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Eldon Beard

Hello, thanks for visiting! I assume you’re here because you’re considering a home business, and perhaps have looked at a network marketing opportunity as a possible fit for you.

My first experience with network marketing was about 20 years ago with Amway. This was back before the Internet as we know it, so everything was pretty much done locally. I signed up because I was very intrigued by the income potential of network marketing and MLM. The presentation I attended was pretty slick and convincing, so I was fired up and thought wealth was just a couple years away. This seemed to be a great fit for me, as I had always wanted to work from home.

But something wasn’t right….

The MLM Old School

Not long after starting with Amway, I learned that the strategy was to make a list of as many friends and family as possible, and begin approaching them one by one. The objective was to get them to an opportunity presentation, whatever it took. We were taught to never say the “A” word, and if someone asked us directly “Is this Amway”, we were to artfully dodge the question and get them to the meeting.

After a month of this, I quit. I saw the potential of the network marketing / MLM business model, but couldn’t stand being phony and using manipulation like that. I realized that Amway was a good company with excellent products, but I didn’t want to spend my time trying to convince and persuade people to join my business. I just wasn’t a salesman.

The New Wave of Network Marketing

After getting out of Amway, I spent some time looking for other opportunities. I fired up my old 300 baud modem and logged my Apple IIE  into CompuServe one day in late 1990. For the non-geeks out there, trust me, this was primitive hardware by today’s standards, but it got the job done. I began participating in a community called the “Work From Home Forum”, and started to meet  some like-minded entrepreneurs.

I was introduced to an opportunity through this forum that was definitely old fashioned MLM and direct sales, but my future upline team was online and beginning what I now recognize as a pioneering effort to build a network marketing business online. I signed up, and we focused on participating in online home business and work from home forums, with emphasis on getting to know people and providing value to the communities we visited.

Eldon Beard - Watkins Conference 2007

As a natural result, we had prospects approach us seeking to find out about our business, without us ever soliciting them. This is what they call “attraction marketing” now, but it was very much a reality for us way back then!

What I’ve Learned on This Journey

Since then, I’ve enjoyed learning more about online network marketing and MLM, about how to choose an opportunity and get started successfully, about what’s important to success and what’s not. I have created this site to help share what I’ve learned.

I believe that network marketing offers anyone with desire and ambition a fantastic opportunity to make money and build a full-time residual income if desired. I know of no other home based business that comes close to providing this much opportunity.

 

Articles by Eldon Beard

  • February 15, 2013

    The Perfect Prospect for Your Network Marketing Business

    When I first started my business, I would have said that my perfect prospect is someone who “wants to make money from home.” I’m sure your ideal prospect would have that characteristic... Read more

  • October 24, 2011

    Keep Your MLM Business Simple

    By nature, MLM and network marketing is a simple business model that relies on word of mouth to create interest and generate enthusiasm about a product or service. That’s it. One pr... Read more