Some Personal Advice To All Business Owners (Part 1)
In the world of business, very few things ever change (with technology being the exception)
Regardless of whether you're in MLM/NWM, some things will remain the same:
1. SPAM
These guys are not just online. I get junk mail in print as well. They're also not exclusive to the world of textual promotion - they phone us every day, or approach you on the sidewalks, offering all kinds of junk you don't need.
They're here to stay. No need to get angry. Get used to it. As long as you can learn the lesson (that SPAM doesn't work) and move on.
2. SPAM aside, there's a lot of junk out there...
My involvement in MLM/NWM has taught me that there are boatloads of personal development materials out there (Books, Cd's, DVD's etc...)
Over 90% of it all is crap, and within the remaining 10% some won't be suitable for your personality type.
And more than what is necessary will be in the "motivational" category. I'm not against motivational speeches, but if you over-consume "motivation" you will soon realize that motivation doesn't sell... instead, it turns many prospects off.
You'll have to strike the balance for yourself in terms of how much motivation you need. You'll also have to spend some money and weed through all the BS to get the stuff that will properly train and equip you for the world of sales.
For me, I bought tons of crap, and more motivational stuff than is necessary for me. I consider myself a realist and needed appropriate training with minimal motivation (although I wouldn't rule out motivation entirely)
For me, "Professional Inviter" by Tim Sales (over at First Class MLM Tools - and I don't get commission from this...) was the correct training. It fitted my personality and struck the correct balance between training and motivation.
3. Newbies ask the same questions in every industry.
In stock trading, franchising, property investment, and even in MLM/NWM, every industry has the same questions asked by new entrants into those industries. And the answers remain the same.
Suggestion: maybe if Better Networker could create an archive of Newbie FAQ's, categorized and tagged, with a special feature to search through questions, that might be quite useful. Also, similar to Yahoo's Questions, the community can give answers and the community can vote for the best answer for each question.
Typical questions like "which company is best", "which compensation plan is best", "which WP plugin to use for this and that"... etc... etc...
4. Your Mentor/Accountability-Partner/Upline is not responsible for your success.
A mentor will only add a certain amount of probability to your success, but they won't add everything you need. They only help guide you, they won't take you all the way.
Furthermore, mentors are not all made equal. Some are in fact, better than others.
Also, some may be better suited to you and your personality style than others. If you're a realist like me, having a mentor who constantly leans on the motivational side of things, won't be helpful. It may be suitable for some of you though.
SIDENOTE: Sometimes it's good to have more than just one mentor...
Back to the point... in any industry and especially MLM, --->YOU<--- are your biggest asset (Not your mentor). So start weeding through trainign materials like crazy, figure out what works for you, and categorize your materials into "training" and "motivation" that suits you (and other categories if you want to add).
Start expanding your mind. Kiyosaki says that your skills and knowledge are your biggest assets. More skill and knowledge leads to more success, however you define it
SIDENOTE: I'm somewhat tired of defining success as more clients and more sales and more profits
5. Everything worthwhile in life takes time.
SIDENOTE to MLM'ers... it is for this reason that you should find the right people to work with in your MLM business. Some people are just not entrepreneurs and should rather be treated as a customer you can retail your products to.
This ties in nicely with #4 above. There is no quick way to riches, and searching for one will place you among the SPAMMERS in #1
It takes time to be trained effectively for your chosen industry. It also takes time to build your first few long term customers.
Yes you may become a millionaire in months, but I shudder to think how fast you might lose it. Even so, months are not the same as overnight success, and 5 years, although short, is also not overnight success.
SIDENOTE: i'm not sure that becoming a millionaire should be the goal. If that's the reason why you're starting a business, then you've got the wrong reasons for starting one.
Very few people will have a smooth ride in business. The majority of us will have to hang in there and wrestle some tough obstacles to get out on the other side. I know you need to get 5 customers on repeat order quick to stay in business if you're short on cashflow in your new startup, but if you don't... will you quit? It took me more than a few years to get 3 repeat customers.
Yeah that sounds bad, but for some of us, that's the commitment you have to make. For some of us, that's how much we have to learn AND change to get the first few customers.
Whatever business you enter into, join it with the right long term mentality (you might be like me, taking years to build your first few customers.
Join it with the right mentality. Get into it for the long term. Get into it for what you can learn AND NOT what you hope to get OUT of it... I know you don't start a business to learn or make friends, and I know that every business has a bottom line.
I'm not saying you shouldn't go into business if money is your only motivation initially, but the ride is sure smoother when you go for it with the right attitude.
There's other things I could share, but nothing more is coming to mind. I may post a second time to add to this list later.
Ciao!
Source: http://www.betternetworker.com:8081/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=29511