Home Based Business
Look, I know it’s tough out there making ends meet
and finding time for the family and for all the things you want to do. It’s a
struggle for most people. And to escape their unpleasant situation, many people
are looking on the Internet for the Holy Grail of home based businesses that
will magically set them free.
The good news is there are plenty of legitimate
home based business opportunities out there that will allow an average person
to make an extraordinary residual income and live a wonderFUNtastic
lifestyle—what I like to call a Richer Life. I know that for a fact because I
have such a business. The bad news is there is NO Holy Grail, and none of the
good, legitimate income opportunities are “free.”
“There’s no such thing as a free lunch!” That
proverb has been traced back to around 1950. It means that nothing in life is
free—you can’t get something for nothing. And if it appears to be free,
somebody somewhere is paying for it.
That is extremely valuable information to keep in
mind when you’re surfing the Internet looking for a home based business or
income opportunity. Beware the “nothing (down) for something” SCAMS! They go
against ALL the generally accepted rules of business and commerce.
Business and commerce started eons ago. At first,
it took the form of bartering—exchanging goods for goods. I’ll trade my fish
for three pieces of your firewood. Then “money” was invented in the form of
seashells, beads, or pieces of metal. Julius pays you three beads for your
fish, and you go across the village and pay Brutus two beads for some firewood,
which leaves you one bead to buy bread from Calius the baker on the way back
home.
It’s still how we do business today—except we now
use coins and bills, credit cards, debit cards, money orders, bank drafts, bank
wires, checks, email transfers, or PayPal. But it’s ALWAYS an exchange of
something for something, be it goods or services. If not, the police are called
in to investigate—or at least they should be, because someone’s been robbed!
I’m a business person. I have products for sale,
and I have a business opportunity. To get either one, you’ll have to pay money.
It’s a value-for-value proposition: your money for my product and / or my opportunity.
Fair and square. And on top of that, if you want to succeed with my business
opportunity, you’ll have to do some work—like I do. Again, value (your sweat and
elbow grease) for value (a substantial residual income).
“The concept of value-for-value is the foundation
for all sound, harmonious human relationships. Value-for-value is another way
of saying ‘win-win’. The surest way to succeed in any endeavor is to make
certain that ALL parties to a transaction come out ahead.”—Robert J. Ringer,
philosopher, businessman and bestselling author
No free lunch. Everything has a price. As it should
be. Warren Buffet once said, “"Price is what you pay. Value is what you
get.” Or as I like to say, “You always get what you pay for; you pay nothing,
you’ll get nothing in return.”
You’re probably wondering why on earth I’m spending
so much time expanding on something so obvious. Because for some unexplainable
reason, many otherwise intelligent people (who would never consider walking out
the door of the liquor store with a case of wine they did not pay for—unless
they’re looking for a way to spend a night in jail) act like idiots when
they’re on the Net searching for a home based business opportunity.
As if all of a sudden, because they’re navigating
the virtual world, all the laws of commerce—particularly the practice of
value-for-value—no longer apply. And they’ll get sucked into the most ludicrous
scams. Like “free business opportunity”, or “no money down turnkey home based
business” or “you do no work, we do it all for you.” On that last one, if that is
true, if they indeed do ALL the work, why would they not keep ALL the profits?
Put your thinking cap back on! Let’s be real. A business
costs money—even in the “virtual” world. It costs money to start and to grow.
And it takes some work too. People should stop fooling themselves and waste
their time responding to those idiotic ads that pollute the Internet. If they
believe garbage like “Turn $35 into $10,000 a month, for life!”, the next thing
the scammers will try to sell them is some ocean-front property in the middle
of the
You know what song is playing in the scammer’s head
while he’s processing some sucker’s credit card? These words are from a very
popular song of the mid-eighties by Robert Palmer: “The lights are on, but
you’re not home, your mind is not your own…” They’ll probably sing that too as
they’re walking and laughing all the way to the bank!
Enough negative stuff already. Let’s take a look
now at some valuable words of wisdom from three very successful businesspeople…
“Creating legitimate value is the
straightest line between where you are now and where you want to be. It is a
major component of getting what you want in life. It doesn't matter how fast or
how hard you work if your efforts don't create value for others. And creating
value stems from passion; passion stems from belief in what you're doing;
belief in what you're doing stems from working at something you not only are
good at, but enjoy. When you get all these factors going in the right
direction, you have no trouble being motivated to do whatever it takes to
succeed. There is nothing quite so exhilarating as working yourself to the
point of exhaustion for months, or even years, then being handsomely rewarded
for your efforts in the marketplace. Every human being should treat himself to
this drug-free high at least once in his lifetime.” Robert J. Ringer
Zig Ziglar is famous for saying, “You
gotta put something in FIRST if you want to get something out.” He usually makes
that statement on stage while operating an old-fashion water pump.
“Money is a measure of the value that
people place on goods and services. The amount of money you earn in a
competitive market is the measure of value that others place on your contribution.
So, to increase the amount of money you are getting out, you must increase the
value of the work that you are putting in.” Brian Tracy, in The Laws of
Money
As a successful businessperson myself, I have the following
suggestions for you if you are currently considering starting a home based
business to improve your present work situation and get out of your financial
predicament:
1. Right now, this second, adopt a new way of
thinking about “free-and-easy” home based business opportunities. If you want
to get out of the rat race and live the lifestyle you truly desire for yourself
and your loved ones, you will have to invest money, and you will have to put in
so many hours a week of elbow grease. Period!
2. Make a list of ALL the things in your life you’d
like to get rid of if you were making $10,000 to $15,000 a month working from
home.
3. Make a list of ALL the new things you’d like to
do and have in your life when you start making that kind of money. The reason
for those lists is to really motivate you to do the next two steps.
4. Do your research, starting with going to the
website in the resource box below and reading all the articles you will find
there about how to choose a good home based business opportunity.
5. When you’ve found some income opportunities that
appeal to you—none of which should have the words “free” or “we do all the work
for you” in them—do your due diligence, including calling the sponsor and other
people who are doing that business before signing on the dotted line.
In conclusion, think of the
Internet as the Wild West of the nineteenth century. There are some really good
opportunities out there, BUT there are also a lot of snake oil merchants who
are looking for gullible people to steal money from. Like the proverb says: “A fool and his money are soon
parted.” Don’t be a fool. Keep your eyes open, keep your thinking cap
on, do your due diligence and you will find a legitimate home based business
that over time will allow you to earn a solid residual income from the comfort
of your home, and finally live the lifestyle that you and your loved ones
desire and deserve. Promise.
Daniel “BizzBooster” St-Jean
P.S. If you know some friends “in need” who could benefit from reading this article, why not email it to them now? They’ll appreciate it. Wouldn’t you?
Home Based Business
In my bestselling eBook “Your Road to BUSINE$$
SUCCE$$Starts in the Know-Zone,” I show different lists from different experts
as to what motivates people to do things, and what makes people tick. One thing
they all agree upon is that motivators, as they are called, come in two
flavors: pain and pleasure.
A pain motivator is something you want to get away
from because it causes you pain, whether physical or emotional. For example, a
job you hate, an office you can’t stand, a commute that’s too long, a house
that’s too small, a car that’s an embarrassment, a financial situation that
causes stress, a mountain of bills that causes insomnia, a second job that uses
up all your free time, a vacation plan that calls for spending three weeks in
the backyard.
A pleasure motivator is something you want to move
toward because getting it or doing it would cause you pleasure, either physical
or emotional (or both). For example, building a fun and lucrative business at
home—meaning no office to go to and no boss to deal with—a house that’s bigger
than you really need, a car that turns your neighbors’ heads, a financial
situation that’s resplendent—all your bills are paid and you have a comfortable
cushion in the bank—a lot of free time to spend with the family, to play golf,
to grow roses, and a vacation plan that includes cruises, month-long camping
trips, and travel abroad.
Whatever your reasons are for reading this article
and for searching for a way to change your current situation, understand that
the more specific your reasons are, the more vivid they are, the more
motivating they will be. So my first suggestion here to help you find a home
based business opportunity that’s right for you is to draw an exhaustive list
of what your motivators are.
You will need that list. Because if you want to
find a great life-changing income opportunity, you will need to do a
The bad news is that anything good will attract the
bottom-feeders of the world who are looking to cash in by taking advantage of
people who are fool enough to fall for their hype. “A fool and his money are
soon parted,” and sadly, a LOT of people these days part with their hard-earned
money by falling prey to unscrupulous Internet predators.
The good news is I’m here to help you avoid that
fate. What I’m going to share with you are 10 things to look for in a home
based business opportunity if you want to find a good one, a legitimate one,
one you will be proud of, one that will change your life for the better,
forever. These are 10 “secrets” the bottom-feeders don’t
want you to know.
In one of my most popular articles entitled “Home Based Business Opportunity: What The Three “S’s” In SucceSS Stand For,” I make the point that the three most important ingredients for success with a home based business are Sponsor, Support, and System. Not surprisingly, you’ll find those three things at the top of the list below.
1. LOOK FOR a sponsor who is a leader, who can mentor
you
You need and deserve a SPONSOR you can trust.
Someone who is willing to listen to your needs and actually cares about your
success. Make sure he or she has a financial interest in your success. He
should get paid EVERY TIME you do! That's crucial to getting the support you
need to build a successful home business.
You need and deserve someone who has a system in
place that you can duplicate to have the same results. Are there other people
using his system and having success? Ask to be introduced to a few of them. You
will find that this is where most will come up empty because they are leaving a
trail of destruction and not success wherever they go. It’s a good idea to talk
to someone who’s been in the business only a few months. These are the best
people to tell you if what you are being told is the real deal.
Another thing: whether it’s your direct sponsor or
the one just above, make sure that person is accessible. That is an absolute
key to success so let me repeat that in caps: MAKE SURE THAT PERSON IS
ACCESSIBLE! No matter how good everything else looks, if you can’t get a hold
of an experienced mentor by phone or by email, forget the whole thing and
search elsewhere.
2. LOOK for
high-quality, plentiful training:
Unless you’ve done this type of business before and
you know all there is to know about marketing, advertising, copywriting, lead
generation, sponsoring and training, you will need the SUPPORT of a good,
knowledgeable, resourceful, successful sponsor/mentor to guide you safely
through the ‘jungle’ that building a successful business can be.
That’s not to say you shouldn’t sign up under a
newbie. If the compensation plan is well designed and if you are joining a
Team, then his or her sponsor will benefit from you succeeding so you know you’ll
be able to count on the support of that more experienced business builder when
you need help.
Look
at the training available. If the company emails you a sales pitch 2-3 times a
day and they offer only 2-3 training classes per week, this means that the
company is more interested in selling you than in training you how to make
money long term. Bad omen.
If you’re dealing with a good company, a successful
team and a responsible leader, there will be plenty of training available, 6
days a week. And most of that training will be recorded and available in your
back office 24-7.
3. LOOK for a good, modern marketing system:
You want to make sure the team you are working with
has a real marketing system in place that anyone can duplicate. A foolproof
system that ANYONE can plug into and get results with. If you have to figure
out how to generate your own leads or if the company relies mostly on you
recruiting family members or friends, or on purchased leads or newspaper
advertising, run. Run fast! If you don’t have a reliable way of getting quality
prospects in front of what you’re offering you cannot be successful long term.
You know, as hard to believe as it is, there are
companies out there that, though this is the twenty-first century, still teach
the way of the caveman to “hunt” for leads and prospects. Hey, the days of bows
and arrows are over! So look for a company that teaches the new, modern ways to
conduct business. Those methods have names like Web 2.0, Network Marketing 2.0,
Social Marketing or NetWEB Marketing. Forget the “three-foot rule,” home
parties and weekly hotel meetings. That’s the past!
Real marketing systems that actually are proven to
work are difficult to find. This is usually the weak link. So look closely.
4. LOOK FOR a
money-back guarantee
This is required by law. Any purchase you make from
your home you should give you at least three days to review the product after
you receive it, and to return it for a full refund if you’re not satisfied.
Make sure you ask. This really takes the risk out of the purchase. By the time
you actually receive the product you have had time to see the company from the
inside and you’ll know if you have made a good decision.
5. LOOK FOR a GOOD
company
This sounds too obvious to mention, but it’s not. People
get so engrossed in the hype, the sensational products that “sell-themselves”
(don’t believe that for a second), the unheard-of compensation plan and the
success story of the potential sponsor that they forget that under all that,
under that delicious and rich-looking icing is a cake called “the company.” And
no matter how tasty and sinful the icing is, if the cake is rotten, your feast
will be short-lived.
What do I mean by “good” company, and how do you
know if it’s good, bad, or ugly? A good company is one that has a long-term
vision and is going to be financially stable as long as you are going to be
marketing for it. Granted, it’s not easy to uncover the financial situation of
a company, but with a bit of in-depth research—better business bureau, chamber
of commerce, attorney general’s office—you can find out plenty. And if a
company is planning on going public in a few years, that’s a really good sign.
Find out how the company makes its money. Again, that seems obvious, but this is the MOST critical information you can get. If the company you are dealing with makes the vast majority of its money from the sale of the products, then you can be absolutely sure that all the tools, training and support you require to be successful will be provided.
6. LOOK FOR a
high-class, quality owner
Continuing with the recommendation to LOOK FOR a
good company that is in good financial health, it helps if you discover that
the owners of the company are financially independent—meaning that they have
deep pockets if the company needs funding, and meaning that this company being
in business five years from now doesn’t depend on whether or not it makes
enough sales next month to pay the rent and the staff.
Look for companies whose CEO is NOT a
fifty-something playboy who likes to wear umpteen gold chains and flashy
diamond rings. Chances are a person like that will be more interested in
spending the profits on a new yacht than investing them in a sophisticated
software that will make navigating the back office easier. The founders of the
company I work with are family men. They talk about their kids all the time and
they bring their family to the annual conventions. For some reason, I find that
comforting…
Remember the saying: “The apple doesn’t fall far
from the tree.” If the owner looks and sounds to you like a scoundrel, chances
are the “apple of his eye” is a scam. If on the other hand he sounds and looks
like an astute, knowledgeable and trustworthy businessperson, then chances are
that his income opportunity is legit.
7. LOOK FOR legitimate,
stand-alone products
Make sure that the products you will market are
legitimate standalone products, products people would purchase without a
business opportunity attached to it. Most MLM, network marketing and direct
sales companies out there are built around the compensation plan and NOT
standalone products. If what you are marketing is NOT a standalone product,
then you will have a hard time building a stable business. Ask your potential
sponsor the question “Does anyone buy these products just for the products and
not to be part of the business?” That’s not to say you can’t have a viable
business that way, but it takes more effort and has a lot lower success rate.
And please, do yourself and your sponsor a big
favor and buy the product yourself. There are several reasons for this. If you
aren’t willing to purchase the product for yourself then this is a big clue
that you also won’t be able to make money marketing that product. So stay away
from that business. If you don’t own the product you can’t really believe in it
and you won’t be successful marketing it. It’s usually not required to purchase
the product but the compensation plan always accounts for this. Review the
compensation plan carefully and you will see it is always a bad financial
decision not to purchase the product.
The bottom line is if the product has no value by
itself, then the income opportunity is a money game. This will not result in a
successful home business, at least not for very long. There are enough
legitimate companies marketing legitimate products. Do your homework and your
due diligence and you’ll find them.
8. LOOK for a high income
potential
Don’t get involved in any opportunity that doesn’t
have at least a six figure income potential within the first 12 months.
Business opportunities that offer lower income levels will take more time and
effort than a part time job that would pay more. The odds are you will become
discouraged and quit. The reward has to be worth the effort to give you the continued
motivation necessary to build a successful home business.
Also, if you are not making between 30% (at the
very least) to 50% (that is rare) of the cost of the product as a commission
when you make a sale, forget it. This means that you are doing all the work but
the company and/or the person above you is making all the money.
Lastly, if the compensation plan is
such that you can’t break even or get into profit with your first three sales, search
elsewhere.
9. LOOK for a good
compensation plan
Three things to look for:
a. Look for a compensation plan that is so easy to
understand that it won’t require that you fill five sheets of paper with
circles and arrows when you try to explain to your prospect how he will get
paid. It should be a KISS compensation plan: if the founders of the company are
astute businesspeople, they’ve Kept It Simple
& Short!
b. Look for a compensation plan that does not
include words like matrix, binary, legs and / or left side-right side. Look too
for a plan that does not require “X” number of points, or credits, or “X BVPs”
to qualify for your paycheck. As the ex-president of an MLM company told me
recently, those plans are designed so that most distributors won’t qualify and
the money will either roll up to the leaders (which explains why THEY make so
much money) or it will not be paid to anyone, helping the company make
astronomical profits.
Finally look for a comp plan where it doesn’t take 1,000
people under you to make a decent monthly income. That makes it very hard, if not
impossible, to build a successful home business.
10. Learn to trust your
gut
If you feel good about what you're about to get
involved in, great! Pursue it with everything you have. If you’re leery and you
can't get straight answers about products, services or systems, RUN! They
aren't telling you the whole story and they only want your money.
You should be able to tell very easily if someone
really does care about building a long term successful relationship with you or
if he/she is just trying to sell you something. There are hundreds of scams out
there. Beware. Many are cloaked in innocence and opportunity. Look closely.
Ask yourself if that opportunity is something you
can be passionate about, and would you be willing and eager to share it with
others? If not, how can you build a successful home business if you lack the self-confidence
and pride in what you are doing? Do something meaningful and make what you do
about helping others. Be proud and passionate, and if you are using the right
system and have the right support, it
will be impossible to fail.
In conclusion, think of the
Internet as the Wild West of the nineteenth century. Yes, there are a lot of
snake oil merchants out there who are looking for gullible people to steal
money from. That’s an unfortunate fact of life. BUT there are also many good,
solid, real business opportunities available. Keep your eyes open, keep your
thinking cap on, do your due diligence and you will find a legitimate home
based business that over time will allow you to earn a solid residual income
from the comfort of your home, so you can finally live the lifestyle that you
and your loved ones desire and deserve. It CAN be done; we (Laurel and I) are a
living proof of that.
Daniel “BizzBooster” St-Jean
P.S. If you know some friends “in need” who could benefit
from reading this article, why not email it to them now? They’ll appreciate it.
Wouldn’t you?
Home Based Business
Almost 500 years ago, the English statesman Thomas
More advised people not to jump from the frying pan into the fire, meaning
avoid going from a difficult situation into a worse one. An extreme example of
that is someone with a gambling problem who incurs an exorbitant debt with some
“bad people” (the frying pan) who then borrows money from a loan shark who uses
big muscular thugs to collect his money (the fire).
To a lesser degree, thousands of good, smart people
“jump into the fire” daily on the Internet these days. That happens when people
who are in the frying pan (going to a job they don’t like, in credit card debt
to their eyeballs, no time to do anything with the family) decide to start a
home based business to rectify their situation, which is a very smart move.
Unfortunately, they often end up in “the fire” because they fall for one of the
many scams posted on the Internet.
That’s not as serious as having to deal with a
couple of thugs in a dark alley, but it can have some very unpleasant
repercussions. You could end up mis-spending a couple thousand dollars, you
could waste a lot of time, you could lose some friends, but most importantly,
you could conclude that all home based business opportunities are scams and
decide to never get fooled again that way.
That would be too bad because there are plenty of
good, solid, legitimate income opportunities you can do at home that will
create a residual income over time that will allow you to kiss the job goodbye,
pay off all your debt (without dealing with bankers or loan sharks), and have
all the time you want to do the things in life you really want to do. I know
that for a fact because my wife and I are running such a business. That’s the
good news.
The bad news is that anything good and
exciting—like the Gold Rush of the Old West—will attract the snake oil
merchants of the world who are looking to cash in by taking advantage of people
who are fool enough to believe their claims. “A fool and his money are soon
parted,” and sadly, too many people these days part with their hard-earned
money by falling prey to unscrupulous Internet predators.
What I’m going to share with you now are 10 things
to avoid in a home based business opportunity IF you want to find a good one, a
legitimate one, one you will be proud of, one that will be straightforward and
relatively simple to build, one that will change your life for the better,
forever. These are 10 “secrets” that the snake oil vendors
don’t want you to know.
1. AVOID bad companies
This sounds too obvious to mention, but it’s not.
People get so engrossed in the hype, the sensational products that “sell
themselves,” the unheard-of compensation plan and the Armani suit worn by the
potential sponsor that they forget that under all that, under that delicious
and rich-looking “icing” is a cake called “the company.” And no matter how
tasty and sinfully delicious the icing is, if the cake is rotten, your feast
will be short-lived.
Find out where the company’s corporate headquarters
are located. Make sure the company isn’t hiding offshore in the
Check for bad publicity. If the company has a lot
of bad publicity, it’s for a reason. Bad publicity kills companies quick. Every
company is going to have some complaints, but look for a pattern of complaints.
Find out how the company makes its money. We know
that seems obvious, but this is the MOST critical information you can get. If
they are selling you leads, if they are charging you an exorbitant amount of
money every month (in excess of $50) to host your personalized website and back
office, or if they have partnerships and alliances that are designed to line
the company’s pockets with your hard-earned money, then they are making money
without products being sold, which means they won’t care if you sell any or
not. Bad omen.
Finally, avoid companies whose CEO is a
fifty-something playboy who likes to wear umpteen gold chains and flashy
diamond rings. Chances are he will be more interested in spending the profits
on a new yacht than investing them in sophisticated software that will make
navigating the back office easier. The founders of the company we work with are
family men. They talk about their kids all the time and they bring their family
to the annual conventions. For some reason, I find that comforting…
2. AVOID
non-responsive sponsors
In one of my most popular articles entitled Home Based Business Opportunity: What The Three “S’s”
In SucceSS Stand For, I make the point that the two of most the important ingredients for
success with a home based business are Sponsor and Support—way ahead of
company, product, and compensation plan.
Unless you’ve done this type of business before and
you know all there is to know about marketing, advertising, copywriting, lead
generation, sponsoring and training, you will NEED the support of a good,
knowledgeable, resourceful, successful sponsor to guide you safely through the
“jungle” that building a successful business can be.
That’s not to say you shouldn’t sign up under a
newbie. If the compensation plan is well designed and if you are joining a
team, then his or her sponsor will benefit from you succeeding so you know
you’ll be able to count on the support of that more experienced business
builder when you need help.
But whether it’s your direct sponsor or the one
just above, make sure that person is accessible. This is an absolute key to
success so let me repeat that in caps: MAKE SURE THAT PERSON IS ACCESSIBLE! No
matter how good everything else looks, if you can’t get a hold of an
experienced mentor by phone or by email, forget the whole thing and look
elsewhere.
3. AVOID
front-end loading
Avoid any business opportunity where the company
requires that you pre-purchase the products at wholesale cost up front (aka
front-loading). If you have to purchase inventory and then go sell it, the
company has already made its profit from you and has a lesser interest in your
ability to actually sell the product so YOU can get your profit.
4. AVOID
deals that don’t offer an iron-clad money-back guarantee
This is required by law. Any purchase you make from
your home should give you at least three days to review the product after you
receive it, and allow you to return it for a full refund if you’re not
satisfied. Make sure you ask about that. This really takes the risk out of the
purchase. By the time you actually receive the product you have had time to see
the company from the inside and you’ll know if you have made a good decision.
5. AVOID bad marketing
strategies
You want to make sure the team you are working with
has a real marketing strategy in place that anyone can duplicate—a foolproof
system that ANYONE can plug into and get results with. If you have to figure
out how to generate your own leads or if the company relies mostly on you
recruiting family members or friends—or strangers using the three-foot rule—or
on purchased leads or newspaper advertising, RUN. RUN FAST! If you don’t have a
reliable way of getting quality prospects in front of what you are offering you
cannot be successful long term.
Really good marketing strategies that actually are
proven to work are difficult to find. This is usually the weak link in many
home based business opportunities. So look closely.
6. AVOID the
pass-up sales deals
Make sure you don’t have to pass up any sales as
part of a qualification system. You should be in a money-making position from
day one. This is critical. Every time you make a sale you should be able to
earn a profit—right out of the gate! That's an important element that will help
you build a successful home business.
The problem with the pass-up sales deals is this:
you start by spending, for example, $1,500 to get in the business (possibly
charged to one of your credit cards). Then you spend the next two, three, four
weeks working your butt off to market the opportunity, and you disburse another
$500 to $800 on marketing. Then you finally find someone who wants to start and
you have to pass him up to your sponsor. You’re now $2,300 deeper in debt and
you have not made a penny yet.
Chances are you might end up spending another
thousand or two before you FINALLY sign up your own first associate and make
your first commission. Unfortunately, many people will give up before that
happens, and they will retreat with their tail between their legs (and a huge
credit card bill) while their sponsor (who did not spend a penny on marketing
to make those two or three sales) laughs all the way to the bank.
7. AVOID
products that require “soapboxing”
While most of the other points on this list are
generally accepted by all home based business gurus, this one represents a very
personal opinion (though many industry experts agree with me). My take on this
is that is it not an easy task to find, sponsor and train people to make a
success out of their home business. It’s not. If it were, every Tom, Dick and
Harriet would do it and we’d all make a bit of money, but no one would make a
fortune. But you CAN make a fortune at this because it is not easy to do and
most people will quit before they get to the finish line. Those who DO get to
the finish line make a
So why add another degree of difficulty—another
hurdle if you will—by trying to sell products that need “soapboxing” to
convince people that they are good for them, good for the environment, and that
they should buy them. Look, Laurel and I know that Coenzyme Q-10, Glucosamine, and Omega-3 fatty acids are good
for us. We know that the juices of some exotic berries are full of
anti-oxidants that are good for us. We know all that so we buy these all the
time—from our trusted natural health food store.
But the vast majority of people out there don’t
know about that. Now, how much time and energy do you have to start educating
people on the benefits of grape extract supplements, chelated vitamins, and phosphate-free
laundry detergent? You’re just making your task twice as hard. I for one chose
a company where the products are evidently beneficial and self-explanatory.
They don’t “sell themselves” (don’t fall for that claim when you see it), but I
don’t have to get on a soapbox to try and persuade people they should get my
products, and then, if I have any time and energy left, persuade them that they
should also join me in my business opportunity. Life is too short for that.
8. AVOID
convoluted compensation plans
Three things to watch out for:
Watch out for compensation plans that are so
complex they require that you fill five placemats at the restaurant with
circles and arrows to try and explain to your befuddled prospect how he will /
might get paid… someday… maybe…
Watch out for plans that require “X” number of
points, or credits, or XBVYZs (or any other combination of letters no one can
remember or explain) to qualify for your check. As the ex-president of an MLM
company told me recently, those plans are designed so that most distributors
won’t qualify and the money will either roll up to the “leaders” (which
explains why THEY make so much money) or it will not be paid to anyone, helping
the company make astronomical profits.
Watch out for plans where it takes 1,000 people
under you to make a decent monthly income. That makes it very hard, if not
impossible, to build a successful home business.
Going
back to the lotions, potions and miracle juices companies, another problem with
those opportunities is that they only pay about 2% to 15% so many levels deep.
They will tell you that when you fill the matrix, you won’t have to do anything
and you’ll be making $20k to $40k a month. The truth is there are so many
loopholes to their compensation plans that nobody ever reaches those levels.
You either will have too many people on your left, but not enough on your right
side to earn the higher level payouts. They tell you that you need more
personal volume but your group volume is fine, or vice versa. Or my favorite,
you had “fallout” this month, so you no longer qualify for that car bonus they
promised you.
9. AVOID excessive hype
That’s not to say you won’t see some hype with good
income opportunities as well. Some hype is a necessary evil—you need a bit of
it to grab people’s attention. If you see what you consider an acceptable level
of hype don’t worry about it. Just don’t get caught up in it. Put the hype
aside and review all the material to get the real substantive information.
What you want to avoid are any offers that rely on
excessive hype to draw you in. You see those all over the Internet. They’re a
joke really, and they cast a bad shadow on the rest of us who are offering legitimate
business opportunities. You know the ones: stacks of dollar bills laid out on
the table, 70-foot yachts, private jets, 10,000 square foot mansions
overlooking the ocean, million dollar Ferraris (the current price for an F-50),
all those belonging (I assume) to a guy sitting in his lawn chair sipping a
margarita on his terrace overlooking the ocean. Come on people, put your
thinking cap back on!
10. AVOID the bottom-feeders’ deals
If someone is telling you that for a 35-dollar
investment you will be making thousands of dollars a month (or a week!!!), they
just want your $35 and they’re going to show you how to spend more money to
make money—usually by buying THEIR marketing package, THEIR shopping cart, or
an expensive prospecting eCourse for which THEY will get an affiliate
commission.
Or they might promise you that you will have to do
NO work once you’ve signed up and sent them your $47 payment. Again, they just
want your money. They’ll find a thousand suckers (that’s not a lot considering
the millions of people who are searching for a business opportunity on the
Net), they’ll take their 30, 40 or 50 grand to the bank (laughing all the way),
and they’ll move on to another “income opportunity” where they’ll find another
bunch of misinformed buyers. It’s what’s known in the trade as “rinse and
repeat.” Bottom line is these people will fail many of the tests I’ve shared
here with you.
For all the legitimate opportunities I have seen,
you can generally expect to invest two to three thousand dollars to start
making money. This includes the cost of purchasing the product and your initial
set-up and advertising costs. If you’re not prepared to spend at least $2,000
to start and grow a successful home business, then don’t waste your time or
money looking for “business opportunities,”—what you are looking for is a
stay-at-home job.
In conclusion, think of the
Internet as the Wild West of the nineteenth century. There are some really good
opportunities out there, BUT there are also a lot of snake oil merchants who
are looking for gullible people to steal money from. “A fool and his money are soon
parted. ” Don’t be a fool. Keep your eyes open, keep your thinking cap
on, see past the hype, do your due diligence and you will find a legitimate
home based business that over time will allow you to earn a solid residual
income from the comfort of your home, and finally live the lifestyle that you
and your loved ones desire and deserve. It CAN be done; we (Laurel and I) are
living proof of that.
Daniel “BizzBooster” St-Jean
P.S. If you know some friends “in need” who could benefit from reading this article, why not email it to them now? They’ll appreciate it. Wouldn’t you?
Home Based Business
What is the BIG problem facing
home based business builders these days? If you’re involved in one, the odds
are 10 to 1 you’re experiencing this very problem right now. Probably have for
years. And unless you make some drastic changes to the way you’re trying to
make money from home, chances are you’ll never get over that problem—which
means that, unfortunately, success will continue to elude you.
OK, I hear you: What BIG problem am I referring to?
I know a great many home business gurus might disagree with me on this, but I
don’t care because 13 years of experience tells me I’m right.
Here it is: 95% of people who start a home based business
will fail because neither the company nor their upline is offering a good
MARKETING SYSTEM. That’s the BIG problem: Not having a Marketing System that
actually works!
Ok, so you don’t know me from Adam, and maybe you
think I’m full of beans. That’s OK, you’re entitled to your opinion. But surely
you know of Entrepreneur magazine, right? Well, here’s what they said a short
while ago: "95%
of people fail when they start a new business without a system. However, 95% of
people succeed when they start a business with a system."
Simply put, systems work! For example, Starbucks
utilizes a system. Their system is so good that they can teach anyone who buys
their franchise to operate it and sell coffee for twice as much as their
competitors.
Now, I’ll write the following statement in caps
because I really want you to get this: IF YOU DON’T HAVE A GOOD MARKETING SYSTEM
IN PLACE, YOU’RE DOOMED TO FAIL! Is that true 100% of the time? Of course not.
Some brave souls will achieve success after years of hard labor with a company and
an organization that basically left them on their own to market, prospect,
sponsor and train.
But a) they are a minute minority. And b) yes you could
swim across
Now, what do we mean by “Marketing System”? Well,
let’s answer that by telling you what is NOT a Marketing System. Designing your
own website, the three-foot rule, making a list of all your neighbors and
relatives, dragging people to weekly hotel meetings, buying generic MLM leads
(what a waste of good money that is!), cold-calling and learning techniques to
trick and “close” prospects does NOT constitute a “Marketing System”. Not even
close.
Unfortunately for the millions of newbies out there
looking for a profitable, legitimate income opportunity, that’s pretty much what
they’re about to get introduced to. My heart goes out to them, really. I know
what they’re up against because I’ve been doing most of those things “systematically”
over the years with the various home business opportunities I’ve been involved
in.
Just because you do things in a “systematic”
way does NOT mean you have a “system”. Banging your head on the wall repeatedly
and systematically will not grow your home business. It will only give you a
bruised forehead and a big headache. So stop doing that right now. Stop bugging
your friends and family. Stop putting business cards on windshields and
supermarket billboards. Stop cold calling. Stop annoying strangers at the
carwash. Just STOP it!
Those are the dinosaur ways of doing business. Hey,
this is 2008! A real Marketing System uses modern technology to help you grow
your home business fast, and without the headaches. A true Marketing System will
eradicate all (or the vast majority of) the things that most people struggle
with when trying to build their home based business. Namely: creating a
website, generating traffic, producing high-quality inexpensive leads, sorting
leads to find prospects, talking to prospects, “closing” them, and training
your new members to do what you do.
If your Marketing System can do ALL of that FOR
you, it has eliminated all the human variables that will make the difference
between not succeeding, and a whole lot of a success—translation: a nicer car,
a bigger house, a cruise to South America, more time and money for a long
family vacation, etc.
So, you’re asking; what exactly IS
a “true”, “real” Marketing System? What does it look like? What does it do?
More importantly, what does it do FOR you? Great questions.
Before I answer that, here’s a
quote from the dictionary defining SYSTEM: “a complex whole; a set of connected
things or parts, an organized body
of material or immaterial things.” Sounds good. Now I’ll answer your questions
by taking a closer look at the 3 highlighted terms above—whole, connected,
organized—to see how these relate to you and to the MLM, Network Marketing or
Direct Sales business you’re looking at building successfully from home.
Whole: In regards to a Marketing System, “whole” means it
must cover ALL the bases. From A, all the way to Z, without skipping over any
of the other key points. For example, if it provides you with a “capture”
website but does not provide a turnkey way to generate traffic to that website,
or does not follow up with your leads, it’s not “whole”. It’s like giving you a
canoe, but no paddles and no life jackets. Pretty useless wouldn’t you say?
Connected: “Connected” means two things: the Marketing System
connects with your leads every step of the way, from the moment they land on
your capture site to the moment they sign on the dotted line or pull out the
credit card to purchase your product or service. And it does that AUTOMATICALY,
24-7, without you getting involved.
Connected also means that you can
easily connect with the Marketing System’s virtual back office, or the brick
and mortar front office whenever you want to change your profile, check your
stats, etc.
Organized: If “whole” means it will go from A to Z, “organized”
means it will do it in a logical, timely, chronological and incremental manner.
I’ve studied Marketing Systems that were whole in the sense that they went from
A all the way to Z, but they were all over the map (A, J, K, Q, S, B, etc.) and
consequently confused leads and marketers. An “organized” system means that after
A comes B, then C, D, E, F, etc.
There you have it. There are many
other attributes a true, real Marketing System should possess (look for my
article entitled “Home Based Business Opportunity: an I-D-E-A-L Marketing
System WILL Help You Succeed”), but this is a good start.
Here are my recommendations:
1. Accept the FACT that having a
Marketing System is KEY to your success—and not just any Marketing System, one
that is W-C-O (whole, connected, and organized)
2. If you’ve not chosen your home
business opportunity yet, review the ones you’re considering and see if their
Marketing System is W-C-O (if they even have one…)
3. If you’re currently involved in a
work from home business, review your Marketing System and see if it’s W-C-O. If
it’s not, consider switching business. Seriously!
4. If you want to study a Marketing
System that is totally W-C-O, check out the link in the resource box below.
Now, don’t get me wrong here: I’m NOT asking you to check out my business and
join me. I’m suggesting that you click the link and go see for yourself a
perfect example of what a W-C-O, ideal, turnkey Marketing System looks like.
You can’t evaluate how good or bad your system is unless you have something
else to compare it to. So go take a look.
Whatever you chose to do with the
information you’ve just read, I wish you a whole lot of HOME BUSINESS SUCCESS!
Daniel “BizzBooster” St-Jean
P.S. If you know some friends “in need” who could benefit from reading this article, why not email it to them now? They’ll appreciate it. Wouldn’t you?
Home Based Business
I’ve researched and written this
article to either help you make the right choice (if you’re looking to start a home
based business you want to build successfully) or to help you determine IF
you’ve made the right choice (if you’re currently involved in a MLM, Network
Marketing or Direct Sales opportunity). Either way, you will find this
informative article helpful.
Let’s get right to it! “95%
of home business builders struggle because they don't have a MARKETING SYSTEM
that actually works!” Jay Kubassek, millionaire Network Marketer
Having spent years “struggling” in
other opportunities that did NOT offer a good Marketing System, I wholeheartedly
agree with Jay. And with Entrepreneur magazine where this next quote came from:
"95% of
people fail when they start a new business without a system. However, 95% of
people succeed when they start a business with a system".
Conclusion: if you want to achieve
any level of success with a home based business, it MUST provide a Marketing
System. Period.
However, not all Marketing Systems
are created equal. Some are good, some are bad, some are downright ugly (the
three-foot rule “system” is a good example of ugly). Bad or ugly Marketing
Systems won’t help you one bit. You’re S.O.L. A good one might help you. But if
you TRULY want to succeed to the max with a work from home business opportunity,
you should choose one that offers an IDEAL Marketing System.
Your only question at this point should be “What constitutes an IDEAL Marketing System?” Excellent question. Here is what an I-D-E-A-L Marketing System looks like:
I = Income-Generating
Let’s face it. We’re all in this because
we want to make money at home—in an ethical, moral and legal way. So the very
first thing your IDEAL Marketing System should do is generate income. Lots of
it. And 24-7 is best. Of course, when it comes to generating income, the Marketing
System is not the only element. I understand that. The company, the products,
the compensation plan, the support and training all play a part too.
But understand this: an IDEAL Marketing
System could sell sand to a Bedouin and ice cubes to an Eskimo. Without one,
you couldn’t give away cold water to a thirsty Bedouin, or a warm parka to a
cold Eskimo. I think you get the picture…
D = Duplicatable
If you’ve picked a good income
opportunity, your company, the product and the compensation plan together will make
it possible to earn a lot of residual income over many years. Residual income
is the KEY to time freedom.
But residual income is possible
ONLY if the people you bring into the business can do what you do, and the same
for the people they bring in, and so on. And that will only happen if the Marketing
System is easily duplicatable by EVERY single person who joins your
organization. Everyone. Not just the ones with money to buy ads, not just the
ones with home business experience, not just the ones with selling and “closing”
skills. Everyone!
E = Eliminating the Struggle
Your Marketing System should eliminate all (or the
vast majority of) the things that most people struggle with when trying to
build their home based business. Namely: creating a website, generating
traffic, producing high-quality inexpensive leads, sorting leads to find prospects,
talking to prospects, “closing” them, and training the new members to do what
you do.
If your Marketing System can do ALL of that FOR
you, it has eliminated all the human variables that will make the difference
between not succeeding, and a whole lot of a success—a new car, a bigger house,
a cruise to South America, sending the kids to college, more time with the family,
etc.
A = Automated
Donald Trump once said, "You're not really
making money until you're making it in your sleep." If you can only make
money while you’re awake and working, then you’re trading time for money which seriously
limits your income potential as there are only so many hours in a day—even if
you’re a professional who can bill clients $300 an hour…
“Automated” means the system is generating leads
and “closing” prospects without your active participation. Just imagine this
(which has really happened to Fredrik, one of my new associates, a few weeks
ago). You come home after a particularly trying day at work and you go sit in
front of your computer to check your emails. Amongst the dozens of worthless
pebbles (aka spam), you discover six gold nuggets and one diamond. The gold
nuggets are emails from prospects interested in finding more about your home business
opportunity. The diamond is an email from the people running your Marketing
System informing you that a new menber has joined your business—ka-ching!
Wouldn’t that make your day? That WILL happen with an IDEAL Marketing System.
Here’s another example, also a true story. Colleen
left home at 6 am to catch a plane out of
It gets better. She put her Blackberry away for the
next three days so she could concentrate on the training, the camaraderie, and
the great food (and wine). While at the airport waiting for her return flight
home, she checked her emails and went ka-ching, ka-ching, ka-ching! Without her
talking to a single soul outside the resort, three (THREE!) new people had
joined her group (for a total profit of $11,000)!
The ONLY way on planet earth you’ll ever experience
that elated feeling is if you are using an IDEAL, AUTOMATED Marketing System—one
that works even when you’re not.
Now, does that mean Fredrik or Colleen didn’t do
ANY work for those sales? Of course not. Making money without doing ANY work is
a preposterous idea. Please don’t fall for those promises you see all over the
Internet. Both Fredrik and Colleen worked to direct traffic to the Marketing System’s
website, and they will work with their new recruits AFTER they’ve joined. But
they did NOT work at closing the sales. And as was mentioned earlier, “closing”
is one of the major stumbling blocks your Marketing System MUST eradicate.
L = Level
Playing Field
Let me repeat a sentence from “D”: “And that (residual
income & time freedom) will only happen if the Marketing System is easily
duplicatable by EVERY single person who joins your organization. Everyone.”
A truly duplicatable Marketing System levels the
playing field for everyone. Maybe you know your way around the Net, maybe
you’re great at training a group in a meeting room, maybe cold calling is not a
problem for you. Great! But chances are the vast majority of the people who
will join you will NOT be like you.
You say your Marketing System levels the playing
field because everyone gets the same information at your weekly hotel training
sessions? OK. What about the large percentage of your people who live an hour or
more outside a main center and who can’t attend those training sessions? Do you
think they’re slightly disadvantaged? If you’ve answered “Yes”, then you don’t
have a level playing field. An IDEAL system levels the playing field for
EVERYONE, whether they’re a seasoned MLM veteran or a first-timer work-at-home
mom, whether they live in downtown
There you have it. There are other
attributes an IDEAL Marketing System should possess (look for my article
entitled “Home Based Business Opportunity: this is THE key to solving the BIG
problem”), but this is a good start.
Here now are my recommendations:
1. Accept the FACT that having a Marketing
System is KEY to your home business success—and not just any Marketing System,
an IDEAL one
2. If you’ve not chosen your home
business opportunity yet, review the ones you’re considering and see if their Marketing
System is “IDEAL”.
3. If you’re currently involved in a
home business, review your Marketing System and see if it’s “IDEAL”.
4. If you want to study an IDEAL Marketing
System, check out the link in the resource box. Now, don’t get me wrong here:
I’m NOT asking you to check out my business and join me. I’m suggesting that
you click the link and go see for yourself a perfect example of what an IDEAL,
turnkey Marketing System looks like. You can’t evaluate how good (or bad or
ugly) other systems are unless you have something else to compare them to. So
go take a look.
Whatever you chose to do with the
invaluable information you’ve just read, I wish you a whole lot of HOME BUSINESS
SUCCESS!
Daniel “BizzBooster” St-Jean
P.S. If you know some friends “in need” who could benefit from reading this article, why not email it to them now? They’ll appreciate it. Wouldn’t you?
Home Based Business
Let me start by asking you a few questions
under the categories “who are you” and “what are your challenges”. Are you a
disgruntled veteran MLMer who’s spinning his wheels and not making any money (and
not making friends either)? Are you a fledging home business builder struggling
with the whole marketing thing and losing sleep wondering if you’ll ever make
enough money to pay off the credit cards you’ve maxed out with marketing and
training expenses? Or are you a newbie on the Internet looking for a way to
generate income but totally confused by all the offers available to you (90% of
which is garbage)?
If those are your challenges,
you’re not alone. There are millions (yes, MILLIONS!) like you out there right
now. I understand your situation because I used to be in it too.
Still, most people persist in
pursuing the dream of financial independence and time freedom. Why are YOU
doing it? Is it because you want to escape the rat race and have more control
over your life? Or you want a nicer car, a bigger house, spend more time with
the family, or golfing, or gardening?
If the aforementioned challenges
and rewards describe you, even remotely, cheer up. I have some valuable
information on this page (and in my other articles in this article directory)
that will help you choose your first (and last) home based business opportunity
(if you’re new), or might help you replace the one that’s just not working for
you.
There are two diametrically-opposed
solutions to overcoming the challenges mentioned above; I call them the “stupid”
and the “stupendous”. The stupid solution looks like this: work harder, spend
more money on marketing and training tools, buy more MLM leads, attend more
meetings, think more positive thoughts, make more calls, read more self-help
books. Does this sound familiar? I call it the stupid solution because
following those recommendations will only lead you to more frustration, more
wasted time and energy, and to getting you deeper in the hole.
Listen to this great advice form Dan
S. Kennedy, one of the most successful, most trusted marketing gurus on the
planet (from his must-read book How to Succeed in Business by Breaking ALL the
Rules): “They say that winners never quit, quitters never win. My advice; Quit!
The first step to getting out of a hole is to stop digging!”
He goes on to say, “Setting goals
is, generally speaking, a productive thing to do. Certainly, having a vision of
where you want to go in life (your “WHY”) is important. But too often, people
get too nitpicky in micro-defining how they’ll get there, thus excluding all
sorts of great opportunities and sticking themselves with having to summon up
huge amounts of persistence to get to a goal the hard way even if an easier
path presents itself.”
So what’s the stupendous solution?
Find an easier path. Am I suggesting that you stop searching for a legitimate,
profitable home based business opportunity and start looking for something else
entirely? Of course not. Home business opportunities have great potential (the
legitimate ones anyway). You just have to find one that’s “an easier path”. I
did, and my life will never be the same ever again. (To find out how I turned
my business around, read my article entitled Home Based Business Opportunity: How
I was Saved by the System.)
There are SO many income opportunities
available out there—how will you know if the one you’re doing (or about to
choose) represents an easier, more doable path? Simple. The most important piece
of the home business puzzle is the Marketing System you will use to grow your
business. Not the company, not the product, not the comp plan, not even your
upline or the training. Yes, all those things play a part. But THE key to
(finally) succeeding is the system. System; that’s what the capital “S” in
Success stands for.
Pay close attention to the
following 26 words published recently by Entrepreneur magazine as they have the
potential to change your life for the better: "95% of people fail when they start a new
business without a system. However, 95% of people succeed when they start a
business with a system."
Those of you old enough to remember the classic movie
The Graduate (1967, with Dustin Hoffman—his first major role—and Anne Bancroft)
can recall that memorable scene where an astute businessman gives Dustin
Hoffman a great word of advice that will make him rich if he follows it. What’s
the word? PLASTICS. “The future is in plastics” the tycoon advises.
Well, if in 1967 the magic word was plastics, the
magic word in 2008 (if you want to make it big in a home business) is SYSTEM!
Building your business (any business, really) using a great Marketing System IS
the stupendous solution to overcoming your current challenges. Or your future
challenges if you’ve not started yet. You will have them, trust me on this. And
trust Jay Kubassek, a millionaire
Network Marketer who recently observed that “95% of home business owners struggle because they don't have a Marketing
System that actually works!”
To achieve success, you NEED to have a Marketing
System that works. That’s a given. Now, if you want to explode your business
and achieve tremendous success, make sure you have a dynamite Marketing System
(pun intended). Now, it might be useful for you to know what a “dynamite” Marketing
System looks like and what it does FOR you. Especially if you want to be able
to determine whether the home business opportunity you’re about to choose, or the
one you’re currently struggling with, offers such a System. To help you
remember, I’ve turned the word into the acronym S-Y-S-T-E-M:
S = Self-funding
At a minimum, the Marketing System
should be affordable (maximum monthly cost: $50). Unless, of course, the System
is self-funding, which it should be. That means when people join the System
under you, you’ll earn a monthly residual income as long as they keep using that
System. This way, not only will you get to use the Marketing System for “free”
when you’ve enrolled enough people (you shouldn’t need more than five) but it
could generate revenues that you can re-invest in marketing.
Y = You-less
You are OUT of the picture for the
most part. The System does almost ALL the work for you. It will provide the
capture website, call your leads, “close” them FOR you, and then train them.
S = Struggle-free
Your Marketing System should eliminate all (or the
vast majority of) the things that most people struggle with when trying to
build their home based business. Like creating a website, generating traffic,
producing high-quality inexpensive leads, sorting leads to find prospects,
talking to prospects, “closing” them, and training the new members.
T = Turnkey
That means you can plug into the
System and start using it minutes after you’ve signed on the virtual dotted
line. It means you did not have to re-mortgage your house to start using the
System (see “affordable” above) and you didn’t need to read a 95-eBook to
figure out how to get started.
E = Every minute of Every day
Donald Trump once said, "You're not really
making money until you're making it in your sleep." Your Marketing System
should be automated which means it is generating leads and closing prospects
without your active participation (see ‘You-less’), 24-7, whether you’re
working the business, or on holidays.
M = Money-Making Machine
Yes, it’s great if the System is
self-funding, and it’s a bonus if it creates a bit of extra marketing money. But
let’s face it, you’re not investing that amount of time and energy to make “a
bit of extra money”, right? We’re all in this because we want to make LOTS of money
from home—in an ethical, moral and legal way. So, for your Marketing System to
be dynamite, it should be a well-oiled money-making machine that works FOR you
around the clock.
There you have it. There are many
other attributes a dynamite Marketing System should possess (look for my
article entitled “Home Based Business Opportunity: an I-D-E-A-L Marketing
System WILL Help You Succeed”), but this is a good start.
Here now are my recommendations:
1. Accept the FACT that having a
dynamite Marketing System is KEY to exploding your home business
2. If you’ve not chosen your home
business opportunity yet, review the ones you’re considering and see if their Marketing
System could be labeled “dynamite” (IF they even have one…)
3. If you’re currently involved in a
work from home business, review your Marketing System and see if it’s “dynamite”.
If it’s not, consider switching business. Seriously!
4. If you want to study a truly
dynamite Marketing System, check out the link in the resource box below. Now,
don’t get me wrong here: I’m NOT asking you to check out my business and join
me. I’m suggesting that you click the link and go see for yourself a perfect
example of what a self-funding, you-less, struggle-free, turnkey, automated, money-making
Marketing System looks like. You can’t evaluate how good or bad other systems
are unless you have something else to compare it to. So go take a look.
Whatever you chose to do with the
invaluable information you’ve just read, I wish you a whole lot of HOME
BUSINESS SUCCESS!
Daniel “BizzBooster” St-Jean
P.S. If you know some friends ‘in need’ who could benefit from reading this article, why not email it to them now? They’ll appreciate it. Wouldn’t you?
Here’s a not-so-well-known fact: there
are millions (yes, MILLIONS!) of well-meaning and deserving people who are
frustrated with their lack of results (as in RE$ULT$) from the investment of
time, money, energy and brain cells they put into their home based business. If
that’s what you’re experiencing, you’re not alone.
Let me answer that by telling you
what the problem is NOT (contrary to what many network marketers on the
Internet would like you to believe so that you will switch to their
“opportunity”). The problem is NOT the home based business industry (there are
thousands of network marketers making a fortune in this industry). It’s NOT the
product or service you’re marketing (though if you’re selling shark cartilage
at $200 a bottle, you’ve got an uphill battle on your hands).
It’s NOT the company you’re
associated with (there are people making no money with excellent companies, and
there are people making plenty of it with questionable companies). It’s NOT the
compensation plan either (though if your plan contains words like “legs”, “left”,
“right”, or “group volume”, it’s going to be tough, but not impossible).
Finally, it’s NOT your upline or
sponsor, NOT the support, and NOT the training (there are people succeeding
gloriously who have none of that to help them). So then, what IS that “BIG”
problem that’s keeping you, and millions like you, from living the dream of
financial independence and time freedom?
Here it is, stated in 17 words by one of the most
successful and credible business persons currently involved in the network
marketing industry (at the time of writing, this persons earns well over
$100,000 a month): “95% of home based
business builders struggle because they don't have a Marketing System that
actually works!”
Let me rephrase that because I
want to make this absolutely clear: the vast majority of hard-working
networkers are having a really difficult time making ANY money with their home
based business because they don’t know how to market it, and the marketing
system they are taught to use absolutely sucks!
Now, there are two possible
solutions to overcoming this problem so you can experience success; I call them
the preposterous “sink” solution and the prosperous “swim” solution. Using the
former will make you sink to the bottom of your (insert company name)
money-pit. Using the latter will enable you to swim amongst hundreds of exotic
fish in the crystal clear water of
What’s the preposterous solution?
It’s the one you’ve probably heard the leaders of your company advocate over and
over and over again (especially if neither they nor the company offer a
Marketing System that actually works): work harder, spend more money on marketing
and training tools, buy more MLM leads, attend more meetings, think more
positive thoughts, make more calls, read more self-help books. Sounds familiar?
I call it the preposterous solution because following those recommendations
will only lead you to more frustration, and more wasted time and energy. You
sink deeper and deeper into the hole.
That’s the solution to avoid. The solution
to embrace is the prosperous solution. It’s a simple solution: choose a home
business opportunity that offers a Marketing System that actually works. I’ve
got a great name for such a (rare) Marketing System: PREMIUM.
Now, it might be useful for you to know what a PREMIUM Marketing System looks like and what it does for you if you want to be able to determine whether the home business opportunity you’re about to choose, or the one you’re currently struggling with, offers such a System. To help you remember, I’ve turned the word into the acronym P-R-E-M-I-U-M:
P = Pro-active
A PREMIUM Marketing System does
not wait for people to call. It goes ahead and calls YOUR hot prospects before
they cool down. It is also pro-active in that it stays in contact with YOUR leads
and prospects by sending emails regularly. And it does it FOR you so you don’t
have to learn how to set up a list, write emails that “sell”, and send those emails
via autoresponders.
R = Replicable
If you’ve chosen a good income
opportunity, your company, the product and the compensation plan together will
make it possible for you to earn a lot of residual income over many years. Residual
income is the KEY to time freedom (see Mobility).
But residual income is possible
ONLY if the people you bring into the business can do what you do, and the same
for the people they bring in, and so on. And that will only happen if the Marketing
System is easily replicable by EVERY single person who joins your organization.
Everyone. Not just the ones with money to buy ads, not just the ones with home
business experience, not just the ones with selling and “closing” skills.
Everyone!
E = Explaining-FREE
Explaining the product, the MLM
concept, and the compensation plan is a big struggle for most people. Most are
terrible at it and therefore they hate doing it. A PREMIUM Marketing System
should eliminate all (or the vast majority of) the things that most people
struggle with when trying to build their home based business. Things like
creating a website, generating traffic, producing high-quality inexpensive
leads, sorting leads to find prospects, talking to prospects, EXPLAINING the
business, doing three-way calls, “closing” prospects, and training new members.
A PREMIUM Marketing System will do
all those things FOR you—you never even get a chance to mess up the sale. Using
such a system also means that you will NEVER again have to try and recruit your
friends and family, drag people to Wednesday night hotel meetings, or have
one-on-one sales conversations. Ever.
M = Mobility
Eventually, residual income will
provide you with time freedom. When you are finally free to do what you want,
what you don’t want is a Marketing System that operates only when you’re chained
to your desk. A PREMIUM Marketing System can be run from anywhere in the world
with a Blackberry or a cell phone and a laptop. Want to take a vacation? No problem.
Take a week off? No problem. The System will generate, filter, and qualify your
leads while experienced marketers will make all your calls and close all your
sales FOR YOU!
I = Independent
A PREMIUM Marketing System should bring
you success, “independent” of your level of skills. This is VERY important
because it means that such a System will level the playing field for EVERYONE
who joins your home business. Everyone will have an equal chance at success,
regardless of their business experience, or their marketing, selling and
“closing” skills. By essentially removing the new marketer (you) from the
equation, one can focus on building the business while “outsourcing” the most
difficult sales and marketing aspects to the qualified and experienced people
running the Marketing System.
Also, your System should run ALL
the time, “independent” of your level of activity. A PREMIUM Marketing System
should be automated, allowing you to head out to the beach, to the mall with
the kids, or on a long overdue family vacation. Your Marketing System should be
working 24/7, generating, filtering and qualifying your leads and closing your
sales, virtually on “autopilot”.
U = User-Friendly
A PREMIUM Marketing System should
be very simple. Little to no Internet or computer skills should be needed. The
only things that might be required of you should be the ability to check your
email, type (even with just one finger), and browse the Internet.
A PREMIUM Marketing System should
be “turnkey”. That means you can plug into the System and start using it
minutes after you’ve signed on the virtual dotted line because you didn’t need
to read a 95-eBook to figure out how to get started.
Also, a PREMIUM Marketing System
should be wallet-friendly. Your Marketing System should be premium in quality,
but not come “at a premium”.
M = Money-Making Machine
Let’s face it, you’re not
investing that amount of time and energy to make “a bit of extra money”. We’re
all in this because we want to make LOTS of money from home (in an ethical,
moral and legal way). So, for your Marketing System to be PREMIUM, it should be
a well-oiled money-making machine that works FOR you around the clock.
There you have it. There are many other attributes a PREMIUM Marketing System should possess but this is a good start. (Look for my articles entitled “Home Based Business Opportunity: an I-D-E-A-L Marketing System WILL Help You Succeed” and “Home Based Business Opportunity: THE Key to (finally) Succeeding, with a Capital S”.)
Here now are my recommendations:
1. Accept the FACT that having a Marketing
System that works is KEY to success with your home business.
2. If you’ve not chosen your home
business opportunity yet, review the ones you’re considering and see if their Marketing
System could be labeled PREMIUM (IF they even have one…)
3. If you’re currently involved in a
work from home business, review your Marketing System and see if it fits the
PREMIUM description. If it doesn’t, consider switching business. Seriously!
4. If you want to study a real
PREMIUM Marketing System, check out the link in the resource box below. Now,
don’t get me wrong here: I’m NOT asking you to check out my business and join
me. I’m suggesting that you click the link and go see for yourself a perfect
example of what a real PREMIUM Marketing System looks like. You can’t evaluate
how good or bad other systems are unless you have something else to compare them
to. So go take a look.
Let’s summarize: we’ve identified
THE big bad problem that crushes the spirit of so many good people under its
ruthless thumb. That problem, of course, is lack of a Marketing System that
works. We’ve taken a brief look at the preposterous solution (the one where
you’ll sink you deeper and deeper). Then we’ve reviewed in more details the
prosperous solution (the one that’ll enable you to swim with dolphins).
Finally, we’ve suggested four actionable points to help you solve the problem
that’s keeping you from living a Richer Life, the life you and your loved ones
desire and deserve.
Whatever you chose to do with the
invaluable information you’ve just read, I wish you a whole lot of HOME
BUSINESS SUCCESS!
Daniel “BizzBooster” St-Jean
P.S. If you know some friends “in
need” who could benefit from reading this article, why not email it to them
now? They’ll appreciate it. Wouldn’t you?
Home Based Business Struggle:
How I was Saved by THE System
This true story recounts the unhappy
situation I was in about six months ago… See if it’s similar in some ways to
what you’re currently experiencing with your home based business opportunity
(my bet is the majority of you reading this will relate…)
I was involved with a top-notch,
first class company. The two owners and co-founders were the crème de la crème
of accomplished entrepreneurs and astute businesspeople. The products I was
marketing were unique, high-demand, stand-alone products. My upline was the
most knowledgeable and most supportive a sponsor can be. The compensation plan
was very generous, and easy to understand and explain. The company’s business
overview website was awesome. Sounds like I had it all, doesn’t it?
I was generating my own leads
(about 70 to 80 a week) through my own website. I was creating traffic for that
site via pay-per-click, article marketing, and a few other ways that included
safelists, classified ads, and other online advertising. No purchased (crappy)
leads for me, thank you very much!
Well, when you look at this
picture, you think I must have been raking it in, don’t you? Heck no. I was
actually shelling it out. I was spending more money on marketing than I was
earning through sales and residual income. That’s probably a unique situation that
nobody else reading this has ever experienced. Right? (LOL) (;-)
So what was wrong? Well, it’s a
well-known fact that a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. Want to
know what the weak link was? I’ll tell you because I have nothing to hide: I
(me, me, me) was the weak link. But how come? I had all the elements in place, plus
a lot of Network Marketing experience (having been involved with a few
companies off and on since 1993), and a very, very strong desire to succeed
with my home business).