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MLM opportunity

November 30, 2011 By Franck Benhamou 2 Comments

In a tough economic environment, many people seem to ¨freeze¨ overwhelmed by a declining income, the risk of losing their job or the impossibility to find employment. Personally, I keep looking at trends and bet on opportunities to come.

Lately, I have been examining the business model of multi-layer marketing (MLM) as a way to earn an income with minimum investment and a loose work schedule.

The first reaction to MLM is generally negative as MLM is often considered to be a ¨pyramid scheme¨. In many cases, this scepticism is warranted: a MLM company without a strong new product stream is bound to run into trouble!

However, there are a few MLM companies that can offer a decent return for the effort and time spent developing their business. The criteria to select such a company should be:
- established entity with many years of operation
- stable financial situation
- reputable
- fair commission plan
- strong new product stream
- operating in a growing sector

A few companies like Avon, Oriflame, Thermomix… meet these criteria. I was recently introduced to another interesting company: Nu Skin Enterprises, Inc. It develops and distributes anti-aging personal care products and nutritional supplements worldwide. It is a 24 year old corporation listed on the New York stock exchange with a $2.9 billion valuation. Overall brokers´forecast points to a solid financial position and a sound R&D team. I find the fact that Nu Skin is operating in the anti-aging and nutritional sectors particularly appealing as these sectors are bound to experience excellent growth in the next 10 years.

Their products are slightly more expensive than comparable mass retail goods, but quality is probably better. The key however is that Nu Skin offers you the opportunity to earn money while using their products, something a mass retail company does not. As such, it represents an opportunity for someone willing to create a small team of like-minded people.

Whether someone embraces their offer in order to achieve financial freedom, earn extra income, or help others, I can see a good opportunity to earn a significant ongoing commission for someone motivated.

Like with many other opportunities (content site is one of them), 90% of the people who start a MLM activity will drop it after 6 months, however the people who keep at it usually end up achieving great financial rewards. Like always, there is no miracle here!

I have just signed up as a distributor for Nu Skin in order to better evaluate the opportunity. I believe there are many people around me that could really benefit from it. Hopefully, my experience will convince them to embark on their own journey towards financial independence. I will keep you posted.

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Generating low risk income

May 18, 2011 By Franck Benhamou Leave a Comment

Unlock your potential! © mipan - Fotolia.com

Unlock your potential!

A friend forwarded an article to me talking about four low-risk ways to generate passive income. In it, the author highlights four methods:
1. High Yield Checking or Savings Accounts
2. Rental income
3. Putting Your Knowledge on the Web
4. Selling Information Products

Although I agree with the premise, the first two methods imply that you already have some savings or a few assets. This is not the case for most people. In fact, there are a few hundred million active workers making less than $2,000 a month in the top 30 world economies…

Regarding the fourth method, I view it just as one way to monetize what should be your main activity if you want to generate an income with no risk, i.e. sharing your experience through internet.

Everybody has knowledge, experience, aspirations they can share on the Web. Creating an informational website about them will result in an amazing instrument that you can use to earn a living by selling advertising, e-books, earning commissions, generating leads… This method is accessible to anybody, without distinction of age or prior computer knowledge. That is what I am trying to convey in my book, Here´s an Idea….

Just read the stories of Marlene, 52, or Don, 70, to convince yourself that you can do it too!

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The value of the modern mom-and-pop model

March 28, 2011 By Franck Benhamou Leave a Comment
The modern mom-and-pop business

Modern mom-and-pop business

Mom-and-pop businesses can be defined as small, independent, family-owned businesses. They usually occupy a single location and are often run by various members of a family without any or with a few assistants, such as an auto repair garage, bookstore, grocery shop or restaurant.
 
These businesses have played an important part in forging the fabric of our economy. Even today in the US, according to Wikipedia, ¨of the 5,369,068 employer firms in 1995, 78.8 percent had fewer than 10 employees, and 99.7 percent had fewer than 500 employees.¨

Mom-and-pop businesses have traditionally offered financial independence to the families involved, at the cost of hard work and long hours. However, this business model has sometimes run into difficulties with family members getting older, under capitalization, increasing costs and tougher competition from larger businesses’ buying power.

I consider content sites to be the modern mom-and-pop businesses. They have the advantage of potentially providing financial independence and a sense of control to a family, without the disadvantages of the more traditional small businesses:
- no investment is required,
- costs are controlled,
- there is a flexibility of time and geography,
- focusing on a niche insulates it from large competitors.

Content sites are accessible to anyone. They are appropriate for a variety of people and situations. With a platform like SiteSell, the learning curve is straightforward whether you are unemployed, studying, retired, a stay-at-home mom, or even an unhappy worker.

Nowadays there is no reason for you not to own a modern family business, if you want one…

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Financial independence requires vision

March 21, 2011 By Franck Benhamou Leave a Comment
Financial independence requires vision

Can you see it?

The human race is rich in diversity. Some people are spontaneous and some always plan, some are anxious and some are care-free, some often complain and some do let go, some are doers and some more passive…

It really does not matter how you are, as long as you enjoy your life. You only have one life, so you should make the most of it! If you are happy with your life, good for you. Keep doing what you are doing. You have found a secret that many are looking for…

However, if you are not satisfied with your situation, constantly worry about money, and would like to ensure a better future, then some vision, planning and action are warranted. You need to project yourself a few years out, set some objectives and work towards them. Without that process, it is unlikely that things will change much. Of course, even if you do this, there is no guarantee either that you will achieve your objectives… but if you don´t know where you are going, you surely won´t end up there…

I meet too many people that are caught up with their daily problems to do something about them. As a result, little ever changes. You need to be able to leave your emotions aside and set some time every week to make a solution happen. It is not easy, by any means, but that it is the only way.

Every time someone is unhappy with his/her situation making one or two thousand dollars per month and tells me ¨I cannot work on a content site because I need money today¨,  I ask ¨what will be different two or three years from now?¨ If the person has a well thought-out plan and is trying to build something, I show my support and congratulate him/her.  If, as often, that person has no real answer and says ¨something will come up¨, then I know that the probability that his/her situation improves much in the future is low.  This is why over 700 million active workers in the top 33 world economies (OECD countries) earn less than $2,000 a month (statistics from Here´s an ide@).

If you seek financial independence, you must get out of this cycle.  You need to create a vision for yourself and act on it.  There are many ways to do it.  Creating a content site is just an idea….

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Do what you love!

March 17, 2011 By Franck Benhamou Leave a Comment
After dinner inspiration

Food for thought

At the dinner table yesterday, I was talking to my two children (almost 13 and 11) about ´starting´ to take over  responsibility  for Marbella Family Fun; alternatively to just create their own website.  They seemed to like the idea of doing their own site, but came up with the three typical excuses that all adults use:

  1. I don´t know what to do.
  2. I don´t have time.
  3. I don´t know how to do it.

My answers were simple:

  1. Do what you love!
  2. You can always find time if you want!
  3. Nowadays, there is always plenty of help and information available on the net if you really want to do something (plus, I can help you!).

My children are young, have time to grow up and live their own life.  But what about you?  Are you living the life you want? Are you happy with your work?  If not, it is time to change this situation.  It is up to you to do it. Nobody will do it for you.  This is one of the mantras of my book Here´s an ide@.

This morning, by an amazing coincidence, I found an inspiring video (see below) about Gary Vaynerchuk talking at TED.  I had never heard of him before, but his message is right on target.  His style is quite energetic and convincing.  I will make sure my children watch his speech (better that, than most other youtube videos they keep watching all day long, don´t you think?).

I would also encourage you to watch it.  It will fire you up to really look at your life, and give it a ´re-start´ if needed.  It is never too late, and you only have one life!  Here are some key messages:

  • Do what you love!  Be happy!
  • The game is changing, thanks to the net.
  • Massive opportunities for all.
  • Critical importance of content.
  • You can always monetize your passion.
  • There is always a place for a niche.
  • Position yourself as a brand.
  • You need to hustle, especially in the beginning. It may mean working after hours.
  • Everybody can find time to do what they want to do.
  • Just do it!

 

There are indeed many opportunities out there if you want to grab them. Creating a content site is just one of them. It will take time and dedication.  There is no miracle here (another mantra)! But it may lead you closer to the life you want.  Isn’t it worth the risk?

 

Filed Under: Inspiration, Money Tagged With: , ,
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