1.   Learn the lingo.  How do you know what you’re supposed to do with your money when terms like NYSE, portfolio, and even budget leave you scratching your head?  Even if you know what they mean, you might not be sure about real world applications.  But if you don’t have the foggiest notion about what your stock broker is saying then you can’t really take an active role in planning your financial future.  In this respect, a club provides a whole group of people with a wide range of knowledge and no ulterior motives in answering your questions.

2.   Pick up the basics.  How many of you have a checking account?  Probably everyone.  How many have a savings account?  Still quite a few.  How many have a 401K?  Maybe a few less.  What about a Roth IRA?  Or an investment portfolio?  Not too many.  You’ve probably heard horror stories about those who have lost their shirt with investments because they didn’t know what the heck they were doing and/or they entrusted their life savings to a third party (like a brokerage firm) that couldn’t care less about the paltry purse that nonetheless held everything they had.  You don’t want to be that person.  But that doesn’t mean you can’t learn the basics and get started with better methods of saving and investing.

3.   Money management skills.  Did you know there are adults out there that were never taught to balance a checkbook, much less form a sound budget or invest wisely?  You can benefit from the experience of other members in this area, many of whom were likely in your shoes in the past (some fairly recently).

4.  Get tips.  Networking with a group that follows financial interests could benefit you in a variety of ways, but one of the best reasons to join up is to get information about new investments or stocks and bonds to avoid from people who know how to read the signs from the market.  You might even come across some great investment opportunities that would have otherwise eluded you.

5.  Group investing.  One of the advantages of being part of a club like this is that you may be able to invest as a group.  This will allow you to realize greater diversity in your ventures, benefit from the experience of more seasoned investors, and ultimately maximize your profits.

Emma Martin writes for The Guestlist Club where you can find info on China White, the hottest club in London.

• Fortune magazine called direct selling (of which network marketing is the largest segment) “the best kept secret in the business world”
• Financial experts say it’s a “recession proof” industry
• Warren Buffet described his purchase of a network marketing company the best investment he’d ever made

If you read Donald Trump and Robert Kiyosaki’s book, “Why We Want You to Be Rich,” you know that they also endorse network marketing. At one point Trump even stated that if he could go back in time and do things differently, he would have started with networkmarketing.

Why does the MLM business opportunity get such high endorsements?

Because it is a great business model that rakes in huge profits for businesses and its members. A traditional distribution chain looks like: manufacturers -> manufacturer’s agents -> wholesalers -> distributors -> retailers -> consumers. But with network marketing, the company deploys a highly motivated, commission-only sales force who not only sells the product, but often purchases it themselves, and then teaches other people how to do the same. It does this by using the most powerful form of marketing… word of mouth.

What the MLM Business Opportunity is not is a turnkey, overnight profit making business. Just like any other business, it requires work and your dedication. You might recruit hundreds of people under you and none of them do a thing. But it only takes one or two people who take it seriously and duplicate what you do. When you identify those people and show them how you make money, then it can become a virtually hands-free, residual income producing business.

My thought is rather than make things more complicated than they need to be, just do what other wealthy people have already proven to be successful. If billionaires Warren Buffet, Donald Trump, RobertKiyosaki, and Richard Branson use and recommend network marketing, there must be something worth looking into.

Personally, recruiting strangers in shopping malls is not my thing, which is why I am a member of SFI Marketing Group.

A non-sustainable business model that involves the exchange of money primarily for enrolling other people into the scheme, without any product or service being delivered.

In other words, you are recruited by a current member and pay a membership fee to join the organization. You then go out and recruit members as possible by presenting the opportunity to as many people as possible, which earns you a commission each time those members renew their membership. Typically any members your recruits then go on to bring in also earn you a commission, so the more you recruit and the more your recruits recruit, the more money you make.

There is only one small problem with this concept. It is illegal in most developed countries. That’s were the network marketing home business opportunity is often slammed for, but not always for good reason. While Amway and Quixtar , a $7+ billion business, was alleged to be pyramid schemes at one point, after undergoing FTC investigation they were found to be a completely legal entity.

What separates network marketing home business opportunities from illegal pyramid schemes is that they have an actual product line with salable items. This, in many if not most, is the driver of the business. While there still may be a membership fee involved, it is just like having a membership to Sam’s Club or other wholesale network, but you also have a licence to sell the products and earn a commission.

What makes network marketing (or multi-level marketing) such a profitable business is the concept of building your “downline.” The member can sell products directly to consumers, but the real money seems to be by recruiting new members who use the products themselves. Each time that member purchase the product, you earn a commission. And for ever member that your referral recruits and purchases products, you earn a commission off of them as well.

Many people have built great wealth by entering the network marketing home business, but do not get lured by the opportunity. Some are successful and building their own multi-million dollar fortune, and it can bring the passive residual income that it promises, but just like any new start up – the chances of success are no in your favor. There is certainly legitimate money to be made, but it by no means happens over night. Just like any legitimate business, it takes time, consistent effort and a lot of dedication.

Realize, thought, that because of the negative pre-existing connotations that network marketing already has, you are starting with an uphill battle. You may find as you are recruiting new members that you first have to deconstruct misconceptions and misunderstandings.

For a part-time, home based business it may be something worth looking into more. While it’s not for everyone, at least the Internet has helped make the network marketing home business more attractive to people who just don’t see themselves introducing themselves and their company to strangers in the grocery store.

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