Join me as we unravel the truth about network marketing, a dynamic business model also known as multi-level marketing (MLM) or direct sales. In this episode, we debunk misconceptions and explore the potential of network marketing. Discover the differences between legitimate businesses and pyramid schemes, gain insights into direct sales and MLM, and learn how to navigate this industry with integrity and success. Whether you're considering network marketing or supporting loved ones involved, this episode provides valuable insights and knowledge to empower you in the world of network marketing.

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Network marketing, also known as social selling, direct sales, or multi-level marketing (MLM), has gained significant attention in recent years. However, misconceptions and negative beliefs surrounding this business model persist. In this blog post, we aim to provide a clear understanding of network marketing, its different forms, and the key differentiators between legitimate businesses and pyramid schemes. Join us as we delve into the world of network marketing and explore its potential as an incredible tool for success.

Network Marketing: Beyond Preconceptions

Network marketing is often misunderstood and clouded by preconceived notions. However, it can be a powerful tool for success, just like any other industry. Relationships, skills, and results in network marketing vary widely, just as they do in any other field.

Direct Sales: Selling Products Directly to Consumers

Direct sales involve selling products directly to consumers without building a team. Some direct sales companies solely focus on sales and customer service. Examples of direct sales companies include Tupperware and Rocky Mountain Soap Company.

Multi-Level Marketing: Building Teams and Generating Income

Multi-level marketing (MLM) encompasses selling products while building a team. MLM requires exceptional leadership and a growth mindset. Not all MLM companies are equal in terms of compensation plans, product quality, and corporate leadership.

Differentiating Network Marketing from Pyramid Schemes

Pyramid schemes are illegal and distinct from legitimate network marketing businesses. Network marketing companies have a primary focus on product sales and team building. Legitimate companies prioritize integrity, compensation plans, product development, and customer service. Research and due diligence are essential when considering a network marketing opportunity.

The Power of Network Marketing

Network marketing offers the potential for lasting, residual income. Success in network marketing depends on choosing the right company and having a growth mindset. Not all network marketing companies are created equal; corporate leadership and values play a crucial role.

Network marketing, often misunderstood and associated with pyramid schemes, is a legitimate business model with vast potential. Direct sales and multi-level marketing are two key components of this industry. By understanding the differences, conducting thorough research, and choosing reputable companies, individuals can harness the power of network marketing to achieve financial success and personal growth. Embrace the opportunities it presents, and explore this exciting field with an open mind and a focus on integrity.

Transcription:

All right, let's talk network marketing, or you might call it something different. I wanna start with the basics. This isn't me talking about my company. I'm gonna preface that right now. This isn't just, I wanna start at the basics of what network marketing is, because there's a lot of misconceptions, and there's a lot of, it can be such an incredible, incredible tool.

00:29

but I used to have a lot of really negative beliefs about network marketing, and I wanna help you understand, just on a factual level, what it's all about. Because I think there's, we have preconceptions, we hear things, or preconceived notions, and we hear things from other people, and then you see people doing it, and then you see other people doing it.

00:58

good and bad and ugly and all the things in between just like anything else. We see good relationships, we see extraordinary relationships, we see ugly relationships and bad relationships, you know, with anything. We see people, we see good drivers and bad drivers and ugly drivers. We know incredible meat cutters and good meat cutters and really bad meat cutters. We see, you know,

01:27

people who take incredible care and time, you know, there's good hairdressers and there's bad hairdressers and there's extraordinary hairdressers. Guess what? It's just the same thing for network marketing. Okay, so let's talk about what it is, what it looks like, just the facts. So I have notes, just brief notes on my home. This is always probably going to be very unscripted and not edited at all.

01:55

because I want to show up real for you. Same with, I'm actually probably going to be batching, batch recording a lot of the podcasts. So it's me, it's like, it's 110% not scripted, very real, but I'm going to maximize my time and record, you know, episodes, multiple episodes at once. So if you're watching this on YouTube, I still am matching my couch in my delightful mint green sweater and pillows and throw blanket.

02:25

So, and my kitty is still napping down here. So, that's if you're listening on the podcast, hopefully that's painted a picture of you. I am sitting on my couch in my office and because I'm just on this journey and I'm sitting, I want this to be something where I'm, it's like I'm sitting on the couch having a cup of tea with you and sharing what I've learned and just holding out my hand for you and reaching back so that you can bail forward faster.

02:55

and gain some new wisdom. So network marketing. First of all, we might call it network marketing. You might call it social selling. You might call it direct sales. You might call it an MLM or multi-level marketing, or you might call it a pyramid scheme. Let's talk about all that. So first of all, while they all of those terms kind of get used to mean the same thing.

03:25

the same type of business model, there are actually distinct differences and I'm gonna break those down. So direct sales, true direct sales is just selling the product direct to the consumer. There's no, you know, we, and because I've worked in corporate in marketing, I want to share my...

03:52

a little bit of wisdom that I know and what I see from that perspective as well. As someone who has done a lot of corporate marketing and has seen that side of it, but then also to now be in network marketing and to have learned and understand the differences and what that looks like and all of those different pieces. So direct sales, now we can have this in multiple different things. It's simply is selling a product direct to the consumer.

04:23

Um, now we can have this with network marketing. It can fall under that umbrella, but it also can be, uh, what's one of, there are lots of companies out there that just sell direct to consumer and it's direct sales, uh, native, um, like the soap and body wash and, um, deodorant and toothpaste. Um,

04:52

they do direct to consumer. They also now have their products in retail locations, but they started direct to consumer. Rocky Mountain Soap Company is a Canadian company. They sell direct to the consumers. They have their own stores and they sell online. So when we apply that to the kind of like network marketing or you could say the pyramid scheme umbrella or whatever, which we're gonna get to in a second.

05:22

Direct sales, there are specific kind of more business models and types of direct sales businesses that fall into the network marketing umbrella because it's not the corporation. They are a network marketer, but they pretty much just directly sell the product. They're not trying to build a team and have other reps that are on their team and

05:51

you know, quote unquote, under them, if you're familiar with that term at all. And so it's, they're selling a product there, they do a lot of parties, they do a lot of trade shows, they, you know, online parties, in-person parties, you know, that's how they work. And sometimes they'll like occasionally try to have someone sign up under them to like build that team.

06:20

but for the most part, they're just worried about selling the product. They're in sales, strictly, pretty much sales and customer service, right? We see this a lot with like Tupperware, for example, right? Now, that's just an example. Nobody get offended by anybody who's with a company or whatever. There's lots of other examples out there. That's just one that we all know is like, oh, who's your Tupperware lady, right?

06:50

and the Tupperware ladies like me. And it's great. So from a corporate perspective, you could look at direct sales.

07:03

Actually, no. I wanna make sure I'm being careful with this, and y'all know this isn't gonna be edited, so we're just gonna leave that. Now...

07:13

When we think about multi-level marketing, that falls under the network marketing.

07:22

umbrella. Multi-level marketing is where you have a product that you sell and you also build a team of people underneath of you that sell the products and you get commission off of what they do and they make commission.

07:52

It's good. There's an you make commission off of multiple levels.

08:06

So it's really interesting. I just looked to turn him up because I wanted to bring it up.

08:15

So I want to pause for a second and just come back to the definition, what is meant by network marketing. Network marketing is a business model that depends on person to person sales by independent representatives, often working from home.

08:33

Now, that's good. What I kind of, I paused because the dictionary actually has network marketing and it says another term for pyramid selling. Um, and then it has like another one. So there's, it makes me laugh now because I used to think and believe some of this stuff about pyramid schemes and then being pyramid schemes, not pyramid selling. And so from a growth perspective,

09:02

when we remove the meaning from it. And I've had people be like, oh, is that one of those pyramid schemes? But they're just trying to figure out what the business model is. And so that's why I wanted to do this podcast today, because I want this to be something that you can share with your friends or share with somebody or just for yourself to understand the industry, because you probably know somebody that's in it at this point in time and that has this type of business. And it's not a good thing or a bad thing. Everything is neutral until we assign a meaning to it.

09:32

So pyramid selling is a system of selling goods or services in which each salesperson recruits further salespeople, resulting in a hierarchy in which each member receives compensation for the sales made by those below them. That's a pretty accurate description. When we remove the meaning from it. Okay, so we've talked about direct sales. Now like I said, they also have the...

10:01

multi-level marketing perspective to them. It's just not something that I see them focus on a lot. And there's quite a few different companies out there. Then there's the multi-level marketing where you're using a product, you're selling a product, and you also are developing salespeople under you. Now, the thing is, and what made me fall in love with

10:30

this business model as someone who's been an entrepreneur since she was three years old and had very negative views on this whole thing prior to really learning what it was about is it's not just developing salespeople. I worked in sales previously. I've worked with the sales reps. I've worked with the sales managers. I've worked with the head sales for divisions of massive, massive companies.

10:59

and they push for sales and they push to be salesy and slimy and that, you know, the overbearing salesperson and kind of that like, hey there, hi there, ho there, like I'm a sales guy and I'll, you know, I'll buy, I'll bring you a box of donuts and then you'll like sign the deal and you know, we'll have a multi-million dollar contract signed.

11:28

I have worked with those people. And so the idea of working in sales again in a different way was definitely uncomfortable. And I had a lot of reservations about it. Now, some of the things that shifted for me, and this is why I love network marketing and multi-level marketing is because it's a volunteer army. And

11:54

And you'll hear a lot of people say, oh, well, I didn't make any money. I tried it and I didn't make any money. Well, first of all, there's a lot of factors that go into that. Depends on what company you were with. And that's gonna be, I'm gonna be straight up and honest here. It depends on what company you're with. Not all companies are created equal in their compensation plans, how you get paid, in their products, in the leadership of the company itself. And then the part that I love the most is the people who

12:24

You're below. The leadership above you, it requires leadership. It's not just that they're salespeople like when I worked in corporate and with sales. They're leaders and it requires leadership. Now some of those sales managers and regional managers and corporate manager and like up the hierarchy and that pyramid scheme, but that's, we'll get to that in a second.

12:54

is it requires exceptional leadership. And in network marketing, you are constantly, it requires a growth mindset. It requires you to develop leadership skills in that network marketing model. There's lots of people who work in direct sales and they're not building the teams and stuff. Or they might have some team under them, some, you know,

13:23

a few people or whatever, but it's very much just based on sales and you know, they kind of find the people who have their own drive and growth mindset and can lead themselves. And so they, you know, they're doing their own thing selling the products. Does that make sense? All right. So direct sales, network marketing, or direct sales, multi-level marketing, the whole kind of umbrella of network marketing.

13:51

And then the last one I want to touch on just because it's a super popular thing, but I don't think people understand it. And that's affiliate links. So affiliate links. And this is like, you see this a lot like on Instagram or Tik Tok with like the influencers and like, Ooh, here's my, get my code. Here's my link. Now I say that with like some tone just cause like we've all seen it and a lot of us have maybe even done it. I know I have discount codes and I'm like, Ooh, here's my code. Um, and I like offering that to y'all cause it's

14:21

It's something if it's a product I use and love, I want you to be able to get a discount on it. And I'm recommending a product and I love being able to, you know, whether I get a discount or get a little bit of money back from that, I really appreciate that from companies and businesses who do that. But here's the thing. The what you make as an influencer or with having affiliate links is so small.

14:50

so small for the amount of work that you do. And if you're like an influencer influencer where brands are reaching out to you and you're required to do, you know, X amount of posts and stories and photo shoots and video and all of these things in order to, for them to actually pay you and talk about it. And you have to have so many followers and so many engaged followers and people commenting all of these things in order to get paid.

15:18

The amount of work required is absolutely mind-blowingly astronomical and I have some really great friends that are in this space and it blows my mind how hard they work for their money. And I'm super proud of them. But gosh darn it, straight up, it's one of the hard, like they grind. And I love working hard and putting in effort for things.

15:49

but I want to build something that has lasting income, residual income, income that continues to come in. And now that's not with every network marketing company that is very specific to what the compensation plan is and the products and what that looks like. So just know that's not, it's not like, oh, one versus the other. That's my personal.

16:16

take on it. But also, well, it's the facts, but it's also it's not for it's not every company. So know that. I chose my company very carefully is what I'll say there. Yeah, not all companies are created equal. And I'm not this isn't I'll talk about compensation plans in network marketing probably another day so that you have a deeper understanding of that. And it may not be for all of you. It may be one that you're like, I'm gonna skip that one.

16:44

desire to know about how they work or how they operate, but it's also always growth mindset. Let's learn new things. So not all companies are created equal. Period. End of story. Not all companies have lead with integrity. And I've been in the industry long enough that it's unfortunate, but just like I said at the beginning, how there are exceptional hairdressers and good hairdressers.

17:13

and awful hairdressers or meat cutters or seamstresses or

17:21

like anything pretty much. Not all are created equal. In their leadership at corporate, in their compensation plan, in the product development, in R&D, in the corporate customer service, R&D is research and development. In like from a legal perspective, from just how they approach sales and marketing.

17:50

and customer service, like in terms of how they want their independent salespeople, you know, the people, you know, those of us who sign up with a network marketing company that starts at corporate. Now it can be largely influenced by who the leaders are above you. But it starts at corporate at that corporate level. The home, the main, the base company.

18:20

So, if you're considering something, look into that because that is a big deal. Now the next thing, okay, and now I'm going to address a pyramid scheme. A pyramid scheme is illegal. A pyramid scheme is where you are, actually, let me pause for one second. Let me actually...

18:47

pull up the definition.

18:54

Okay. A pyramid scheme is a business model that recruits members via a promise of payments or services for enrolling others into the scheme rather than supplying investments or sale of products. As recruiting them multiplies recruiting becomes quickly impossible and most members are unable to profit as such pyramid schemes are unsustainable and often illegal. So to put that into.

19:25

short kind of more succinct. Here's another one of pyramids here like that the Oxford dictionary definition a form of investment illegal in the US and elsewhere in which each paying participant recruits two further participants with returns being given to early participants using money contributed by the later ones basically it's you could look at it as like fraud

19:53

There's no actual tangible product being exchanged. You're paying money basically for a promise that you're going to make money, but there's no actual tangible product. And that's really important to know the difference. Pyramid selling versus pyramid schemes, okay? Now, if you're someone who works and has a business in network marketing, when someone says,

20:23

They're probably not trying to offend you. It's okay. Everything is neutral until you assign a meeting to it. Get curious and ask them what they mean by that because they're probably just trying to like, you know, describe, put a label on it when there's already like five different terms, okay? All right, now the products, like I said, there must be a product. Now, when you're looking,

20:52

at different companies and if you're wanting to start a business. Now I'll say this. First of all, there's lots of really incredible high quality products out there that you can buy from network marketing companies, like exceptional products and almost always the products you buy from network marketing companies are priced very competitively, if not way better than if they were

21:22

retail store and I'm gonna I'll come to that in a bit as to why. So looking at quality like if you're someone who you're like I don't know if I want to buy from that the products are actually usually really high quality. Think about I mentioned one name already right how long does that Tupperware last right?

21:54

And there's so many other examples out there. Now, if you're looking at wanting to build a business and you're like, okay, like this business model is kind of cool, I'd like to find a company that I like. Now, I already talked about the leadership level and looking at that. Now, in terms of the products, something that I personally, and this is, you can look at this, there's different perspectives to this. Personally, I want to represent a company not only that has high quality products,

22:23

but also be with a company that has a product that's consumable, that people use and need more of on a regular basis. Because I love me some Tupperware, but I have Tupperware, I'm pretty sure that my mom had no, that I got from my grandma, okay? So like that's great that the products are really high quality.

22:52

But I don't need new Tupperware every month, every six months, every year. Right? And so I want to, but I want to make money every month, every quarter, every six months, every year, right? To pay the other, to pay, you know, to pay my bills and live my life and reach my goals and do the things I want to do in life. Right? So I, if I'm looking at this from a business perspective, I want to make sure I'm with a company that has a consumable product, a product that people use.

23:21

on a regular basis and that the company has set up so that they have a 30, 60 day supply and then they need to order more, right? With pairing that with the products being high quality and something that people need and use, right? Not just like, well, they're poor quality so they only last that long.

23:43

Yeah, versus that one time product. Now, the next piece I wanna bring up with this is that corporate versus network marketing model and the business models. And that's simply what it is, is...

24:04

The company, let's call it company Joy, because I don't want to say other names. Company Joy develops, they've got these founders and they see this need for this product and they want to get their product out into the world. They have two options. They can either put it in retail stores and do direct to consumer.

24:32

in the sense of, you know, they might sell online, like I mentioned, like native or Rocky Mountain soap company, um, and have their own stores and like franchises, but it's, and then pay for retail shelf space, you know, inside of Walmart or wherever else, wherever they're going to sell their product. Right. They can do it on that corporate level and go the corporate retail route, or they can sell it.

25:00

and develop a network marketing model. And that's really what it is. And neither one is better or worse or anything like that. They're all neutral. What I will say though, is it is way more affordable, first of all, for companies to go the network marketing route. The amount that it costs to get your products and attempt to get your products onto retail shelf space.

25:30

nearly impossible because the market is so saturated in that space and on those there's only so much shelf space, right and And it costs so much money to have that whole supply chain to go from corporate like to go the retail route versus with network marketing for instance the company I'm in we have two warehouses in all of Canada and

26:01

And I mean, we receive our products within a couple of days, right? And so it's quick. There's, you know, they have their warehouse and they have their manufacturer, they have their manufacturers and their warehouse. That's it. So they can cut that supply chain down. And and we don't have to store inventory whatsoever. Some companies require you to. That's a different story. That goes back to choosing companies wisely. And what works for you?

26:31

But that's really, it's just a choice in business model. Now the last piece with that is by, actually I'm gonna stop there. Yeah, we're gonna come back to that. That last piece, we're gonna come back to that. So the next thing I wanted to touch on is with that retail, if they go the retail route, they either A,

26:58

go that influencer route and have those affiliate links. That's what a lot of retail model stuff is doing these days because they see the power in people referring how we do with network marketing in referrals and people buying based off of word of mouth essentially. So they've started doing that affiliate link, the influencer route, et cetera. The other piece is that they will pay celebrities

27:28

your movie stars, your music, whoever, you're just, you're like crazy influencers, online to rep a product and to talk about it and to sell it or they'll have, you know, Jennifer Aniston will be on a commercial for whatever commercial she's been on or whoever else. I so don't know celebrities guys. But they will pay them big dollars, big, big dollars for that celebrity to rep the product.

27:58

A few years ago, one of my brothers kindly told me that he would prefer to use the probiotics that Matt Damon represents and reps and gets paid to represent than the super high quality probiotics that I represent because it's Matt Damon.

28:20

Now, that's his choice, whatever. That's my brother, it's fine. But it made me laugh a little bit because in reality, he's getting paid to rep that. Nine times out of 10, they don't even actually use the products in real life. They might fake taking them. They might pretend. They might put it on their skin for the commercial. They're not actually using the products.

28:49

They don't have a story to tell about how, what results they saw, or they'll claim they do, but it's media and it's advertising. They're getting paid big, big dollars, like hundreds and hundreds of thousands of dollars to do that. They don't, and we know that on that big level, the integrity, oftentimes, like they don't care. They don't care. Whereas as network marketers,

29:21

There are some people out there that fake it. And again, integrity is integrity. And people can sniff that out. People can tell. At some point in time, you will, like if your friends aren't being real, you can tell. But the rest of the time, network marketing allows for that word of mouth of, hey, I started using this product, I love it.

29:50

I've seen X, Y, and Z results, and you should try it. Maybe you'd notice a difference, right? Maybe it would help you. And that's all it is, is that referral and that word of mouth and sharing an experience that they love their Tupperware, so they talk about it, right? They love their probiotics, they talk about it. So that's that piece, just to address celebrities.

30:19

The last thing I want to touch on very briefly, and this will be a separate podcast, is in terms of how much you get paid and how you get paid, not all companies are created equal.

30:35

And you don't just want to go for the one that has the highest percentage for sales because that's what I see a lot of people do. If you want to build a business that has a legacy business that you're working to build something that's going to last not only for you but if you're with a company, a smart company that you can will to your kids when you die or whoever, I don't know, to Violet when I die.

31:04

She's still napping guys if you're listening to this. She's still napping under the blanket next to me. You can't see me if you're not on YouTube. But if you want that long term, you want a company with that long term vision and you want a company that allows you to create something like that. And so you're not just looking at what's the biggest sales volume. You want something that's solid.

31:33

and that they make sure that they're covering their bases, it's also exceptionally good for you. What's good for both parties, right? Corporate and the network marketing, like independent people, sales ambassadors, whatever you wanna call it. It needs to be good for both. Anyways, I'm not gonna go into compensation plans more, just know that there's lots of different kinds and types out there. And I will do another podcast on that, because I...

32:02

it's really, really helpful information and really important when you're like, well, I tried it, but it didn't work. When you hear that, there's a few different things. And that's the two last things I'm going to mention and talk about here. First of all, when you hear somebody say, well, they tried that business model and it didn't work. Here's the thing with network marketing.

32:26

Actually. Okay. First of all.

32:32

I'm sure you've heard the statistics around if somebody starts if what statistics are around small businesses and how few survive like 98% fail within the first five years I believe or less. It's crazy That's gonna be another episode small businesses in general It takes a lot of grit a lot of hard work

33:02

a lot of determination and a lot of different hats spinning and navigating in order to just get a small business off the ground. It takes exceptional amounts of work and that's as somebody who works in marketing and helps people with tech and does that stuff on the site and has done that for years. It takes an incredible, let alone developing a product and the research and development and packaging and legal and...

33:32

All the different things. Supply chain, product sourcing, all of it. It's massive. Which is why it has such a high failure rate. Now, and there's a huge barrier to entry. It costs a lot of money to start a small business. I'm not saying you shouldn't do it. Please do it. I love my entrepreneur friends, my small business owners. And as one, y'all are near and dear to my heart. Now, on a network marketing,

34:02

perspective, the barrier to entry is exceptionally low. You know, you can start your business with my company, you can start your business for...

34:18

You can start your business for, what is it, $50, around $50 for a year, plus the cost of your own products, which you don't actually have to require. Of course, I mean, it's not required, but I would never recommend against it because we're being honest and having high levels of integrity and we're products of the product. We're not gonna promote something that,

34:48

we don't use and like, right? And see the value in. Doesn't have to be all the products, but, you know, at least using some of them and liking some of them and seeing results. And, you know, and and just using them. I mean, you don't have to have crazy results or any results in order to talk about it, because you know that other people have those results. But you do need to use the products like this would be a minimum requirement. Anyways, that's a side note, but some people don't.

35:18

And that's something that's really important is that you don't have to have a big story, but you do need to actually use the products that you're selling, right? That would be like if the person I buy my Ford truck off of drove a Chevy, I would laugh, right? You wouldn't do that. It would be like if you, when I used to work at Ricky's Clothing, if I was wearing Lululemon or whoever their competitors are,

35:48

Um, I don't even know anymore.

35:53

That wouldn't really jive, right? Like you'd be like, well, why are you wearing, you're not even wearing the clothes. It was actually a requirement that we had to wear clothes when I worked at Ricky's, I worked from Ricky's. And most stores have that. So on some level, like something, you know, they need to, you need not necessarily all the time or all of your whole wardrobe, but a lot of it needs to come from there. So you need to be a product of the product.

36:21

You need to like the Tupperware if you're going to use it, right? Or whatever the product is. So make sure that... You know, you're talking to people about that, right? So when we... To bring it back to when people say, oh, I tried that business. I tried a network marketing company. I didn't make any money. Or, you know, oh, well, I know so many people that they don't make any money or whatever. Now, first of all, compensation plan thing. Second of all...

36:51

The barrier to entry, like I said, is way lower. $50, right now you can actually sign up for like a dollar because there's a promo going on. That's a really low barrier to entry. Even with the cost of your own products, it's an exceptionally low barrier to entry. You're not spending tens of thousands of dollars. Now there's some companies out there that require you to do that. I'm gonna say proceed with extreme caution here.

37:21

because I really don't want to speak badly about other companies, but proceed with caution and discernment. Big time. Big time. Um, so, so when you think about that, if, if your barrier to entry is that much lower from a business perspective, so many more people are going to say, yeah, I want to try that. And that's the thing. And so many, and so so many people in network marketing say, yeah, I'll try that. Oh yeah, I'll do that. Like, oh yeah.

37:50

And that's great and that's fantastic. But most of the people are just trying it out. They're testing it out. They're not actually looking to put in the effort and the work and to learn and to grow and to develop leadership skills and all of those things. I see a lot of people, quite frankly, look for quick cash. And you can make quick cash in that you can get paid quickly on your stuff, on the work that you do.

38:20

But you have to do the work. And that's the thing. And so oftentimes I also see a network marketing where people promote it as like, well, you can make this much money by Friday in three days. And you can if you do the work. Now sometimes they overinflate that, and it's a little bit silly. But depending on how your company is set up and what that looks like, you can make hundreds of dollars or even thousands of dollars.

38:50

in a very short period of time. But it requires effort and it requires work. So just because that barrier to entry is low doesn't mean that it's like magical unicorn dust that's like gonna like all of a sudden explode and sprinkle. Right? And depending on where you're at in your life and what that looks like and, you know, what your influence level is like, you know, how many people you have in your circles and how well networked you are, those things do play a factor in that.

39:18

and you can grow and develop that and all of those things. But don't be surprised if you don't have a large network, if it takes you more time, or you have to put, not necessarily takes you more time, but you have to put in a lot of effort and work to develop that and grow that and expand, right? It takes that. So I wanna make sure that that's really clear because so many people, I hear them say that, and they're like, oh, no, I'm not interested. I don't wanna look at that. And it's like, well, did you...

39:47

What did your compensation plan look like? Did you actually show up and do any work, to be honest and blunt? And maybe you did, maybe you showed up and did the work, but did you only do it for like a week, a month, two months even? If you don't, you have to show up and consistently put in the work for 90, 120 days, et cetera, before you're going to see the results from a lot of your work, right? So,

40:17

Keep that in mind. The last piece, the last thing I wanna talk about is when I see people say they wanna shop local, but no MLMs. And here's the thing.

40:31

I understand wanting to shop local. Here's the great thing, your friends in network marketing, that is shopping local. You are supporting people and putting dollars in pockets of the people local to you, who then turn around and do other things in their community and support their communities and live in a community, you know, assuming that they live close to you or wherever, you know, their community that they live in. You are shopping local.

41:01

Here you'd end the story.

41:04

Just because it's a network marketing company, they are independent salespeople ambassadors, whatever you want to call them. They are independent. They make money, hopefully if it's a good company, they may make real actual dollars that go into their bank account that they can spend on groceries, on putting their kids in soccer, on hiring a local house cleaner, on...

41:34

tithing at church, all of the things. And the idea of, oh well, but there's like the corporate company above and they get a lot of money too. Well, if it was a traditional small business, brick and mortar, they have a supply chain too. And like the money,

42:00

It's no different. It doesn't change anything. And so, and the other piece is network marketing companies because they have that corporate umbrella, the person you're supporting and the dollars that are going out into that company, they're backed by that bigger corporation that has done the research. They have the lawyers and the doctors and the research and development team, or whatever that is, and access to higher quality products and all of those things.

42:29

brilliant business model because of that. So you can have high quality products that are highly researched, that are backed by science, all of those things. Now again, you have to be careful, do your research around the company. I know what you're getting into. Not all companies are created equal. But they have that. Whereas if somebody's trying to start a local version of a face wash company,

42:58

and they're trying to do something local, they can totally do it and definitely support them. I'm not saying choose one, like I'm not saying do one and not the other. Do what you, like choose what you want, but they're both local. So shop local. Not shopping local is shopping with like the, at retail stores or even with a lot of

43:28

the influencers, they get such a small portion of that kickback, that's not, you're supporting your friend and that's great and if you want that product, that's fantastic. But that's not shopping local. Like influencers, just because an influencer has an ad for like Catelli Pasta, I mean, it's a retail company and they have a code. Now, like I said, if you buy this stuff, like by all means.

43:56

support your friend and support your, I mean, we support our friends no matter what they do or where they are whenever possible. Even if they're in, you know, traditional corporate businesses. If you can, you know, we want to support the people that we care about. And so that's fantastic. All right. This has been a lot. But I hope that this has been helpful in starting to understand a little bit more and digging into

44:22

those different pieces because I think it's really valuable. Like I said, even if you have, you know, you're happy with your corporate job and you do those things, but you have friends or family members that are into this and have this type of business model and have this type of business. And so just understanding, even if you don't see a need for the products in your life right now, or they don't suit you at all, just being able to

44:50

understand what they do and so that you can better support them just on a on a like mental and emotional level is really huge because whether you're a traditional small business owner or you're you have a network marketing business model it takes a lot of grit and a lot of courage to step out and to share with your friends and family and to build a business and it takes a lot of work and a lot of effort it's totally worth it 110% but it does take a lot so whether you can support them or whether you're looking at a company and you're

45:20

taking a peek and seeing how does this all work and what all is this and just curious. Um, get curious and ask lots of questions and there's never too many questions and approach it like you could get don't be afraid to like save you know, okay full disclaimer like I'm not you know I'm not looking at at this but I want to better support you you know as my as my sister as my aunt or as my niece or as my

45:49

daughter or whoever, whatever, or my son or whatever that is, how I wanna be able to better understand so I can support you and ask questions. But, and tell them that's your reasoning why, because oftentimes it can sometimes come across as interrogation or like, well, what are you doing? Or like, oh, I don't support you. Or maybe you've made an offhand comment for a joke.

46:19

And sometimes people can take that really to heart. Now, again, that's a growth thing. That's a mindset thing that they get to work on. But helping them see that you're there to support them is a huge benefit for them. Because you want to see them succeed in life, right? No matter what they do. We've talked about these business, okay, so we've established that the business is legal and above board. And if they've chosen a company that has high levels of integrity and all of those things,

46:48

And they do, you know them as a person and who their morals are. They didn't just throw all that out the window. And so, support them and lead with and show them that. Like I said, you don't have to buy the products to support them. Just encouraging them in what they're doing, it's absolutely huge.