THIS GETS PRETTY UNFILTERED AND PERSONAL

I’ve been involved in  network marketing off and on for a number of years… My first attempt was Amway in 1986. That lasted for all of about 2 weeks.

Lousy sponsor?

Probably, even though she was a diamond director,  she threw me to the wolves immediately trying to sell overpriced water filters in a time when everyone believed tap water was safe. Maybe failing was a blessing, because had I fallen into the Amway cultic mentality, I would not have been open to other better opportunities. In retrospect I learned to prepare potential partners and business builders with good solid mindset training before just turning them loose to be rejected and then quit.

My 2nd opportunity was Melalueca

Good products but overpriced, and a horrible compensation model. Having come to understand the psychological aspect of recruiting people into any program  where you must create your success by recruiting members for your downline only results in a downline with a welfare mentality. The other major problem is using people as pawns and the jealousy it can create with other people who are too far down to really benefit from a top recruiter’s skill.

Binaries and forced matrix pay structures are antithetical to self reliance and leadership development which is key to achieving any lasting success or time freedom in MLM. You are stuck with too many people you are incapable of developing into sponsoring leaders  because you promoted spillover as an advantage when in reality it is a liability.

3rd company

1994 Excel telecommunications.

This is the company when I began to see the power of geometric progression and leverage because it was about the money one could earn through recruitment, over any particular product. I was hooked on the MLM compensation model as brilliant from then, but about only a month after joining Excel (which turned out to be an illegal pyramid anyway) a new startup company would be introduced to me that would change my life….

The 4th and what I believe will be my final company:

Mannatech Inc.

My story in Mannatech is one of excitement, passion, disappointment, perseverance, manipulation, greed, frustration, success, and loss.

People are the reason you join this type of business and people are the reason you either succeed, fail, or quit.

The people who lead the company, (either wisely or foolishly), and the people who become distributors who then either succeed, fail or quit are at the heart of every business! How people behave, react and conduct themselves make up the complex dynamic which is both life and network marketing. Some people love this industry, but far more people hate it. The reasons are varied on both sides but none completely without merit because they are strongly connected to experience with not just the business but the people who make up it’s ranks.

I’ve met all kinds of people in this business. The types of people in network marketing are as diverse as the rest of the population. There are people you want to interact with and people you don’t. I’ve come to a place where I prefer to deal only with the former, positive caring people with ethics and integrity whether they agree with me or not about the morality of MLM compensation.

Many skilled recruiters in MLM will “sponsor” anyone who has enough money or who has enough credit to go into debt for entry into the program. I am ashamed to admit I was like that before I ended up quitting recruiting altogether in 2004. Even though my bonus check in Mannatech kept coming, my heart was no longer in promoting it.

Skip ahead to 2017

Taking a step away for over 12 years  gave me a chance to grow in my maturity in how I see others and become a different person.

Giving as much or more importance to other’s wants and needs as I would give to my own became a priority. In the past I would treat people as commodities to advance my own selfish agenda. You don’t have to look far to see this as a present reality in the network marketing corner of the world which includes all of the people in the overcrowded supplemental training market who promise their high priced program will be the answer to your desired success no matter what you sell. That’s disingenuous in the least and criminally fraudulent at worst. Looking to shorten my learning curve when I returned to rebuild my business I had my own costly lesson with a certain unprincipled well-known red headed female MLM trainer who is over 70. She defrauded me to the tune of over $2000 but did not deliver on her  promises to get my business going even though I jumped through all her hoops. I was not her only victim. She still advertises her program, and has her deluded fans.

I really believed I could come back and present a viable and legitimate opportunity with real market value to consumers that could bring about a financial benefit for others whom I could help to become successful without any of the hype, lies, and manipulation. I still do, and that is why I’m telling my story… Warts and all.

You may or may not be open to any  new opportunities at the moment, that is OK I am glad you took the time to read this far… but Michael Jordan said you miss every shot you don’t take.

My goal is to discover if what I can offer you will serve you and your personal goals because I care less about money now than I care about  people.

I have a comfortable life and I really don’t have to do this and there is no material possession that I really want. That was one of the things that fell away from me.

Maybe…

I’m not as driven to succeed as much for myself as I should be. I am content with thinking that way because I never want to be the reason someone has a negative view of this type of business, if done the right way.

I always try to evaluate MLM opportunities objectively, based solely on real world market dynamics… not merely a compensation model driven business that sells anything that is usually not competitive or superior to similar items found in non-MLM companies.

I am an active purchasing customer in Mannatech. I still use and believe in their products. I am also promoting this company in which I see enormous market potential to real customers not involved in the business model over the next several years.

If you can relate to my story, then you might also see me as someone who would genuinely like to help you earn extra income or replace the income from your current career if we  can do it in a spirit of partnership and with true integrity.

Anyone making promises that you will succeed in this business, should raise an automatic red flag but…

I can promise someone that if they give me 4 hours a week they will learn my system.

From there, it’s not that difficult [to build a profitable business], because I have eliminated the things that cause people to quit in this industry.