Whether you want to be your own boss or you want to be handsomely rich, the internet offers great possibilities. Maybe too many!

You hop on the internet only to find yourself being pulled in so many different directions that you don’t even know which way is up. Yipes! How do you go about filtering through the masses of come-ons?

Here’s one… “Fabulous Income Immediately with Little or No Work!” Ooooh, goody!

I must admit, these ads appeal enormously to the greedy, lazy parts of my humanity. Fortunately I, like most of you, know that there is no such thing as being paid just for showing up. And you don’t have time or money to lose…

So just how DO you proceed?

Rule 1 – Don’t waste your energy and money with multi-level marketing outfits. These are the ones with a forced matrix recruitment and pay-out system.

Now I’ll be the first to admit that there are some very reputable MLM companies out there. Some of them are Fortune 500 Companies and some rank high on the New York Stock Exchange and trade heavily on the NASDAQ.

However, just because the company as a whole is making money doesn’t necessarily mean that YOU will make money. Too many of us have learned that the hard way.

THE MAJOR DRAWBACKS TO MLM COMPANIES

Here are some obstacles I encountered, which finally led me to abandon MLMs for good.

• MLM structures have a bad reputation. That’s just the way it is. Whether the company deserves the poor reputation or not is hardly the point. The fact remains that you are working against widespread skepticism. (“Is this one of those pyramid schemes?”) You’re trying to swim upstream. Not wise.

• There is always a monthly purchase you are required to make, so you’re losing money from day one. (Many companies try to deny the fact that there is any “requirement” to purchase anything. They conveniently sidestep the fact that you aren’t eligible to earn any money unless you are making a monthly purchase.)

• It takes several “recruits” to just break even. And no sooner do you add one than another one bails out. It is a sl-o-o-o-o-w grow.

• Your eventual income directly hinges on the efforts of other people. Talk about giving away your power!

• Many MLM or forced-matrix structures are unstable and short-lived. The term “fly-by-night” springs to mind.

• I found myself focusing so exclusively on tracking down leads for the company I was promoting that I really wasn’t aware of what was going on out on the big playing field where all the really creative people were carving out their piece of the pie. The internet is a much more fascinating arena once you take off the MLM blinders.

So You Want To Learn the Hard Way, Eh?

Maybe someone is twisting your arm, or Aunt Martha absolutely swears by it, or you’ve come across an ad that is just too enticing to pass up. Oh, dear.

Well, if you absolutely insist on going the MLM route, then at the very least observe the following guidelines.

• Make sure you’re dealing with a reputable company, one that is at least 5 years old and is a member of the Better Business Bureau. Check out their history for complaints.

• What are the start-up costs? How about maintenance costs?

Don’t forget that you will need to pay for advertising, which is not an insignificant expense.

• Is the product one that you can promote with pride and confidence? If you aren’t wildly enthusiastic about your product, it’s going to be a tough sell. It’s going to be a tough sell anyway, but without enthusiasm, you’re sunk.

• Does your product have global appeal? MLMs are not the place for a niche market.

• How much overhead does your product eat up? Fewer overhead costs translate into higher commission percentages. Physical products have production, packaging, storage and delivery costs. You’re better off looking at digital information which incurs none of these expenses.

• Does your company supply you with state-of-the-art marketing strategies and ongoing training and support? Using internet tools is not difficult, BUT if you have never been shown what to do, it’s horribly frustrating. And nobody likes to be made to feel like an idiot, so it’s important to find a program that trains you in the basics.

Okay, my friend, I hope this helps.

Ultimately, I hope you go out and create something unique, something that surges up from your personal wellspring. Or maybe you’ll find a product that someone else created that you’re just wild about.

And then, as Zig Ziglar once told me with a twinkle in his eye, “Go out and sell sump’n!”

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