Some people are positively afraid of network marketing. They think it means selling stuff that people don’t want, mostly to friends and family. But that is the perspective of people who have not taken it seriously as a business. In this world there are basically two ways of making a living– one is to work for somebody else, and the other is to work for oneself. In either case you are providing a product or a service. (Ever heard of a business that does not provide a product or a service?) In either case, in order for that business to thrive, people need to know about it. And that’s what marketing is all about. Network marketing is just one way for a business to sell its products or services.

The great thing about network marketing is that you are your own boss. You make the decisions for your business, you make your schedule, you reap your own rewards. But probably the best thing about network marketing is that it’s going to stretch you, challenge you, and make you grow! If you don’t want to stretch, be challenged, or grow– then it’s probably not for you. If you want to become the best person you can be, it’s a great place to learn how to do that. There is built in support in this industry for people to learn from each other–both in terms of skills needed, and in terms of mindset needed.

The proper mindset is absolutely essential to becoming a successful marketer. This is a mindset of believing in oneself, of persistence, of patience, of diligence, and of service. When you bring that kind of a mindset to your business you can be very successful. If you don’t have that mindset 100% but you think maybe it’s worth cultivating, then jump in! Take a leap of faith. See if you can fly!

There are a gazillion network marketing companies, so you want to choose one that feels good to you, with a product or service that you truly see the value in. You want to choose something you can actually be excited about. And you want to choose something where you can see yourself helping other people. Don’t jump into something impulsively, without doing the proper research. Also, be aware that as you do your research, you will always find something negative about every company out there. A lot of the negative stuff comes from people who have tried and failed. More often than not their failure is due to a lack of proper guidance or because they did not take their endeavor seriously as a business. Don’t get involved in any business without actually speaking to someone! This is a business of connection and communication and it may be a skill you need to develop yourself. The people who are successful are the ones who connect, communicate, and listen to the people they are serving– because truly, this is a service business.

Good luck!

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The day after Thanksgiving is referred to as “Black Friday” because it is the biggest shopping day of the year– the day the Christmas shopping season is considered to officially begin. This term, “Black Friday,” came as a surprise to me this year (where have I been?) Thinking about it now, I guess I’d heard it before, but not thought about it much. This year I wondered… why is it called “Black Friday?”

Where Does the Expression “Black Friday” Come From?

Looking it up, I found a couple of different explanations. Wikipedia says the expression started in Philadelphia in the 1960’s—when the police nicknamed the day after Thanksgiving “Black Friday” because of the incredible traffic jams as the stores began their Christmas shopping season. Apparently, bus drivers and store employees who were worked on that day also felt pretty “black” about that particular Friday.

It appears that retailers did not like the negative connotation of “Black Friday” and some time in the 1980’s an explanation was circulated to say that this was the beginning of the period where retailers would be “in the black” after operating “in the red” for most of the year (referring to the accounting practice where positive numbers (profits) were shown in black ink, and negative numbers (losses) were shown in red ink). Sales are heavily promoted by retailers on this day—stores like Best Buy, Circuit City, KB Toys, Kmart, Sears, Target, Toys R Us, and Walmart being only a few among the many. They offer “loss leaders,” and “door busters” to encourage shoppers to come in as early as 5 A.M.

Here are some of my thoughts about “Black Friday”…

• This year “Black Friday” became a tragedy in more than one case. In a Long Island, New York WalMart, a 34-year old temporary employee was trampled to death by shoppers as they charged the store to get in, and the “door buster” event was no longer just a figure of speech. Another tragedy happened in southern California, in a Palm Desert Toys R Us store, when two men shot each other to death inside the store. It isn’t known at this time whether this was gang related or whether the men were competing for a hot deal being offered by the store.
• We have become such a consumer society that holidays no longer mean what they used to mean. This consumerism means that so many of us measure our happiness by the material possessions we have, rather than what really counts—our relationships. We forget to be grateful for the abundance that we have, focusing instead on what we may lack. When we focus on what we lack, we create more unhappiness and frustration. By focusing on the abundance in our lives and feeling true gratitude we can actually have a better quality of life, even if we don’t own the newest electronic gadget. How many families are working harder to “get ahead,” and in so doing sacrificing quality time spent with each other?
• The media is constantly talking about “tough economic times” and those who have jobs are especially feeling the effects of this. Layoffs and business closings seem to be commonplace. Where there is challenge, however, there is also always opportunity. Those entrepreneurs who understand this find ways to think “out of the box,” and take advantage of trends which may seem to be negative.
• If people really want to take control of their own futures, they can make a decision to truly be responsible for what happens in their lives. They understand the “cash flow quadrant” concept discussed by Robert Kiyosaki—that employees have no financial leverage, and that business owners and investors do. Proactive people will begin to formulate dreams and plans on how to achieve them, and they will take action in that direction. One of the best ways to create financial independence is through your own home based business, and there are many businesses that you can join rather than starting one from scratch. It’s important to keep in mind that success is going to require determination, desire, action, and consistency and that “get-rich-quick” is not realistic.
• Americans have been spending more money than they make… we have a negative savings rate! There is no way to get ahead by spending more than you make. Easy credit has made this possible. In the past people paid for what they bought, with only a few exceptions—like for a house or a car. Now people use credit rather than cash, and the average household credit card debt is somewhere between $8,000 and $9,000, while the median household income is somewhere around $50,000. This can make for a pretty “black” situation, and our national government hasn’t exactly set a good example in the last several years.
• One of the “silver linings” of this tough economy is that many consumers are making a decision to pay cash for their holiday purchases, rather than use credit. That is the beginning of being financially responsible.