For those of you on my team or that I have had a chance to get to know over the last year or so, you know that I am a research scientist working in obesity and that I just finished up my PhD this spring at The University of Texas at Austin. I took a research position at a hospital in Dallas starting here in a couple of weeks and I am moving this Wednesday. Exciting stuff but always a time that causes me to reflect on the time that I spent in my current apartment and this city in general. With this in mind, I was packing up my network marketing materials and started thinking about the last year in my network marketing business and wanted to share some things with you before things get really crazy over the next couple of days. As you look over this post, think about where you started, where you are now and where you want to be this time next year.
Getting Started
I started up in network marketing about a year ago this May in a health and wellness company where I enrolled a handful of people from my warm market following the guidelines that my upline set out for me to present the opportunity and then do a 3-way follow-up call. This is something that is certainly an important part of building a network marketing business, but I found myself uncertain of the sustainability of my business and I also felt like having a business in play effected my relationship with my friends, both the ones that weren’t interested (I think most of us have felt this) but even the ones that joined me in my business.
Secondly, I started to think that if this is such a great industry that provides an opportunity to take control of their own life in whatever way they see fit, there has to be a way to find people that are looking for this type of opportunity and will attack it with the same enthusiasm that I was.
Enter Attraction Marketing
In August of last year, I was introduced to a community of network marketers that use the approaches that traditional business have been using for hundreds of years to build successful enterprises. Lead with value, build your network and watch your business grow. This made too much sense for me not to try out this approach and since then my entire approach and perspective about my business has changed. I now feel like I have control over my own business, rather than having to rely on getting lucky to find the right people. Despite this, it has taken time and tested my resolve. This has required me to repeatedly remind myself that this approach works and to remain patient, because no matter what your approach is, are you looking for success for a few years, or across a lifetime?
Transition Time
Back towards the start of this calendar year, the MLM I was involved with started to face some tough times. I was at a crossroads in my network marketing career because I knew I believed in the industry, but I didn’t know if I wanted to follow the people in my group to the new business they decided to get involved with. I eventually decided that I didn’t want to do health and wellness anymore and I did some serious thinking about the help that my current upline was providing me and decided it was time for a change. I at first felt back, and like I was being dis-loyal, but I had to do what was best for me. I joined up with a guy that has been helping me set-up my online marketing strategies (without me even being in his group), solidifying the idea the best way to build an MLM is to provide value and help people get what THEY are looking for.
Fast forward and few months later, my marketing tools are in place and my team is building. The most exciting for me right now is an upcoming trip that I have to Boise, ID to learn from industry legend Russell Brunson how to set-up an online marketing plan to not only recruit people for my business, but to set up each of them with the exact same tools to do the same thing. I am fired up about this, to the point that it keeps me up at night sometimes with excitement!
Enough about me, I just wanted to share a few things with you as I have been reflecting on my own business!
To Your Success…
Justin
