Introduction

I have long been a devil's advocate to those starting multi-level/network/direct marketing businesses.  I have been approached by those who know me well and those who hardly know me telling me I, too can start my own herbal remedy, long distance, weight loss, legal, water-purifying, nutritional supplements,...__________ (fill in the blank) company. I only needed some sign up money and as little as a few minutes a day to build my business into a corporate-job-replacing income stream that would allow me to walk to my mail box and collect checks in between my international travels. Whew!

I have taken the plunge a few times before. Both times I signed up to buy and sell products (and the business opportunity) that I use or wanted to use. I have been with Excel, a long-distance telephone company precursor to Sprint. I worked my butt off trying to explaining to people why I like my water filter and they would too. I am currently taking nutritional supplements that my doctor recommended, so I am a distributor for Shaklee, perhaps the finest vitamin company on the planet. I have never sold any Shaklee products, I joined to buy at "distributor cost". I only sold three water filters of my inventory of about a hundred. I did manage to sign people up for long distance service and made some money for me and for them before the company was absorbed by Sprint. So you can see why I am skeptical. Yet I have been intrigued by the potential offered via MLM/Network Marketing.

Since those early experiences, I have listened to many of my friends and family members try to convince me to "sign up under them" for this or that company. I have seen most of these same people wander from company to company. Ground floor to ground floor opportunity. I have always said something like: "If I don't already use it, plan to use it, or want to use the product, I probably wouldn't be interested in convincing others to use it either." I also dislike the techniques often used to offer their business opportunity. You know what they are: come to a meeting, I will build your business for you, yada yada yada. Until now.

I took the plunge again. I am now a Marketer for the Trump Network. Here is a link to my "personal web site". http://www.trumpnetwork.com/MBaldwin

Take a look and try to figure out why now, why Trump, and why me?

I will be chronicling on this blog my experience of setting up my own business via network marketing. I will be adding other companies I have reviewed and decided to join as well. So stay tuned. Tell your friends. Leave me your comments, horror stories, good stories, and suggestions.