Are you DONE with tax filings or just getting started?  I hope you are planning to file a Schedule C, I hear a lot of small businessowners do not and it’s a shame to pay MORE than you need to on taxes.  Since this just might be on your *to-do* list, I wanted to share some tips my accountant has given me:

The first step in reducing taxes is to know what is deductible.  A simple definition of a deductible expense is an “ordinary and necessary expense you incur while furthering your business for profit”.   If that seems vague, keep in mind that Congress intended the tax code to be general, because all deductions are unique to the particular facts and circumstances of a particular person and/or situation.  My tax guy has defined ordinary as “one that is common and accepted in your field of business” and necessary is “one that is helpful and appropriate for your business”. However, an expense does not have to be indispensable to be considered necessary. 

In our network marketing business it is not unusual to have an expense that is used partly for business and partly for personal purposes.  You can divide these expenses and deduct the part that is for business.  (Example:  I wrote off a trip to Mexico and even though I stayed with friends, the purpose of the trip was business so I wrote ALL my expenses off…airfare, rental car, food…but not the lodging since I stayed with friends.  In the audit for that year, the auditor let it go after I explained it).

Limits on Losses:  If you DO NOT carry on your business activity with the intention of making a profit, you CANNOT use it to offset other income.  If you deem this to be a hobby, or for sport or recreation, then you are eligible to only deduct the expenses of the hobby up to the income the hobby generated.  Some people DO choose to work network marketing as a hobby…so this applies to them! Read the rest of this entry »

As a professional networker, I value my time more than anything else.  If there is one thing that burns me more it is people who say “yes” to the business and then don’t treat it like one.

MLM aka Network Marketing IS a Business and it requires the same dedication as if you were spending millions of dollars to start any other kind of business.  Of course, in network marketing you can get started for under $100. and so it seems some people don’t take it seriously.  That’s sad, because it is one of the greatest wealth opportunities available to anyone that could literally make you an MLM - Network Marketing fortune, like it has for me. Read the rest of this entry »

Have you ever been certain an MLM lead was going to join your group, only to have him turn you down? Do you struggle to bring people into the business, while others in your company have much higher success rates? Have you ever wondered why some people, who are obviously “perfect” for the business, never even seriously consider it?

The answer to all these scenarios may be one or more of the 11 little-known but critical factors in play throughout your recruiting process. Each of these 11 factors has a serious effect on the ways prospects view both you and your MLM opportunity.  In fact, if you didn’t cover these with your current Reps, you will see they come in play there, too!

Some of them may be addressed by your website or personal meeting, others during a telephone call (with or without your sponsor); still others may be handled in the follow-up emails they receive; but they all must be addressed someplace, or your results will suffer.

For each of these factors that you don’t deal with correctly, you will meet with a corresponding decrease in the number of qualified people you sign up. By this, I mean that you will miss signing up good people, who would do well in an MLM business if they did join. The more of the 11 factors not addressed in your system, the more good people you’re missing. Read the rest of this entry »

In today’s world of over-selling, hype and fraud at the highest levels of our society, nothing could be more important to an MLM distributor and MLM business owner than building trust, admiration and respect with prospects, customers and associates. Most of us are in a highly suspect business to begin with. Network Marketing, to some people, does not spell value, honor and integrity. Yet to us it does. So how do we bridge the gap and shine some light on what we see in our chosen profession?

Trust

Trust is obviously not given automatically. It must be earned. Too often, we take it for granted — either because we trust ourselves, trust others or fail to recognize in the moment how others may see our offer of financial gain. Trust is earned through what we say and what we do. In these actions we must become predictable and believable to others. Read the rest of this entry »

A flash success in Network Marketing is rare. And when flash success occurs, there usually is a reason.

Many times you’ll hear a speaker at an MLM training or MLM opportunity meeting say, “I just joined, talked to a few people, and by golly, in only one month I reached the top level of achievement and they need a truck to deliver my giant-sized bonus check.”

Well, what the speaker said may be true. She did reach the top and it was fast. Unfortunately, because of time constraints on the meeting, the speaker didn’t get to tell her whole story. So before you buy into any story, be sure you get the Full Facts behind it.

You see, the reason the speaker (s) sponsored such a big downline in her organization in only 30 days was:

1. She had 20 years experience in Network Marketing. She had lots of contacts, relationships and friends who knew her, trusted her, and respected her. Since they were also experienced Network Marketers, they were able to sponsor many distributors quickly as well. The speaker had 20 years of preparation for this so-called “flash success.”

2. The speaker went door-to-door in her city and everyone she talked to joined her program. Too bad there wasn’t enough time during the meeting to mention that her father was mayor of the town, owned all the houses, and that the tenants felt obligated to do whatever his daughter suggested.

3. The speaker worked as an assistant teacher for 40 years in the community. She also taught junior high sports. Everyone in town knows her, trusts her, and respects her. in fact, she taught most of the town’s residents. How could you say “No’ to the person who used to make you clean the erasers?

Instant, flash success?

I don’t think so.

You have to earn your success in Network Marketing. That’s why some people grow faster than others.

So, if you don’t have any friends, people hate you, no one respects you, well, you’ll just have to start building some new relationships to get your business started. Once you’ve built the relationships, your business will grow.

Networking is done successfully with people who trust you. If you don’t have anyone to network with, go out and build some trust.

Have you ever procrastinated?

Yes? Good. (I was afraid I was the only one.)

So why do you think you and I do that?

I think I know — we procrastinate because we associate more pain with the process of doing than we do pleasure from achieving the result.  Maybe you put off cleaning out the garage, because you perceived a greater pleasure in watching a football game. Or perhaps you procrastinated for so long that it eventually became easier — less painful — to just take action and complete the task. For example, if it takes a half an hour every time you try to find something in the garage and your spouse is constantly on your back about getting it straightened up, the thought of not cleaning the garage is probably more painful than actually cleaning it.  We mostly act on our emotions and then rationalize our actions with logic and thought.

Didn’t you fall in love with your car and then rationalize how you could stretch to pay for it? Did you do the same thing with your house? You fell in love with it and then rationalized how you would pay for it, or figured out a way to fix it up. The
controlling force in our lives is almost always pain or pleasure.

Before we take a look at how this applies to Network Marketing, here is another illustration of the point: Have you Read the rest of this entry »

One of my highest values is “humor” so that is always a slant I prefer to look at everything with.  Are you game to look at how humor can play a big part of your MLM business?

So, Have you heard the one about why God created children? Here it is:

Whenever your kids are out of control, you can take comfort from the thought that even God’s omnipotence did not extend to his kids. After creating heaven and earth and seeing that it was “good,” God created Adam and Eve.

The first thing God said to them was, “Don’t.”
“Don’t what?” Adam asked.
“Don’t eat the forbidden fruit,” said God.
“Forbidden fruit? Really? Where is it?” Adam and Eve asked, excitedly jumping up and down.
“It’s over there,” said God— wondering why he hadn’t stopped after making the elephants.
A few minutes later God saw the kids having an apple snack and he was very angry.
“Didn’t I tell you not to eat that fruit?” the First Parent asked.
“Uh huh,” Eve replied.
“Then why did you do it?” God asked exasperatedly.
“I dunno,” Adam answered.
God’s punishment was that Adam and Eve would have children of their own.
Thus the pattern of having children was set and has never changed.

Cute, huh?

This was sent to me by a friend, Dorothy. I noticed in the header of her email that Dorothy also sent the joke to a number of other recipients, some I knew and some I didn’t, but it had over 20 people.

The joke was originally e-mailed to Dorothy from Betsy.  Who knows who “told it” to her.

Okay, so what? Read the rest of this entry »