Why I Believe All Mothers Deserve to be Accurately Informed about Network Marketing

With my priority of “mom always and business as much as I can,” I found it possible and even helpful to include a home-based, network marketing business as a new mother. It gave me something productive and meaningful to do in my scarce “me time” and a way to serve those around me.

I once had a young woman challenge network marketing as a business model. After responding graciously to her derogatory comments, her misinformed perspective became a catalyst for great gratitude that someone had previously shared with me in the ins and outs of the network marketing business.

I was new to the area at the time and still putting my feelers out to get a pulse on who might be interested in what I have to offer: Quality health and wellness products for busy lifestyles.

When I reached out to her in my typical, deferential fashion, giving her an easy out and then adding a “no pressure!:)” at the end. What I meant most sincerely was met with her harsh criticism.

I welcomed her feedback, but this is what I received:

“These things” (Network marketing businesses) just take advantage of naive women without business experience, sell them an impossible dream, and make them a nuisance to others.”

In this piece, I will respond to those misperceptions with my decade of experience within network marketing and now perspective of a mother.

As a mom at home with a toddler, we have little time available for work purposes, although I don’t want to fall into the trap of leaning on that as an excuse. Rather, I reframed the possibilities and realities of motherhood to leverage the little time I have to look for profitable opportunities. Personally, a profitable opportunity means something that doesn’t require me to work on an hourly basis at an office on someone else’s schedule.

My life as a mother who does not employ daycare services is not conducive to an hourly wage business model, nor is it conducive to a salaried position that is also, at the end of the day, based on hours worked between 9am and 5pm.

I use my time efficiently, and trust me: When my toddler is happily playing, I am chatting and interacting with him while doing the laundry, meal prepping, cleaning, or doing any number of tasks. For me, it is simple. I work while he plays and I often (not always) feel satisfied by how much I am able to accomplish that way.

Side note: Check this out for my favorite day-mapping planner!

Then, during nap times, I squeeze anything in that requires focus and intentional thought. It’s not much time for meaningful work, but it is making the best of the time I have.

Enter: Network Marketing.

First, I needed a business model that would work in my limited mom timeframe.

In my 10 years of experience working in network marketing, my work has not distracted me from achieving straight-A grades in college, getting married, packing for multiple moves, carrying and delivering a baby, and then the most challenging chapter of them all when caring for a baby.

I didn’t have to take “maternity leave”, because my network of customers ordered online what and when they wanted, while I kept 99% of my focus on my newborn.

As I adjusted to “Mom,” my business adjusted with me.

Funny enough, I actually experienced far more growth in my business within my first year of motherhood than any year five years prior and I had never had less time in a given day to be productive in my entire life. I laugh thinking about how busy I thought I was before becoming a mom. Since becoming a mom, I have a whole new appreciation for time!

This is a brief explanation of network marketing that only begins to paint a picture of the flexibility it offers. It is nearly perfect for mothers simply due to the reoccurring and duplicating sales model. Oh the joy of loyal and happy customers coupled with the benefits of telling others how they too can enjoy a business with flexibility and significant potential!

Back to the conversation I had with the young lady, I thought it funny that she referenced the naivety (I read: Stupidity) of women who pursue network marketing. That is far from the truth. This business model has been around since the 1800s and is regulated by the FTC (Federal Trade Commission). People who understand money know more than one income stream is vital to securing one’s financial future. The women I know with successful network marketing businesses are often highly educated. It is not unusual to see physicians, business owners, authors, moms, and many others pursuing a network marketing business. These people are anything but naive. They are savvy.

Regardless of prior profession, I don’t know many naïve women.

I know women who make their own decisions based on their time and circumstances. Hopefully, we can show one another the grace and be an encourager to other mothers. We all make mistakes from which we can learn. Lord knows I have made plenty of mistakes and learned from each and every one!

Also in support of those women choose network marketing, it is often those who needing to change their circumstances who end up thriving in the end.

A great example of this is my brother-in-law. He was midway through college when COVID put college classes fully online. My bother-in-law questioned the fact that he was still paying the same tuition for a now much-less-involved education. He eventually withdrew from school to become a self-taught, independently-educated, and now successful in real estate renovating and selling houses. For a second, I worried it was a poor choice. Why not finish what you started and get your degree?

But from his perspective, why would you bother finishing the degree if you can avoid significant debt and already have a clear vision forward?

He was right.

Likewise, across the world there are at least 10.5 million people who pursue network marketing much to the surprise and skepticism of those around them. “Why don’t you get a ‘normal’ job? Why don’t you pursue the clock-in, clock-out work many do for the “going rate” which is little compensation relative to how much is given in the daily grind of “regular” jobs?”

I don’t know any naïve women who have intentionally pursued network marketing. I know women who were brand new to business when they opened their store doors, and grew into successful entrepreneurs. They learned, failed along the way, and succeeded with time.

Failure and mistakes are inevitable for anyone starting out. It is only fair to show grace to us all no matter the profession.

The young lady also remarked on how network marketing is sold as an impossible dream. Let’s rephrase that: We are painted a picture of a challenging but rewarding future.

My business is hard. I know my company offers incentive trips that I tried to earn many times without avail. The reason is simple. My organization was not yet strong enough and I didn’t have enough sales. Even dreams need to be measured and sales volume is helpful in any business.

But then, the time came and I did earn the trip. Was it hard? Absolutely. Impossible? Absolutely not. Worth it? You bet!

And now some of the sweetest memories of my life are from that trip. I watched my little boy enjoy the wonders of the beach on a paid-for trip earned by his mother.

We all need the grace to grow

Lastly but certainly not least, I will admit to being a nuisance at some points in my business journey. I’m sure of it! But I’m also quick to admit that sometimes my passion overrides my sense for where someone’s interest might be. In other words, I learned to better “read the room.” Communicating via text can also be a challenge in today’s business world no matter what your structure is, because it deletes your ability to “read” someone’s interest via body language.

Regardless of any mistakes, I would never go so far as to characterize my actions as ‘nuisance.’ The thrill I express for my company, the products, the people and culture is to encourage and communicate that spark I experienced when someone offered me a way to stay with my son and run a profitable enterprise from home. This is anything but a nuisance. In my favor are countless friends who would rush to my defense with gratitude for my willingness to take a chance on them.

When the rest of the world felt seemed to be giving up on them, I chose to believe in them.

Whether it was for their health, their energy, or believing in their potential to build a business within an already very busy life, I risked the time and exposure to help them make a change and take a chance on themselves.

It is a privilege to believe in other people. Yes, there is the risk of harsh criticism like I received from the young woman. It’s worth it to me, however, because I hold dearly the collection of personal testimonies from friends with lives forever changed for the better.

No matter what you do–whether it is network marketing or something else–I look forward to growing our courage together to look beyond the critics toward those in need of hope. And if I have piqued your interest, I hope you consider network marketing as an option because it certainly has been a blessing for me.

Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think over on Instagram and let’s continue the conversation!

XO,
B