MLM SUMMIT TRAINING BLOG

 Disillusioned Small Business Owner Turns To Internet MLM

Only To Discover The Closely Guarded Secrets Of

The Industry’s Top Producers!

My name is Andrew Smith and I haven’t always been so determined and focused on achieving financial success as an Entrepreneur! Actually, like most people, I used to be content studying, or working a day job (albeit never for very long!), whilst spending the little free-time that I had pursuing my hobbies and interests. I am a health and fitness enthusiast and in the past have particularly enjoyed competing in endurance events such as triathlons, duathlons and half marathons. I am also a keen martial artist and over the years have studied Judo, Muay Thai and a small amount of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, although I don’t think that the UFC will be inviting me there any time soon!

My first taste of being a small business owner was back in 2005. I had been working as a personal trainer for a large commercial gym and quickly realised that I wasn’t happy being told how to manage my clients by my boss. I had my clients’ best interests at heart, whereas the company I worked for were only really interested in the money they could make from them and me! Sound familiar?!

So, I left the gym after less than a year and set up a freelance personal training ‘business’ on my own. I use the term ‘business’ loosely, because being self-employed is not as rewarding as you might expect! If you run a one-man operation then all of the responsibility falls on you. If you are sick then you don’t get paid. If you take holidays then you don’t get paid. If your clients are sick or take holidays then you don’t get paid! You deal with all of the administration and finance, as well as the day-to-day running of the ‘business’. I’m sure you get my point! On top of this, I also became involved in events with the local council to encourage people to walk and cycle to work, increasing their level of physical activity. As a result, I ended up with very little time to myself!

Surprisingly, I no longer consider being self-employed to be the same thing as being a business owner, as in this instance the business owns you, not the other way round! To me, business is about leverage, time freedom and earning income regardless of whether you are in the office, or at your place of work. I now know which situation I would rather be in!

Needless to say, I didn’t work as a freelance personal trainer for long (a little over a year)! In fact, it was around this time that I was first introduced to home-based businesses and Network Marketing (A.K.A. MLM). I was approached by 2 young Entrepreneurs, Brian and Nick, who were home business owners. They contacted me because the company that they were working with was a nutrition and healthcare company, so as a personal trainer I was an ideal prospect!

You know how the saying goes: “When the student is ready, the teacher will appear” ? Well, Brian and Nick’s timing was perfect! I was dissatisfied in my work and had been considering my different options for some time. I was truly inspired by their passion and drive, which were characteristics that I had rarely seen in the people that I had known throughout my life. So, I was in the right place at the right time and I signed up!

This is where my journey really started. I began reading books on entrepreneurialism, success principles and personal development for the first time in my life and I just couldn’t get enough of it! What I was learning truly opened my eyes to what I was capable of and I decided that I would not sell myself short ever again! I guess you could say that Brian and Nick’s enthusiasm had rubbed off on me, as I began to see my life in a whole new light! Excuse the sentimentality, but I rarely see them now (only at the company’s International convention) and I am truly grateful that they helped to shape my future by setting me off on a new path!

I am no different from the vast majority of Network Marketers in that I started out in the industry by using the traditional word-of-mouth methods that most sponsors and uplines teach. Although I had some success using them, my efforts never seemed to duplicate down through my organization and I began to doubt whether the rewards were worth all of the effort I was putting in. At the time I thought that my downline didn’t want to succeed as badly as I did, but now I know that I had not developed into the leader that I needed to be to guide them successfully. Fortunately I was committed to personal growth and invested more time and energy to develop my potential as a leader.

So, perhaps you are wondering what I am doing now. Well, as a result of following the path that I chose for myself, I have developed a deep and lasting passion for helping to motivate and inspire people. My goal is to help more people to find their path in life, in the same way that my mentors have done for me. Sometimes the smallest nudge or intervention can have a profound and positive effect on a person’s life. I decided that I wanted to be the catalyst for that change, impacting the lives of people that I have the opportunity to work with. I am able to do this in a number of ways now, working as a Secondary School Mathematics teacher, as well as continuing to pursue my own potential as an Entrepreneur! Looking back, I have had to work hard to further myself, but I wouldn’t change a thing, as I am living the life I have chosen and am closer than ever to being the person I dream of being!

Today, I primarily focus on using Internet marketing strategies to build my Network Marketing business and I teach my team to do the same. The major advantage of using the Internet is that you can leverage your efforts by systemising the majority of your prospecting processes. In fact, our team now adopts a principle and strategy known as attraction marketing, which enables us to find the right kinds of people for our business without actively prospecting anyone (the system does that). This means that we can dedicate our time to developing relationships with enthusiastic, motivated, passionate people (like us!) and allow those who are interested in our opportunity or marketing strategy to take the necessary action steps to partner us.

Personally, these marketing strategies have enabled me to manage and build my business, committing no more than 3 hours per day. I have grown my business to the point where I have received a number of awards from my company and upline, as a top 20 sponsor (see company awards night pics above!) and I did this whilst training to teach Maths to young people! I realised that very few Associates in my company were familiar with Internet marketing strategies and I later came to realise that the same was true for most Network Marketers in other companies. Unfortunately, most sponsors don’t really understand the principles of attraction marketing enough to teach them!

As you have been reading through my story I hope that you have been able to relate my experiences, thoughts and feelings to your business and more importantly, your life. If you are looking to get the edge over the competition in your business, by positioning yourself as a leader and attracting the right kinds of partners into your organisation then please visit my ‘MLM Training’ page above.

Perhaps you are considering starting a Network Marketing business, or want a new company to represent and a new team to work with. If this is the case, please review the information on the ‘MLMS Team’ page above. If our business and system is right for you then you will find details on what to do next.

I thank you for taking the time to learn more about my life. Please do ‘Contact Me’ to share your story and to tell me more about your personal journey and future aspirations.

To your success!