DISCOVER THE NETWORK MARKETING WAY TO WEALTH

Written by Sylvia Vukmanovic on Sep 9, 2008 2:31 pm

Read More: Dealing with Objections | Sponsoring and Recruiting

There are many benefits the network marketing industry offers those who want more from their lives.

By Robert Kiyosaki and Donald Trump

Donald Trump and Robert Kiyosaki are concerned. Their concern is that the rich are getting richer but America is getting poorer. Like the polar ice caps, the middle class is disappearing; America is becoming a two class society. Soon you will either be rich or poor. Donald and Robert want you to be rich. This phenomenon – the shrinking middle class – is a global problem, but predominantly in the richer G8 nations (countries such as England, France, Germany, Japan, etc.)

Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said, “As I have often said, this is not the type of thing which a democratic society – a capitalist democratic society – can really accept without addressing.” He went on to explain how the income gap between the rich and the rest of the U.S population has become so wide, and is growing so fast, that it might eventually threaten the stability of democratic capitalism itself.

The Problem is Education
What did the Federal Reserve Chairman state as the main cause of the problem? In one word, his answer was education. Mr. Greenspan points out that U.S. children test above the world average levels at the 4th grade level. But by the 12th grade level, they are far behind. He says, “We have to do something to prevent that from happening.”

Donald Trump and Robert Kiyosaki also place the blame on the lack of education. But they focus on a different type of education, financial education. Both men are concerned about the lack of quality financial education, because the United States moved from being the richest country in the world to the biggest debtor nation in history so quickly.

Financial Advice
There are three levels of financial advice; advice for the poor, advice for the middle class and advice for the rich. The financial advice for the poor is that the government will take care of them. The poor are counting on Social Security and Medicare. The financial advice for the middle class is: Get a job, work hard, live below your means, save money, invest for the long term in mutual funds and diversify. Most people in the middle class are passive investors – investors who work and invest not to lose. The rich are active investors who work and invest to win.

Donald Trump and Robert Kiyosaki are best-selling authors and popular speakers because they teach people to expand their means and improve the quality of their lives rather than work hard to live below their means. They want people to work and invest to win. One of the ways they suggest people invest in themselves is to start their own business – a network marketing business to be specific.

FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO MAY NOT BE FAMILIAR WITH MY PREVIOUS BOOKS,
In Rich Dad’s CASHFLOW Quadrant, the second book in the Rich Dad series of books, I go into why some people find getting rich easier than others.

Rich Dad’s CASHFLOW Quadrant is the most important of my books for people who want to make changes in their lives. Some of the terms used here will refer to the letters in this diagram:

E – stands for employee S – stands for small business person, self employed or specialist
B – stands for big business owners such as Donald Trump I – stands for investor

Why Network Marketing
When I first heard about network marketing, I was against it. But after opening my mind, I began to see advantages that few other business opportunities offer. Long – term success in life is a reflection of your education, life experience and personal character. Many network marketing companies provide personal – development training in those key areas.
Most schools train people for the E or S quadrants, and that is great if those are the quadrants in which you want to spend your life. Most MBA programs are training students for high – paying jobs in the corporate world as an E, not a B.

Network Marketing: The industry for People Who Want to Change Their Lives
What if you’re in the E or S quadrant and you want to change? What if you want to be in the B quadrant? Where do you find the education that trains you for that quadrant? I recommend the network marketing business. I recommend the industry for people who want to change, and get the necessary skills and attitude training to be successful in the B quadrant.
Being an entrepreneur and building a B-quadrant business is one of the toughest challenges a person can take on. The reason there are more people in the E and S quadrants is simply because those quadrants are less-demanding than the B quadrant. As they say, “If it were easy, everyone would do it.”

I had to learn how to overcome my self-doubt, shyness and fear of rejection. And I had to learn how to pick myself up and keep on going after I failed. These are some of the personal traits a person must develop if they are to be successful in a B-quadrant business, whether it is a network marketing business, a franchise or an entrepreneurial start-up.

An important skill required for a B-quadrant business is leadership. Are you able to overcome your fears and have others overcome their fears to get the job done? This is a skill the Marine Corps taught me. As Marine Corps officers, it was imperative that we were able to lead others into battle, even though we were all terrified of dying.

I meet many people in the S quadrant, the specialists or small-business owners, who would like to expand, but they simply lack leadership skills. No one wants to follow them. The employees do not trust their leader, or the leader does not inspire the employees to better themselves.

Forbes defined a big-business owner, a B-quadrant business owner, as a person who controls a business with more than 500 employees. This definition is why leadership skills are vital for the B quadrant.
Where can you find a business that will invest the time in your education, your personal development and building your own business? The answer is most network marketing businesses.

Network Marketing is a B-Quadrant Business
Building a B-quadrant business is not an easy task. So you need to ask yourself. “Do I have what it takes? Am I willing to go beyond my comfort zone? Am I willing to be led and wiling to learn to lead? Is there a very rich person inside me, ready to come out?” If the answer is yes, start looking for a network marketing business that has a great training program. I will focus less on the products or the compensation plans, and more on the education and personal development program the company offers.

A network marketing business is a B-quadrant business because it meets several criteria I look for in a business or investment. Those are:

1. Leverage: Can I train other people to work for me?
2. Control: Do I have a protected system that belongs to me?
3. Creativity: Will the business allow me to be creative, and develop my own personal style and talents?
4. Expandability: Can my business grow indefinitely?
5. Predictability: Is my income predictable if I do what is expected of me? If I am successful, and keep expanding my business, will my income increase with my success and hard work?

Isn’t Network Marketing a Pyramid Scheme?
I am often asked if network marketing is a pyramid scheme. My reply is that corporations are really pyramid schemes. A corporation has only one person at the top, generally the CEO, and everyone else below.

A true network marketing business is the exact opposite of a traditional business model. The network marketing business is designed to bring you to the top, not to keep you at the bottom. A true network marketing business does not succeed unless it brings people to the top.

Additional Points Worth Mentioning
1. Tax breaks increase. By starting a network marketing business in your spare time and keeping your regular job, you begin to gain the tax advantages of the rich. A person with a part time business can take more tax deductions than employees can. For example, you may be able to deduct car expenses, gasoline, some meals and entertainment. Obviously, you need to check with your CPA for exact rulings on your situation, and the cost of your CPA is tax deductible. In other words, the government will give you a tax break for advice about how to pay less in taxes.

2. Meet like-minded people. When I started out, most of my E-quadrant friends thought that I was nuts. They could not understand why I did not want a steady job or steady paycheck. So one important part of becoming a B is to surround yourself with other people who are Bs – and I want you to become a B.

3. Give yourself time. It takes time to be successful in any of the quadrants. Just as it takes time to climb to the top of the corporate ladder as an E or become a successful doctor or lawyer in the S quadrant, it takes time and dedication to become successful in the B quadrant. It took me years before I built a successful B-quadrant business. So give yourself time. I’ll allow at least five years to learn and develop into a B-quadrant person.

4. Network marketing companies are patient. One of the beauties of a network marketing business is that it will invest in you, even if you’re not successful. In the corporate world, if you’re not successful in six months to a year, you are often fired. In the network marketing world, as long as you’re willing to put in the time, most companies will work with you in your development. After all, they want you to get to the top.

5. Leverage the system already in place. These systems are already tried and proven, which allows you to hit the ground running instead of trying to build the internal system of a new company.

In Conclusion
After opening my closed mind, I could finally see some of the unique benefits the network marketing industry offers people who want more out of their lives.
Generally, it costs much less to get started in a network marketing company than to build a business of your own.

Why Network Marketing?
Donald Trump’s Response

Marketing is a powerful tool, and network marketing can increase that power, provided you’re self-motivated. In a simple visual, see a product and remove the advertising agency from it. It’s up to you to do the marketing and advertising.

That’s a big job, but it can be done if you’re passionate enough to get going on your own, and keep the momentum and motivation going at a high level. It requires an entrepreneurial spirit, and that means focus and perseverance. I don’t recommend network marketing to people who are not highly self motivated.

Another important aspect of network marketing is that it’s inherently social, so if you’re not a social or outgoing person, I’d think twice about going into it. Sociability is a requirement.

Just like in advertising, there’s no point in having a fantastic advertising campaign if the product is unequally fantastic. Also, keep in mind that if you decide to become a distributor, you’ll be legally responsible for the claims you make about the product, the company and the available opportunities. But above all, make sure the product is worth your energy and total devotion. Otherwise, you could be energetically spinning your wheels.

Robert Kiyosaki mentions the importance of going beyond your comfort zone when it comes to network marketing. He also mentions giving yourself enough time. These are good points to consider. I agree that leadership qualities are critical to success. You definitely have to have a take charge, can-do attitude.

As with any other undertaking, know everything you can about what you’re doing before you begin. Network marketing has proven to be a viable and rewarding source of income, and the challenges could be just right for you. There have been some remarkable examples of success, and those successes have been earned through diligence, enthusiasm and the right product combined with timing. As with so many issues, there are tangibles and the intangibles involved, but success is not a total mystery, and that applies to network marketing as well.

Most people have heard of focus groups, a research tool advertising agencies use. When they’re testing a new product they go to different locations and simply ask everyday people what they like and don’t like about new products. It’s best if you can keep the focus group idea close at hand when deciding about a product. Just because you like it doesn’t mean everyone else will. Finding a common denominator in product appeal will matter.

My advice about network marketing is to do your research, and put everything you’ve got into the product. Genuine enthusiasm is hard to beat, and the odds will be with you.

This article is an excerpt from Robert and Donald’s new book. Why We Want You To Be Rich.

Donald Trump is the very definition of the American success story. A graduate of Wharton School of Finance, his real estate developments are the most prestigious, nationally and internationally. Among them are the world-renowned Fifth Avenue Skyscraper, Trump Tower, Trump Park Avenue, the historical Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Fla., and the Palm Trump International Hotel and Tower in development in Dubai. His four award-winning golf courses, and one soon to be developed in Scotland, reflect his passion for golf. As the Emmy-nominated star and co-producer of the reality-television hit show, The Apprentice, and author of seven best-sellers, he is truly a media giant.

Robert Kiyosaki, author of Rich Dad Poor Dad, the international runaway bestseller, is an investor and entrepreneur specializing in mining and real estate and an educator whose perspective on money and investing fly in the face of conventional wisdom. Rich Dad Poor Dad, published in 1997, has held the top spot on the New York Times best-seller list for nearly six years. Translated into 46 languages and available in 97 countries, the Rich Dad series has sold more than 26 million copies worldwide and has dominated the best-seller list across Asia, Australia, South America, Mexico, South Africa and Europe. He has virtually single-handedly, challenged and changed the way tens of millions around the world think about money.