Have you ever sat there just wondering what might have happened if you would have done one thing or another different? Have you ever asked yourself the question, “What if?” What if I would have gone out for football when I was a senior? What if I hadn’t injured my knees my junior year in basketball? What if I had started that business I was thinking about starting a while back? The questions could go on and on and if you are a normal person, you have asked yourself similar questions throughout your life.

Now, in a sense, these questions can also be considered as mild regrets. It’s not that your life would have been completely different with some of the choices you wonder about, but with others, your life would be on a completely different track. So are all choices important? Absolutely they are, and it kills me to see people who are so undecided when faced with a choice to act. Indecision is still a decision not to act. If a person never acts, they become victims to the term, “Whatever happens, happens!” They are not in control of where they end up.

Now for me, I love being in control. In fact, I spend time every day to visualize my life in the near and distant future. I know exactly where I am going to end up. I devote time to knowing where I will be. Then I choose to act on the things that will move me closer to where I already know I am going to be. It’s simple really and just a matter of knowing.

This question can also be used in direct correlation to fear. What if I fail at this new business, what if I make the wrong decision, what if everybody hates the way I sing, what if nobody likes the subjects I blog about. I read a quote yesterday from Dr. Seuss that read, “Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.”

My goal is to have the lowest amount of, “What if’s” in my life. If you think about the path you have traveled in your life up to this point, how would it be different if you had made some different decisions? What if you would have married that other girl, what if you had gone out for sports, what if you had chosen a different major, or what if you had started that business when you had wanted to? Your life would be on a different path, a worse path or may even a better path.

Here’s my advice, make your decisions, and make them quickly. Success is all about momentum. Don’t waste away your precious time thinking about things. That will only kill your momentum and thinking will not get you anywhere. Acting on those thoughts is the secret.

Be decided, always. You are either on one side of the fence or the other. There is no middle. Indecision is a decision not to act, thus staying on your current path of being tossed to a fro by the wind of life. Decisions are the rudders on your ship. Use them to chart your course to your predetermined, premeditated destination. Don’t be the one sitting around months or even years from now asking yourself the question, “What if!”

I know this may sound crazy but I love to run. I love to wake up in the morning when the air is still cool, put on my running shoes, head out the door and run 2 or 3 miles. It allows me some time to improve my physical health while giving me some time to also think. At the end of a run, I am completely exhausted yet completely fulfilled. While thinking I get clear on my goals, more passionate about my enterprise and extremely grateful for what I have in my life.

If you would have met me 10 years ago, I hated to run. I was always running, but while playing basketball in school or during track or football. It was for a purpose and I was somewhat forced to do it.

I think the military taught me the benefits of a good run. I was still forced to do it but as my lungs adjusted to the long 5 to 6 mile runs, I started to enjoy running because of what it taught me about myself and about my life.

When you first start running it seems as though you will never reach the end. Sometimes it seems as though your lungs will explode or you will pass out on the side of the road and find yourself waking up to a bunch of concerned strangers. The beginning is always the toughest. But as your lungs get used to it, you start to understand that once that fatigue, or that burning feeling comes, by pushing forward, it goes away and you get your second wind.

I learned that I could actually control my breathing and bring my heart rate down to a level that was more comfortable and that didn’t seem as though I was gasping for air. I learned how to press forward, even when times get rough, or hard. I also learned that at times, especially when climbing big hills that it is easier to take smaller “consistent” strides rather than trying to sprint up the hill. I also know that for me, it is easier to sprint at the end of my run rather than maintain the same speed, especially if there is a small hill.

I went from barely passing PT tests in the Army to maxing them out in push-ups, sit-ups and the 2 mile run. Most people give up early in the 2 mile run by slowing down because it hurts a little, or it gets too hard.

The funny thing about the pains involved in running is that after the first few times, it’s all in your head. Give up and you may never enjoy running. Push through by being consistent and running 3 or 4 miles will be like a walk in the park.

The same applies to every business, most of the difficulty is all in your head. It is consistent action, whether large or small, taken daily that produces the best results. You must learn to always press forward, even when things seem difficult. Learn to enjoy the journey and love what you do and pretty soon, it will be a walk in the park!

Allow me to define something for you to preface this post. Those who operate their business, their life or their actions by what others say you can or cannot do, will always be like the others and will never excel. Now, if your actions are governed by your own rules, you will be whoever you want to create.

Don’t ever live your life by what others tell you that you can or cannot do. Living by everyone else’s rules will land you right where everyone else is. There is always someone out there that is going to try to dictate what you do. That person can be a relative, a friend, a colleague or even a complete stranger. Who appointed that person to the status that would give them authority to rule your life. Nobody has that status other than you. You dictate you. Most rules in this world are just made up, unwritten, unenforced or not even enforceable by law!

Example: In your home based business you decide to do some marketing by putting fliers on cars throughout a mall parking lot. Up comes a security guard that tells you it cannot be done and tells you to go and pick them all back up. What do you do?

Answer: Whatever the heck you want to do! Is he going to call the police? Is he going to beat you up? Is he going to yell at you? What can he do to you? The answer….nothing.

Do Business like a Rhino

A Rhino doesn’t stop and ask everyone else around if he can run through their area, he  just does it. Cattle, or the ones that live by everyone else’s rules, are the ones that would be deterred. Be a Rhino, not a cow in the midst of the heard of cattle! The cattle are the ones that are afraid to test the integrity of the little bit of wire or the sticks that keep them corralled. Take a look at the picture of the Rhino. Do you think a little bit of wire or a few boards are going to stop him? No! Then don’t let a few comments, a silly so called “rule” or anything else deter you from your goals of success! Be the Rhino!

I had a conversation today that inspired me to write this post. The conversation was not a very successful conversation as the person on the other end of the line seemed to think that Network Marketing was a ridiculous business to be involved in. I asked him if he was a business owner and he said that he was. The conversation was very short, and to the point. He seemed to thing that my business in Network Marketing, was not a very reputable business.

So, I would like to do a comparison of the Traditional style business versus a Network Marketing business in Direct Sales. So here we go!

Let’s start with a traditional business, or a brick and mortar type of setup that has a boss, employees, health plan and all that jazz. First off, I would like to get something straight, this type of business is set up just like an ant colony. All the worker ants support the queen by bringing her food, building her home and providing protection. The boss/owner of an enterprise is the one that obviously makes the most money. Who makes that money for him, his workers. These types of businesses obviously offer a valuable product or service for it’s customers but only the owner makes a real profit. Now I could go into this a lot deeper but we know that the employees aren’t the ones making the most money. Employees struggle to make ends meet. They definitely don’t flourish and what does this do? It makes them more dependent and they are paid the minimum wage possible for their work. The minimum! So we can safely say that the boss, is the profitable one.

The product or service offered obviously varies and can make others money depending on what it is, but usually, the customer does not profit monetarily from your product. They just give their money in exchange for the item or service of value and that’s it.

Now, Network Marketing. Most people in this world will automatically think of MLM when they hear “Network Marketing.” I am speaking of Direct Sales, which is much more lucrative and on more of a level playing field for all involved. In this type of business, which most people call a Home Based Business, the owners of the company still profit the most, which is standard with most businesses, but Network Marketing companies are designed to profit others monetarily instead of just themselves. They provide a product or service of value to the customer attached to a lucrative business opportunity. Network Marketing can be classified as a group of Entrepreneurs working together to market a specific product or service as independent contractors. So instead of being paid employees, they are independent business owners usually paid through commission when a product is sold.

Now this is where the huge difference is between this business model and the traditional one, the independent business owner makes nearly 60% of the total sale as commission! As far as my experience goes, no other traditional style company offers employees that type of a payout. They are usually paid a wage and a small percentage of their sales volume.

Network Marketing is a leadership factory. It teaches, trains and often times is a stepping stone for Entrepreneurs moving on to bigger things, but the basis for their success was learned while in Network Marketing. Donald Trump said that if he had to start from scratch all over again, he would start in Network Marketing. There is so much potential in this type of business model, which obviously most people don’t realize. Every new associate or independent business owner has the same income potential, regardless of the experience, education, or employers point of view. Their level of income is dependent on their own ability to create it. There is a product in place, a system to show you how to do the business and others who have gone before you to mentor you. I don’t know an easier way!

I absolutely love Network Marketing. It allows people complete freedom….time freedom, Financial Freedom and the lifestyle of their choosing. It empowers people to realize their own greatness instead of making them work for the minimum at great sacrifice to their home life. It is a curse and a plague for those who misunderstand it and fail at it but a jewel for those who dicover it and succeed at it. It is definitely not meant for everyone but everyone is welcome. The possibilities are endless and in my opinion, Network Marketing is the business model of the future.

We all know there are only 24 hours in a day. We all get those same 24 hours to do as we please with. Now we know that 7-8 of those hours are already spoken for by sleep. So really, for traditional type businesses, you only have around 16 hours a day. Well, this is only true for business opportunities that require your time.

For example, as a chiropractor, you now that you can get through 4 patients in a one hour period. At $50 each, that is about $200/hr. Now, assuming that a chiropractor has his schedule packed, he can make around $1400 a day with an 8 hour day and a lunch break. That sounds like a great income for most people right? But can the chiropractor make any more than $1400 in an 8 hour day of work? No! Not unless he applies a little more leverage into his business, which, requires hiring more chiropractors to work for him. Pay these other chiropractors $30/hr of the $50 and pocket the $20 for the extra hours. Pack the entire day with enough patients for two chiropractors and instead of making only $200/hr he is now making $280/hr. If the supply is there, this would be ideal leverage.

Now, let’s look at a different business model in Direct Sales. Know that Direct Sales pays you directly. When you make a sale, you make the profit right up front. So initially you make money. Let’s say you have a product with a $1000 commission connected to it. Make ten sales in a month and you have yourself a $10,000 monthly income and a 6 figure annual income. But in order for you to do that, you must give 60 sales pitches a week that are approximately 30 minutes in length, market your product and make trips to the bank. All of this takes time right? So you are looking at a 50+ hour work week!

So let’s add leverage to this business model. There are a few ways to do this and you will see that it will significantly increase your profits far beyond that of the chiropractors and most doctors with the same amount of sales volume. Create a system around your product so that others can market it as well. By doing so, you will mentor them and teach them to duplicate your results. In the process, you get their first two sales. So by making 10  sales a month, in a perfect scenario, you would get a minimum of 20 additional sales. This would keep duplicating as those 20 turned over to you their first two sales as well. This is endless! Leverage!

Also, throw in a few higher end products in the mix that end up being add-on sales. By saying add-on sales I mean products that add to your first product! Make these higher ticket items. So let’s say you have a $5,000 and $8,000 commission on these other two products and at minimum, 30% of your customers who purchased your first product end up purchasing your second and third products.

Let’s do the math.

• Ten sales a month at $1000 equals $120,000 a year. Let’s say this 10 include a few turn-over sales.
• 30% of those 120 sales will purchase the second product at $5,000 each equaling $180,000.
• Also, 30% of the 120 will purchase the third product at $8,000 each equaling $288,000.
• Total = $588,000!

To save on your time, have someone else do the sales pitch for you on one call a day and schedule all of your potential customers to that one call to cut your work hours down to around 20-30 hours a week, maximum! Imagine what your income would be if your conversion from the first product to the second and third increased to just 50%. That is a significant multiple 6 figure increase!

Now if you were wondering how you could make a multiple 6 figure to a 7 figure income working just 20 hours a week, you now know! But how many of you, even though this is all laid out for you, will shrug your shoulders and stay with what is comfortable to you? How many of you will settle for a paycheck or an 80 hour work week?

The answer: Almost all of you!

Looking to start a home based business? Is this your first time or have you tried something in the past?
Did it work for you? If so, what happened and why are you looking again? How do you know if you have found a home based business that is going to be profitable for you? How do you know if it is actually going to work before you jump into it? How can you know that you will do all that it takes to create the success you desire through this new home business of yours?

Here is an interesting fact: Thousands of people start a home based business every single day! Thousands! That is a huge number. How many of them actually experience the success they desire? How many of them can actually make a living at what they do? To tell you the truth, I have no idea what the actual stats are, but I can tell you that most home business owners are not able to support themselves without some other source of income. Many people quit before they even get into profit and this isn’t just true for a home based business, this is true for all businesses.

The only way to fail, in a home based business, is to quit. Why, because you can do it on your own time. You can work the business around your schedule until you are profitable. But, there are traits to look for in finding a successful home based business opportunity to start. Allow me give you some guidance:

1. Who is paid first, you or the wholesale company? Make sure it is you!
2. Do you have to stock inventory or pre-purchase your product? Make sure this one is a big fat no! There are home businesses out there that will ship, stock, do customer service for you and all you do is collect the profit!
3. Is it MLM? Now this is up to you, but know this, those you assist in signing up into the business will never make as much money as you do. Normally, the commissions are small, you have to stock and warehouse products and you have monthly quotas to meet. However, they are residual.
4. Are you choosing your home business to have the product or to make some money? Please, please, please say to make money! You go into business to make money. The product is the way to make money and most products are outstanding. Keep your focus!
5. Large commissions! Do you want to sell your product to half the world before you are profitable or would you like to do less work, sell a few, and make more money. Enough said!
6. SYSTEM! Is there a turnkey system in place that you can follow? This is a must. More people fail when there is no system to follow!
7. Look for the success the business opportunity has had. This is a big one. If you are looking for fault, you are sure to find it, even in paradise! Every, I repeat, every successful business has someone talking negative about it or trying to get a freebie. I mean Walmart is sued every half hour! DO NOT base your decision to get started in or not to get started in a business because of what people say in negativity forums. There are two classes of people who fail, those who fail and blame others and those who fail and take personal responsibility for their own actions. The ones who blame others are the comments you read on forums! The ones who take personal responsibility will one day succeed and the ones who are successful, are the ones still working their home business. Talk to two or more of them and ignore the failures.
8. Go on your “gut feeling.” The best way to make a decision is by following your heart! The head will just get in the way. Starting a business is about chance, confidence in yourself, and risk. You can’t rely on logic for that. It is about you! Can you succeed? Do your research and jump in with both feet!

Home based businesses are creating millionaires and there is no difference between you and those who have  already done it. Well, I guess there is one, time!