Let’s begin. A few short weeks ago, unbeknownst to https://marketstreetcatch.com/how-many-cups-in-32-oz/, I had the privilege of meeting someone on an airplane bound for Adelaide, Australia; who would lead me onto an exciting path of discovery. We momentarily chatted at the back of the aeroplane on my way back from Nadi, Fiji; in a chance meeting in which I would say ‘yes’, I would like to hear more about the business model that had established her recent financial freedom and success (more to come on this encounter with an interview in the later chapters).
Eager to progress my knowledge, I spent the next 4 weeks researching the industry, the organisation, the people behind it and the sequences and processes to their wealth. The learning curve was exponential – and this is my reflection. At this point in time, I was coincidentally completing my final MBA capstone research project in Adelaide, so I took the opportunity to research her discussion with me in depth and convey the message across to my followers from an Australian scholarly point of view. I had no idea about the industry, albeit little rumours here and there to complement my somewhat biased and disappointing initial online research. I found nothing positive but like an underworld that nobody truly knew about – it intrigued me because I felt that something was right.
The bastion for wealth had its scent in the air. This could be its last refuge – I thought. I had to form an immediate action drill to advance a pincer movement onto this burgeoning interest. It was now or never. I wasn’t sure if it was the timing or the opportunity – the right thing to do though was to jump first and ask questions later. This is the later part of that quick equation that transpired in my entrepreneurial mind. This educative curiosity from an Australian scholarly perspective is now alive in the words that you will feel and as we go through the journey together; towards health, wealth, a great life with grand relationships and most importantly learning about the chances to glow youthfully throughout the adventure.
This enlightenment was my beginning into a new and evolving industry. A new road was carved and you may feel the moments morph around your own personal experiences or fantasies. I dived immediately into the books and into the school library; the search for the golden nugget had begun. Line by line, word for word, dissecting the information and honouring the objections with gratitude. My hope is that this communicated knowledge helps novice beginners similar to myself, take that intriguing next step towards calculated risk taking, growth and most importantly, self-discovery through the facts.
I hope that you gain some business value in my research and that this value inspires you to create your own decisions when the time comes for you to approach your own destiny!
Network marketing, multi-level marketing, direct sales, referral marketing, pyramid selling etc, the names are endless. For the purpose of simplification we will adhere to this business model simply as network marketing for ease of navigation, and understanding throughout the book. All of these names; simply exemplifies a unique marketing strategy for the sale of products or services where the revenue of the network company is derived from a non-salaried workforce selling the company’s products or services. Pretty simple system – just made complicated to confuse the novice beginner like myself.
By accident to be honest. This is how the story goes and it all starts with an ingenuous idea conceptualised in 1930 by a man called Carl Rehnborg. Carl was an American businessman who lived in China between 1917 to 1927. Carl observed the benefits of using supplements in a diet that could be beneficial to a human beings health. According to Amway publications, Carl’s study became the ‘ample opportunity to observe at close range the effects of an inadequate diet’. With the knowledge he attained in the nutritional literature, he then started to envision a dietary supplement that would assist proper body functioning in any sort of diet.
Carl then decided to go back to America to start his own company out of his learnings in China. He founded his company called The California Vitamin Company. In 1939, he renamed the company to Nutrilite. Carl utilised his friends to sell the vitamins but things initially looked disappointing. The vitamins were piling up on the shelves, unused and forgotten. It was heartbreaking for Carl. Until an idea lit up in his mind, to develop a kind of selling by informing people about the product. He shared the vitamins to more of his friends, to the friends of his friends and so on. You can see where this is going right? Alas – network marketing was born!
The business model grew further when Jay Van Andel and Rich DeVos became the distributors of Carl’s products. The three noticed a phenomenal increase in sales. KABOOM… !! Network marketing was unleashed into the world. They later set up a competing company (because competition is good in a capitalistic economy) called Amway and they also bought a controlling interest in Nutrilite in 1972. In 1994, Amway took over full ownership and is one of the largest network marketing companies in the world today.
As the business world innovates and disrupts, network marketing compensation plans evolve to attract new recruits and customers. It is a very simple strategy for expansion to capitalise on the available market share. It is different for every network marketing company just as there are different salaries for different corporations. However the most common is the commission based on the two revenue streams. The first stream of compensation can be paid out from commissions of product sales. The second stream of compensation can be paid out from commissions based on recruiting similar minded distributors. The amount of compensation varies between network marketing companies. I would have to study every single company in the world to understand this – alternatively I can study the success stories because success always leaves hints – in the results.