Have you ever met anyone who has gone into business for themselves? And failed? Have you ever met anyone who has tried and MLM and failed? I have met a lot of them. Ironically from what I can figure the failure rate is almost the same. There is a lot of quit out there. About 80% and of the 20% that are still going 80% of those will probably quit in the next 3-5 years. That means not a lot of people are succeeding, Why?
Advantages the MLM
As I often tell people who are thinking about starting their own business an MLM is a great place to
begin. For starters, the product has been proven thousands of times. Although people may start and quit the product, it’s no different than the millions of products in the store that people start and quit every day. Have you always eaten the same cereal or the same brand of lettuce? Do
you even eat lettuce? What if you go to a restaurant, do you ask them what brand of lettuce they use? Let’s face it it’s not that people quit the brand, it just isn’t always the first in mind. Same with using the products offered by MLM, technology changes, taste change, and the social conscious changes.
Virtually all MLM’s that have been around more than ten years are going to be a safe bet that someone buys and uses it actively. Furthermore, you can most likely have a better shot at it begin successful than trying to create a new product from scratch. The training and personal development that is given by the companies that own the MLM and the people in the organizations is amazing too. I have seen more generosity, philanthropy and giving by the higher sellers in the MLM’s then I’ve seen almost anywhere else. It seems as if they are working harder to share then they do to make it.
For years I have made money with E-commerce. The bane of my existence has been fulfillment. Stocking and keeping track of inventory. Putting it into the envelope and shipping it with a pale hope that the customer will get it and like it. I can use a fulfillment company, but the cost to ship to the fulfillment company, as well as stocking fees and handling fees, eat business owners alive. More important if the product expires, it can be extremely expensive. Many MLM’s offers a great solution to this problem. They drop ship the product on demand. The MLM Company even covers the expense of guaranteeing the product will be delivered and that it is as good as the manufacturer says it is. In a retail paradigm, the retailer is usually required absorb the expense of defective merchandise.
Disadvantages to the MLM
Oh, this is where it gets bad. You must work hard, work a lot of hours and get paid very little for your efforts. You even must pay for your own office supplies. Sleepless nights and no overnight
success with little effort. You must go up to complete strangers and introduce yourself and sell them products. Full commission, no hourly wages. Wait!!! It’s like having your own business!!! In almost every way except the fact that there is a template to follow, a proven product, shipping and warehousing are handled for you and you can easily get amazing sales materials. Entrepreneurs all around the world would lose their minds with joy if the business they created came with all of those features automatically.
The reason people buy into franchises is that it makes doing business easier across the board. The franchise manages the manufacturing and production of the product, gives strict guidelines how the business is managed and presented and even helps with the advertising. The franchise comes with a tried and true tested system that describes just how to run the business. From marketing and store design to how the money is collected and the product is delivered. The Big difference is that a Franchise has a much higher barrier to entry and usually exerts much more control over the brand and representation of the brand to the public market.
Time to start your own business
Why not start your own business? It’s more work, and you need to experiment to make sure the product or service will sell. As the economy and your community change, you may or may not be able to adapt to keep up with the changes. Most will be wiped out by the stress of going it alone. So, why would you? It’s so appealing and to understand that starting your own business from scratch is more likely to fail as an MLM. However, the amazingly successful people who tell you MLM’s are pyramid schemes and scams that really stick with what they start are the perfect people to get advice from to determine the direction of the rest of your life. Please take a moment to examine their accomplishments. If you use the same logic, they have, please expect the same results for your life.
If you think about it, not everyone is going to like every product. If you are looking for a new car, will you just buy whatever is available? Or will you take the time to research the type of car you want? What Brand, Color, Engine, Transmission? As you filter down until you find just the right car, you will exclude 99% of what’s available. There will be a very small niche selection that will meet your requirements. Why should MLM products be any different? Now, mind you that some companies that have been around for 50 years or even more, will have branched out into many related product lines, at the end of the day the customer must know, like and trust the product to buy it. Many of the products that MLM companies represent are actually much higher quality then you get at the big box and discount stores, therefore they cost more. But at the end of the day, many people that use a specific MLM product use it because they know like and trust the representative as well as the product.
Recognizing that people in MLM’s have made millions by hard work and determination, and treating the business opportunity as a business and a 9-5+ full-time self-employment opportunity, not just a play as we want to exercise. It’s not going to be easy, but neither is your own business. Get rich quick schemes just don’t work, so if you’re not prepared to put in the effort, please don’t blame failure on the business, or the business model you chose to exercise.