Network Marketing - Legitimate Business or Outright Scam (Part 1 of 3)

Wanna know the fastest way to anyone avoiding you like the plague? Introduce yourself with this line " Hey I'm Ken. You look like an ambitious fella...do you have about half an hour for me to show you how you can make big bucks and own your own yacht? I've got...."Sorry, I didn't finish the sentence; chances are you're not going to get very far before your audience gets that STRONG whiff of fishiness.

Despite all the stigma attached to network marketing, the honest truth is that people in general don't have much working knowledge about network marketing. Everyone probably knows someone who has been involved or is still innvolved in the industry, but the question is, how much about the industry do you know? What then, is the final verdict on this unpopular industry? Over the next 3 posts, I hope to lay enough facts down on the table so you as a reader can make an informed judgement or decision when it comes to Network Marketing

1. Network Marketing comes in many shapes and sizes
You might not be familiar with the term Network Marketing, but i'm sure you've probably heard of following terms, direct selling, multi-level-markting, Amway selling...these are all referring to the same industry style, namely, create a giant organization of people that act as your downline, and have them purchase from you or sell to others to earn commissions from the total sales.

Think network marketing primarily encompasses ntritionals and household items? Think again! Network Marketing practically covers every industry available, from airline ticket bookings, to utilities, to pet-care products and even down to legal services!

2. Network Marketing will become a trillion dollar industry very soon (if not already)
Like the automotive , IT, and health industry, total Network Marketing related revenues in will possibly reach the trillion dollar industry by the end of the decade. For every 20 companies that go bust in this industry each year ( and there are many!), 1 will stand the test of time and continue to grow into a highly profitable entity that lasts longer than 15 years. Nett total growth is certainly being achieved, but whether it is proportional to our population growth is something yet to be determined.

3. Network Marketing is a legitimate business model, highly regulated by the FTC
Contrary to the beliefs of many, network marketing cannot be classified as a scam the same way Ponzi Schemes or pyramid schemes are. On the contrary, it is a highly regulated entity that is monitored closely by the Federal Trade Commission. Sure profits of the organization rely heavily on efforts by overzealous distributors and driven sales representatives, but all these need to be done within legal boundaries clearly lined out by Federal Governance.

In my next post we will explore the major problems surrounding this business model as well as factors that weigh heavily against network marketing as a sustainable model. Stay tuned! Same place, same time :)

5 Principles of Success in Business

Funny things take place in my brain when i'm walking sometimes. Its as if my mind develops a, erm...mind of its own. Lost in my thoughts, I may experience the occasional bump into a stranger, or imagining ways of selling my jumk on ebay for inflated prices....this time however, something productive actually resulted from my day-dreaming!

Walking down the steps of Parliament station I couldn't help but reflect on critical elements anyone needs to develop/possess to obtain success in any endeavours, business or otherwise. So here's my list - he 5 Ps required for success

1) PURPOSE

There is nothing significant in this world that has been achieved without someone first having a strong vision and purpose! It is like the compass that guides a traveller by night, or in modern terms, the GPS that navigates you around Melbourne city! When you look at successful people, you will never find a single person who is scattershot in their route to success. No, each and every action is drawn towards that single guiding goal and nothing detracts them from it.

"Purpose is what gives life meaning" - Charles H Perkhurst

2) PLAN

Having no plan in your journey is synonymous to travelling through a foreign location without a map - you will get somewhere, but it will seldom be where you wanted to go in the first place! It is commonly said that if you fail to plan, you plan to fail and I believe no other quote illustrates this truth better!

Another note on planning, often I meet people who speak of amazing goals for their lives, contantly flooding their minds with visualisations of how rich they will be in 20 years, blah blah blah. Not that any of that is bad, but they must realize that without a specific plan or roadmap towards that goal, those dreams are nothing more than just meaningless daydreams!

"It pays to plan ahead. It wasn't raining when Noah built the ark" - Anonymous

3) PASSION

I was greatly moved by the portrayal of Jesus Christ in the movie "Passion of the Christ". If ever there was a single person who epitomized the truest definition of passion, he would be it! Nothing could stop him from fulfilling his purpose, not whips, not persecution, not threats, not sceptics, not even death! Through all that he went through one thing fuelled him forward at every turn, PASSION!

Business owners should be the same. Passion is to your actions what fuel is to your engines, it keeps you pressing forward! The easiest way to keep yourselves motivated is by developing a strong passion for whatever it is you are striving towards.


"Nothing great in this world has ever been achieved without passion " - Hebel quotes

4) PATIENCE

This is a critical component that many of our youth nowadays lacks, the art of patience! Unfortunately it is inescapable that we do live in an "instant" society - instant noodles, instant gratifications, instant downloads, instant credit card approvals...To demand the same of a business is folly because the bad news is, anything worth anything takes time to develop.

Its no surprise that within the last few decades, get-rich-schemes have proliferated like wild mushrooms ( or like amount of spam I seem to get!). Why? Well because it preys on our society lack of patience and great desire for wealth. Remember, take time to plan, take time to execute and take the time to evaluate your progress. As long as your plan is sound, and you stay the course towards your purpose, your patience will eventually take you there - there areno shortcuts!!

"It takes a day for weeds to sprout, but decades for mighty oaks to grow" - Anonymous proverb

5) PEOPLE
You hate some, you love some; you embrace some, you bear with some. It is undeniable the importance of having good people around you in your venture towards success. Everyone needs someone to be there and support you, but here are other roles that people can play in your life

• To teach you - Someone who has done the yards to offer valuable and insightful adivce to save you from getting stuck in the pitfalls and nurture you towards 'correct' growth
• To critique you - This is never a popular role, but a vital one nevertheless. Without someone to honestly (and lovingly) tell you where you have gone wrong, you might never think that just sometimes you could be doing something wrong *gasp*
• To hold you accountable - This could be a peer or someone you respect to ensure you are staying on the right tracks and not veering into unproductive activities diverting you from your ultimate goals.

Surround yoursef with as many of all these people and at some stage see you will wonder how you ever did life before them!

"Individually we are one drop. Together we are an ocean" - Ryunosuke Satoro

Well, those are my thoughts- what are some other "P"s you think are important for success. Would love to hear your thoughts.

My First Ebay Sale

Recently, I made my first e-bay sale! There are a  few things you never forget in life- your first kiss, your baby's first words ( sorry no personal experience!), the first time you left your fly unzipped in front of an audience ;.your 1st ebay sale certainly ranks up there with em all.

Initially I must admit, I was extremely skeptical about my chances of  making a sale.After all I reasoned, why would anyone be interested in a 3-year old baseball cap going for $7.95 + Shipping costs? ( ..incidentally, I got my cap free as a gift) Boy, was I wrong. If there's anything I learnt from this episode, its that people will buy absolutely anything on ebay!!

Well, of course some things might be harder to peddle than others - don't expect your used baby shoes from 35 years ago to sell as well as your limited edition Michael Jordan 1997 Collector's Edition Basketball card; or your piece of toast that you crazily think looks like the Virgin Mary (nyeh!) to outsell your designer Jimmy Choo's ...(actually I might be wrong on this one...)

In any case here are my 4 simple tips to ensure your 1st sale goes as smoothly as silk on a baby's bottom :

1. Beware of hidden listing costs!
E-bay generally charges very little to put an item up for sale, but that's not to say you should take them lightly ! Almost every add-on costs money. Its attracting to tick what I call the "make-fancy" boxes like sub-headers, additional pictures, layout designs, but just be aware that they are not FREE.

2. Ensure Shipping Costs + Clauses are covered in full!
Do not make my rookie mistake of undercharging for shipping costs. Things to consider  are

•  Are you using regular, registered or express post? Some obviously cost more than others.
  
• Are you packaging your item in a purchased shipping box, or using the Chinese takeaway container you just wiped the oil off from?
• Be realistic about your shipping times, always remember : under-promise and over-deliver

3. Have a stunning picture up.
Ensure your picture accentuates the best bits of your item. You have one picture, so make it count. And NO, it is not acceptable to have your half finished roast chicken, floundering in the background!

4. Get a compelling item description up.
The golden rule of writing a description is this : be honest but always creative. please don't take this to mean : be dull & drab. People are looking to buy, you know that by the fact they're actually browsing for your item. So, give them a reason to buy YOUR item. Some words can be "spiced up". The same way Sanitary Enforcement Officer  is really just "Janitor"  -  "shining , brand new" can be written as "sparkling, glossy, mint condition, never been used!"

Hope to hear your own experiences of shopping on ebay.

Khloe Kardashian - Best business deal in years?

I came across a very intriguing article the other day about Khloe Kardashian. Now everyone knows her as a socialite extraordinaire, but one thing most people know very little about her is that she is a brilliant businesswoman! Don't believe me? Well recently she struck up possibly one of the most mind-blowing one-sided business deals I have ever had the opportunity to witness. It is an absolute classic example of some good business acumen at work.

Which deal is this? Well lo and behold ......"The Khloe Kardashian Pre-Nuptial Agreement" *cue thunderous applaus*

Recently in events leading up to her marriage to Lamar Odom, details of her pre-nup were revealed. It basically states that in the event of a divorce she wanted

1. A FLAT sum of about $500,000 for every year they were married;
   
2. 25,000 a month in general support;
3. THEIR new luxurious house 
4. A NEW luxury vehicle at the end of every lease cycle; 
5. $5000 a month for shopping 
6. $1000 for beauty care and courtside Lakers tickets for the Kardashian family. 

OK ok, I'm being extremely facetious, but does anyone know of a better source of passive income!?

Glad to hear all your thoughts on this.

The First Day in Paradise...

Hellooooooo world! I'm guessing the general feeling around is that Pilot posts are SO awkward to write so I'll just go ahead and share a bit about the heart and soul of this blog.

Firstly.... a little about myself. I'm just your average Melbournian suburban boy, been happily married for 6 months, loves anything soccer/jazz and more importantly - absolutely loves Business!

I'm infatuated with it, addicted to it, i'm curious about it - seriously there must be a chronic disease named after my condition ...( or I'll just make up a wiki post later...).

However, there is one major difference between myself and the rest of the other business blogs out there, and let me be the first to say it - I've never considered myself a guru! (Ah yes, that overused word online) No, far from it!

Sorry to disappoint, but unfortunately I'm not someone who's made his 1st million by the age of 24, or that boy genius you see on page 6 of BizWeek who's bought his 1st Ferrari before getting his license! Who I am,however, is a fellow sojourner on this incredible path called Business.

Having said that, it is my intention that anyone reading these posts will journey along, learn, explore, and share ideas with me. I know there are similarly intrigued people out there, and my intention is to create a community where ideas flourish and real connections are made.

I"m sick of hearing that business people are only old men who've done the hard yards, seen it all, got burned along the way and finally taste success with all that experience under their belt. Well I know that's certainly true, but what about us young uns?

So, consider this my invitation to all who would like a place to vent, share, enlighten about this realm called business, to do so right here in my humble little blog. Looking forward to the amazing ride ahead!