If you read my previous posts on the ‘Business of the 21st Century’ you may be wondering what it is, or you’ve already figured it out.  It’s network marketing.  Wait, wait a minute…I know what you’re thinking.  Here’s many common things  I’ve heard regarding network marketing: it’s one of those pyramid schemes, it’s a scam, only if you get in on the beginning or on top can you do really well, it’s a waste of time, only certain types of people do well in those.  The list goes on, but give me a little time to explain and have an open mind please.

It seems network marketing has a bad connotation.  In everything, there’s the good, the bad and the ugly.  Unfortunately, there have been some bad and ugly companies and people in this industry that have done a disservice to the industry and to you and me.  They have blinded us to seeing the value in it and only thinking negative when hearing those words.  Now I will say that network marketing is not for everyone.  It takes someone with perserverance, someone that’s teachable and someone who has a strong desire to make changes.

With that said, let me tell you what is truly good about this industry.  Robert Kiyosaki points out 8 assets of network marketing in his book “The Business of the 21st Century.”   I would love to go through them all, but there is just too much information.  Basically, you learn on the job how to build a big business from the ground up, a ‘B’ quadrant business that is(refer to my previous posts on the quadrants).  Here are some of the assets: leadership skills, personal development-the more you work on yourself the more your business grows, the power of your own network, a fully duplicatable business, genuine wealth creation and the capacity to live out your big dreams.

“A network marketing system is set up to make it possible for anyone to share in the wealth.  This is a very democratic way of wealth creation.  The system is open to anyone who has drive, determination, and perseverance.  The system does not really care what college you went to or whether you went to one at all.  It does not care how much money you are making today, what race or sex you are, how good-looking you are, who your parents are, or how popular you are.  Most network marketing companies care primarily about how much you are willing to learn, to change and to grow, and whether you have the guts to stick it out through thick and thin while you learn to be a business owner.” 

The problem is, most people quit before they get to that point.  Kiyosaki says to give it a good 5 years just like any other business and to build it to 500+ people.  Then you have a true wealth creating asset.  However as I stated previously, “the business is not without its detractors.  And it has had its share of hucksters and flim-flam artists, unethical people trying to make a quick buck.  But by its very nature and design, network marketing is a strikingly fair, democratic, socially responsible system of generating wealth.” 

Like I said, network marketing is not for everyone.  It’s for people who want to grow both personally and financially and who want to help others in the process.  Just remember to choose wisely, your company and your leaders.  They’re your support team and you want to make sure they’re both in it for the long haul.