Have you ever been in the situation where you were about to leave network marketing? Or, worse, you actually left the field? I’m sure many of you have experienced the same feelings I experienced years ago: frustration, disappointment, disillusion. I dropped out of the business when I was 21, four years after I started in the field.
Was it network marketing’s fault? Of course not. It was my fault, and what I found out afterwards was that if the business doesn’t prosper it is because we’re not doing things properly, or haven’t acquired all the skills yet. It’s never network marketing’s fault, because I know, as you know, that network marketing is far better than traditional business.
Let me guess. One of your worst moments in life as a network marketer was when you decided to go full time. Am I right? It’s exactly what happened to me. Let me tell you my story.
I started in the business when I was 17, completely on my own, without any support or specific clues about how to make it happen. I had only attended a two-day seminar, where I got a few lessons and pieces of advice which I followed very seriously. I was in high school back then but I worked at the job every single day, as soon as I could. I didn’t even sleep at night because I was that excited. My very first issue was how to get customers, because my friends were 16 or 17 and they didn’t have the money to buy even the average starting program of the company (which was around $140). But I found my way, in the form of flyers made out of A4 paper, which I put in people’s mailboxes while walking around the neighborhood. By the way, this is something I wouldn’t advise people to do today, but I was on a kind of mission at that time! I have a few anecdotes about finding myself in weird situations in those days, but I’ll maybe tell you about them in some other posts. To make the story short here, I want to tell you that it took me 2 years to make the first $1,000. In the third year I made $2,000$ and in the fourth year $3,500 – and that’s doing the job part time, while studying for a Bachelor’s in Computer Science, Banking and Finance in Frankfurt. Those first years might not seem a success looking from the outside, but for me every single step that I took was a success, because I was trying a new thing, network marketing, which expanded my vision and I wanted to make it happen.
But, at this point, I made a mistake. I was really excited because I had gotten my first $3,500 check and I kept asking myself: “If I make $3,500 part time, what would I make full time? If I make this working 3-4 hours a day, what would I make working 12 hours?”. So, guess what I did? I quit my studies. It was quite hard in that moment because the fourth semester was a semester abroad and I had applied for the Hawaii Pacific University in Honolulu. That was my dream place: I had always dreamed about Hawaii and all my friends were going there too. But I looked at my business and I realized that, if I went abroad for 6 months, my business would fall apart. So I made the decision to not go. It was a really hard decision for me. This shows that I was always willing to make the necessary sacrifices to make things happen.
Unfortunately it wasn’t enough. I went into business full time and it was a disaster. As soon as I went full time, everything just fell apart. I hope this wasn’t the case for you, but you have probably also discovered that when you go full time for the first time in network marketing, it is not as you expected, at all. The big problem is that all of a sudden you have a lot of free time and all this free time basically crushes you. There’s no system in your day anymore, there’s no routine anymore. You have a lot of pressure because now you absolutely have to make it happen. It was a horrible time for me. I was completely confused about how to make things work. I wondered why I couldn’t manage to advance even while working so hard, but the truth is that I couldn’t even see how to really advance, and I was stuck at that stage for a very long time. Eventually I dropped out from network marketing, after 4 years.
If these words and feelings are familiar to you, I hope for two things: first, that you have already overcome this harsh moment and found your way to make your business advance and prosper; second, that, if you’re experiencing it now, you don’t throw in the towel but stay strong, because a way out does exist. And I would be happy to lend you a hand and help you out. First of all I want to tell you how I made it.
I was out of network marketing for about one year, during which I had a short stint in real estate. But I didn’t like it and I decided to go back to my first business. At that point I had a different mindset and awareness. I got burned once and I knew why: I realized what I didn’t have then and what skills I needed to acquire to kick it off again on the right foot. I needed to learn.
After 4 years I had a mere 74 people on my team and only 9 of them were working. The rest were not doing anything. And I always wondered: “How do others have thousands of people. Where do these people even come from?” I wanted to learn and I figured the only way to learn was to work with somebody who was successful in the business. So, what I did was to look for a mentor and eventually, 5 years ago, I found the right guy. I signed up with this guy whom I learned a lot from and who is now a great friend. Thanks to him I’m now one of the 50 top MLM leaders in the world, earning between $50,000 to $100,000 a month, with thousands of people on my team.
So, in conclusion, what I want to tell you is that I wouldn’t be where I am today if it weren’t for the groundwork I’ve laid:
- I was always willing to make sacrifices and work very hard.
- I realized I needed a mentor.
If you’re investing your time reading this blog I presume you’re already focused and serious-minded in network marketing, and therefore you already know what making sacrifices and working hard mean. But you might feel you need a boost for the next breakthrough. You’re probably looking for a person who can tell you exactly how to advance to the next level. You need to find that person. Network marketing is mostly about people and relationships and you have to find the person who can inspire and guide you in a virtuous circle of mutual benefits.
If you’re looking for a network marketing professional and you’re willing to have a chat with me, please leave your name and a message here
