Why I said "NO" to Network Marketing... and "YES" to Being an Entrepreneur
Why I said "NO" to Network Marketing... and "YES" to being an Entrepreneur
Oh lord before I go there... breathe peeps... this is in no way a dig or slam against Network Marketing MLM or Direct Sales. In fact, it's the opposite. And it may even help give new perspective on an industry that commonly is given a bad wrap.
Let me tell you a bit of my story.
My name is Ange. Dr. Angela if you like. And before network marketing I was fully engaged as a Doctor of Chiropractic running a successful practice helping people in my little town in Middle-of-Nowhere, Canada (aka Meaford, ON) I had a slew of dedicated patients and was hard set on making a difference and changing lives.
But like many professionals, I was also burnt out, worked about 12 hours a day, had no time for family and less for myself. The books turned a profit, at least they appeared to. If I didn't pay myself.
And then I got sick. Luckily I had joined a NWM company that was turning a tiny profit and from my recovery space, I jumped in....and made Network Marketing profitable for my family. I quickly covered the income I had lost and then some. Built a team. Life was good.
And then it wasn't.
Don't get me wrong... I had recovered, and was building my chiropractic practice again, though concentrating on animals only, and life was extra good. I was fulfilled, making a difference and changing people's lives all over the place....and getting paid. Every week. But, eventually things went sour and ethics happened and I decided that I needed to leave said company because they no longer FIT with my ethics and values. It happen, often in this industry.
And the new place I called home was AWESOME. It was a launch company and I quickly replaced that lost income and then doubled it in the first 6 months.
But the investment was HORRIBLE. The time. The money. The travelling all over the world (yes!)....and no. My other business fell apart.... big time.
I was "promised" it would be worth it.... and it was for all of us. But what we traded off was who were ARE. I spent weeks and weeks in suitcases... on flights, being coached at all hours of the day.... and started to change me.
Yeah I learned a lot of cool skills.... but I also TAUGHT a lot more. My experience as a life long entrepreneur who BUILDS tight teams, communities and circles was what made me successful... not a product or company. And my team knew it. My leadership knew it. So did my bank account.
Yet... 6 months in the company faltered, didn't deliver on time, didn't fulfill product promises and guess whose reputation was on the line... not theirs!
And so I called my team and left. Back to square one.
Luckily the lessons were intact and so were all my skills. I had coached teammates into the 6 figure income range. I had again created the solid foundation that so many leaders miss... because they concentrate on only a few sharpshooters, rather than include everyone at the level they can play.
By this time....I had traded ALL my time, energy and money out of my personal business to uphold this MLM business.... and at the end of the year my income showed it. Practically 0 net. Like ZERO....nada....zilch. Do not pass go, do not collect $200.
I felt like a failure.
Not personally, but to my other peeps, my inner circle. Because I had traded in their empowerment and growth to essentially make a fast buck (still not the truth but that was what we were taught in this company)
And there I sat. 20 years as an entrepreneur, with so many successes and failures under my belt, with nothing more than lessons to show for it.
Well believe it or not peeps.... people PAY YOU to get the learning without the lesson. So instead of risking myself and my integrity building IN another network marketing company, I decided to help some friends BUILD THE FOUNDATION of their distributorships.... and teach them to build the solid community that I had learned to do, over and over again, as a wild and unique entrepreneur over the last 20 plus years of my life.
And guess what? It worked.
Better than you could imagine. I watched friend after friend reach new heights in current companies, switch out and find the right company for them.... all of them building teams based on their individuality and inner circle..... not on a product or service, but based on who they are, what kind of leader they were and why they were freaking doing this!
I taught people to build authentically. I taught them to KEEP their jobs. I taught them how to embrace their fears and make them work for them. I taught them how to build a team that feels needed and loved.
And I did it all in my OWN BUSINESS. And my personal income soared.
Because I could finally train my authentic unique business skills without the "leadership" breathing down my back calling out "you haven't earned that right" or "no one wants to hear your painful vulnerable story" or any freaking limiting belief these so-called leaders had that they tried to hold back real talent with. No one could pin me into the category of DOCTOR and either expect a goldmine of enrollments or pin me into the boring category of product expert (even though I love knowing cool stuff). And no one could pin my success on their jacket. Or deny my skills. Or ride my coattails. It simply was A Big Old Fat Truth there for them to see.
I built 5 and 6 figure network marketing businesses with my clients.... FROM THE OUTSIDE!
Because here is the truth about MLM.
People buy from you when they know, like and trust you.
But if they don't KNOW you, they don't TRUST you.
And if you aren't YOU in your business..... no one trusts you.
And in this industry, you are either fighting to copy and paste everything your leaders tell you.... or you are bucking the trend, making it freaking up and either wildly succeeding, or wildly failing.... You can piss off your "leadership"...and burn your own bridges, but if you don’t know what works and what doesn't, you’re burning the bridges before you cross them!
But I do know what works.
That's why I finally decided that my 20 years as an entrepreneur and BELIEF IN MYSELF was not worth trading in for a promise and a dream that depended on a company who may or may not be the next best thing.
The only gamble worth taking was on myself. And I am a sure bet. I never lose (I do however, learn from falling on my face occasionally)
And so I decided to spend my time, my money, my energy on MY BUSINESS. On my people and my inner circle of magic makers. Because they are a sure bet too. Network Marketing could wait. They would always be there.... and clearly they were NOT open to someone who was going to break down the box of their carefully crafted "pyramid" of leadership. This girl works in a circle, where everyone is equal, wanted and valued for their unique skill and reason for being there... not a freaking triangle!!!
So...... am I open to Network Marketing? Hell yeah, I love the concept, the ability to LEARN how to be an entrepreneur in a safe, learning place of growth. And yeah I love the ability to make BIG BIG MOOLA too... but at this point in my life, I'm dedicating myself to my peeps... to their growth and empowerment, their success and learning from falters, and to helping the figure out who they are and why they are special in this Sea of sameness.
Funny enough, those are the same skills it took for me to be a success in Network Marketing.... Who would have thought that little ol' me from this no-where town was really an entrepreneurial rockstar that was built to coach the Great Ones?
Income proves nothing peeps.
Your ability to grow Legends does.
Choose your path wisely, else you choose outer wealth over of inner wealth.
Love you ,
