Lightyear Wireless Review - The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Behind This Wireless Giant

Hello and welcome to all my network marketing friends.I have spent a fair amount of time researching Lightyear Wireless and all the pros and cons of this telecom MLM company and opportunity. As an avid MLM industry mentor and student, I have researched well over 250 of the top MLM companies in existence, comparing all manner of pay plans, products and services, as well as company growth and popularity.My goal is to cut the fat and give you the skinny on what truly counts if you're considering joining Lightyear Wireless.This Lightyear Wireless review will focus on the following:OVERVIEW1) Company History2) Products & Services3) Business Opportunity4) Pros & ConsCOMPANY HISTORYLightyear Wireless is a subsidiary of its parent company, Lightyear Network Solutions which was founded in 1993. Sherman Henderson is the founder and CEO. Sherman Henderson launched Lightyear Wireless with a couple of philosophies in mind; to give people an extraordinary opportunity to create wealth, and to give the power of choice to the consumer. By 1999, Lightyear was ranked #19 on Inc.500's list of fastest growing companies. Lightyear was generating over $250 million dollars in annual gross revenue at the time with a customer base of over 250,000 people nationwide.In 1997, Josh Henderson joined the Lightyear team. Josh successfully built out 2 independent sales channels that brought in over $100 million dollars in annual revenue. In 2001, Josh left Lightyear for a brief stint to lead a billion dollar telecom company in the network marketing industry. During his tenure there, Josh developed his skills in direct sales and network marketing. He eventually returned to Lightyear in 2003. Upon his return, Josh launched Lightyear Alliance, offering products and services with a MLM business model. Josh always believed in the vision of, "Empowering People's Lives by Showing Them A Better Way."PRODUCTS & SERVICESAs a Lightyear Wireless distributor, you can now offer:1) Cell Phones & Cell Phone Plans2) Cable TV & Internet With Comcast, Time Warner, AT&T And More3) Local & Long Distance Home Phone Service4) Dish Network, Direct TV5) Home Security6) Travel Discounts7) Energy DrinksThe list of available products, services and primary providers is quite impressive to say the least. Lightyear Wireless is its own company through and through. Customers are billed by Lightyear Wireless as opposed to being billed by the primary service provider (i.e. Verizon). Lightyear Wireless owns over $70 million dollars worth of equipment designed for the wireless industry, all of which is housed in their 80,000 square foot facility.Lightyear Wireless is not a MVNO (Mobile Virtual Network Operator). A MVNO is simply a company that cannot operate independently due to lack of infrastructure, yet has the ability to offer wireless services based on its relationships with larger providers. Instead, Lightyear Wireless is a VPS (Verizon Partner Solutions). VPS offers companies like Lightyear the capability of reselling Verizon products and services without having to attend to stiff quotas, requirements, and contracts.BUSINESS OPPORTUNITYLightyear Wireless distributors can create multiple income streams from a variety of sources including Fast Start Bonuses, Commissions, Overrides, Customer Acquistion Bonuses, and Residual Income on a wide range of products and services:1) Fast Start Bonus - A Lightyear rep can earn anywhere from $100 to $295 depending on their promotion level or rank. This creates an incentive to sponsor and help others start their own Lightyear business.2) CAB (Customer Acquisition Bonus) - Get paid anywhere from 1% to 10% of the wireless usage of your own mobile bill as well as the usage of any customers you personally sign up.3) Distributors can earn residual income on an array of different services. The Lightyear MLM pay plan is based on a 3 x 8 matrix. That simply means in an ideal world, you sponsor 3 and teach them how to sponsor 3 and so on. You get paid residual income on the total wireless usage of all customers and reps within your sales organization 8 levels deep. The residual payout on wireless service is anywhere from 1% to 4% depending on total sales volume and levels.4) MyWirelessRep.com (Virtual Online Store Commissions) - As a Lightyear Wireless distributor, you have the option of owning your own virtual online store, known as MyWirelessRep.com, for a fee of $49 per month. Distributors can also earn overrides of $3 to $18 on all virtual store monthly fees collected throughout your entire organization.Through hard work and perseverance, anyone can build a successful sales organization. But mind you, it does take a significant amount of effort and consistent daily action.PROS AND CONSWithout question, it makes sense to consider the short term as well as the long term possibilities when analyzing a network marketing company and the overall opportunity. If your goal is to be a full-time, professional network marketer, it behooves you to weigh the pros and cons. Here's my list of pros and cons to consider if you think Lightyear might be the right fit for you:PROS1) The wireless industry rakes in over $150 billion dollars in annual revenue. No need to say it, but this is a MASSIVE industry to be apart of.2) Americans ALONE spend over $11 billion dollars per month on wireless service.3) Everyone owns a cell phone in this modern age.4) Wireless consumers are buying products and services with no end in sight.5) More and more people are signing up for service regardless of age. Senior citizens to small children are parading around with cell phones these days!CONS1) The wireless industry is EXTREMEMLY COMPETITIVE.2) AT&T, Verizon and ALL of the major players in the wireless industry spend hundreds of millions of dollars on advertising to create intensely loyal customers. This may make signing up potential customers harder than you think. Although many Lightyear customers will be getting service through Verizon's network, the fact that "Lighyear" shows up on their bill as opposed to their current provider may raise some eyebrows and objections.3) There's a new wireless company springing up everywhere you look. Companies like Cricket and Boost Mobile offer unlimited calling and texting plans for $50 per month. The deregulation of the wireless industry is reminiscent of the deregulation of the long distance industry back in the late 80's and early 90's. A network marketing company called Excel Communications came along and created a legion of MLM millionaires who jumped in at the right time. Unfortunately, the company was forced to restructure and decided to shut down their MLM business model as the long distance industry become more competitive and profit margins evaporated. Hopefully, this doesn't happen with the wireless industry.SUMMARYAfter thorough research, I can honestly tell you that Lightyear is a phenomenal MLM opportunity and a great place to call home if you're jumping into the network marketing arena. As with any business venture, you will definitely need to get to trained properly in all of the following areas:1) Product Training2) Customer Acquisition3) Marketing4) Recruiting5) LeadershipRegardless of what industry you jump into, there's always a learning curve. Something I learned a long time ago is this, "Find someone who has the results you want in your business and your life and model yourself after them. Do exactly what they do and mimic their habits for success."Aristotle, the great philosopher, once said, "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit."