Is Network Marketing for Everyone?

I was actively involved with a network marketing company several years ago, and am still a member and customer, but not involved in the business part of it any longer.  At the time, though, it was fun and there was some success.  I made a bit of money and won 4 trips, a couple for myself, one that I went on with my husband, and one that we went on as a family of 4.

Whether or not you are successful at this type of business depends upon how much support you receive, how persistent you are, and many other factors. If you are interested in learning more, you will find some support at Mark Hall's MLM Opinion, a site that offers advise and support for those who are interesting in this type of business.   Some network marketing companies are also called multi-level marketing businesses, this is what the letters M L M stand for.

Though some tried to discourage me from getting involved with the company I did, in my case, it was successful for a time, and part of some very happy memories. 

Updated 11/28/18

Can you find legitimate work on the internet?

Grandmothers, or those of us old enough to be grandmothers, have a unique lifestyle. We don't have to juggle being mothers with working from home, unless we are raising grandchildren.

I remember when my children were young, life was busy, and there was a lot of energy, and a routine during much of the year. I worked from home then, and always thought that when my children were grown, it would be so much easier to get even more done than I was at that time. I'm not sure that's so true. I find I need to be even more disciplined, and make my own routines.  They are no longer "pre-made" for me by my children's activities and school schedules.

Following is an article written by a Joel Nickerson about finding a business that suits your lifestyle. It's not necessarily written for grandmothers, but maybe just reading it will spark some thought. I hope that you find something helpful in it!

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There are several different reasons why somebody would want to start a home based business. For some, it is a matter of necessity and they either need to replace work that they have recently lost or need to earn additional money in order to make ends meet. Other individuals look for work at home business opportunities because they like the challenge of working for themselves and enjoy making money on their own instead of making it in a corporate environment.

Regardless of why you want to start up your own home based business, however, finding the one that will work is the most important first step that you will need to take. Although there are many different choices as far as a home business opportunity is concerned, the Internet has really added some interesting aspects into the mix. In fact, there are many individuals who are starting up their work at home Internet business and fitting it directly in with their various lifestyles. How is this true?

First of all, an Internet home based business can be run at any time of the day or night. Next, you get out of a home based Internet business exactly what you put into it. Even if you don t have much time at all when you re first starting out, it is still possible to see results from small efforts.

Picking a home based business is something that should not be done on the spur of the moment. There are literally thousands of home based internet business opportunities out there. Some are legitimate, some are questionable. Once you find the right one, however, you will recognize it. When that time comes, do your research, talk to some people who are already involved in the program, and take the opportunity and make something of it. If others are happy with the program chances are you will be too.

Perhaps you have tried to work on the Internet before and have not really seen much in return for your efforts. It can be very discouraging if you are working in the wrong corner and trying to do something that is not going to produce any results, no matter who does it. The best thing that you can do in these circumstances is to find someone to follow in order to know which way you should go. As a matter of fact, having a mentor in front of you is one of the best ways for you to become successful with your own Internet business in a short period of time.

Although it may seem simplistic, having a mentor to follow is not something that should be overlooked. If you choose the right one, they have already forged a path to success themselves and can take you by the hand and lead you there as well. Sure, it is going to take some work on your part but it will be well worth the effort whenever you see it pay off and your home based business succeeds.

Author Resource: I have checked Joel Nickerson's links that were provided in the original article, and they are no longer active...but the advise is good. 

Updated 11/28/18

Grandmother Teaches Marketing Skills Lessons

Several years ago I came upon this article on one of those article marketing sites that were popular at the time, and thought it was cute. In it, a man shares how, by doing the simplest of things, his Grandmother helped shaped his life. I hope you enjoy it.

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Sometimes in looking back I do wish that I could tell you I developed my marketing skills at some nice Ivy League school, but things just didn't turn out that way for me. Being self-studied in marketing and advertising is the only way I could explain my background in marketing. My first experience in marketing started back in 1979. Me and my cousin Eddie where watching television. At the time he was 9 and I was 7 years old. There was no internet or "Laser" marketing. The "Big Time" marketers did T.V. commercials, snail mail, and print advertising.

As we watched the "One-Eyed Monster" we caught a great piece of marketing before the T.V. fried our brains and made us lose our vision from sitting so close. Well, that's what we where told by my grandmother. After viewing the commercial by Country Tyme Lemonade where the little kids where selling their lemonade from a stand out front of their house. We had a great idea! Not a unique idea, but nevertheless it was a great one to us. So, I may partially owe my first business and marketing joint venture to Country Tyme Lemonade. We jumped right up and headed to my Grandmothers room to get an approval on our lemonade sales. Seeing two cute little kids asking to become lemonade sales and marketing professionals how could she say no, especially as cute as I was? We made the lemonade, set up the stand, and created the sign for advertisement. Then my Grandma gave us our first marketing advice. "Hey, why don't you take your stand out closer to the street and flag down some traffic with your sign? That should get you a lot of customers." We thought that was a cool idea, plus for the first time we had permission to play close to the street.

Well, the first day went pretty good, but our marketing and advertising was still off a little because it was kind of hard to get folks to pull over even though we had several people to circle the block. All together the $1.10 we spent at the penny candy store down the street was well worth it. The next 24 hours we spent time thinking on how we could have customers lined up down the block. So of course we turned to our top marketer for advice. She said "You can start letting people sample your lemonade first, and you can also stand by the stop sign which will help stopped drivers see you better."

When we set out the next day to try out our new marketing and advertising approach everything turned out great. Sales more than doubled! Then I learned a valuable lesson that made sales go through the roof! Right before we called it a day I found our target market. The mailman who we missed the day before was now walking towards our house. I walked up to him and said "Mister, would you like to try some lemonade we are selling?" He said "Yes, that would be great because I'm very hot." I replied "Well, we have a lot of ice if you're hot." Not only did he buy 1 or 2 cups, but he brought a total of 5! At that point I had become a sales, advertising, and marketing baby guru. We looked on in amazement as he gulped down the fifth cup. after that I started looking for more people who where walking, hot, and tired. I did land a few more sales before counting our profit of $5.50. The next couple of days we made about the same amount. Give or take a buck or two. All due to our new marketing and advertising approach, and the later found fact that my Grandpa had friends he worked with at the Post Office.

This article was originally obtained from a site called "Articles On" which no longer exists. It was written by Mr. Penn, who at the time was owner of the "Work at Home Help Spot" site. I can no longer find him or his site, perhaps one day he will find us? 

Updated 11/27/18