Multi-Level Marketing Realities - Part 16

So our October commissions were big, paid in November but our commissions for November and December were near zero because everyone stocked up in October and demand had dropped off quite a bit because of the 20/20 interview in October.  Our website sales had dropped to nothing in November with our price change but we were selling to regular monthly customers at the same price we were selling at before.  I was not worried because it would come back and we would build our commissions up bigger than ever.

We did have a lot of stock though for the amount we were selling.  That had me a little worried, especially because we had borrowed to buy it.  Getting through the end of the year was fine but by the first of the year I was getting very serious about wanting to consult or do something.

In December we had planned to go to Disney World with my son's baseball team and we decided to go even if they didn't make it.  We had a good time for a week, not thinking about the business, and we told everyone that we were unemployed without an income.  We had actually sat through a timeshare presentation for a future week at the resort, so I guess that was the context of using that line.

By March, I had gotten a job with a consulting company so now I was employed again.  The MLM company had not only lowered the price of the product by March, they lowered it even further to try to generate some sales.  We lowered our website price back down and were starting to see some sales come back in.  Our March commissions were back up to about $5000.

And then... we found out that the MLM company was going to start selling the popular dietary supplement at Wal-Mart.  That pretty much does it for us.  In fact, that is when they said that they would no longer allow sponsoring of new sales people.  We were given the opportunity to convert from being a distributor to a consultant that spied on the Walmarts, Targets, Walgreens, and other stores near us, and fill out an online report.  The MLM company paid us $1500 per month for two years to do this, and converting to a consultant meant no more sales commissions from selling product.

I had a lot of the dietary supplement at the first of the year (2000) and I couldn't sell it fast enough, so I found a distributor that bought a lot of it from me at a discount.  I looked for ways to cut expenses and free up my time after I started my new job, so our websites went, the telephone system, and as much money I could cut from our budget I did.  Although we did try to start with another product briefly, we gave that up for more time and less spending.  We had a rough time but we got through it.

In 2001, I started with the University of Phoenix to get my BSM degree, and after I got it I went for my MBA, finishing in 2009.  I am on my third job since the end of our business and things are going well.  My middle son starts his third year of college this month and wants to be a screen actor.  My daughter wants to become a country music writer.  My oldest son is soon going to be the general manager of a tire store and gave us a grandson last year.  We tried to instill in our children that they should go for their big dreams because you only live life once.  We are trying to support them every step of the way.

THE END