The Career Path Less Traveled

I’m going to mix it up a little today. We’re going to talk about business. All I ask is that you keep an open mind, even if your opinion is different. There are some things I want to shed a little light on because I truly want to encourage a new understanding. I share from a place of experience and the desire to help educate. Who knows, you might even be able to take what you learn here and apply it in the real world with actual people in your life. 

To kick this off, can we all agree that starting anything new is a bit make-you-want-to-puke exciting, a little oh-my-gosh-what-have-I-done scary and have-I-made-the-right-decision nerve wracking? I’ve been through it personally and also a witness to the decision making process. I know it can be hard. There is enough self doubt living in the head of an entrepreneur that they don’t need the peanut gallery weighing in (unasked) with their opinions and stories about their “friend of a friend’s cousin” that did something like this and quit after putting themselves millions of dollars in debt. Or at least that’s what you heard. And if you heard it somewhere from someone it must be true, right?

Friends, today we are going to talk about starting a business. While some of this will apply to the traditional types of businesses (including catering, photography, homemade stuff, etc), I really want to hone in on the network marketing or social marketing (NWM/SM is how I’ll refer to it going forward here) industry. For those that are unfamiliar with it, it is a popular business model that moves products through a network of independent sales reps and removes the need for the typical marketing and sales distribution channels. These brands aren’t typically sold in stores. The substantial amount of money that these companies would normally spend in these areas instead goes into product research and development and it allows for excellent compensation and benefits to their independent business partners. I should also mention that these are attractive to so many because of the low start-up costs and the unlimited earning potential. You don’t need a cool million in liquid assets to get started and there is literally no income cap so you can build it as big as you choose.

When your friend starts a NWM/SM business, why do you get so weird about it? I’m sure you’ve seen the Kermit The Frog meme online where he’s sipping a cup of tea and it says: ‘I got the JOB!’ 264 likes and 74 comments. ‘I started my own business!’ 7 likes and 3 comments. I’d laugh about it if it didn’t make me so sad. By and large, people will support random overpaid celebrities instead of buying a product from their friend. Obviously Kylee Jenner deserves your spending dollars to pad her billion dollar bank account more than the friend you’ve know since grade school that’s just trying to provide some financial support to her household. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve got a ton of respect for all business owners (big and small), I just think it’s important to note that you say a lot with where you spend your money. Your friend isn’t expecting you to spend all your money and buy one of everything, but if they have a product that is a better version than something you’re currently buying from MAC or Walmart or Sephora or Safeway or wherever, consider switching your brand. I can almost guarantee you’re getting a better product AND you’re supporting a small business that actually values your business instead of a corporation that barely pays their people a living wage #justsaying. Does that mean you may drop a few extra bucks? Maybe, but the act will make a huge difference to your friend. And Starbucks and Tim Hortons will survive you skipping their drive-thru for a couple days.

Your friend is excited about their business and that’s a great thing. They may be excited enough to ask you to take a look at it. I promise you that this is done with love, respect and the fact that they want all the things for you that they want for themselves. I will be the first to admit that some reach outs can be rather…icky…but I do believe they are trying their best and they are LEARNING. It it ok to say no, but please don’t pretend like you don’t see the message they sent you. That makes the follow up weird and awkward and it ends up becoming the elephant in the room. As in most spaces in life, most misunderstandings can be avoided with open and honest communication. 

Why are some so set on the ideals that the only way to be “successful” in life is to spend your days, weeks, months and years working to build someone else’s dreams? There’s the saying that you work 40 hours a week (outdated model btw) for 40 years to retire on 40% of your salary. Boo. When I think about that, all that comes to mind is my Papa. He worked hard his entire life and (thankfully) he and my Nana were able to retire a little earlier than most so they had some really great years of Snowbird living before dementia and Alzheimers took over. Is that really all you want for your future? To spend so much of your present days looking wistfully at a someday retirement to start enjoying your life?

These days, staying with one company for an entire career is rare. Some call it being loyal or even taking the stable, secure road. I’m here for loyalty and security, however I want you to consider this: when it comes to budget and position cuts, is your company loyal to you or to their bottom line? Is your job truly secure, considering you’re not the person at the top making the decisions? I want you to really let it sink in that if you are trading your time for money and you are not the one calling the shots, you are 100% replaceable. 

As an example, if I had died during my corporate career at my last company, they likely would have sent flowers or a card or a token of condolence to my family. But it’s pretty likely that my job would have been posted by the end of the week with another ass in my chair before the month was up. In my current choice of career, I can actually will my business to my family. That means, all the time and effort I’ve put in will still matter. It will continue to support my family even after I’m gone. That, my friends, is loyalty and security to me.

We are living in a time where having multiple streams of income is a BENEFIT. If calling it an income stream hits your ear funny, then call it another job. Call it whatever you want. Maybe it means that you can invest some extra cash, pay down debt faster or take that dream vacation sooner than you planned. It’s never a bad idea to have a little extra padding in the accounts. 

Let’s talk about supporting local. I love doing that because it keeps money and supports businesses in my community and I’m sure you do too. So what does “Support Local Business” mean to you? To me, a business is a business. Online, brick and mortar, from your craft room or kitchen table. So what is the difference between supporting a local store front business, a home-run/hand-made business or a neighbor’s NWM/SM business. All are owned by people in your area, but a lot of people won’t shop from all types and I find it both mystifying and disappointing and I really want to understand. Drop a comment below if you can clear that up for me. Regardless, my rule of thumb is to do business with people that do business with me and that alone keeps my shopping circle small. I’ve had a lot of people over the years give me such shit about my business and then some of those same people start a side gig and expect me to go all in with them. Friends, that’s not how it works. Consider this a little foresight: don’t burn a bridge you may need cross in the future. 

The last thing I want to clear up is sharing your experiences. We live in a world full of keyboard warriors and I hope you’re not one of them. Like I tell my kids, if you wouldn’t say it to someone’s face you shouldn’t type it in a message or a google review. When someone has a shitty experience with a clerk, call centre agent, barista, etc, they head to social media start a complete bitchfest. Sometimes you just need to blow off a little steam, right? People join in, virtual support makes everyone feel better and THEY MOVE ON. They continue to be patrons of the companies that piss them off. Well, it’s an employee that pissed them off so it’s not the company’s fault. Right? So why is it when someone has a less-than-stellar experience with a NWM/SM rep, the individual, the company AND the industry gets a black mark? Please, for the love of everything, don’t lump everyone together. One bad experience does not mean the industry is a scheme or that it’s out to get you. One less-than-perfect exchange doesn’t mean it’s all shit. Just like standard businesses and the people that work in those spaces, not everyone is created equally and therefore not all customer service interactions are equal. Not everyone decides to treat what they do as a business and that’s ok. I’ve found that the people who are serious about what they do will go above and beyond to make you, their customer, happy. These folks will work hard for your purchase and loyalty because they want you to be happy and continue to be a customer. And they know when people are happy, they recommend the things they love.

At the end of the day you are welcome to all your feelings, but I truly hope you use the information I’ve shared as a starting point to educate yourself on this business model and industry. Stop calling it a pyramid scheme because you don’t understand it because, honestly, it just makes you sound ignorant and ignorance is a choice. If you have questions, ask them. Clarity brings understanding. 

I’ll leave you with this: There are some that will always believe that this line of work is crazy and a complete scam. Imagine how crazy it is waiting a whole year for a 50¢ raise.