Is Living The Dream Just That: A Dream?

The ol' American Dream is actually more alive and possible than EVER now a days. With big corporations showing their true colors almost daily as to how little control we really have of our future as employees, coupled with the rise of the social media marketer…I truly think the opportunity is greater than it has ever been. AND it is VERY attainable via network marketing/direct sales. You just have to find the RIGHT company. I know I know, one of those things, but actually, it does work if YOU WORK. For reals. Don't believe me? Check out Facebook updates and see how many people are involved. This is no coincidence.

Still you may be wondering, is THAT the American Dream? Isn't “the dream” having your OWN company or business? Well, maybe so for some. Although keep in mind running your own business from the ground up can be pretty stressful. Not to mention pretty expensive. Network marketing provides you with sort of the best of both worlds: no boss, a supply chain already in place, no credit card fees and often no over head AND all the tax benefits of self employment!

I've always been an entrepreneur. Even with a full time job working for a Fortune 500 company, my passion was always about self empowerment and creating my own future and so I've always had a business I run on the side. I have done this quite successfully online utilizing my blog, social media and network marketing as a vehicle since 2005. Do beware that not all direct sales or network marketing companies are actually marketable online, or at all for that matter. Some are so strict about their party plan model that one cannot survive outside these activities (which by the way, if you love, then go for it!). Take Melaleuca for example, a great company with long term success, great quality products that work and are better for you than over the counter equivalents (agreed); But with a compensation plan, brand and business structure from the 80s! A customer can't just shop for what they want without being tied to a monthly contract, the reps can't advertise or market online and the compensation model does not pay you for your entire organization (this is pretty common of many network marketing companies). I've actually always said, if Melaleuca changed their customer monthly “requirements” to a more flexible and modern form of shopping they'd be golden! But hey, don't get me wrong, great company regardless, just not for me or for my customers. People now a days want to shop Amazon style! And so do I! I want that pricing, flexibility, quality of product and customer service and, of course PRIME BABY!

But What's Really Living The Dream then?

Well, the dream is to be independently wealthy right? The house, the yard, the dog, some kiddos…with sunshine maybe? Or I think really it is more to not have to be managed by someone and being told what to do all the time. The dream is to be able to provide comfortably for your family at the level you wish to be at. After all, it really isn't necessary to be a millionaire to live well. But in general, the dream is to be allowed to LIVE on your own terms, while respecting others and still contributing to society. We are each unique in that contribution and have all been put here to do something extraordinary! That's what I believe anyway!

Do understand that THE DREAM may BE a job for some people, or even having their OWN business! And if your job is YOUR DREAM (meaning, you LOVE IT!), then THAT'S YOUR DREAM! My point is that there are OTHER OPTIONS…

So, Then, Is “The Dream” Just A Pipe Dream?

It is very interesting to me how many people don't even consider entrepreneurship a realistic option. We all have engrained in our minds such an employee mentality of sorts that we just cannot imagine anything outside of that “box”. We are thrown into this world usually after high school and pretty much told to go find a JOB. And so we do. And by the time we are in our 20's we are deep in debt and can't figure out how we will survive without that paycheck to pay that debt. We pretty much train ourselves, and our children, to become DEPENDENT of that regular check. It works out for a lot of people…UNTIL IT DOESN'T. And many invest their ENTIRE lives working for someone else. And they go build someone else's dream. Or worse, they go work for a company that cuts them off without a thought at the first sign of a recession. That's because corporations truly only care about making money. And that's fine really. But more often than not, THIS IS NOT YOUR DREAM JOB, nor do they care.

I say why not spend your time building your OWN dream, or at least working towards it?

So Why Not At Least LOOK Into This Dream?

IF your dream is even remotely close to one day becoming self sustained (financially), then WHY NOT start looking into that now? Why not at least doing it part time, on the side, BUT ON PURPOSE, and see where this leads you? So many people start this way and turn their Plan B into their Plan A almost unexpectedly! It can work. The trick is to find something you enjoy doing every day and most importantly, something your customers want to keep ordering (some form of consumable). You don't need to create something new (unless of course you have an idea, then go for it). For most of us it can be something that doesn't require you or your customers to spend NEW money or to spend money on NEW things. No one really wants to introduce a new budget category into their lives. I have looked into several different industries in the last 10 years and without a shadow of a doubt, the ones that are easy to shop with, require no autoships from your client base and simulate every day shopping to Amazon experiences, THOSE are the ones! THIS is the next generation of entrepreneurship: direct sales meets social retail.

So, if you are ready to explore this possibility of, as they say “living the dream”, GET OUT THERE AND TALK to someone already doing this successfully in your network. I know you've seen plenty of posts from a couple of people. But seriously, find something with the points I mentioned above or you'll come face to face with resistance to contracts and inflexible autoships that no customer wants to commit to. Dig deep into what you really want to do and what you might be good at. If you don't want to do parties, do not look into a party sales company like Tupperware. If you hate to travel, don't be lured by the exotic trips that you will never take. On the other hand, if you enjoy social media, the internet, chatting with people online, then look for a company that is thriving online, something you can run and market on the internet! Even if they ALSO have a face to face model (after all this IS network marketing), that's ok, as long as their online marketing is in place. This is exactly what I do. You can check out my retail brand here and then shoot me an email so I can answer all your questions. I would even add you to our secret private Facebook community so you can be a fly on the wall and check things out from the inside (although this will require a conversation first. I don't just add anyone on there). But please, don't sit around thinking the dream is impossible! It is only impossible if you don't give it a chance!