Sad Tale: An excellent marketer put six months into marketing a health product, spent hours training enthusiastic distributors, did everything she knew would work, built a downline of a thousand distributors and then watched it shrink right back up the line faster than she could build it.

That’s called “attrition” folks and it is a home business or MLM fatal disease.  But, is it incurable?  Is it a marketer’s job to fix it … or is this something best handled by company management?  Could it be an intrinsic pattern to the nature of the business?

One more health product company tested only to find the JUMPERS are still jumping from one company to another in active pursuit of the latest and greatest “make-me-healthy-and-wealthy” opportunity.  The carefully and intricately woven expansion of the internet marketer can unravel like a badly knitted sweater.  Another trial and test has proven the masters right once again.

“The Health Market Is Saturated”

One of the top marketers said to me recently that he was through with marketing health products.  I’ve heard several others mention that the health market was saturated.  I’ve seen repeated derogatory comments in ads and articles about “the next juice” or “miracle health” item.  Yet those marketing the products profess that health and diet are a billion dollar industry, the largest of most network marketing.

I majored in math and business so this intrigued me enough to do some calculations and see if what I found might apply it to this attrition problem.  Sure enough, I did find some patterns.  Now, your opinion is definitely invited but I urge you to do some investigation first.  You can only divide so many diet and health companies into that billion dollars before the individual figures get pretty small.  And then you have to divide that number by the total distributors who hope to make some money.  The competition is astounding.

Another point I noticed is that an amazing number of these companies operate only in the United States and Canada.  Few have spread to multiple countries.  Food and drug regulations, shelf life, shipping laws, permits and international agreements are not something that a company usually talks over with their marketers or distributors but they are a major growth challenge.  This might explain why international marketing companies are not as plentiful as you might think.

Supply, Demand and Deliver

How this affects you as an online network marketer is in the area of supply, demand, and delivery.  If you deal in information, work strictly with computer systems and deliver by internet, then you bypass a lot of these problems.  Not so with the health industry.  This would explain the trend of internet companies toward information.  It is possible that this information is not so much in public demand but appealing due to the instant delivery.  One can provide information or service over the internet with no regard to shipping costs or international regulations.  Additionally, we are not dealing in consumables so there is no concern about shelf life.  Witness the growth of Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Netflix, etc.

There is no doubt in my mind that an international instant delivery internet business should be your first choice.  This, by process of elimination, would rule out most health businesses.  What would that leave us with?  Information, discount offers, online shopping …

Let’s continue to rely on statistics and observation.  How long have institutions of education been around?  How long have these institutions been in demand?  What are most people looking for when they log onto their computers?  How many people are look into a possible home business that they could run from the privacy of their home?  Being serious about network marketing includes doing your own research.  You should look into these figures and learn where there IS a demand.

I’ve always advised that one should keep an eye on what the top earners are doing, befriend them, subscribe to their websites, learn from them.  For example, if you were planning on making some investments, you would study Warren Buffet, right?  You would read books, learn as much as you could before turning your hard-earned money over to a broker.  True?

The Information Business

What if there were a business that offered not only information about what the top earners do but also provided the whole system in a neat package and all the potential home business person needed to do is plug in the information and follow the video tutorials.  Such a proven network marketing systems exists.  In fact, that’s my business: Pro Marketing Systems.  It has no shelf life and it is international.  It is NOT multilevel marketing yet it does provide monthly residual and affiliate income.

Gold and Silver as a Marketing Business

Let’s look at another business that won’t pile up consumables in your kitchen or garage.  Are you aware of the historical demand for collectible gold and silver coins.  What?  This is a business?  Well, I do believe it is and has been all the way back before recorded history.  Gold is something so valuable that most of North America was settled by explorers who hoped to find it.  Nothing got an explorer out on those ships to cross the uncharted Atlantic Ocean better than gold.  Sure, spices and drugs brought them across the Atlantic, too, but recall the rush to California?  Why dive deep in the ocean to find a sunken pirate ship unless it has something old or something silver or gold?  A handful of gold coins from another century is instant wealth.  I’m only showing the value of gold and pure silver has a long a lustrous history.

Recently, a company launched the marketing of MS70 (mint) gold and silver collectible coins.  The growth of the company since its launch is hysterical.  This just further proves my point.  People want something of VALUE with no shelf life.  You can only drink so much juice and when it has been drunk, it is gone.  These coins are not only remain “fresh” but they increase in value as they age.  The simplicity of “What if you had been collecting a gold or silver coin every month for the last ten years?” is easily understood to be valuable.  The paper dollar, on the other hand, has decreased in value.  In essence, one is trading a decreasing value paper for an increasing collectible coin worth more than its weight in gold.  The value of gold and silver have constantly increased.  Mint condition coins become more valuable with time.  An American Liberty silver dollar in mint condition bought ten years ago would have provided a five to ten times increase in value.

Personally, I think this company is onto something.  I see NO competition.  And the really good news is that it can be easily locked into the workable marketing system that Pro Marketing Systems provides.  So I can offer two international businesses that includes a complete marketing system, several avenues of income, PLUS a commodity that is in high demand, has no shelf life, increases in value and provides substantial income as well … with a monthly investment of less than $200 a month.

This gold and silver coin business has several avenues of income and bonuses that allow your sign-ups to make good money quickly (very important to avoiding attrition).  But, more importantly, you know your personally sold customers and distributors are getting money for their money.  If you sold them a whole garage full of silver and gold coins, are you going to lose sleep over it?  No, and neither will they.  If your sign ups sat there and did nothing to build their own business, if they packed their coins away and sat on them, they will STILL come out ahead.  The whole idea just makes sense.  But the best part is there is no competition.  Check it out.  How many network marketing companies can you find that market MS70 grade collectible gold and silver coins?  Uh-huh.

If you’ve looked into online marketing, you probably ran into the same thing I did.  Everyone has the best offer, you get labeled by your interest then bombarded with emails.  Promises of making you a millionaire get pretty tiresome after a while if you lose money trying a few out.  It can leave you with a pretty bad taste in your mouth and a jaded view of the subject.

So, is there any good in it?

Let’s try a new perspective.  Let’s compare it to a “normal” business.  Let’s say you get a small business loan and open a corner store.  It’s groceries — everybody needs those — and you have a good location.  The neighborhood knows you and in a couple of years you figure you should be in profit.  But after a year, someone opens another store nearby.  Your new cashier has been driving business away with her caustic personality and the inventory sheets reveal that you are being robbed.  Gas prices just happen to rocket making delivery rates unaffordable.  Your suppliers raise the prices and a new zoning law wipes out the nearest parking.  The IRS wants to audit your accounts, the health department has fined you, the Board of Equalization is threatening to shut you down due to an incorrectly filled out form and a partial freeze gets put on your accounts.  You can’t pay your help, you can’t pay your loan, stock runs low and you end up filing bankruptcy.

If you think that was a harsh story of woe that does not reflect the normal situation, you haven’t seen the files down at the bankruptcy court.

The first problem here is that the usual business owner has only one source of income.   In this scenario, that income source depends on customers from one small neighborhood.  If you thought the example of a rude cashier was irrelevant, let me assure you that in ANY business, customers will often forsake quality, price and other concerns to do business with someone they like.  On the other hand, if they do not like the people they have to deal with, the price could be terrific, the quality sky-high but they will avoid the place like the plague.

How does this relate to online marketing?  Factually, what’s true for a corner store is true for ANY business.  Like the corner store owner, some online marketing companies offer only one source of income, limited products, unappealing people to work with, little or no training, limited areas to market in.  They run into problems just like the corner store.

Would you honestly try to open a store if you knew NOTHING about groceries, zoning laws, small business licenses, or anything else that had to do with owning a business?  Yet people gleefully join online marketing companies in swarms, thinking someone else will make them rich.  They even make money sometimes.  But untrained people not only don’t get rich, they don’t make anyone else rich either.  If it all looks so complicated that it  couldn’t possibly be done, then the door closes on that opportunity.  Slam!

Reverse the scenario.   A person decides that the greatest opportunities are in online marketing.  They start training.  What is online marketing?  Who is successful at it?  Do they offer courses?  Who should I use to build a website?  Do I need a website?  Why shouldn’t I just buy into one of those sell my site and e-books deals?  I heard somebody made $200,000 with one of those.  What about getting in at the top of a pre-launch opportunity?  I could get lucky, right?  Why not join something that’s been around for a long time?  They must know what they’re doing by now!

If you couldn’t answer all those questions is simply because you’re not trained.  There are answers to all of them.  You CAN know which company is best to join, what training is best to learn, what systems are best to use and, when it is all said and done, what takes you to that six-figure income that lasts and lets you retire.

Why be an online marketer?  It’s GLOBAL.  It’s in demand.  There is no ceiling on the potential income.  The rewards and opportunities are FAR better than a mere job or local business.  But it doesn’t happen by magic.  Training is key.  Training is your new boss!

Should people in retirement start a Home Business?  That was the question I asked myself last year and thank goodness I did!  My answer turned out to be a howling “YES.”  But not everyone sees it the same way.  I’ll explain.

If you are over 60 and not quite happy with your retirement or not looking forward to it, a Home Business may be right for you. Statistically speaking, those who hang out and “relax” tend toward depression and arthritic type diseases.  It would seem that the mind and body want to be pushed to the limit as often as possible.  There are things that work provides such as self-esteem, a feeling of contribution, mental activity and the joy that comes with creation to name a few.

Personally, I quickly tired of all that relaxation.  I wanted more not just for me but also for my children.  I saw them struggling to make ends meet and couldn’t help them as much as I wanted to.  My income was limited and my physical energy would not allow for extensive travel.  In fact, retirement reminded me of my High School years when adults hounded me with the question, “What do you want to do with the rest of your life?” Fact is, I could not answer that question.  I knew I had a “rest of my life” but no idea what to do with it.  With retirement, it was High School all over again.  I had more time to think about it, though.

This time, unlike High School, I came up with some answers.

• I wanted to feel like I still had 25 years left.
• I saw no difference between 25 to 50 except energy level, amount of opportunities for employment and amount of knowledge and experience.
• Whatever I decided to do, it would not be physically straining.  In fact, best case scenario, it would provide increased health and energy.
• It couldn’t cost more than my present expenses and ideally would provide a great deal of income.
• There would be no more demanding schedules or having to please a boss.  I was done with that.
• Finally, it would have to be something I could sell or turn over when I was done establishing it.

Those are the criteria with which I started searching the internet for a work-at-home opportunity.

A home business or part-time job seemed more likely than publishing my books but even that is entrepreneurial.  Work on the computer would let me control my schedule, stay at home and keep the physical strain down.  Even publications were best promoted on the internet.  Most of my life I had avoided the internet.  Retired, I finally had time to see what all the hoopla was about but I only knew enough to avoid any serious trouble.  Just setting up a Facebook account was a massive challenge!

For months, my largest stumbling block was the terminology.  Beyond that, the young people who spoke it fluently did not have the patience to explain it in layman terms.  I almost quit several times.  During those times, I reminded myself that for the last 50 years I had been studying one thing or another.  My experience as an executive, private teacher, supervisor and many other professions had prepared me for this task. I’d raised three children, survived decades of married life.  In other words, I could deal with this.  I would no longer let those young whippersnappers make me feel stupid.

The first real business I learned was a support system for other businesses.  It provided an extreme amount of training for online marketing which, for me, was its attraction.  However, there were days when I just sat there staring at the screen wondering if I would ever understand what a domain was or how to set up a website.  On the other hand, almost every day something would click into place and I’d be able to visualize how some aspect of network marketing worked.  I persevered.  Soon people were telling me that I was an internet guru.  Me?  An internet guru?  At first I simply wondered why they were saying that.  It seemed impossible that I could have learned that much in such a short amount of time.

That first business paid for itself in golden training — and in cash.  Not only did I learn what I needed to know to set up a Home Business and market it on the internet, I also had met and befriended people who were very successful.  This led to other opportunities.  I’m not a gullible person and had learned very quickly which type of companies to avoid.  I knew exactly how much money I was willing to lose on a venture.  A couple of so-called opportunities had taken my money and some of my friends’ money and given nothing in return.  I now refuse to get involved with anything that doesn’t put a tangible, desirable product in my hands.

The next company I got involved with was a health product.  This company had an impeccable reputation, was in its mid-cycle growth period had an excellent training program and the group of people I had come to know as top producers were recommending it.  I had my policy of “let me try the product.”  That turned out really well.  The product not only provided me with extra energy but healing benefits as well.  Within a couple of weeks, I was making more than I was spending. Thanks to my sweat and tears with the first company, I knew how to market the second company.  Then, thanks to my rising up the ranks, I ended up near the very top of yet another health product company.  My health, my income, my mental alertness are all where I want them to be.

Should retired people start a Home Business?  I’d say if you’re not happy with the amount of creativity, finance or future you have, you should.  Keep your spending close to nil.  Study until you’re a pro.  You’re not dead yet or you wouldn’t be reading this!

To sum this up, a Home Business is not unlike any other job, profession or privately owned company.  You have to be willing to go through the learning process, learn from your mistakes, set sane policy for yourself, know what your going for and stick with it until you get it.

KNOWLEDGE:  The purpose of this blog is to provide you with SIMPLE and HONEST information about starting a home business and marketing online.  Subscribing to this blog gives you exclusive access to free eBooks and training.  You will also have a direct link to me for any questions you like.  Simply fill out the Free Access form to the right.  None of this will cost you a single penny.

PROSPERITY:  For example, click on the “Attraction Marketing” tab above to discover how a comprehensive marketing system can put your business on a rocket ride to financial freedom with a marketing system leading to residual profits.  Click on the “Training” tab to discover how Mike Dillard’s training can help you stand out from the crowd.

SUCCESS:  Statistics show that over 90% of online marketers fail within a short period of time and I want to change that percentage.  Companies will come and go but knowledge and skill in marketing will always be in demand.  No matter if you are shopping for a business or already involved with affiliate marketing, multi-level marketing, direct sales, etc., this training is for you.  Don’t miss out on the very marketing secrets that could ensure your success!

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by Cheryl Currie

When I was first looking for a J-O-B (back when dinosaurs were still roaming the earth), the best possible option was “on-the-job-training.”  College degrees were important but lack of experience was still a deterrent to getting hired.  Young people rightly asked, “How do I get the experience if I can’t get a J-O-B?” Some companies had the idea that if they hired young people and trained them specifically on what their company did, they’d have that employee for life.  Unfortunately, it was such a great idea that some terrific professionals were made.  Other companies enticed them away and fewer companies were willing to make that kind of training investment.

You may wonder why I spell “job” as J-O-B.  I shouldn’t diverge here but I’ll tell you that it represents my distaste for the present day type of employment.  Corporations provide little chance for advancement.  They have become the new “pyramid scheme.” Shocked by my use of words?  Take a look at it.  Without a chance to be in charge, the few at the top get rich and the pay scale goes down from there.  But it wasn’t always that way.  I’m old enough to remember when the mail room boy had a shot at rising to corporate management level.  Ah, yes, the good old days.

Now, if you’re happy with your J-O-B, why are you surfing the net looking at Home Business opportunities?  Maybe you just want some extra cash?  Okay, but I can almost guarantee that taking on the adventure of entrepreneurial work is not going to make you money overnight.  You’ll have to work and you’ll have to train.  There’s a lot to learn.  Like the good old days, with a Home Business, you can earn while you learn.  Up for it?  Then read on.

Some similarities between a Home Business and a job are:  (1) if you work, you get paid; (2) if you know what you’re doing, you can make a decent pay; (3) if you are nice to people, you can make a lot of friends.  Is that it?  Yup.  It might seem like an unfair assessment but the freedoms and limitless income afforded by a home business have clouded over any other similarity in my mind.  With a home business, your income depends on your own abilities.

When you have a J-O-B, someone else is calling the shots.  If that’s comfortable for you, don’t quit your job.  If you are a leadership type, you might resent being bossed around with little opportunity to really make a difference. You might hope to be in charge someday.  If you’re out of job, this is a good time to learn a new trade!  Maybe you like building pleasant relationships with people and helping them succeed.  Now, honestly, in your present or last J-O-B, was that the focus of your work?  If you’re building a Home Business, it had better be!

One of the most obvious differences between a corporate J-O-B and a Home Business is that with a home business, you work at home! You can see your family, watch your kids grow up and there’s no commute.  You can make your own schedule and make your own decisions.  You rely on your own talents.  You work or don’t work and get paid according to your own cleverness and productivity.  Your age, gender, color, creed, race and all that … doesn’t matter.

If you had the idea that you have to be ruthless to make a few million, let’s clear that up right now.  No one lasts very long at the top if they step on or alienate people on their way up.  It takes a TEAM of successful people to build a lasting business. Whether you’re building a team of customers, subscribers or MLM members, you need large numbers.  Some of them will help build your business.  How do you build a large following?  That’s in the training.  How do you retain thousands of people once you have them?  Not by ripping them off, that’s for sure.  And, again, it’s in the training.  If you don’t learn this, the result is obvious — no customers, subscribers or downline leaves you with no money.

One place to start is with Mike Dillard’s book on Magnetic Sponsoring.  It was a “new think” for me to be able to attract people to my business rather than chasing them down for a sale.  And I learned things beyond the contents of that book like if I wanted to think and act like someone who is a successful entrepreneur, then I’d better start associating with some.  Why?  Well, if someone wants to know how to do something, they ask or learn from someone who has done it. Does that mean you hang out with them?  Not necessarily.  You can read their books, communicate with them, sign up for their newsletters, join their businesses or even follow them on social networks.  They won’t snub you unless you want something for nothing, waste their time by ignoring their advice or treat them with disrespect.

Watch the videos to the right and listen for the common message.  Millionaires started out just like you — surfing the net or otherwise looking for a way to better their income.  People aren’t born knowing how to make a million dollars.  They learn.  And each and every one of them talk about their extensive training and how they’ve never stopped learning.  Each and every one talks about a mentor they had the good fortune to meet.  And each developed their own system for residual income (click on Business Success tab above).

If you want the best training, top businesses opportunities and most workable systems — the ones used by the TOP earners in this field — why waste your time surfing the net, getting ripped off by wannabes and copy cats?  Been there, done that.  You were smart enough to come to this site.  Stick around.  Sign up for the free e-book and training.  Check out the Business Success page.  Watch the videos.  Learn!