As I think back on the “booming days” of 2005, I am refreshed by the thought of a thriving economy, smiling faces, good news and a very cushy life. 2005 was my best year ever, earning my first six figure income with the opportunity to pursue my life long dream of real estate investing.
I bought 3 properties that year, dumping thousands of dollars in cash into one of them, which was our primary residence. I just new that I would be able to turn things around and flip in a year or two, with the potential to make an easy $100k…………
December of 05 would be my best month yet. I had scored over $30k in commissions. Trying to be a wise duck, I invested it into what I thought was a “safe investment” (my home), little did I know what would lie ahead.
After December 05, my next closing wasn’t until May of 06. Fortunately, in the meantime, I had enough cash to last us for a while, covering two mortgages amongst several thousands of dollars in overhead. The pressure was on and the reality was setting in that the market was on a downturn, and property values were slowly decreasing. With that in mind, I quickly began seeking out other outlets to generate extra income to position myself for financial security, in hopes of avoiding a financial crisis.
Then along came a “business opportunity” that I just knew would be the answer to my financial worries. I jumped at the opportunity with overzealous excitement and began to tell the world about “my company”. I can’t lie, it was good, really good in the beginning. I was able to see a great response with tons of people joining along with me with just as much enthusiasm as I.
However, months into it…I realized that I was in over my head more than I realized financially. And no matter how much money I was making in my MLM, I still didn’t have enough to cover my excessive expenses. Panic was setting in as I saw that I couldn’t pay my $2500 mortgage much longer, or afford the nearly $2500 that came along with the maintenance of my house.
My total overhead was over $7000 A MONTH, and by the looks of it, as much as my MLM company was willing to pay me, I still had far too many mountains of debt that I couldn’t afford to pay….
Not to mention the “Attrition” and other challenges that I saw occur with my business. After a while, I realized that I was in over my head, and in order to save my marriage and protect my mental sanity, I realized that I needed to let some things go, including my pride, and FILE BANKRUPTCY!!
Nearly a year and a half later, I’m pleased to say that filing bankruptcy was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. With a newborn on the way, we were able to focus on creating a new life for our child with far less overhead and unnecessary responsibilities. Although I wanted to blame my MLM for being the cause of my situation, I came to the realization that it was actually a blessing and an amazing opportunity. But I was not positioned to take advantage of it because I had come in to the business with too much debt.
After sharing this with a friend the other day, he began to tell me how so many people have been faced with the same situation, jumping into MLM in hopes of it being their rescue boat from their financial sinking ship. I get those calls every day where people are desperate to HURRY UP AND MAKE MONEY, with MLM being their only option. If that is your story, I do not want to discourage you because MLM is truly an amazing opportunity to generate some quick cash……I’ve benefitied from the industry a great deal.
However, my point in sharing this story with you is to get you to realize a few things that you MUST DO, in order to really succeed in this industry while protecting your financial future:
1. MLM is only 1 source of income that you should be working on. Because it can take time to generate leads and a consistent base of income, it isn’t promised that you will make enough money to cover your household expenses. Therefore, YOU MUST FIND ADDITIONAL STREAMS OF INCOME!!!! …..which leads me to point #2
2. You Need A Funded Proposal! A funded proposal is a way for you to generate income online while building your MLM business. It solves the 2 basic problems that most network marketers have which are:
- Lack of Leads
- Lack of Money To Support Your MLM Business.
A Funded Proposal will allow you to make money through the use of Affiliate Programs where you will Make Money from the sell and marketing of other peoples products, while generating leads for your business. For more information click here.
3. If your overhead is really high from a lifestyle that you know you can no longer afford, DOWNSIZE!!!! I am not telling you to file bankruptcy…that is not my point of this message. I am however telling you that if you are trying to find a source of income that will replace your previous income IMMEDIATELY while triyng to maintain a lifestyle that you can honestly no longer maintain…..be willing to LET SOME THINGS GO…..otherwise, you will end up with a HUGE FINANCIAL HEADACHE, painfully putting way too much pressure on yourself as you slowly see your life roll down hill….TRUST ME…IT HAPPENED TO ME!
4. Find a mentor that will have your best interest in mind, and will be willing to guide you in the process of generating a consistent online income. This journey is very challenging and a bit overwhelming. It’s easy to tell you what to do, but the truth is, you need to be told “how to do it”. I host FREE WEBINARS every Monday night, to do just that. To be added to my list for Monday Night Webinars, Please join my mailing list so that we can make sure that you receive the best guidance possible on this journey!
It is with sincere hope that you learn from my mistakes. I have decided to be transparent and share my failures with others so that I can help them avoid repeating my mistakes. Although times are hard, we can be very wise and position ourselves for success. Money is still being spent, and people are still earning an honest comfortable income. If your ready to explore the SUCCESS SIDE OF THIS RECESSION…..sign up here!
