Anyone researching home based businesses will quickly realize what an intimidating task this really is! The internet is an incredible tool to aid someone in finding a business and finding success in this industry. That said, it can quickly be turned into an overwhelming experience when one runs into tons of business opportunities, systems and tools to build a business, the opportunities to purchase leads…aaahhh!! May recede back to normal work life because, being inexperienced in this arena, the possibilities are endless!
I have written this article in order to help fledgling home business entrepreneurs a fighting chance at making the right decision. Having a good experience right from the start, quite honestly, will increase your chances of success 10-fold. A sad statistic is that most network marketers will go through eight different MLM companies before finally finding their fit. Many will not wait this long and quit. This profession does work and works B-I-G when done right. This article will make you aware of the things to look for when partnering with a company and will reduce the amount of time you take in finding the right opportunity!
So, being in the network marketing profession for six years, most of it full-time, I will say that I am passionate about it. That said, I have seen great people leave the profession because they are frustrated with their lack of success. Most of the time, the cause of their frustration is one of a four reasons: lack of mentorship in the profession, not being a good fit for the company(ies) they are involved with, not having the skills to develop their business or lastly, not having the right systems in place to help them build their business quickly and get to earning a paycheck quickly. My goal is to coach new entrepreneurs on the things to do upfront, so we keep these great people in this profession and see more new entrepreneurs realizing their financial and time freedom goals sooner rather than later. The objective of this article is to assist you in finding a business for the home based business opportunity seeker.
These four areas will be the topic of this article. If you are looking to start a home-based business, then these are the areas to print out and be diligent about finding! When you do that at the beginning, you will ultimately, put yourself ahead of the new entrepreneur pack and find a fit faster so you are into momentum faster!
So, you may be approached with a business by your cousin Susy. Susy has just gotten started in her business as well. That said, the last thing you will want to do is join right away. Do your due diligence! You see, Susy may have turned you on to the home based business idea, however, Susy’s business may not be the right fit for you! So, let’s get to it and show you how to do your due diligence:
1. Finding the right mentor – Finding a great mentor in this business is step number one. This should be done BEFORE you even find a company to partner with! I know that sounds backwards, but hear me out. The mentor you partner with will absolutely make or break your success. Although you may find that your cousin Susy’s company is a good fit for you, being new herself, Susy is NOT going to be your mentor. A mentor should be someone who does the business full-time, has a vast knowledge of network marketing, and can guide you through the steps of quickly building your MLM business. This person may be in your company or they may not be. I wrote an article about this topic, entitled: ‘Find a Mentor for Your MLM Program (http://voguenetworking.com/blog/2010/07/01/mlm-program-mentor/). You may ask, ‘Why would someone outside of my company offer me help?’ Because anyone successful in this industry and one that is truly a Network Marketing Professional will want more successful entrepreneurs in our profession. Successful people get to the top by helping others, even when they do not ultimately benefit personally. Your mentor must be seasoned in this industry and want to be of the greater good for the profession! Ultimately, I would suggest finding this mentor FIRST, then joining the company they are with. That way, you know they are seasoned, so you also know they have done their due-diligence on the company. They have looked at the aspects we’re about to discuss and made their decision based on their years of knowledge of the profession and you can feel comfortable knowing you don’t have to dig as deep into the following category.
2 – Finding Your Fit with the Right Company – This decision is a biggie and should not be based on emotion. Consider the following 5 aspects when making this critical decision: #1 – Does the company have a sizzle product? Is there a lot of competition for it? Is it a category creator? #2 – Capitalization – Does the company have enough capitalization to get them through the growing pains that will inevitably happen? There is nothing more devastating them putting your time and energy into building an organization and seeing it go down the tubes when the company runs out of money! #3 – Compensation plan – how are you going to get paid? You should be getting paid on multiple levels of generations. If a comp plan rewards more for personally sponsored team members than it is NOT promoting the correct behavior and should be avoided! Proper comp plans now will compensate for multiple generations, usually 7. This entices the leader to tap root his organization and help his leaders build large organizations. The leader reaps the rewards by being paid on multiple generations down, rather than selfishly building wide with no vested interest in his team! #3 – Management depth – Who is running your company? Is it a successful business person from outside the network marketing arena? If so, RUN like the wind. Building a network marketing company is a whole different animal. The management should have a successful track record starting, building, expanding network marketing companies internationally. There should be no shortage of experience at this level in MLM! #5 – Field Leadership – who is building organizations within the company? Does the company attract BIG names in the profession? Ask your potential sponsor who the top earners are. Google their names and see who they are. Remember, top earners in the industry know how to spot a goldmine of a company! You will want to follow their lead and join! If there aren’t any big names, that should be a clue!
3 – Start your skill development now – You must start a habit of developing yourself and not depending on your mentor to tell you what to do. To a mentor, that is a sure sign of a dependent distributor that will need to be babysat. Great mentors look for the people who expand their knowledge independently, then help them to hone the skills. Skills can be learned by reading books, listening to CD’s and attending live events. If you haven’t picked up a self-development book yet, start now. Napolean Hill’s, ‘Think and Grow Rich’ is a great one to start with. You’ll impress any potential mentor when you mention that book!
4. Marketing Systems & tools of the trade – Systems are critical to your success as a network marketer. When starting a business, your experienced mentor will tell you to market to your warm list first. Everyone you know should know what it is you’re doing and should see your business presentation. Know now that most will NOT join you in your business. Then you will need to create your own prospects after that by networking, and prospecting consistently. You absolutely have to do that. Now the thing that will separate a great leader from an ordinary upline will be if they offer you a duplicable system that will help you attract leads online and create a faster-growing organization. Flat out, systems outside of the ordinary way you will be taught to build a network marketing business are, hands down, the way you will become one of the top earners of your company, and cousin Susy will stay in the masses of other networkers grinding away at their business!
To sum all this up, these four aspects are CRITICAL to your success. You will waste time and money jumping into business opportunities for emotional reasons….i.e. cousin Susy wants you to join her, your Grandma was a part of this company 50 years ago, etc. Know these 4 aspects and really determine if your company fits all four and if you have the right mentor in place. This profession has been, unequivocally, the best decision I have ever made. I didn’t know these aspects starting out so it took me four companies before I finally found a mentor and a company to stick with. When I did, my business took off! ‘Taking off’ is something you will want sooner rather than later, so be sure these same things help you determine your fit!
Vidette Vanderweide is a 6 year veteran of the network marketing profession. You can find more information by watching the video titled, ‘Finding a Business for the Home Business Opportunity Seeker.’ She also teaches the most elite and cutting edge marketing strategies that your sponsor isn’t telling you about to get massive results in any network marketing business!