| Several years ago, I discovered that there are | | | | company. First, after countless of hours of research, |
| unlimited paths on which one can travel through this | | | | let me tell you what to look for in a network |
| journey we call life. Up to that point, I had done | | | | marketing company:1) Solid background. The |
| nothing but dream of the day I would play | | | | company you work for should have at LEAST 5 |
| professional soccer. My senior year on the college | | | | years of history, and it should be POSITIVE history. |
| soccer team was cut short with a bad ankle injury, | | | | Look for things like a company that's traded on the |
| so I focused on finishing up my degree and | | | | stock market, honors from reputable companies |
| graduating.There I was, just having graduated college | | | | (Business Week, Forbes, etc.)2) Great leadership. I |
| where I was receiving my computer science degree | | | | learned this from Jim Collin's book, Good to Great. |
| and was ready to do what you're supposed to do, | | | | See what the company leaders have done in the |
| go get a 9-5 job for the next 44 years and retire at | | | | past. (i.e. Were they selling magazines from the back |
| age 65. I went to work at a respectable aeronautics | | | | of their car before joining this company?) Also - Are |
| company as a Software Engineer. My head was | | | | any high profile figures endorsing the products? (With |
| always great with computers, but my heart would | | | | a high profile person's reputation at stake, they will |
| never listen to my head. I found a "MLM"/network | | | | only associate with top products.)3) Re-usable |
| marketing company shortly after beginning my | | | | products. Whatever you're selling and/or consuming |
| soon-to-be short lived software engineering career. | | | | needs to be items that are used up quickly and |
| After paying a LOT of money ($5,000) for a LOT of | | | | re-ordered regularly. (Mortgage Refinancing doesn't |
| product, became a "director" at this company. To | | | | work in network marketing because the average |
| make a long story short, 6 months later I had $4,900 | | | | person only refinances every 5 years.)4) In demand |
| in products sitting in my parent's garage, and the | | | | products. Example, the health industry is seeing |
| network marketing company was involved in a | | | | tremendous growth due to all of the baby boomers. |
| lawsuit and had been completely shut down. I was | | | | This is paired with the life expectancy raising every |
| supposed to get reimbursed some portion of the | | | | day. (We'll be at life expectancy of 120-150 years in |
| $5,000 I had invested (after lawyer's fees and such | | | | no time.) The health field is a GREAT example of a |
| were taken out), but that was about 7 years ago | | | | great place to investigate.5) Solid marketing |
| and I haven't seen a dime since then.Fast forward | | | | techniques. There are something like 6 or 8 main |
| about 4 more years down the road. I was on my 3rd | | | | models of how a network marketing company can |
| software engineering position and had almost tripled | | | | pay it's associates. Make sure the model of your |
| my income from when I first graduated college! This | | | | company is fair, doesn't require minimums, and is truly |
| was GREAT, but even then I realized that the | | | | residual. (So that if you ever stop growing your |
| reason I was forced to find my 3rd job was because | | | | business, your income keeps coming in.) Also - How |
| the company at my 2nd job went through a | | | | do you find your associates? (Through the internet? |
| company-wide slashing and laid-off about 2/3 of the | | | | Friends and family?) (Read Richard Poe's Wave 4: |
| entire company. I did NOT like the idea that one day | | | | Network Marketing in the 21st Century)6) Do your |
| my family would be at the mercy of bosses and VP's | | | | research. You need to take calculated risks to be |
| at companies who are only looking out for | | | | successful in anything in life...but make sure you've |
| themselves. I had to do something about this...I saved | | | | done your research by checking out the BBB (better |
| up money for several months of expenses, and | | | | business bureau). Try to find "dirt" on the company. |
| started exploring many businesses that I could start | | | | (Check the validity of the sources claiming the dirt.)7) |
| on my own. I had a short stint with my best friend | | | | How are the products delivered? (Do you need to |
| and one other person. There was a rather successful | | | | stock a garage full of products? Can the associates |
| company they had both worked at before...and said it | | | | place orders directly?)8) Great training. Make sure |
| was going to be easy to recreate everything that | | | | that you will have the proper training and support |
| their former company had done. We started out, and | | | | from your team. You don't want to be a part of |
| I quickly left after making 200-300 cold calls per day. | | | | something where you're totally on your own to |
| (3 ½ years later this company is doing monthly | | | | figure it out. (This typically relates directly back to |
| sales of $250,000-$300,000 and all of the owners are | | | | the companies compensation plan.)9) IMPORTANT - |
| making 6 figures...OOPS!) I still talk with my best | | | | How many hours per week do you need to put into |
| friend daily and we are always plotting our next big | | | | the business? Are true passive/residual income |
| money maker...but I'll talk more about that in a bit...I | | | | techniques employed? (e.g. How do you find your |
| finally chose to start a franchise with my parent's | | | | downline? How do they get trained? How much help |
| equity in their home. (After MANY hours of talking | | | | is your upline?)10) Make sure you keep your current |
| with them.) After investing over 6 figures into this | | | | "linear" income job until your new network marketing |
| franchise, we quickly discovered that we should've | | | | company residual income can overtake it!11) MOST |
| chosen a much more seasoned franchise. (Of course, | | | | IMPORTANT - Learn how to dream, and also learn |
| we couldn't have afforded the bigger franchises...) 5 | | | | how to set goals. (Read Napoleon Hill's Think and |
| years later, I've made around $8,000 from the | | | | Grow Rich) 90% of this business is mental. (This is |
| company (total), and besides paying for all of the | | | | true of any endeavor in life, playing professional |
| employees, taxes, product, rent, etc...we've got | | | | sports, achieving great wealth, affecting mass |
| nowhere besides paying the monthly interest only | | | | humanity, etc.) EVERYTHING starts with an idea in |
| loan payments to the bank. (This is after working | | | | one person's head. Conceive it, believe it, achieve it. |
| 80-100 hours/week for the first 11 months of the | | | | (Read Malcolm Gladwell's The Tipping Point)Jason |
| business...where at that point I was forced to find | | | | Cardamone is a certified life coach, accomplished |
| other work because I had to make SOME income to | | | | soccer player and coach, entrepreneur, and most |
| pay my mortgage.)Finally, after all of these "failures", | | | | recently, a successful network marketer. |
| I found the PERFECT company, a network marketing | | | | |