Collective
Wealth Part I
A Vehicle with the Power to Change Everything!
by Morgana Braveraven
Collective Wealth – now what
could that mean?
Does it mean that a bunch of
people throw a few bucks into the collective pot and then an
appointed someone takes it, invests it in something with the hope of
making a bit of a return that all participants can share?
Nope, that’s not what I am
getting at – not even close.
What I am talking about is an
extremely powerful model for the creation of wealth that has nothing
to do with investing in the stock market or any such thing. What I
am talking about is a group of people working together in an
organized way with a proven vehicle, and a common goal for each
participant; the goal of course being long term financial security
and wealth. And the vehicle that makes such a feat possible is known
as Network Marketing or Multi-Level Marketing (MLM).
Oh my – I can hear the gasps,
the shock, the disbelief, even as I write… Did she say Network
Marketing??! Did I read that right… why that’s nothing but a pyramid
scheme??!! Is she completely mad? Has she lost her mind??
Oh, yes, I can assure you that I
did indeed say Network Marketing – and I meant it too!
So keep on reading, because
within these paragraphs I will dispel many common misconceptions
about this powerful and dynamic industry that is often dismissed by
those who do not understand it as nothing more than a scam and an
illegal pyramid scheme.
Network Marketing is not a scam,
though there are plenty of scams out there that you will want to
avoid, nor is it illegal, or a pyramid scheme. In fact, it isn’t any
kind of scheme at all. Network Marketing is a viable and valuable
vehicle for generating long term wealth and security. It will work
extremely well for anyone who is clever enough to recognize its
potential and wise enough to acquire the necessary skills to make it
work for them.
Most people really do have a
terrible misconception about what Network Marketing is all about. It
is different that traditional business – but not that different. In
fact, it’s a lot like having a franchised business, but by
comparison, more accessible to the average Joe, financially
speaking!
A franchise is a great way to
secure your financial future, but most franchises are out of reach
for the average working person. The mere cost of a franchise makes
it an unlikely choice. In order to purchase a franchise for one of
the most popular fast-food restaurants in the world, you would need
a minimum of $300,000. And a popular women’s fitness franchise costs
between $39,000 and $50,000. Of course these costs are only the
beginning!
Network Marketing, on the other
hand, requires a much smaller outlay of cash. On average, you’re
likely to invest a mere $300 to $500 to get started – making Network
Marketing very do-able for almost anyone.
Another way that Network
Marketing differs from traditional business is that traditional
business spends millions upon millions of dollars each year
advertising their products, whereas Network Marketing companies do
not. Rather than spend millions of dollars advertising and
developing brand familiarity by inundating us with ads in print and
other media, Network Marketing companies pay handsome commissions to
their independent representatives (and believe me, these commission
amount to a whole lot’a moola, a big bunch of cha-cha-cha-ching… but
I’ll get to that in a bit!) who bring their product to the market by
way of word of mouth advertising. Network Marketing companies share
the wealth with their reps – not with advertising or media related
companies.
And word of mouth advertising
has proven to be a very effective method of developing a loyal
customer base – which makes sense. Would you rather make your
purchases at the big box stores, lining the bank accounts of major
corporations run by people that you will never meet or know, or
would you rather purchase the things you need and use from someone
you know and trust; perhaps your neighbor, your cousin, your
brother, or your Aunt? I know that I would rather support my
neighbor in business than Wal-Mart or SuperStore. The effectiveness
of word of mouth advertising coupled with excellent products has
kept some Network Marketing companies in business for more than 50
years.
Are you beginning to get a feel
for the difference, or are you still thinking that Network Marketing
is nothing but a money grabbing pyramid scheme? I hear that so
often… Oh, you’re in Network Marketing…
Isn’t that just a pyramid scheme where only the people at the top
make any money at all?
Oi! Let me ask you this: Is it
likely that any kind of illegal scheme or scam could exist and
thrive for more than 50 years? Come on now… you’re an intelligent
reader – does that really seem likely?
It doesn’t to me!
You know, people really do get
hung up on the association of pyramid schemes with Network
Marketing, and I do understand how that happens. It happens because
people don’t understand how Network Marketing works, and because
they have heard horror stories about how only the guys at the top
make the real money. I hear it all the time –
hey, look, the business model is a pyramid and all
the money filters up to the top banana.
Really?
I have two points to make here:
first, every business model, be it traditional, networking,
non-profit, any kind of organization, and even government – can be
viewed in the form of a pyramid with the chief-poo-baa at the top,
followed by executives and upper management, lower management,
management hopefuls, and finally, the worker bees taking up their
ranks at the bottom. Think about that if you will – remind you of a
pyramid at all? It should, because, it is!
If we must view business in
geometric terms, well, Network Marketing is really no different than
any other kind of organized activity or business. It does fit into
that shape, however – there is a huge difference and here is where
my second point comes in.
Do you think that there is much
of a chance that any of the cashiers at Wal-Mart will ever hold the
position of CEO? Do you think that’s likely? Do you think that any
of the janitorial staff at Trump Towers will have the opportunity to
make VP within any of the Trump Industries?
Possible, I suppose, but not
likely!
In Network Marketing, everyone
has the exact same opportunity – E V E R Y O N E.
It does not matter if you are at
the top of the geometrics, or at the bottom – the opportunity for
business growth, advancement, and personal wealth is the same for
you and me as it would be for The Donald himself. No matter who you
are, the rules are the same.
For instance, let’s say the Joe
brings Mary into his business. Joe trains her up and off she goes.
Joe is doing ok with his business. He works it full time and though
he has had lots of training, he does not have a whole lot of
determination – he makes enough to cover his bases, and that’s
enough for him.
On the other hand, Mary is
driven. She has big goals and big dreams, and she is determined to
be a big money earner and change her life. She gets to work and she
works hard every day. Within 3 months, Mary is making the same
income as Joe. Within 5 months Mary is making double what Joe is
making and has exceeded him in rank within the company. Within one
year Mary has amassed a huge organization and is earning 5 times
what Joe is making. She is three rungs from the top rank within the
company and it is her goal to be top rank within the next year. And
you know what – there is every opportunity for her to do just that.
Of course you could do that as
an employee too, but you would have to claw your way overtop of many
others who had come before you as you make your way up the ladder –
and there is only one top spot available – only one. In Network
Marketing there are as many top spots and top income opportunities
as there are people willing to do what it takes to fill them. I
don’t know about you, but that is quite appealing to me!
Ok – so how is such success
possible? Very simple (it always is ;o). Success in Network
Marketing is the result of duplication, leveraging, and residual
income (the crown jewel of Network Marketing), coupled with skill,
determination, excellent products/services, and a solid system to
plug into.
But if it’s so simple, why don’t
more people succeed in Network Marketing?
There are many reasons why some
people can’t make Networking work for them – often because they do
not understand the power of duplication and leveraging. I know a
woman who has been involved in the industry for 15 years and she has
never achieved even the first rank within her company. Why? Because
she focuses on retailing product and not on building a productive
organization.
Yes, you do need to do an amount
of retailing – but that is not where the money is. When you stick
strictly to retailing, your income is coming only from one aspect of
your compensation plan, and your income is dependant only upon your
effort – but, when you build a strong organization and you train
your downline to do two things: 1. gather a customer base (retail)
AND 2. Find other likeminded people who want to run their own
business, train them and teach them to gather a customer base and
find other people who want to run their own business (duplication),
big things happen.
When you work your Network
Marketing business this way, you not only earn income from your own
efforts, you also earn income from the efforts of those you bring
into your business and train. Think about it – would you rather
gather 200 customers all by yourself, or would you rather train 10
other people and teach them how to gather 20 customers each? Which
scenario is working harder and which is working smarter?
For my money, I would rather
work smarter than harder! And this is the true power of Network
Marketing – everyone is working collectively and everyone is
benefiting from their own efforts and the efforts of others in their
organization. This is the power of duplication, this is building
personal wealth collectively – and it works.
Well, you say, it didn’t work
for me, and it didn’t work for Aunt Bea, and it didn’t work for
Harry down the street… it doesn’t work for everyone…
Hmmm – really? Well, everyone
has the exact same opportunity for success, so if it’s working for
some and not for others – what’s wrong?
Let me ask you this – did you
work for it? Did you set goals, approach your business
professionally, learn what ever skills you needed to make it a
success, and commit to your own success? Did you? Or did you say –
well, it seems like it might work… I think
I’ll give it a try. Yeah, I’ll give it a try and see what happens…
I always hear people saying that
Network Marketing is a scam and it doesn’t work. They claim that
people drag you in, grab your money, but only the unscrupulous,
money-grabbing guys at the top make any money.
MEEEEEP! Wrong! Anyone can make
the money. ANYONE. But, you need to be realistic about it. Most
people who enter the arena of Network Marketing come in with high
hopes of overnight wealth, no business experience and very little
cash to invest. Given these facts – how likely would it be that they
would succeed in any business?
Let’s plop those expectations
into a traditional business just for fun.
George is broke and tired of
working for The Man. He thinks that owning his own business is what
will turn things around for him. He buys a paper and scans the
classifieds for businesses for sale, and he finds a café for
$70,000.
He thinks about the café for a
week, then goes and sees it. It’s very busy and he likes what he
sees. He negotiates a price with the owner and goes to the bank to
see if he can get a loan to buy the place – he only has $3000 for a
down payment on the café, but it’s his lucky day, because the loans
officer is his sister-in-law, and she wrangles up a deal for him by
putting his house up as collateral.
Okie-Dokie, things are looking
great! The paper work goes through and George takes ownership of the
café! However, George knows absolutely nothing about running a café
and he has never had his own business before. He can’t cook, he does
not know how to wait on tables, he knows nothing about ordering
stock or payroll or accounts receivable – in fact, he doesn’t even
know how to make coffee!
Well, what do you think? Do you
think George is going to make it? Is it possible? Well, we’ll check
back with George next week and see how he’s doing, but in the mean
time, I have a few questions for you to ponder:
Do you think that George is just
going to give it a try and just see if it works?
Do you think that George is
going to amass a fortune in 3 to 6 months?
Do you think that George will
have to master a new skill set to make his business work for him?
Ok hungry minds, there’s some
food for though that you can chew on for a while. Have an
Outstanding Day, and watch for the conclusion of Collective
Wealth coming to an inbox near you very soon!
Until next time,
Morgana Braveraven
Doing
Well AND Doing Good!
