Don't
Get Left on the 'Ground Floor'
Author: Joe Bingham
That REALLY makes
sense when it comes to business. Say I join up on a 'once in a lifetime
opportunity' and it only lasts for 3 months. Well, I plan on living a LOT
longer than 3 months, so unless the 'once in a lifetime opportunity' nets me
about $10 MILLION a month for those 3 months, I think I'll pass.
We all hear all the time about how it's the 'Opportunity of a Lifetime' to get
in on the 'Ground Floor'. Well, I don't know if it will be the opportunity of
a lifetime or not, but isn't 'Ground Floor' just sort of a nice way of saying
'Unproven'?
I heard a statistic the other day that says only 10% of Internet businesses
last beyond the 2 year mark. That's hardly a lifetime. Personally, I think
that number is very optimistic, too. I'll bet less than 10% of Internet
businesses last more than ONE year, at least in Internet marketing circles.
So, unless your willing to move your 'Ground Floor' every 3-6 months, you'd
better choose carefully.
What most Internet marketers fail to realize is that being in on the 'Ground
Floor' is NOT what makes an opportunity a good one. What's more important to
starting a successful business is the EXPANDABILITY of the company's market.
I heard a good example at a meeting a couple of nights ago. How many of you
would like to get in to selling 8 track tapes? Come on, the market for 8
tracks used to be HUGE! It was a multi-million dollar market at one time. Of
course, we all know that market is dead now, right?
So, if an MLM called "8 Track Mania" wants you to spend $49 to join
up and market with them, you'll politely shoo them away and suggest they do
some research on a silly little item know as a Compact Disc, won't you?
On the other hand, if a company that did over $600 MILLION worth of business
in North America last year explained to you that their name is only
recognizable by 2% of their potential market, would you be more inclined to
pay them $49 for the opportunity to market for them?
That one makes more sense, huh? The second opportunity has a lot more room for
growth, and that is what counts.
All of us in Internet marketing were lured here by one of two concepts. One,
get rich quick, or two, lifetime residual income.
Get rich quick doesn't happen. Give it up. Turn off your Internet access and
use the money to buy lottery tickets. You'll have a better chance that way.
Lifetime residual income, however, CAN be attained, but not by flighty little
affiliate programs that only stick around for a few years at best. For
example, most Internet affiliate programs sell marketing information. That
information, however, is subject to constant change. As markets change, and
they do, so do the tactics necessary for successful marketing in them. How
then, do you make a lifetime residual income from a program that no longer
sells, and therefore no longer sends you paychecks?
So, once again, either you move your 'Ground Floor' every 3-6 months or you're
out of the money. But how is that going to make you lifetime residual income
if you're always starting over on building a new network?
So what do you as a part-time, or even full-time, Internet marketer do?
Well, unless you've got 12 years of business education and experience that
will allow you to correctly evaluate start-up businesses that want you in on
their 'Ground Floor', I'd suggest you do the following.
Market for an ESTABLISHED company with an EXPANDABLE market.
Your job in an MLM is promotion. You're not in charge of product development,
or anything else, you're job is simply marketing and sales.
What you need, then, is an expandable market that can provide enough room for
growth for your organization with the goal of creating a large enough downline
to provide you with a true lifetime residual income. However, this can only be
accomplished if the company and it's products last for as long as your
lifetime.
It's that simple. Don't fall through the cracks of a Ground Floor. Look at
where a company is going as well as where it's been. Examine it's potential
market and look at its rate of growth. Think about the industry you will be
in, the size of your potential market, and the growth potential.
Building a sizable downline network that can provide true residual income is
hard enough. Why jump from company to company and have to do it more than
once?
About the author:
Joe Bingham, Editor of the NetPlay Newsletters Subscribe to One 3 Quality
NetPlay Ezines.