Many new people in business who are out networking will come across Multi level marketing for the first time. Amongst the smorgasbord of business folk at business networking events you will often receive a card from Utilities warehouse or Water source, make up companies like Herbalife, or even Banners broker, to name a few.

MLM over the years has evolved into a mature business in UK, however it still is one of the hardest markets to make it, and many over 40’s will remember the zealots whom tarnished the industry in the 1980’s yet many who did make it have been basking in the sun financially free ever since.

Around 2% of people make it really big in MLM, but before you scoff it’s the same in most industries. It has however got much easier to make it with the advent of the Internet.

MLM started in the U.S. in the 50’s by two of the founding members of the Amway corporation, and the  basis is simple:

You have a decent product and rather than sell through shops you sell through people. The people receive a percentage of each sale, simple enough, the commissions range around 10-25%. Like any direct sales business you have to keep selling or lose your commission, so to make a residual income you must develop a team of people who sell the same products as you to their friends and acquaintances, the people you bring into your business will always be associated with you, so you will always receive a commission of their sales.

Multi level marketing or Network marketing or interactive commerce as it’s been called has many names because of the reputation some of the over ambitious people gave it. The goal of MLM or the dream is financial freedom, it is very possible yet very difficult to achieve, and the leaders of the top MLM companies are very keen to plug you into ‘the system’ of seminars and constant support and training as it is the only way to establish your core beliefs, because you are most definitely going to need a new mind set to make any headway.

The industry has improved vastly over the last ten years and many new laws have been made to ensure the importance of keeping the balance between what is achievable in a space of time, this was mainly due to a very well timed court ruling in London:

5 years ago the whole MLM industry which is worth around 200 billion a year around the world, waited with baited breath to see how Amway came out of a High court ruling into malpractice. It turned out to be the best thing that ever happened. The case was based around a minority of distributors making money on selling motivational books and charging for seminars. These members were since made to sell their networks and now, new rules into what you pay to join, (zero it’s free) and mandatory book clubs ..no more, and seminars are free apart from a £5 charity donation. Now 5years later the Amway corporation have a £18m flagship store in Holborn London to celebrate.

The main characteristics you need to make it MLM are a thick skin as many will not understand what you are doing, and as it not a traditional business with bricks and mortar and massive overheads. Many will see it as cottage industry. You will need undying determination as it will test your very nature and 98% of you will give up and say it does not work. Yet fact is, the Industry has made more millionaires than any other, and more failures than any other.

Some very ignorant people call it a pyramid scheme, thankfully this attitude is dying out, the fact is: anyone joining a legit MLM company can, if they work damned hard, make more money than the person 5 levels above them, this is a feature of MLM that is most definitely not available in a traditional corporate structure. so the fact is a traditional business is more of a pyramid due to the fact the boss can not run a profitable business if his lowly workers can earn more than he does at the top of the structure.

If you are considering MLM the main things to look out for are:

There should be no charge to join any MLM company, the idea of payment for recruiting people is strictly illegal.

The MLM company should not have you stock piling any stock whatsoever, or mandatory payments of any kind.

The price of any product or service should be the same all the way down and up the line.

Monies should be paid to the MLM company and not the distributor, and commissions are paid direct to distributors by the company.

Any legit MLM company is backed up the the Direct Selling Association (DSA) and the DTI.

look to see how old the company is before joining and do your own due diligence.

“Seek the truth always”