Don't Trip Over Your Brain! - How to Make Money in Network Marketing

What are the advantages of starting your own network marketing business?

1. Tax breaks! Owning a network marketing business allows you to claim tax deductions available to any business owner. For example, this year I was able to claim some of my gasoline (for driving to business meetings and presentations), some meals (customer and prospect dinners), part of my internet costs (I use the internet for my business), part of my cell phone costs (ditto), some of my travel costs (by combining our vacation in Orlando with a business seminar, part of my trip was deductible). Of course you really must consult with a CPA or other tax professional to ensure you follow all the IRS guidelines. And by the way, the CPA is deductible!

2. Time! Time for your family, time for yourself. In a network marketing business, you can work as much or as little as you please. It all depends on how quickly you want to build your business. And you can take the time you want off. Time also means you can take all the time you need to build your business. In the corporate world, I watched many co-workers come and then go when they weren't able to meet a quota. In network marketing, the only quotas are the ones you set for yourself. On our team and on most teams in general, if you are willing to work, we will work with you no matter how long it takes.

3. Leverage. This is a big advantage. What is leverage? Let me explain. I have a friend who works for a car dealership. He does fairly well - as long as he works "bell to bell" (open to close) 5-6 days a week. He sells on average 15-20 cars per month. But if he goes on vacation or is ill, he sells nothing and makes nothing. Now, suppose that he had a team of other salespeople that worked for the same company. He recruited them, trained them, and supported them, and in return he received a percentage of their sales. If he had 10 salespeople on his team and they each sold 5 cars apiece each month, that's an additional 50 cars a month that he receives some money for. Plus he still sells his 15-20 per month. If he gets sick or takes a day off, he might not sell his 20. But he will still get paid his share of the additional 50.

Now let's take it one step further and say each of these 5 salespeople were allowed to do the same thing. The each recruited 5 members for the team and everyone got a percentage of the sales. So now my friend has another 25 (5x5 = 25) sales he gets a percentage of. Plus the 50 from the team he recruited. Plus his 15-20 each month. That's potential sales of 95 cars - all with no more time or effort than it took to sell his 15-20. THAT'S called LEVERAGE!

Another form of leverage is the system that is in place. If you join a network marketing program, everything is already in place for you. All you have to do is learn from those that have gone before you and been successful and copy what they did. No need to start from scratch!

4. You get to meet some really great people. Once you are in a network marketing business, you will be surprised at how your social circle changes. When I joined FHTM, I immediately showed it to all of my friends. Some of them instantly saw the advantages and signed up on my team. But many just didn't get it. They thought I was crazy for getting involved in one of those "pyramid scams that would never work." But if they actually had to be honest, it wasn't the fact that it was network marketing. It's the fact that most of us have been taught from birth that the way to get ahead is to go to school, get a good education, and then get a good job and work until we retire. And we only have to look around us during the current economic situation to see how well that's working. I live in Arkansas. I don't know if anyone outside of the area heard about the Cargill plant that burned down. Guess what - it wasn't rebuilt. 800 people out of work. My cousin just lost his job because the company he worked for sold their franchise and the new owners feel they don't need to keep as many salespeople. Several more people out of work. Still think a job is the way to go? Fortunately, when you own a network marketing business, you quickly meet many other people who understand the concepts explained here. And it sure is great to surround yourself with positive, upbeat people who are successful and want you to be successful as well.

Of course, it isn't all sunshine and roses. There are some disadvantages to starting a network marketing business. First, you have to work hard. Sometimes you will work longer hours than if you had a regular job. It's 11:30 pm here and I'm still working. If I was still in my job, I'd be sound asleep by now. And it can take some time to get the business built to the point where it can support your family. You may need to work your job until you reach that point unless you have some savings you can use while you build your business. I've seen it done both ways and either way will work as long as your committed. And some network marketing companies have VERY strict guidelines on how you can market your business and recruit your downline. I actually lost an upline member in a previous venture because he stepped outside the guidelines for online recruitment and the company terminated him with no questions asked.

If you have been thinking of starting a business in the network marketing industry now is the perfect time to get started. The economic situation is causing a flood of people looking to supplement or replace their current income. And of course, if you are looking for the best network marketing company in the business, I'd love to have you join my team.

Check us out at http://www.fhtmus.com/wealthtogether. If you like what you see, you can join my team right from the website. If you still have questions, feel free to contact me. You can email me wealthtogether@hotmail.com.

One of the first questions I inevitably get when presenting Fortune is "Is this a pyramid scheme? Aren't those illegal?" So let me state once and for all - NETWORK MARKETING IS NOT A PYRAMID SCHEME. Pyramids do exist and sometimes it's hard to tell a legitimate business from a scam. What makes them different?

1. A legitimate network marketing business will have a genuine product or service. This product or service will have value of its own and be priced accordingly. In a pyramid, there is usually no real product or service. If it does, they are often priced well above fair market value. Fortune Hi-Tech Marketing products and services include: cell phones and cell phone service from AT&T, Alltel, Verizon, T-Mobile, Nextel and others; DishTV, Peter Lamas Cosmetics, Travelocity, GTE Home Security systems, True Essentials nutritional products, Life Essentials weightloss products, and many more.

2. A legitimate network marketing business will disclose any information about the company to anyone interested in knowing more. Pyramids offer little to no information offered about the company unless an investor purchases the products and becomes a participant. Fortune H-Tech Marketing has been featured on several news programs and magazines. Anyone is free to visit the website and learn all they want about the company before joining.

3. Network marketing businesses encourage the sale of the products or services offered by the company. Commission is paid on these sales to reps involved in the business. Pyramids promote an income stream that chiefly depends on the commissions earned by enrolling new members or the purchase by members of products for their own use rather than sales to customers who are not participants in the scheme. In FHTM, there are several ways to earn money. We do receive bonuses for enrolling new members and we do receive commissions for the products and services we use ourselves (I get commission from my Alltel cell phone!). We also are encouraged to encourage others to become customers by purchasing our products and services. We receive commission from those as well. I currently have over 300 customers.

4. In a network marketing company, the money to pay commissions comes from the sale of products or services. In a pyramid, the money to pay commissions comes primarily from the participants. There is a $299 fee to join FHTM. There is a cost to become involved in any legitimate business. This cost does not even begin to cover the commissions and bonuses I receive from my downline and customers. Our profit comes from the sales of our products and services. FHTM is AT&T's best customer. Last year, we sold more cell phones than the AT&T stores. We aren't #1 with DishTV. We had to settle for being #2. And because of this, each of these companies, along with all the others we represent, happily pay us commission instead of paying for advertising elsewhere. That's where our money comes from.

5. In a network marketing company, you can earn a decent living. In a pyramid, 90% of the participants never recoup their initial investment. Dearl and I paid $299 for our entry into the business. I pay for my cell phone (which I would pay anyway), a website, some vitamins and other nutritional products (which I would only buy somewhere else if I didn't buy them here), some cosmetics (ditto for the cosmetics), a virtual office which provides me with an 800 number (which I was going to get anyway) and a Travelocity website. Now I probably wouldn't have purchased a Travelocity site except for this business. But I travel a lot and so do my friends and family. So booking this travel through my own Travelocity site and then receiving a commission for it sure made sense to me.

We made our $299 back within our first 2 weeks. We have made much more than that since then. I can't guarantee you won't lose your money in Fortune. If you sign up and then don't enroll anyone in your downline or don't get some customers, you surely will. But if you invest in a McDonalds franchise and then don't promote your business, you'll lose money there too.

In a pyramid scheme, those at the bottom can never advance higher or make more than those at the top. In network marketing, this is not the case. I am a Regional Sales Manager with FHTM. Shortly after joining the company I recruited a couple (Pam and Earl I LOVE you!). They quit their jobs and devoted themselves to this full time, unlike myself and Dearl who only do it part time. They have now promoted to the level above me - Executive Sales Manager - and make far more than I do.

Pyramid schemes do exist. They get more sophisticated and harder to spot all the time. But there are many good, solid, legitimate network marketing companies also. If you are looking for a way to make some extra income, or even one day replace your job with a business of your own, I highly recommend you consider one. Of course, I think Fortune Hi-Tech Marketing is the best one to work with. But there are many others. If you aren't sure if it's a legitimate business, review the checklist above. If anything about the "opportunity" makes you uncomfortable, look elsewhere. And if the person you are speaking with about the business pressures you to get involved, RUN! That is a definite warning that they are more interested in recruiting other people into the business than in selling products. I will ask you to look at my business. I may even get a little pushy because I care about you and want you to have the same opportunity I did. But if you look at the compensation plan, the business overview and the products, and still tell me you are not interested - I will NEVER, EVER push you to be on my team!

If you are new to network marketing, you have one question on your mind. How do I build my team? If you have been in network marketing for years, you have one question on your mind. How do I continue to build my team now that I've exhausted all my friends and family contacts? Here are 5 great resources that I have personally used to build my own downline - WITHOUT have to recruit friends or family!

1. Black Belt Recruiting - How to sponsor 20 reps a month with ANY company! http://mwhiteley.blackbeltrecruiting.com/

2. Building on a Budget - Generate leads and build ANY business, even if you are on a tight budget! http://mwhiteley.buildingonabudget.com/

3. Magnetic Sponsoring Course - Free videos show you how you can literally have an endless new stream of distributors knocking on your door, ready to join! http://mwhiteley.magneticsponsoringonline.com/

4. MLM Traffic Formula - Learn how to use the power of the internet to generate free leads. http://mwhiteley.mlmtrafficformula.com/

5. PPC Domination - Learn how to generate free leads using Google AdWords. http://mwhiteley.freeppcleads.com/

These are the tools I have used to build my network marketing business. Do you have a resource to recommend? Post it a comment and let other network marketers share in your success!