Terms such as Network Marketing, 'MLM', and Multi Level Marketing
all refer to the same type of business model. This industry has
had more than it's share of scumbag crooks and con artists that
have used and abused the concept. However, if you do your
homework and get involved with a legitimate network marketing
organization, this business model has exceptional income
potential.

Network Marketing can produce outstanding results if you know a
few simple concepts, the understanding of which is critical to
your success.

Network Marketing, MLM, and Multilevel Marketing are unlike
franchises or conventional businesses in that they take advantage
of all three of the important, yet misunderstood principles of:

1) Leverage (of Time and Money)
2) Residual Income
3) Geometric Growth Through Duplication

Unfortunately these principles are not well understood by many of
the people that undertake network marketing. And that's just one
of many reasons why so many fail at network marketing. There are
lots of other reasons, and it would take volumes to cover them
all. But this is one of the more common ones. Because if you
don't comprehend and believe in these principles, it's impossible
to help others fully understand and appreciate them.

First, lets look at LEVERAGE:

Every successful person or business takes advantage of leverage.
There are only 24 hours in a day and no matter how talented you
are or how much you get paid per hour, if you don't take
advantage of leverage you're limited by the number of hours in a
day. As a side note, I have heard of cases where an occasional
lawyer was billing more than 24 hours per day...but, I guess
that's another story. By learning to leverage your time, you can
also benefit from a percentage of other people's efforts, and
dramatically increase your income while creating more free time
for yourself.

The unique and wonderful thing about the Network Marketing
business model is that everyone has the same opportunity to
become the 'owner' of his or her own business - with a fraction
of the investment of time and money of a franchise or traditional
business.

In network marketing the people at the top definitely have a
vested interest in helping others on their team succeed.

Would you rather receive 100% of one person's efforts, or 5% of
the efforts of 100 people?

Obviously 100% of one is always only ONE. But 5% of 100 is FIVE.

Not only will the total result with leverage almost always be
amplified, but your income is not dependent on only one person.
If your income is produced by the activities of many, it is much
more dependable. Even if something unexpected or negative happens
to one or more of those people, it only has a minor effect on the
TOTAL production.

It's great to get paid while you're sleeping or away on vacation.
That's one of the many advantages of leveraging your time.

Now, lets consider RESIDUAL INCOME:

When someone mentions residual income many people automatically
think of actors or musicians.

Residual income is recurring income that you continue to receive
long after the work you've done to produce it has ended. There
are lots of ways to produce residual income. However, many
people don't understand it, and still others have never thought
about or been exposed to it.

A very simple example of residual income is interest earned on
money in the bank or investments. You continue to receive this
income without having to invest any more time to produce it.

Suppose you had the choice of doing a job and earning $1,000
once, or getting paid $50/month for the rest of your life...which
would you choose? If you chose the $50/month you obviously "get"
the concept of residual income.

Clearly, $50/month will surpass a single payment of $1,000
relatively quickly. And if it lasts for a few years, or better
yet - the rest of your life - it will really be a blessing.

Residual income is certainly not about "getting rich quickly",
even though with the right opportunity it's possible to produce a
substantial residual income stream in a relatively short time.

Most people who fail at network marketing either choose the wrong
network organization or just give up too soon and quit because
they expect overnight results. It is important to recognize that
the real beauty of residual income is on the back end, not the
front, and that once you build it you have the financial security
and time flexibility to do just about anything you desire for the
rest of your life!

Last, but not least, lets address GEOMETRIC GROWTH (DUPLICATION):

The classic illustration of geometric growth is the frequently
used penny-a-day example.If you save one penny on the first day,
and double it every successive day, (day two you have 2 pennies
and day three you have 4 pennies, and so on) how much will you
have at the end of 30 days?

The answer, to the astonishment of many, is $5,368,708! Amazing,
but true.

That's a simple and dramatic illustration of how networking can
work. If I can teach you, I've doubled myself. If we each teach
someone else, we've doubled again. As this duplication or
geometric growth process goes on and on, it can produce some
amazing results in a relatively short period of time, just like
the penny example above.

So there you have it, understand and apply these three principles
1) Leverage (of Time and Money)
2) Residual Income
3) Geometric Growth Through Duplication

and, given sufficient time and effort, you should enjoy a
successful and financially rewarding network marketing
experience.


About the Author
Kirk Bannerman operates a successful home based business and
coaches others seeking to start their own home based business. Visit his website at Legitimate Home Based Business for more details.