The Hidden Trap In MLM and 5 Things to Avoid It

It’s a trap and you can avoid it

Success in MLM can sound like a fairy tale and, sadly, even for great earners, it is.

I’m not saying we can’t make big money, great money in MLM. You can.

Matter of fact anyone can make a very nice income in network marketing. It’s just like any other business.

What do all successful people do?

Identify the money making area or areas then learn the skills in those areas. Network marketing skills, unlike skills in other occupations, are really easy to learn… and easy to teach.

Everybody knows the big money, the time leverage bulls-eye is obtained by teaching people what works and how to do it.

Do that and you’ll be successful, right?

Wrong.

Earning money is a part of succeeding… and that’s the ‘trap.’

It’s not about what you are making folks, it’s about what you keep.

More than any other business I know of… because of the nature of conference calls, company magazines, events and leaders carrying the message of the BIG MONEY, the trap gets set, and most of us walk right in.

Here’s what I mean…

5 Things you can do right now

Here’s what happens once the ‘trap’ is set …and again, I’m not saying it’s intentional.  I don’t believe companies or leaders are ‘setting’ a trap.

They just keep selling lifestyle… and we want it… maybe, to be a ‘part’ of the deal, to feel like we ‘ft in’…we unconsciously ‘buy-in’ (no pun intended)

The new car we really needed… we buy a higher priced model than we should.   The clothes, the dinners, the trips… we do some of them, or all of them, believing, once we start making some nice extra money that it, our commission check, is going to continue to grow bigger and bigger. Ut-Oh.

Don’t walk into the trap… rewards? Yes, but all those ‘trinkets’ will always be there.

I know people making $10,000 who are rich… and $20,000 a month earners who are broke.

FACT: I know more people BROKE at another level in MLM than who have actually changed their lives.  More people who are earning more than 10,000 a month and under more stress than ever than ones making 10K+ who are loving life…

The difference between being broke at another level and loving the new freedom 10K, 20K or more can bring?

5 little things

Divorce your ego.

Right now. Thinking that you’re different and won’t get sucked into ‘reaching’ for the ‘trinkets is ego. It’s about behavior and your ego may take a little hit here but the truth is most people join and MLM when they are tight for money.

Repeat this out loud. ” It was not someone else’s fault“. Book after book after book proves that more money does not make any difference in people’s lives who are broke. It’s not until we examine the real reason we are broke… usually buying on credit… more ‘stuff’.  Sure, you can say you had to buy the tires for your car on credit but we leave out that we also spent $300 on dinners last month and went to see the Red Sox (entertainment) and blew another $400 bucks. When we start making more dough we keep doing those things. Divorce your ego. I was tapped because of my behavior with money and while it was tough to look at it, it was clear I was the problem.

It’s not what you make but what you keep.

If you are making ends meet on your regular job, when you start getting checks, have a plan ahead of time of exactly where that money is going. Set some aside for Uncle Sammy, pay down some debt and save the rest. For 6 months. Plan out the percentages and stick to it. Don’t buy trinkets. Ok, a few. Save at least 30% and use 10% of that to reward yourself. There is NOTHING that establishes a success mentality and drives success more than planning ahead what you’ll do with the profit.

Figure out how long, by accelerating the pay down of credit card debt, car loans, etc… it will take to pay it all off. Focus on the date.  It is an expression of faith and we all know, faith moves mountains. When the checks go up, you’ll find it easier and easier to stay with the original percentages you set up. The effect on your subconscious is bigger than you can think. I like 3 thirds… taxes, paying down debt* and savings. It’s up to you but any plan at all will crush the temptation to buy into the MLM lifestyle.

(*paying down debt means using the one-third of your monthly checks goes to CC debt IN ADDITION to what you are already paying. Pay down 1 card at a time, minimums on all but 1 card, all the extra on one card. Once it’s paid, take the extra money you were paying on 1 card, plus the normal payment on that card and add it all to the payment on the second card or car loan. You’re making better than 18% on your money. Excellent!)

Tax advantages

It’s mind-blowing how many people don’t know about the astonishing tax breaks. Use that tax advantages to keep more. The third I’m suggesting you set aside for Uncle Sammy will be less, much less if you know and take advantage of the Congressional approved tax benefits. Sorry to tell you this… but if you’re not doing this you will be broke at another level. How can I be so sure? Successful people do it, unsuccessful people do not.

I like Ron Mueller’s stuff and this will help you learn a bit more if you don’t know what I am talking about. Clearly, it’s what you keep that matters and this will help you keep a LOT MORE.

Understand business has ups and downs.

It would be so fantastic if the lines we build stayed together forever. They don’t. Non-producers quit. What we never see coming is that leaders also quit. And sometimes… and it happens to everyone.  The leaders that quit, lie. And join another deal. And raid your organization. Or, like my friend Peter, they do great and use the money (he saved all of it) to start his own, non-MLM business.

Look, all businesses go through good months and bad, good years and not so good years. Stay with the financial plan you made. When the tough months come, or you lose part of a big group, you will NOT have taken on MORE debt to look successful.   You’ll have reduced debt and saved some bucks… and you’ll feel great that you planned well and you’ll rebuild. We all do.

Some of us easily and some of us under tremendous stress. Just figure out now which group you want to be in.

Double your income first before quitting your job.

Everyone says they could ‘make it’ if they could just go full time. It’s not true. Most people who go full time do less, not more. And go backward for a while. Odd but true. Seen it happen for 20 years. (remember point 1? Divorce ego)

Your upline, with rare exception, wants you to go full time so it’s easy to get their support on a really bad decision. Make sure you are making double what your job pays for 90 days before you even think about making the plunge.

Keep growing… and keep the money.  Don’t buy into the ‘rock star’ lifestyle until you’re a rock star. If you’ll follow those 5 points the business will stay fun, keep growing and pay massive dividends down the road.

I can tell you this about temptation.  Temptation is really, really, really good at its job.  Get loyal to the reasons you joined and tell the shiny things temptation comes at you with to ‘stick it.’

Stay away from the hidden trap In MLM and you’ll not just get other people great checks, you’ll really help them keep more.

believe

mark januszewski

world’s laziest networker