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[Søren Egstrup Company: Vitamark International Contribution Level: 2]

Great post Chris, and some very good answer from all.

I have meet many people who use a planner of some sort, but if you don't look at your calender or todo list, it really don't help.

The best word I have learned is "discipline", write it down, where you will see it every day, that's my suggestion.

[Joyce Penner Company: Life Force International Contribution Level: 8]

Hi Chris.

Being a past business owner I know what it takes to be a business owner and I put way more hours in than any employee I ever had. The "buck starts and stops" with every business owner.

Not successful in MLM ?- look in the mirror. It's your business decisions that create what you have. I know in the real world if an owner makes a decision and it's not profitable within 90 days it's gone. Plan, Do and Review.

[Warren Veach Company: State Continuing Education Contribution Level: 4]

My apologies for taking additional space, but I wanted to do a separate response on the subject of accountability.

Accountability is defined as:
"an obligation or willingness to accept responsibility or to account for one's actions".

Think about the "obligation" portion of the definition.

Who really wants to be "obligated? But the truth is, we all have obligations that we must meet in every facet of our lives.

We have obligations to our families, our credit card companies, our mortgage companies and our employers.

One of our BN members started an Accountability Group here on this site back in October of 2009.

We started the group with (I believe) 6 members, then it grew to 10, then to 13. Then, it started to dwindle.

As of this moment, only Tami Ross and myself still communicate on a regular basis by phone each Tuesday morning.

We've missed a call here and there due to vacations and such, but we still get together to bounce ideas off each other and report what went on last week and what our plans for the coming week are.

The odd thing about Tami and mines relationship is that she and I are not involved with the same companies, nor even related "niches". But, we have learned that by being accountable to each other, we focus better, plan better, and schedule our days/weeks better.

I regularly speak one on one with my team leaders and have weekly call sessions scheduled with those that are local where we sit down together and call their team members and Business Partner prospects.

I've come to the conclusion that most people don't want to be held accountable, because they don't want to have to make excuses as to why they didn't accomplish what they "obligated" themselves to do.

But just for a moment, think what a different world we might live in if every one participated in an "Accountability Session" with their Minister each week. How different would our economy be right now if everyone had a weekly one-on-one with their credit card/mortgage/car note holder, etc?

Chris, you gave me a very good quote this morning: "The difference between interested and committed is that when you are interested in doing something, you do it only when it's convenient, but when you're committed to something, you accept no excuses, only results."

Ain't that the truth!

BTW, I now have yours and mine "Accountability Call" on my calendar and am looking forward to it.

If anyone else wants to participate in an Accountability Session, let me know.

[Chris Tryon Company: Jerky Direct Contribution Level: 4]

Warren you are a great guy. Most people are accountable to their bosses on a daily basis. That's the idea that gave me the title for this post. If they don't do their job, they are fired. On the flip side, if they do their job exceptionally well, even if they don't have as much seniority as other people in the company, when it comes time for their employer to make some cuts, the people who are only doing what is required to keep their jobs will probably lose them. I have seen this happen. It has happened to me on a couple of different occasions.

The main thing that I have observed with accountability in a home-based business is that your spouse is NOT the best person for you to be held accountable to. They can not be objective and when push comes to shove relationships can be destroyed. It is a rare occasion that spouses can work well together in a business and be successful.

Great job guys, keep those ideas coming.

[Mario Sanders Company: Life Force International Contribution Level: 6]

You are right, Chris. Working at a job has its perks. A regular pay check with incentives is hard to beat. Trying to start a home-base business becomes difficult when you starting out with the money you make on your job. Plus the incentives include; overtime pay, holiday pay; sick pay; vacation pay; a reason to get out the house; and eventually retirement pay. Your business starts with; no pay, off day, etc. All profits goes back into building the business. Even your vacation days turn into working your business. I went to a motorcycle rally last year with my friends. We had a great time as we rented a motor home and stayed there the entire time. I was working passing out brochures and working my business. The business was the job. Heavy socializing and passing out cards. Doing my business and listening to others talk and looking at different motorcycles. It's funny now when I go back to work I can relax and get back to a schedule. I am trying to go online with my business. I must say that I am still new at this form of business marketing. It seems to be easier. I can pass out my website information and let the customer decide whether they wish to get involved. I can enjoy my off days with less stress. I can do my job as my business grows itself.

[Laron Henderson Company: Numis Network Contribution Level: 1]

Yes your business is like a job. Not just your job but your business. Most companies only tell you about the start up costs of the business. They don't tell you about the daily appointments, costs of travel, costs of supplies etc. These are things you learn after you join.

I think something that would help is a business training class. There are some that are cheap and inexpensive so anybody can take them. We have several programs here that offer business planning classes and they could be applied to network marketing as well as to a traditional business. One organization that does this is http://www.score.org/index.html. They are generally retired executives who've had their own business and are now teaching and training others for free and in their own time. Some of the classes do cost a fee though.