The Road to Greatness

The Road to Greatness: Hosted by John Daniels

1.  Please join my meeting, Wednesday, April 08, 2015 at 6:00 PM Pacific Daylight Time/8:00 PM Central Standard Time.
https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/check your inbox

2.  Use your microphone and speakers (VoIP) - a headset is recommended.  Or, call in using your telephone.

Dial +1 (657) 220-3412
Access Code: 343-584-check inbox
Audio PIN: Shown after joining the meeting

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Relevant Thoughts from Forbes Magazine:

Would You Join A Multi-Level Marketing Company For Retirement Income?

At some point in your life you’ve been pitched a multi-level marketing (MLM), direct selling, or network marketing business opportunity.  While the pitch varies from company to company, it basically promises a chance to ditch your 9-5 work schedule, be your own boss, and make lots of money while making new friends in the process.

It all sounds good on paper, yet there is a seemingly endless debate over whether these companies and programs are legitimate business opportunities or not, so I dug in and got the real scoop.  As a result, I believe that the entire industry is poised for explosive growth and can be one of the most significant solutions to America’s current retirement savings crisis.

Initially, that may sound like a bold statement, but it’s not if you understand retirement the way I do.  The reality is, making a successful transition into retirement has more to do with psychology than with money… and the same may hold true for multi-level and network marketing.

Don’t get me wrong, money has a role in retirement, but it’s not the primary one every one gives it.  Combine that concept with eye-opening statistics like AARP’s estimate that half of all baby boomers (76 million) are interested in starting a business and the makings of a massive trend are in place.

As far as the retirement saving crisis is concerned, more and more people are coming to terms with the fact that they probably aren’t going to be able to save enough money to just sit around and slowly deplete their nest egg from age 62 to 100.  With the average 50 year-old estimated to have less than $50,000 in retirement savings, there is an obvious need to find alternative ways to either save more or generate supplemental income starting now, and continuing throughout retirement.  Moving beyond just the dollars and cents, boomers are growing tired of feeling guilty or bad about their past savings habits and are interested in moving towards possible solutions.

Another growing reality that could benefit MLM and related businesses is the increasing number of baby boomers who are disenchanted with their current careers.  They’re worn-out from years of the corporate grind and don’t feel the connection between their job and the people it impacts outside their office walls or company grounds.  They’re shifting their focus from accumulating a giant nest egg to a desire to be part of something bigger and better… to have a positive effect on others… and working in retirement.  Facets of life that can be fulfilled with specific types of products and service available through some MLM or Direct selling opportunities.

.......Having studied the psychology and behavior of boomers, this example represents a major shift in my thinking about the industry.  I no longer perceive these types of opportunities as money-making pyramid schemes.  Instead, I now see it as a way to enhance many of the personal aspects of retirement that are rarely discussed let alone planned for, with the added benefit of supplementing other popular retirement income sources such as pension and social security.

Daria M. Brezinski Ph.D, a practicing psychologist..., echoes these sentiments.  “Many people don’t realize that multi-level marketing companies are successful because they help people satisfy a number of important human needs, including feeling significant, having connections, learning something new, and making a difference.  I have heard people in network marketing say again and again, ‘I’m doing this because I’m meeting amazing people … making so many connections … and I feel so good about myself.’”

Continuing my interviews, I challenged three others who are in the business to be straightforward, and prove to me that the process really works.  What I found was good, consistent business advice applicable to any new business.

Lorene Hochstetler, from Ohio, recommends keeping your current job while slowly making the transition into MLM.  She’s been able to replace her full-time income but explains, “It didn’t happen overnight, and I still work every day.  I am very disciplined with my business and wake up every day knowing what I have to do in order to succeed at this.  You have to treat it like a business and be willing to follow advice from others who have made it.”

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Always give a good word and a smile ... and an MG brochure!
 

10 Great Business Lessons

Thanks to the Harringtons for some great tips on getting merchants!  You can listen to them by dialing in to:

(605) 562-0029  code  319-289-214  Ref. 11  or  http://fccdl.in/2drMtvVzl

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Training from an Expert:  Love #9

10 Great Business Lessons from Mark Cuban

By Brad Aronson   |   Posted in: Entrepreneurship, Featured

I recently finished Mark Cuban’s book, How to Win at the Sport of Business: If I Can Do It, You Can Do It, and loved it. Here are some highlights and quotes from the quick, interesting and funny read (not to mention it’s only $2.99).

1)    Learn to sell. In business you’re always selling – to your prospects, investors and employees. To be the best salesperson put yourself in the shoes of the person to whom you’re selling. Don’t sell your product. Solve their problems.
2)    Customers want to see that you have other customers. When Mark started MicroSolutions he did the work for his first customer free – only charging them the cost of the software. He called it his, “no money down approach to start a business.’”
3)    “Everyone has got the will to win; it’s only those with the will to prepare that do win.” Mark Cuban paraphrasing Bobby Knight.
4)    “Your customers can tell you the things that are broken and how they want to be made happy. Listen to them. Make them happy. But don’t rely on them to create the future road map for your product or service. That’s your job.”
5)    One thing we can all control is effort. Put in the time to become an expert in whatever you’re doing. It will give you an advantage because most people don’t do this.
6)    That being said, don’t get caught up in how many hours you work. Judge success based on having goals and measuring your results. Hard work, and lots of it, is certainly needed, but focus on what you get done. What do you need to do to deliver for your client? To land the next customer? To expand within your customers? . . .
7)     “Business happens over years and years. Value is measured in the total upside of a business relationship, not by how much you squeezed out in any one deal.”
8)    Great companies start without investors. He cites Apple, Dell and Microsoft as a few examples. Given that he’s a venture capitalist, and he’s recommending not to take venture money, it’s certainly worth trying to avoid. That’s probably not possible in some cases – but it makes sense if you can pull it off.
9)    “The beauty of success, whether it’s finding the girl of your dreams, the right job or financial success, is that it doesn’t matter how many times you have failed, you only have to be right once.”  And, “then everyone can tell you how lucky you are.”
10) “As I would learn later in life, money makes you extremely handsome.”