Network Marketing - Pyramid Scheme Or Home Business Opportunity?

So why isn't Network Marketing a Pyramid Scheme?A pyramid scheme is the same as those chocolate bar chain letters you or your kids might have received. The letter states that if you send one chocolate bar to the person who sent you the letter and then pass the letter on to six other suckers (I mean "friends") they will send you six chocolate bars.Some letters even go so far as to threaten you or your children of they don't pass on the letters or "break the chain". I've seen letters sent to small children telling them if they don't join the pyramid scheme their mother will be killed in a car accident!It's worth noting that in most countries participating in any pyramid scheme is illegal so if you thought letting your kids pass on chocolate bars was harmless fun you may wish to reconsider training them up to be duped later on in life!A pyramid scheme relies on the next person down supplying goods to the person above for NOTHING IN RETURN. After 16 layers of six people sending six letters you actually run out of population in the world to keep sending goods up the line. So a pyramid scheme eventually has a bottom - wherein lies the problem because the vast majority of participants are at the bottom and have no-one below them to supply the six chocolate bars. Pyramid schemes are illegal because they don't work, eventually you will bottom out and only the person (or people) at the top benefit. For a person to make money (or get chocolate bars) in a pyramid scheme someone else has to GIVE GOODS AWAY because there is no product being sold.There are some super-elaborate pyramid schemes/scams around with fancy investment brochures and flash presentations which can make it difficult to tell the scam from the reality. These are also called Ponzi schemes after Carl Ponzi who took millions from investors and then used money taken from later investors to pay "returns" to the early investors so they'd keep investing. Although nowadays Bernie Madoff has so outdone Ponzi at his game we should perhaps rename them Madoff Schemes!If in doubt ask yourself: "What product or service is being sold to make the money?"Network Marketing is about selling goods and servicesIn Network Marketing you start at the bottom (as we do with most organisations) and start selling products. You make your money from selling the products. As you recruit and train other network marketers they make money from selling products and the company compensates you for training them. In the past network marketing usually meant your long lost friend or sister-in-law invited you for tea and an hour long spiel later left you empty of pocket and with an armful horrifically expensive dishwashing liquid / plastic flibbidy-gibberts / anti-ageing face masks.Fortunately the internet has been invented and now network marketers can look for people who actually want to buy their products around the globe and most of us are safe from "Checkbook Dinners". This, in turn, has made network marketing a lot more viable than it was in the past. For those of you looking at network marketing for the first, or second, time after years of skepticism you need to realise the way we can promote these products has changed and in response to an increased interest in marketing online a number of companies providing online marketing training and services have cropped up over the last few years.As a home based business, network marketing can provide flexibility and most companies include full training of their distributors. They key to network marketing is duplication, as long as you are willing to follow exactly what the people above you in the business are doing you can, hopefully, get the same results. Like a Franchise Business, network marketing follows a set formula for promoting, pricing and distributing products for business owners to follow. Like any business you should do your research first and reassure yourself that you are signing up for a legitimate company and not an elaborate scheme.

Is it Really Possible to Make Fast Easy Money Online?

The answer is a resounding yes. Indeed, many businesses, virtual or otherwise, thrive based on conceptually simple strategies for making money.Consider how a bank is structured. Certain individuals deposit funds in order to earn a return in the form of interest. Certain other individuals pay (higher) interest rates in order to borrow the money from the bank. In the case of other bank customers, who may neither borrow nor save money, the bank offers the convenience of checking, credit card processing and other services. The bank makes money by being an agent for its customers-all agents make money by charging their customers a fee.Most programs designed to help people make fast easy money online train the "employee" on how to become an agent. Just as the bank matches people with money to invest with people who need money to borrow, so also do many online businesses set the employee up as an intermediary who can serve as a broker for a certain type of deal.The "fast easy money online" promise is based on the idea that motivated individuals looking to earn extra money can gain the knowledge and skills they need in order to become a sort of agent or broker. For opportunity seekers who come across listings for products claiming to teach these knowledge and skills, one way to evaluate the legitimacy of the program is to ask now what the program entails, but how it works.Does the aspiring employee provide a value-added service to one or more parties? Are the parties involved in the business of buying and selling real products and services or is money changing hands for an intangible product? Savvy opportunists know to look for clues that real products and services are involved in order to detect a legitimate business.

An Explanation of the Binary Compensation Plan in Network Marketing

In the 90's the binary compensation plan was released. The premise is that it is only 2 people that anyone person would have. The companies will hype, all you need to do is find 2 and make it sound incredibly easy. Now, when you find a third person or above, you place the person under someone in either leg. This was done to promote helping your people to find others and build your business as you help others build theirs.Let me explain how the compensation works. You have two legs and for simplicity sake, the leg on the right has 1000 points. You are feeling good! Now you look at your left leg and they did 2000 points of volume. Now, anyone would feel that is great, you had 3000 points for the month. But hold on for a second. You are only paid to the point the legs are equal. So you would be paid on the 1000 point leg on the right and you would get 1000 points on the left. But the other 1000 points you worked hard to build is lost. Gone... you don't make a penny on it.Now, sure, this is where your upline will tell you that you need to balance out your legs, and not to worry, you will not always limp. Now, here is where I really get concerned with compensation plans, because if all people are equal and they are all go getters, that is nirvana. But, you will have some work and others expect you to do it for them. Now, when you think you have balanced the legs, your upline is needing to balance his legs. So, this is where you need to be careful because they may be getting you out of balance, and it will continue up the path from you. In this compensation model, you have to balance the the go getters and slackers. When you are sponsoring into network marketing, you never know who will do what. Your success will be based on what the people do in your organization. Now, the fact that most network marketing companies do not teach methods that will get people attracted and making money and not dreaming about the money, really will impact you. You need to have a system of activities that people need to do to be successful.Now, in this compensation model, who do you want to help? You want to help those that are actively working. However, what happens with that? If I do nothing, I know you have to help me. This will be placing people under me to succeed so it balances your legs. So in essence, people are not rewarded on what they are doing, in this, you may be rewarding those who are lazy.I would definitely encourage you to become educated on how to build your business. I would recommend that you want to find customers who love the products, and then you place them on each side of your business. Then you can show them how to get their products for free, by doing the same thing of finding customers. Get with a proven networker out there that is willing to teach you how to build your business.

Using Internet Marketing to Combat the Recession

There is no doubt that the recent recession has hit this country as well as others very hard, with practically hundreds if not thousands of businesses affected by the current state of the economy. This has meant that over the last year or so many households have began to struggle because of one, if not both partners losing their jobs, meaning that individuals and couples have faced serious financial crisis. These financial worries have been so severe that a lot of individuals have been the victims of repossessions and have lost their family homes.Because of this financial crisis it has meant that for many individuals it has spilt over to emotional crisis, and feelings of depression and anxiety have kicked in, having a very negative impact on relationships in the family home. Recently as the months and years have passed and often because off reasons such as redundancy, more and more people have been turning to the Internet as a means to make money. The Internet has allowed people in trouble to break free from this trap and to begin to rebuild their lives. And as a result of this many people have began to make very substantial, life changing incomes.These people who have turned to the internet as a way to make money have found that with hard work and dedication they have not only began to replace their income, but their online businesses have given they time freedom which their previous employment could never have given them.Now as we all know the Internet can be a minefield, and so it is vitally important that people looking to venture into Internet marketing choose the right system. Many people who have been successful have chosen internet opportunities that provide support and training, and this has meant that they have been able to overcome any problems they face with help, meaning the path to success and financial freedom has become far more achievable. This is because they have been able to have a mentor available and someone there who can work with them when problems arise, a very important part of successful Internet marketing.Their is no doubt that the lose of a job can be a very troublesome time for an individual, however the purpose of this article is to show that it is not all doom and gloom, and that their is light at the end of the tunnel with the use of internet marketing. Choosing the right online opportunity, coupled with ongoing support and training, can mean that people can escape the rat race and not have to worry about job losses again with this recession proof opportunity.

Want to Learn Some Dirty Secrets About Network Marketing?

Why do you think 97% of network marketers fail? They come into the industry with great enthusiasm and expectations, so why do they fail? The bottom suddenly falls out of their dream, and here are some reasons why.1. There are thousands of network marketing opportunities out there, but the truth is, only a SMALL number of them are worth getting involved with.2. Many of the people who develop the network marketing programs don't know what they're doing, don't have the capital available to do it properly and don't know anything about marketing.3. Marketing is miserably executed by even some of the more legitimate programs; some of which have been around for several years - struggling, but still viable enough to stay alive.4. There is so much hype, exaggeration and downright lies floating around, it has gotten to the point where nobody believes anybody. This is unfortunate for the legitimate opportunities that really do have a program that works and works well.5. When you are told distributors easily make six-figure monthly incomes by only working a few hours a week, run immediately in the other direction or at least do your due diligence before signing on the dotted line. Yes, that is definitely a possibility, and many network marketers make staggering incomes. But, this did not happen overnight for them; they worked hard and steady, and I doubt very much they would tell you it was easy at the beginning. After all, anything worth having is worth time, attention and effort.6. Too often network marketers tell anyone they talk to that they would do great in the business and make lots of money. Network marketing is a business just like a brick and mortar business. You need to have knowledge on how a business operates and the tax laws involved. You must ask yourself whether you're happier being an "entrepreneur" or an "employee."7. Most network marketing opportunities tell you there is no selling involved. Don't kid yourself.There isn't a business of any kind alive today that doesn't have sales of some sort in place. What you want are prospects interested in what you have to offer - then selling comes easy.8. It seems difficult for the deeply-entrenched network marketing companies, who have been around and successful for a long time, to embrace the internet for marketing. They have their company information, distributor back offices, etc. online, but they still do their prospect training the old fashioned way.I recall a few years ago when I was involved with a nutritional company, I approached my director (he was in corporate) about doing prospecting online. He laughed at me and told me it would never work. They believed in the "everyone that breathes wants to be in your business" and the "three-foot rule" (everyone three feet from you wants to be in your business), "make a list of 100 people you know" because they all want to be in your business (?), etc. This is archaic - it doesn't work! Incidentally, this company now does some prospecting online.9. Unfortunately with many of the network marketing companies, it's only a few at the top that ever make any money. They keep this well hidden, and new distributors don't discover it right away. These companies thrive on the entrance fees paid by the steady flow of new distributors joining the program. They give no support to their distributors, even though they say they do, and when the "well" dries up, they move on and reintroduce the same program, giving it a different name.My intention is not to scare you. Network marketing can give you a wonderful life style and generate great income. Many people are truly living their dream. You must, however, know what you're doing. If you are thinking about entering the network marketing industry, study it carefully and diligently and check the opportunities carefully. There are some wonderful and legitimate programs out there, and besides that, network marketing is a viable and economical distribution method. You just need to find the right one for you.

Using YouTube to Build Your DWG International Business

Are you a DWG distributor and trying to sell DWG International products? Are you struggling with how to get your offer out to people who would be interested in what you have to offer? Have you tried promoting your products using YouTube? YouTube is one of the most popular websites online today and receives enormous amounts of traffic - but fortunately you can benefit from this. And the best part is, YouTube is a free method to market so for those of you on a shoestring budget at the moment, this is great news!Create Your Own YouTube Video to Promote Your DWG International BusinessIf you have the skills and equipment then your first step in using YouTube to promote your DWG International Inc Business is to create your own video. If you don't have the skills or equipment then you could always ask someone else to do it for you - or even run a competition to see who can create the best video for you and reward them with a prize. Some of the best videos to create are informational, talking head videos, lifestyle videos and screen capture videos that contain valuable information.Ensure That Your Website Address is Clearly Visible and Repeated OftenWhile people are watching your YouTube video you need to constantly reinforce your DWG International website address so that they will remember it once they finish watching and remember to visit your website. Some good videos I have seen on YouTube have the website address constantly visible at the bottom of the screen or behind the people and then repeat the website address verbally at the end of the video. This is what is called a lower third and is very easy to create with various programs.Promote Your VideoAs with most other internet marketing - you need to market your marketing as well - send people to your YouTube video from elsewhere. Have links to your YouTube videos on your website; share your videos on your social networking and social content sharing websites, like Facebook and Twitter. You can even use authority sites like Squidoo and HubPages to drive traffic to your YouTube Videos.You can benefit from YouTube in promoting your DWG International network marketing business. Create your own videos - or get someone else to create them for you. Make sure that your website address is clearly visible and then promote your videos as much as possible.

Rain Nutrition Business and Opportunity - An Honest Review

Rain Nutrition is the latest business opportunity based in the multilevel marketing of health and wellness industry, technology and home products to hit the market. As of now the company is just ending its first full year in late April. The company believes its opportunity and products could change your financial future and the landscape of the health and wellness industry...so can they?Rain nutrition was created by Chad Christofferson and a team of 6 other entrepreneurs and as of now is still in first year and is a month away from opening its doors to other products. There are 5 main products with the opportunity with Rain. The first is a urine kit for testing and evaluating what your body is currently lacking nutritionally. The second is a nutrient/vitamin supplement called Pure which is claimed to help fight against illness through fighting bacteria in our system. The remaining products are nutritional energy drinks each with its own flavor and desired effect for your healthThe opportunity is based in the network marketing industry and marketing to your warm market will be involved at first. The compensation plan is comparable with other multilevel marketing businesses on the market. The first of the 7 bonus levels is of course in the retail sales which is the difference between the wholesale price and the suggested retail price. The remaining 6 bonus levels are based upon a personal volume (PV) and team commissionable volume. The volume is based upon the individual whose members not only order themselves, but create new and ongoing sales through each required period.To start a business opportunity with Rain it will come at only the cost of the first order of the product pack. The product packs do vary in price with the highest being in the range of $500 dollars for a complete pack of the nutritional drinks, supplements and urine kit. There are a few tools such as business cards, apparel, DVD's and brochures at a cost to you to aid your marketing. The system is built on multilevel and network marketing which entails the new member to start marketing to friends and family members.The health and wellness multilevel marketing industry is a highly saturated industry and it will be necessary to learn how to brand "yourself" as a leader quickly. Learning to market online the products and the opportunity could help to build your down line faster and more effectively. Please ask your sponsor however about marketing on the Internet as some companies have strict guidelines that prohibit some strategies and or, prohibit any online marketing at all. It is always important to do your due diligence completely before joining any business opportunity. Rain Nutrition does have some quality products, although the compensation plan is typical of the industry and would require scores if not hundreds of individuals in your down line to create a substantial work from home status. So will Rain Nutrition change the landscape of this industry? At this point with the economic times we are faced with...it will be hard to tell.