Network Marketing - Start-up Vs. Long-term

Nine out of ten new network marketing companies go out of business within the first 9 months. Yep, I just said 9 months. If you come across a “ground floor opportunity” it may end up being a good thing, but then again you could lose 9 months worth of your time and effort.

Start-up

A start-up company will usually offer you the chance to help them develop. Now that can be very intriguing. You will often find yourself cutting the edge… all alone. The success or failure of a company like this is squarely on the shoulders of the first distributors. Does this appeal to you?

Some of the benefits of a start-up:
1. Success for the company, if/when it comes is absolutely huge for the first distributors.
2. Your input, ideas, skills are critical to a new company’s growth.
3. You have quite a lot of influence over the direction your company takes.
4. If you’re an aggressive go-getter, or possibly enjoy an element of control, this may be very appealing.
5. They usually have cutting-edge products.
6. They haven’t given the public any reason to think negatively about them.
7. A start-up may have a unique product or service, which could in turn have a huge market potential.

Some of the drawbacks of a start-up:
1. Failure for the company, if/when it comes can cause extreme emotional stress on its distributors.
2. Most network marketing failures mean that your last check or two will never come. Are you prepared for possible severe financial strain?
3. They are too new to truly help their distributors. It’s all up to you baby.
4. If you are an aggressive go-getter, or like the element of control, are you prepared to possibly lose control?
5. Their products are usually not fully developed.
6. They haven’t been around long enough to give the public any reason to trust them.
7. A lack of cash flow may prevent quality standards and continued research and development of their products.

Long-term

A long-term company, one who has been in business at least 3 years will usually offer more opportunities to become trained. They have acquired the experience in their top distributors to hold quality meetings, and offer an atmosphere of “team”. The success or failure of an independent distributor is shared by their own personal commitment and the input of their group. Does this appeal to you?

Some of the benefits of a long-term company:
1. Success for the distributor, if/when it comes is a group effort. The majority of the success comes from the level of commitment made by you, however some credit can be attributed to your team.
2. Your input, ideas and skills will be utilized by your team to build each other up in a supportive atmosphere.
3. It is your choice to treat as a business or hobby. The company’s success does not depend on your personal success.
4. If you are an aggressive go-getter, the huge amounts of money and success can be found here as well.
5. Long-term companies usually offer some element of awareness to the public. This can make your products sell a little easier.
6. A long-term company with a good name can help you reach whatever goals you have.
7. There is usually a good cash flow, which enables the company to continue its product research and development plus maintain higher level of quality control standards.

Some drawbacks of a long-term company:
1. Failure for the distributor, if/when it comes is a group effort. If you sponsor someone who is not committed, don’t beat yourself up. If you sponsor someone who is committed, but can’t make headway, consider some other options to help them. This is a team effort (or it should be).
2. Your input may not be unique. I am affiliated with a very old network marketing company, and I have yet to think of something they haven’t heard before.
3. If you treat your opportunity as a business, it will not be free. All businesses take money to run effectively, so don’t cheat yourself, and don’t kid yourself. If you treat your business like a hobby your chances of huge success diminish.
4. If you are not aggressive, if you doubt yourself too much, you may end up becoming obscure. Feelings from obscurity can cause you to give up too quickly.
5. Long-term companies can have negative connotations associated with their products, which can hinder your sales efforts.
6. Some long-term companies have developed negative reputations in some form or another. If you are or choose to become associated with one of these, this will cause you to have to work much harder to achieve your goals.
7. Some long-term companies have not kept up with the times, and may not offer products or services that have the potential for market growth.

Choices

Take stock in yourself and consider where you’re at, where you want to go and what risks you’re willing to take to get there. If you’ve never been associated with a network marketing company before, maybe you should think about going with a more long-term company who’s been in business long enough to train you. If you’re already associated with a network marketing company, then try to prepare yourself as much as possible for the pros and cons that you can see with your company. Accentuate the positives and try to improve the negatives. Success, even huge amounts of success, can be found in both types of MLM’s. The only questions you need to ask yourself is what type of company would you feel most comfortable with, what products/services are you passionate about, and what skills do you currently have that will help you get through the most frustrating point of your MLM career… The beginning.