Network Marketing: Does It Really Work?

Summary

The author reflects on their personal journey with network marketing, emphasizing its potential for personal growth and entrepreneurship, despite the challenges and misconceptions associated with it.

Abstract

The author has had an intermittent involvement in network marketing for over three decades, presenting a nuanced perspective on the industry. While acknowledging the negative perception due to overhyped promotions, they highlight the endorsement of network marketing by Robert Kiyosaki and Donald Trump as a viable path for average individuals to enter entrepreneurship. The author appreciates the business model for fostering personal development and essential business skills, despite their own lack of financial success in the field. They stress that network marketing is not a quick route to wealth but rather a slow and steady journey, often misrepresented by the industry. The article concludes with a recommendation for individuals to educate themselves on the subject and consider the potential benefits, including personal confidence, business acumen, and tax advantages, as experienced by professionals such as doctors and lawyers.

Opinions

Network marketing is praised for promoting personal growth and teaching necessary business skills.
The author, despite not achieving financial success, values the personal development gained from network marketing.
The industry's tendency to overhype potential earnings is criticized for giving network marketing a bad reputation.
Network marketing is seen as a get-rich-slow plan rather than a quick money-making scheme.
The author suggests that the tax benefits of network marketing attract many professionals.
It is recommended that individuals study network marketing thoroughly before making a judgment about its viability for them.

What is Network Marketing, and why does it work for some and not others?

I have been involved in network marketing, on and off, for over thirty years.

In their book Why We Want You to Be Rich, both Robert Kiyosaki and Donald Trump have a chapter on Network Marketing. They both concur that it is an excellent way for an average person to get started on the path of entrepreneurship.

According to them, the greatest strength of Network Marketing is that it teaches people about the necessity of personal growth, and provides a pathway to building skills needed to become successful in business.

It is a great concept, but unfortunately, the hype used in promoting the company and its products has given it a bad rap.

When people get started in network marketing, generally speaking, they have no idea what they are getting into. It requires very little investment to get started, and the hype makes people think that they will make a lot of money quickly. What they don’t realize is that it takes time and persistent effort to make it work.

While I never made any money in it, I am still a big fan of the concept. I personally know people who have made money and are still making a lot of it, as well. I also know people like myself who have gone from one company to the next and never made money.

Network marketing is not a get-rich-quick plan. It is a get-rich-slow-and-steady plan, but it is not presented that way, and there are components of the business that push people into biting off more than they can chew.

My friends ask me if you’ve not made money in network marketing, why do you get involved in it again and again? My answer doesn’t always satisfy them, but it is true that every time I got involved in network marketing, I grew personally. I grew in confidence about the validity of the business model.

I also benefited from the tax benefits of owning my own business. That is the reason, I believe, a lot of professionals, such as doctors and lawyers, get involved in Network Marketing. It offers them an added tax shelter.

If you have never been involved in Network Marketing, or have not had success with it, I would recommend that you study the concept and what it takes to be successful. Then decide for yourself.

Network Marketing

What is Network Marketing, and why does it work for some and not others?

I highly recommend the following books to educate yourself about it.