Get Rich Quick!

You can be successful with a heavy dose of blood, sweat, and tears. If that were my title, would you have read this far? Doubtful. So here’s the cold hard truth: there is no such thing as getting rich quick. If it were that easy, we’d all be rich!

When I was a young newlywed, living off love and not much money, I remember being introduced to a company that promised I would make 20% interest per week simply by investing $1,000 and clicking on a few links each day. I thought, “Wow, that would be amazing!” and quickly did the math. The $1,000 for which they were asking was the total amount of money we had in savings. The thought of dramatically increasing it, and quickly, was very appealing.

Then reality hit me. The phrase “If it seems too good to be true, it probably is” came to mind. My husband and I decided it would not be wise to invest all our money in this company. A few months later, that company was in a great deal of trouble for stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from many people. While my heart went out to those who lost money, I let out a sigh of relief that we’d let cooler heads prevail.

Always exercise caution when approached with an opportunity that will help anyone “get really rich really fast.” As nice as it sounds, getting rich quick is a near impossibility. You can’t get something for nothing and often the result of what we receive is the direct result of the effort invested.

If you are serious about earning a lot of money, and want to help others do the same, “get rich quick” promises ring hollow. However, the assurance of good income following an earnest investment of work, time, and honest sales approaches, is sound.

So, how much work are we talking about here? A wise man once told me that to be a successful entrepreneur, I needed to dedicate half my day to work. I thought, “That doesn’t sound bad. I would still have the other half of my day to do what I wanted.” He could see the wheels turning in my head. “The choice is yours,” he said. “You can work the first 12 hours of the day, or the second 12 hours.” I hadn’t realized he’d meant his initial statement literally!

Maybe 12 hours is too much, but to be truly successful, you do need to be willing to put in the time. Expecting a huge reward for something as minimal as the investment of two hours is foolish and short-sighted. Once you’ve established a good-sized team, you might get away with working fewer hours but a willingness to work is inherent in every success story.

Those in direct sales must remember that it is a real job. That means a serious commitment in the form of hard work and many hours. If you’re treating it as a part time job, plan on working 25+ hours a week. If you’re full-time, 40-60 hours per week is typical. You can plan to divide these hours into many areas.

Establish means of marketing: Social media, websites, e-mail addresses, business name, business cards, presentations… each and every one of these should be used to promote your business. This is a business, and you need to represent it as such.

Setting up your business: Right off the bat, be prepared to keep track of all of your expenses and income. Create a spreadsheet and update it regularly. You’ll need to know how and where you’re making money and carefully track how you’re spending it. Create a list of all of your expenses including: gas for business-related transportation, website fees, membership fees/dues, product and inventory costs, food provided for parties, etc. At the end of each month, you should be able to track your expenditures and incoming payments to assess your profit margin. Keeping careful records means you’ll be prepared when tax time rolls around. Don’t forget to keep receipts, too!

Making contacts: Successful people in direct sales are all about networking. The most successful people I know in this industry know a lot of people. A lot of people. They never stop expanding their circles. You will spend a majority of your time just trying to meet new people and developing existing relationships.

Growing your team: Once you’ve developed good relationships, it’s time to start recruiting. No one likes a pushy recruiter. However, if you’ve put the time into getting to know people and are genuinely interested in each of them as individuals, interest in you and your business will certainly follow. When the time feels right, share what you do and why you’re passionate about it.

Get to know your products: I’ve covered this before, but it’s always important to know what you’re working with and how to show others the same. People will ask questions and the more you can answer, the better. A working knowledge of the ins and outs of your company including their causes, standards for conduct, and what they represent is also important.

It may seem overwhelming, but completing all the tasks listed above will result in success and profits you, and others, can see. While success is a lot of work, you’ll certainly reap what you sow. If you’re passionate about the company and the product you’re representing, not only will you find success, you will have a lot of fun in the process!