The majority of my current team members are newcomers in the network marketing industry, which provides me with challenges as well as advantages.

The main advantage is that they are widely receptive with the training. But the main challenge is to first train them on how to have the right mindset.

I remember my first three years in this industry. Excited with the opportunity. Exhausted my warm market list as fast as humanly possible. Running back and forth to the hotel meetings. Giving away DVD’s. All those must-do actions that are ‘required’ if I would want to have success.

Though I didn’t see quite the results I expected, I had worked hard while juggling with other responsibilities that I couldn’t neglect.

Now, among the first things I ask my new team members is this question: Do you see the opportunity as a business or a hobby?

A hobby is something you like to do when you have spare time or when you are in the mood. A business, on the other hand, is something you must do regardless if you have time or you feel like doing it. Which one is yours?

Both hobby and business need money to be spent on materials, tools, and education. However, there is one major difference. You gain satisfaction and fulfillment from your hobby by SPENDING money on it without expecting any monetary return while you do so from your business by INVESTING money on it and expecting to make monetary profits. Which one is yours?

For your business to be successful, you need a plan, commitment, discipline, and consistency. I don’t think your hobby requires as much.

If you can establish your position by honestly answering the title question before you even begin working on your business, you will save yourself from wasting precious time and resources.

I’d appreciate your comment. If you think this article is useful, please share it with your friends and team members. Follow my posts by subscribing to my blog feed, mailing list, or social circles.

To Your Massive Success,

Steven Winata

If you have been in the network marketing industry for a while, you would likely have heard of the industry legend and top trainer, Mike Dillard.

Back in 2006, he exposed the rest of the MLM world to one of the closely guarded secrets that elite top earners have used to make 6 and 7 figure income and build a giant organization, through his eye-opening course called Magnetic Sponsoring.

In the course, Dillard talked about the concept of attraction marketing. The reason why only 3% in the industry ever achieve and enjoy the financial freedom every network marketer dreams of is because they know how to position themselves as leaders and attract followers, even fans, who will look up to them.

Dillard called them the “Alpha networkers.”

The Alphas are considered the everyday people you will meet in many places, who exhibit the quality and expertise many people look for. They include your professor, pastor, and popular pals. The celebrities and rock stars are supposed to be on the list as well… perhaps.

Now, here’s my thought.

Although Dillard is right to a certain point in terms of increasing your knowledge base in order to attract others, the critical element of character building and seasoning is still missing in this and many of the similar personal development courses. And this element can only be achieved by practicing the right principles and wisdom, making the right choices as many times as possible, and overcoming any obstacles in life.

Knowledge alone will bring people to unstable places and inflated intellectualness. The real Alpha comes out as a result of victorious battles against personal issues, challenges, and shortcomings. It takes courage and a never give up attitude to confront yourself and prove that the principles you have learned are true. Out of those personal experiences, you can then turn and help others overcome their similar issues.

Although, as someone said, people are like sheep, they are, however, not stupid. They can see if you are a real Alpha who radiate confidence and maturity, or you only look like an Alpha when you don’t really have anything you can share but information.

The Internet is a great tool to leverage your time and efforts in helping and training your MLM organization. But remember it will not substitute for the seasons where the Alpha has already consistently practiced what he or she preaches.

Do all of us a favor. Be real, be reliable, be trustworthy, and watch how, through your leadership, our industry will become a magnet to those who have not had their eyes open to see the brilliance of network marketing.

Are you an alpha?

Attraction marketing has been embraced by more and more entrepreneurs. It has allowed small and home business owners to compete with the “big boys” and brand themselves as experts in their field.

If you’re like 97% of network marketers out there, you’re most likely still doing the traditional methods of building your MLM business. What I mean by traditional is something like:

• Creating your warm market list and contacting every single person on it
• Pitching your company’s “unheard of” compensation plan and products or services that “sell by themselves” (why are you needed then?)
• Looking for the first chance in every conversation to steer it towards your business opportunity
• Buying hundreds of dollars worth of leads and having to gather enough guts every time you pick up the phone and talk to those strangers
• Getting pumped up and inspired in every regional and national convention and wandering why you’re still not the one up there on the platform being recognized
• Threatening every local business owners you’ve been doing business with that they have to return the favor or risk losing you as their customer

As brilliant as the network marketing concept is, it was practiced by people who have no idea what they’re doing. It seems like the word “marketing” in network marketing has been ignored. Most MLM distributors or reps only focus on the networking part of the business and forget all about how to effectively market their business.

And it’s not entirely their fault.

They have been trained to duplicate what their upline sponsors and top producers do. While people are like sheep and tend to follow what they’re shown especially if they have no clue, every one is unique in terms of their passion, giftings, background, personality, education level, desire, and experience.

Marketing is a skill every one can learn and master. Understanding how people think, feel and react is very helpful in creating an effective marketing funnel.

And today we have the internet that virtually makes marketing system automation possible.

It’s time for network marketers to catch up with the rest of their business counterparts. It’s time for us to master how to attract prospects with effective marketing and restore the reputation of network marketing in public eyes.

My 7-video “Network Marketing Simplified” mini course and special report will help put together the whole idea of what and where this industry is and where it’s going.

Click here to get the videos and the report

After reviewing it, post your comments and let me know what you think.

Becoming an entrepreneur is only a dream to some people. The human nature is always seeking a comfortable zone where life is peaceful and problems are minimum. Who doesn’t want that, right?

That’s why employees always outnumber business owners. There are 5 misconceptions that are keeping most employees from crossing into business ownership:

1. They don’t like the headache and heartache of running and managing a business
2. They think they lack experience or knowledge
3. The pain of losing the security of a steady paycheck is greater than the benefits of financial freedom (believe it or not!)
4. They think that starting a business requires a large amount of money
5. They are afraid of failing due to lack of support and advanced training.

Let’s look a bit deeper at each one of these reasons.

Today’s financial security is no longer found in your jobs. How many people do you know who are a few paychecks away from bankruptcy? The dollar value is shrinking and your payraise can’t catch up with the inflation and rising cost of living. You must come up with a plan B before it’s too late.

With the abundance of information on the internet, starting a business is actually simpler than most people think. Many courses are being offered with just about every topic you want to study. You don’t even have to have a business degree or run a business before. It takes a decision and several hours or days of intensive study and mentoring and you’re ready.

Non-traditional business models, as I discussed in a few posts ago, require a very small amount of capital compared to that of the traditional one or especially franchises. Online and network marketing models have gained more and more followers because they can be practically started with under $1,000.

Training and support are also important areas that can make or break your business. One of the reasons I recommend direct selling and network marketing is because of the constant training and available mentoring that will take the entrepreneurs by the hand through an established training system with practically low or no cost at all.

If you’re one of those who sits on the fence and are considering whether entrepreneurship is right for you, you should know that you’re about to be a part of a group of citizens who make the economy of this nation strong and sustain it in times of trouble and recession.

It always takes great courage to take charge of your financial dreams and destiny and use your God-given creativity to make it happen.

As a business owner, you’re forced to be more innovative, creative, and excellent, or you’re out. You’re forced to always be out of your comfort zone and think outside the box.

When you take the challenge and defeat all fears and doubts you have, the rewards will far surpass the price. They come in the forms of financial independence, sense and joy of accomplishment, and greater influence with your fellow citizens.

Are you ready to take your journey?

Goals.

So many people talk about their goals but not all accomplish them.

The key to achieving your goals is, again, to write them down. There is power when you put your vision in writing that makes it materialized and tangible.

Remember I shared about DMO or daily methods of operation?

It is easier when you start with a bigger picture and work your goals backwards. Knowing what you want to achieve a year from now gives you an idea how to measure the progress every quarter, every month, every week, and every day.

Put down clear and measurable goals. Instead of saying “I want to earn a 6-figure income next year,” you should say, “I want to earn $120,000 by the end of February next year.”

If, let’s say, today is March 1st, then you have 12 months to achieve that goal. It means you have to make $30,000 every quarter on average. If you just started, you can divide the quarterly goals like this:

• 1st quarter (Mar-May): $6,000
• 2nd quarter (Jun-Aug): $19,000
• 3rd quarter (Sep-Nov): $36,000
• 4th quarter (Dec-Feb): $59,000

Now, you can set monthly goals for every quarter, like this:

• March: $1,000; April: $2,000; May: $3,000
• June: $5,000; July: $6,000; Aug: $8,000
• Sep: $10,000; Oct: $12,000; Nov: $14,000
• Dec: $15,000; Jan: $19,000; Feb: $25,000

You can then set weekly goals and even daily goals. I think you got the idea.

This also works with the amount of potential customers you want to reach, or the size of the company you want to grow into.

Once you set your goals, you can schedule your days with money-making activities coupled with personal and skills development time. As you learn how to manage your time better, you can set up even higher goals in the following years.

Next, it comes back to envisioning time!

A successful business is always associated with its founders or owners – how well they have prepared for launching and how they grow the business consistently.

The secret?

They continue to learn of, adapt to, and even anticipate new changes. They continually increase their own knowledge and their skills, and develop new ones along the way. They are ultimately lifetime students.

Regardless of the kind of business you do, there are 2 most important skill sets you must have in order to compete and win in the marketplace.

Communication. You can do no business if you don’t know how to properly communicate yourself and your ideas. Learn how to express different thoughts to different groups of people. Learn how to ask the right questions in order to get the right information. Learn how to use different media to broadcast your company, products and services.

Leadership. As smart and talented as you are, you can only do so much by yourself. You will need other people to help you or work with you if you want to take your business to the next level. It takes a mature character to be able to lead effectively. You must learn how to treat your workers and partners well, how to encourage strong work ethics, and how to properly delegate others according to their own expertise.

If you can master these two skills, you will always be able to tackle every challenge that comes your way. The most successful entrepreneurs are not always the ones with graduate degrees and tons of certificates. Go back to history and learn about Henry Ford, Andrew Carnegie, Thomas Edison, Bill Gates, and Michael Dell. They are business leaders who know how to communicate their ideas and find the right people to run with them.

Yes, you need to know in general about accounting, technology, and other specialized areas. However, you can always find good people to work on them while you focus on growing your business and leading your team.

Next, we’ll talk about goals.