JamaicaObserver.com:
Earning additional money has become a necessity for most people in these tough financial times. Gone are the days when persons could feel comfortable with a single source of income – for some people, a nine-to-five job has almost become an endangered species.
As people look for ways to supplement or replace their salaries, one business opportunity has risen to the forefront as a viable option. Network marketing, also called multi-level marketing (MLM), is now being seriously considered by many people as a route to starting their own business.
This alternative method of marketing products has been underutilised by many people due to their ignorance of how it operates. Direct selling simply allows consumers to benefit from buying or selling products straight from the manufacturers or large distributors. The money that would normally be paid to wholesalers, retail outlets and advertisers can now be passed on as commissions to the end users.
Over the years, the network marketing model has received a bad reputation due to the actions of pyramid scheme operators claiming to offer legitimate MLM opportunities. Pyramid schemes entice people to join them by offering a monetary reward for enrolling others into the programme, without any product or service being consumed.
To distinguish a viable network business opportunity from a pyramid scam, you have to ensure that the main source of the commissions is coming from the sales of the company’s offerings. If the plan offers impossibly high compensation payouts that are tied to pricey entry fees from new recruits, it may be a sign that the business is likely to be a non-sustainable operation.
The reality is that the multi-level rewards concept already exists in many organisations. Sales people earn commissions on their individual efforts, while their sales managers and their bosses also earn bonuses from the combined efforts of their teams.
Photo by DerrickT