Network Marketing:
Standing Firm on Shaky Ground
by Jack Hayford

Does your spouse threaten to divorce you if you even look at another MLM "opportunity?" Or, if you do throw caution to the wind and risk your marriage, do you get a sick feeling in the pit of your stomach when you lay out that precious thirty-five to fifty dollars for yet another "starter kit?" Does a black cloud hang over you when you give your newest sponsor a "warm" check for initial inventory and ask them to hold it until pay day?

Join the club! For everyone who's ever tried it, whether they've succeeded or not, starting a business is risky and frightening. True, joining a multi-level marketing program is not the same as buying a national franchise (you probably won't have to mortgage your house!), but the feeling you get may be identical. It may be just as painful for you to throw away a hundred dollars as it is for someone else to lose ten thousand. This is particularly true in our industry because MLM is where people who have little to invest (and lose) often look for an income opportunity. Countless success stories keep the pipeline of hopeful new distributors flowing by demonstrating that it is possible to make big money working from home, starting on just a "shoe-string." Unfortunately, those hopefuls all have something to lose.

Big or small, all entrepreneurs are cut from the same mold. According to Webster, an entrepreneur is "one who organizes a business undertaking, assuming the risk for the sake of the profit." I've underscored the risk part because that's the element that separates the organized business person from a true entrepreneur.

Some people won't risk anything - not their money, not their time, and certainly not their reputation. In the past, these folks were best suited to government positions or jobs with large corporations. These days, even incumbent politicians and IBM executives may be feeling more than a little insecure.

If you are going to enter the network marketing arena, face up to the fact right now that you are an entrepreneur. Accept risk as part of the deal. It's OK to feel nervous about spending an extra hundred dollars a month on phone calls. It's normal to get squeamish about buying another set of business cards. You will throw obsolete sales aids in the trash. You will run ads that get one response -- from somebody trying to sell you something. You will make mistakes, you will waste time and money, and you will kick yourself for acting too soon or too late. You may even be scoffed at by a friend or relative with a "real job." But if you're going to take the plunge and start your own company, with the potential to make a million dollars a year and have absolute control over your life, start it with the conviction that come hell or high water, you will prevail.

Jack Hayford has been a professional network marketer and MLM consultant for over twelve years.