have any income at all, you have to have hundred of people buying at the same time to get a check.
• Most of the MLM's that fail do so in the first 3 years. According to MLM Watchdog, Less than a year old the survival rate is less than 10%. One year to two the survival rate is 30%. Year two to three the rate is 50%. Over three years the survival rate jumps up to over 70%. If a company is new, a 'ground floor' opportunity, it hasn't proved itself in the market yet. You run the very real risk of building an income that will be pulled out from under you and not be the company you can literally retire from and keep your checks coming. You want the company to have time to work the bugs out before you invest your time and money into it.
• Who are the founders, the people running the show. Do they have a track record in the industry... have they started other companies and every couple of years fold up and start new? Have they EVER built an MLM business down line and worked a network marketing business before, or did they just want to jump on the bandwagon and make themselves a quick buck. Even someone who it sincere, without the experience in MLM. Find ceo's with integrity and experience.
• Expect to invest some time working the business. You should be able to make money working part time, an hour or two a day. Granted the more hours you put in the faster your business will grow but most people that do this are starting part time while working their full time job. Anyone that tells you you can just sponsor 1 or 2 people then sit back and wait for the profits are just in it for the sign up, they are recruiting and once you sign up, you will never get help from them again and you will do just that, wait for the money that never comes. A true opportunity will require a sustained effort at first. The idea is to work in the beginning building a solid foundation so that once you build it big enough, you can walk away and still make money. In this day of pensions going broke, a solid built MLM business can be your retirement and your legacy, something you can pass off to your kids and they to their kids.
These are just a few of the considerations that you need to think about. Getting that education will show you just what you need to watch out for. Find a mentor and a mastermind group of like minded people to talk with and learn from. They have been there already and you can learn from their mistakes. Don't buy leads or invest without doing the homework. Operating a home based MLM business is the greatest adventure and the best chance for most of us to be financially free. The personal growth and the camaraderie you get from joining with the right group of like minded people all working towards the same goal is the biggest rush you can ever have. I wouldn't trade the experience for anything. You can be successful with the right tools and the right support. I believe in you!
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