It’s funny how all my network marketing friends are touting what a great time it is to be in the industry. From personal experience, I have found that network marketing does much worse in bad economic times, but usually only early on (within the first year of a recession). I’m basing this on when I first started in the industry in 2004 my worst years in the industry were from 2008 to around the beginning of 2010 (the worst and longest recession since the Great Depression). Here is why I believe it is not a good time to get involved in the industry at least not from an opportunity perspective. When you have high unemployment and especially a worldwide government shutdown (something none of us has experienced in our lifetimes) you lose the backbone of network marketing (the 9 to 5 folks who are dependent on a paycheck who fuel the industry). They are the ones paying your monthly auto ships and allowing you to make most of your money from the commissions of sales of your product/services. I think that it will be a much better time to join and get started in 3 to 6 months following all the government shutdowns from the coronavirus when people realize that we are not all going to die.
You would think because more people are available to join at the moment, that business would be booming, but if people don’t have accessible money to participate it eliminates people joining and staying in your business. You wouldn’t open a business without being properly funded no matter how much it costs? Everyone thinking of joining a network marketing company must-have enough disposable money to pay for their product/service, and on-going marketing expenses (this is not employment or a job). Think of it more like being a realtor, you will need money to live on and support your business while you are building the business (no different if you were a realtor with Century21, Harcourts, or Remax Realty Companies). You need to really understand that this is a business and not a job. If you need immediate cash flow, you will be much better off doing instacart, Door Dash, Wag, Uber, or selling items in your home on eBay or any of the other gig type jobs that pay out daily or weekly. So look at your bank account. If you don’t have at least enough money in the bank to build your business for 90 days (products, services, and income coming in to pay your living expenses) you’re not in a position to do network marketing or really any business for that matter unless you want to gamble and take out a loan (highly don’t recommend and unless you have successful previous experience). Also, you will struggle in network marketing if you don’t already have previous sales, marketing or business experience. You get paid to only really do 2 things in network marketing – sell products, services, and recruit others to duplicate you as a distributor which will require the ability to be persuasive when you talk to others.
I’m not saying it’s not possible to do network marketing in the middle of a worldwide pandemic and pending recession – it’s probably just not the best time to get started. Honestly, having never built a network marketing company in the middle of a pandemic and government shutdown – I’m not even sure if it’s possible. If you don’t have any of the above-mentioned skills or you are new to the business you might be better served by just becoming a customer with a company with products you love and slowly in your spare time begin referring others to your business as you begin to have a good experience with the products/services.
With that being said I think network marketing will always be a good option for certain types of individuals and it’s still one of the best ways I have ever found over the years to create passive residual income, but unfortunately, it’s not as easy as it appears and sometimes timing the launch of your business will be pivotal to your success.
If you would like to partner and work with someone who has been in the industry and been at the top of more than a few companies feel free to reach out to me. I pretty much just tell it like it is john@johnlowery.biz