If you have a dream of running your own business you
have almost certainly thought about network marketing
or MLM.

MLM companies that are well run offer a ready-made,
repeatable business plan that, when followed correctly,
can generate substantial incomes.

These same plans can also lead to dissillusion and
dissapointment. How come? Surely if it works for one,
it should work for everyone.

The truth is that no matter how good the parent
company, how ethically they run their business or how
generous their remuneration plan, MLM'ers are still
human beings. And human beings are just about as
variable as you can get.

For some, network marketing is the answer to a prayer.
These people will excel. They will earn large
commissions and regular bonuses.

For others it will never be 'that simple.'

Just as some folk love mustard and others love ketchup,
so it is with MLM. Some folk will just never get it.

At various points in our lives, my wife and I have
jumped into MLM to 'help pay the bills'.

Let me tell you, for us, the effort always far
outweighed the reward.

Sure, I personally know of several people who are
genuinely making seriously big money. One couple made a
£150,000 bonus check a couple of years ago. Nice bonus!

So, MLM isn't necessarily the ogre that it is sometimes
made out to be. Get the right company, with a good
reward scheme and a great product that people want to
buy - and keep buying - and you potentially have a
winner.

But ... MLM isn't a magic wand.

The people who do make good money would probably make
great money at anything they did. They work all the
hours that God sends (and more).

They also have a very specific blend of personality
traits that frankly, most of us don't match: they
combine super sales abilities, with immense patience
and teaching skills, AND they have boundless energy.

You will make a little money in a good MLM company by
selling the product. But usually, only a little.

The real cash only starts to flow when you reach a
critical mass of recruits - all feeding small amounts
of commission back into your account.

So, you have to ask yourself some honest questions:

• Do I have the time to devote at least 12 hours a day
  to building my business. (Believe me, any less and you
  will never get big checks.)

• Have I got limitless energy to keep on doing this day
  in, day out?

• Am I imaginitive enough to keep finding new ways of
  reaching people?

• Am I a highly persuasive sales person?

• Will I have a problem recruiting others?

• If and when I do recruit others, will I have the time
  and patience to train them in the best ways to run the
  business?

• Am I prepared to travel long distances to host
  recruitment meetings?

• Can I afford to advertise to get leads?

• Can I afford to do all of the above for very little
  return for at least the first 3 months?
  

And, as an observation, it seems to me that if you do
have the boundless energy, limitless time, and superb
sales talent needed to prosper in MLM, you would be far
better off applying it to building your own business.
That way you would keep all the profits.

That was ultimately what I did - and I haven't
regretted it for a second.

MLM can be good. But go into it with the rose-tinted
glasses firmly locked in their case.

Martin Avis is a management and training consultant.
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