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I was speaking with a neighbor the other day. She has been out of work for nearly 8 months and spends most of her week trying to find a job. Her search has gone from looking for that ‘dream job’ to looking for ‘any old job’.
She tells me she spent around 35 hours last week looking for work including the time she spent driving to and from places. That’s a significant chunk of time, I thought to myself. She is spending just about the equivalent of a full time job just looking for a full time job (that may or may not be something she likes). At this point, with job availability being at an all time low, she is most likely to end up with something marginal or else a terrible job that she’ll just end up hating.
I suspect she is typical of people looking for work right now. Looking for scarce jobs takes a lot of time, not to mention effort and energy. What if these people could take that same time and energy and pour it into a home based business? In her case, 35 hours per week would let her build a strong network marketing fairly rapidly. Most people who start a network marketing business only do so part time, but a full time endeavor can bring you a full time income. So if you’re spending 30+ hours per week looking for job, have you thought about putting that effort into a home based business instead? Wouldn’t it be time better spent?
I was watching TV the other day when an ad for Dish Network came on. This ad started showing people struggling over bills and it says something like “There never seems to be enough money at the end of the month” etc. The rest of the ad dealt with the alleged savings that you can get with Dish Network and they treated it as though those savings were going to solve anyone’s financial issues. I thought wow.. what a stretch. Like anyone is going solve their money shortage by switching to Dish Network.
Assuming there is money to be saved by moving to Dish Network, that is not likely to make enough of a difference to matter for the big picture. You can cut back on things only to a certain extent. At some point most people realize the best solution to their money problems is to try to earn more money. In the past, that’s when they’ve gone out and looked for a better job.
I don’t have to tell you that that option isn’t a very good one any longer. I read something recently that said there is one job for every 4 people looking for a job. This is the time that a lot of people wake up and smell the ‘home based business’ coffee. This is the very best time to get involved in network marketing because it is a home based business you can start for very little money and with some work, build it into a lot of money.
It seems to me that the Network Marketing is heavily loaded with supplement based companies. These would include things like weight loss products, body-building supplements, and of course, various nutritional supplements. When you remove these companies from the list it seems there are not that many left.
What list you ask? Well I don’t know of a truly comprehensive list but this one at MLM Consultant comes pretty close although I see a few dead ones in there so it can’t be 100% current. It says its edited quarterly, but I see SeaSilver on there which went out of business in 2005.
I wonder why the supplement industry is so heavily represented in MLM? I think the supplement market is huge and has been huge for a while. Along with “huge” comes lots of demand but also lots of competition. I have often thought the competition level in the supplement market was a bit too heavy and I think it’s showing some strain under the present economy. For example this MLM company is sagging and one of their suppliers is becoming a competitor!
In our present day economic conditions, you will want a network marketing company that offers a product and/or service that people will use in spite of economic conditions. This makes many of the supplement products somewhat dubious now. When people start cutting back on basics because they can’t afford to have anything but peanut butter and crackers for dinner, they are not going to want to spend $50 on a supplement. I would suspect supplements are one of the first things to drop off the shopping list when times get tough.
Susan Boyle is all over the news now. In the unlikely event you haven’t heard about her, she showed up at a regional audition for “Britain’s Got Talent”. She didn’t look like the typical singer, but rather an ugly duckling. The ‘ugly duckling’ turned into a beautiful swan however, as soon as she opened her mouth to sing. Now she’s reached the celebrity status in just a few short days thanks to a widely watched YouTube Video (link below).
I think a big reason for Susan’s huge popularity comes down to one thing: Genuineness. In a world full of pop singers who have to use technology to enhance their marginal singing talent, here comes someone with a pure, natural, and pleasant voice.
In network marketing just like Susan’s fans, your prospects will appreciate you more if you are genuine. People want authentic; they crave it. And they’re not likely to join up with you if they sense the lack of these traits. So don’t try to be someone else; just be yourself and do the best that ‘yourself’ has to offer.
We’ve probably all been told to have a business plan and stick to it. How many times have you been told about the importance of a business plan? Do you just ignore the advice and go about your business simply because this is network marketing? Maybe you feel that because it’s network marketing, you don’t need a plan? Maybe you think, oh well, the company has the plan so I don’t need one.
Well if you want to differentiate yourself in your company, then you need a business plan to guide you. People tend to think, oh no, a Business Plan, that sounds so formal and awful, etc. But here’s a secret; it’s doesn’t have to be formal. While there are formal business plans, it really can be anything. It just has to be written down in a document somewhere on your computer. I say document on your computer because it needs to be something you can edit and change as time goes on.
Another misconception about business plans is that they are fixed. The fact of the matter is that a business plan should be changed as your strategies change. Maybe something you planned to do last year no longer makes sense. I try to make a habit of revisiting my business plan at least once per year to add to it and make any changes to it.
Another thing about a written business plan is that by its very nature, it’s something you commit to writing. Committing something to writing helps solidify any ideas you might be having about your business. Furthermore, the act of writing helps you to clarify them. Often we think about things in abstract terms, but the written business will help you to put those ideas in absolute words and give them further clarity.
So don’t be afraid of a business plan; it’s a tool for your business and one that you should look at as something in your business toolbox.
I was walking along the bike trail the other day, watching an owner and her dog. She was throwing a ball to the dog and the dog kept running after it to fetch it and bring it back. Repeat .. repeat … repeat. I’m sure you’ve seen this scenario before many times. I was thinking about this as a metaphor. Why do dogs seem to enjoy doing that? Do you think they really enjoy that repetitive chasing of a ball? I don’t think so. As a dog owner myself, I know that they’ve been trained and conditioned to get that ball and bring it back. Doing so makes owner happy. Making owner happy makes doggie happy. That’s why they seem to “enjoy” it. Of course no one knows what really goes on in a dog’s mind, but I’m sure they would rather be doing dog things: like chasing squirrels and sniffing that scent-laden bush.
When you work at a job for a boss, do you see that metaphor? With a job, you are chasing a ‘ball’ over and over again, and bringing it back to please the boss. Most people get no further satisfaction from their job (other than the paycheck).
This was one of the reasons that drove to my home based network marketing business. I don’t go around chasing squirrels and smelling bushes, but I do things that are more satisfying to me. At the end of the day, I can say I have done something that is a better fit for me with activities that I really enjoy. Since I’m the boss, I’m the one who I have to make happy.
It’s so easy to get caught up in the bad news going around these days. I know so many that are feeling down and immobilized by everything that’s going on. I also catch myself getting caught up in it from time to time. But one thing that I remind myself is that times will never be perfect. There will never be that perfect time – here on Earth anyway – where everything will be a rose garden. There are going to be thorns no matter what.
It seems we have our share of thorns nowadays doesn’t it? But don’t forgot to look closer. Some of the most beautiful flowers have the sharpest, most hideous thorns. I hope everyone has a wonderful Easter weekend and don’t forget to look at the flowers.
Do you try to find silver linings no matter how bad things are? What do you see when you read this? The good news or the bad news? Is the glass half full or half empty?
New jobless claims fell more than expected last week but are stuck at elevated levels, while the number of people continuing to receive unemployment insurance approached 6 million, setting a record for the 10th straight week.
There is a hint of better news in there although the writer tries to bury it with negative news which is typical of the mainstream news media. Good news just doesn’t seem to be interesting (they claim it doesn’t sell or doesn’t capture people’s attention as well as bad news). What are you focusing on? Bad or Good?
It’s too easy to get caught up in the wave of dour economic news and live in fear. Persistent fear drains energy and saps creativity. My advice: browse the news so you can keep abreast of newsworthy items, but don’t spend much time with it. Spend time focusing on your home based business instead. That’s a much better place to put your energy.
