Foursquare Reaches Over 3 Million Registered Users

Of course, Foursquare was recommended by one of my most valued teachers, Jack Humphrey. He is a trusted source when deciding which software and social marketing tools to work with.

Apparently Foursquare has been growing like wildfire. It’s even been advertised at Time Square. I suggested it to a few close friends, now my entire social network knows about it and a few are using it consistently. Head over to TechCrunch to read more about Foursquares recent success.

120 Billion Reasons Why MLM is For Real

In 2006, according to the Direct Sellers Association, global sales from MLM  (multi-level marketing) companies were at $109 billion, in 2007 it shot up to $114 billion. It’s a good estimation to assume that the total annual sales from MLM will more than exceed $120 billion in 2009.

We’ve all heard the sales pitches, we’ve all been pulled aside by a co-worker, friend, or family member trying to recruit us into their “Next-Gen” company. To be honest, it can be annoying. This is why there is such a stigma attached to the term MLM.

Over the years I’ve found that most people who are not familiar with direct selling, or the home business industry fail to realize that MLM is a legitimate way to build a healthy income. It’s ridiculous how many people believe MLM to be synonymous with ”scam.” This misnomer is so rampant, that even these Independent Business Owners, or IBO’s, within the MLM industry are frightened to even use the term, MLM,  themselves!

When an IBO approaches you, the pitch always comes with a company description, seminar invite, an income claim, a business card… I’ve been on both ends of the pitch, I know how it works. But here’s the thing; these IBO’s are working diligently to build their organization which, in the not-so-distant future, will bring them great returns, even wealth!

These IBO’s are trained to move on past you when you reject their offer or invitation. They see the big picture, they don’t want people like you in their organization. If you don’t see the value of the product or the earning potential of the company’s compensation plan, then they don’t want you to waste their time any more than you think they have wasted yours.

In 2007, there were an estimated 62 million IBO’s worldwide. That is twice as many IBO’s than in 1998. What is it that has attracted more than 30 million people to start their own business in the MLM industry over the last 10 years?

I’ll tell you why… MLM is the fastest, most efficient, and legal marketing strategy in the world for becoming wealthy. If you’re interested in living a lifestyle that less than 10% of the U.S. is enjoying today, then maybe next time you should listen to that  co-worker, friend, or family member. See what they have to offer. An easy way to break the sales pitch and to assert your position is to say something like, “Look, I want to hear what your company has to offer, but don’t try to sell me. If I feel your pressure, I’m gonna bounce. Just talk to me.”

The image above illustrates the basic structure of an MLM downline organization, with you being at the top. Level 1 represents the 3 first line distributors that you recruited. This is just a simple example, you can have an unlimited amout of people in each respective level. Your 3 distributors recruit 2 each which becomes your 2nd Level. Level 2 recruits Level 3, and so on.

Depending on your company, each level pays you a certain percentage of total sales for that level. Obviously, the more people you have in your downline, the higher your income. This type of structure allows for rapid growth, and higher income potential.

If you’re one of those people who are skeptic about everything, who believes that it’s impossible to make a solid income without working a 9 to 5, who laughs in the face of someone offering you a legitimate business opportunity…  have a look at the following MLM companies, then leave your thoughts below.

Amway - A global company celebrating 50 years of business. Amway offers nutrition and wellness products, cosmetics, and housewares. The Orlando Magic play their home games in Amway Arena. Not bad for an MLM.

Avon – Is a global company that has been doing business for over 120 years. Annual sales are $10 billion. Avon is a publically traded company that has been endorsed by celebrities like Reese Witherspoon and Patrick Dempsey.

ACN – A global company founded in 1993. They are the worlds largest direct seller of telecommunication services. ACN made network marketing history when they received the personal endorsement of Donald Trump.

AmeriPlan – The nation’s premier Discount Medical Plan Organization, saving its members hundreds of millions of dollars in supplemental healthcare benefits since 1992. Mark Jarvis was AmeriPlan’s top IBO making over $1 million a year in RESIDUAL income. This means he could have taken a 365 day vacation, without working his business, and he still would have made $1 million!

Kirby -  Another global company doing business for over 90 years. We all know Kirby vaccuums, and if you’ve ever owned one, you know that they are the real deal.

Mary Kay Cosmetics – Celebrating 45 years of business in over 35 markets worldwide. Mary Kay has a sales force of almost 2 million consultants

MonaVie – A global brand introduced in 2005 that offers premium quality nutritional products. I see this brand plastered on many local vehicles around the city.

Pampered Chef – Founded in 1980 as the premier direct seller of essential kitchen tools and part of the Berkshire Hathaway family of businesses. We personally own Pampered Chef products and they are top notch.

PartyLite – A global company specializing in all things candles. From extravagant to simple, if you’re into candles this is a must. PartyLite boasts a salesforce of over 50,000 consultants.

Passion Parties – For more than a decade, Passion Parties has been enhancing the sexual relationships of their clients with sensual products designed to promote intimacy and communication between couples. They are recognized as the premier sensual products, party plan company in North America. Passion Consultants are trained by experts like Jack Canfield, Sue Johanson, Dr. Jennifer Berman, and Brian Biro to name a few. Passion Parties has also been featured in Oprah Magazine, The hit TV show The Doctors, the Today Show, Anderson Cooper 360, Time Magazine, and Primetime LIVE.

Scentsy – Founded in 2004 to bring value to the world by “providing an industry leading, family-friendly business opportunity selling creative, artistic, high-quality wickless and flameless candle products that warm the heart, enliven the senses, and inspire the soul.” Kinda cheesy, but I didn’t write it.

Tupperware – We’ve all heard of Tupperware. This company has been in business for over 60 years. Chances are you have a product from this company in your house, at least one that was inspired by Tupperware.

As you can see, MLM is not what you thought it to be. Thinking about starting your own business? This is where you want to begin. Join the millions of people who have realized the potential of multi-level marketing and begin a life of growth and fulfillment!

Related articles:

• Most people don’t realize it’s this easy… (ultimatemarketingonline.com)

My iPhone Apps

Two of the most used apps on my iPhone are Sudoku and FlightControl. FlightControl is a game where you have to direct multiple aircraft to there respective runways. The aircraft vary in size and speed which is what makes this game challenging and addictive. The newest update allows you to upload your stats to the web and compare against other top FlightControllers.

Even though I have about 7 years of bartending behind me, every once in a while I’ll get stumped. Drinks Pro, Drinks Free, and iVideoCocktail are useful in these rare cases. iVideoCocktail actually gives you detailed videos on how to make drinks, but the database is limited to about 50 drink recipes.

I can’t say enough about the AroundMe application. No matter where you are in the country, this app knows and allows you to search for restaurants, stores, banks, Wal-Mart, Walgreens, Burger King, you name it, and lists the address of the locations starting with the nearest. Then, if that’s not enough, it also gives you the phone number and also routes directions to that location on Google Maps. Awesome.

This last page has SmackTalk. If you haven’t seen this one yet, you have to get it, its a riot. Your kids will love it for sure.

iPhone 3.0 has a new feature called Spotlight. It allows you to search across all applications including your contacts and email.

 

The iPhone and its ability to do whatever the hell you want, is definitely the cure for boredom. If I have my phone, I’m always certain to be occupied. What are your favorite apps? Comment below…

Death of the Jaguar Marketing System

In 2006 I joined the company Mentors on a Mission and became a reseller of their product, “The Jaguar Marketing System.” I joined as a Platinum System member, which is the most profitable and most expensive, it went for $3995.00.

The Jaguar Marketing System came with two training courses, “Make Money, Not Excuses,” and “The Journey Continues.” There was supposed to be a real estate training course, but I never saw it. The system also included live training from some fairly experienced Internet marketers, salespeople, and an assortment of specially skilled people.

We also had a website on which we could promote 4 other business opportunities, services, or products. The idea was to use the training we received from Jaguar Marketing, couple that with the Veretekk System to drive “Massive” traffic to our Jaguar Marketing website so that people would dive for their wallets and throw money at us.

There were many members who were making a killing with this product, we’re talking 10’s of thousands per month. The problem was getting these top earners to give precise instruction and training on how to duplicate their success. I got the feeling that they just didn’t want to create an army of competition.

On December 31, 2008 Al turnquist sent out an email to all Jaguar members. Here’s a slice of that email:

Effective immediately I am suspending sales of the Jaguar Marketing System. I have wrestled with this decision but it had to be made. We will continue hosting the Jaguar websites until December 2009 but we will remove the compensation plan movie.

You will have full access to your Jag back office and the training materials until December 2009.

In that same email, Mr. Turnquist tried to renew our faith by informing us that we can still sell the two training courses that were at the core of the Jaguar Marketing System. He also promised major updates to the two programs, which I was looking forward to because they were grossly outdated.

Also, in 2006 we were given a prospecting website that presented benefits of owning a home business. The website was called, “Why Start and Never Quit a Home Business.” Earlier this year this site got an update and was renamed Why Start 2.0. The sites looked great, but there was complete information overload.

Everyday there seemed to be some kind of update, new features, new training, new documents, new prospecting tools… it was just too much. This is when I started to step back from promoting this system. It was becoming way to volatile.

On April 5th of this year, I got another Interesting email:

Why Start and Never Quit and Mentors On a Mission (M.O.M.) is closing it’s doors. In the Entrepreneurial Jungle, we like to say; “When one bridge fall – build a bigger better bridge!!!”Why Start is now Web Rhyno!

In the following days there were more updates, upgrades, a new compensation plan, an affiliate program was implemented… and I was “DOWNGRADED” to an affiliate. The training that cost $3995.00, was now unavailable to me!

Needless to say, I’m a little more than pissed off. Turnquist promised us that it would be available until the end of this year. I’ve always had respect for Al, but it seems he just sold off his company and headed for the hills. No one has heard from him.

Kinda reminds me of Bill Osterhout of the Prosperity Automated System. That company was shut down by the SEC in 2006. The owner, Osterhout, dropped of the face, owing a lot of people money and at least an explanation.

Most of the training I received from Jaguar was fairly basic and took me from an absolute newb to a novice Internet marketer at best. It wasn’t until I ventured beyond Jaguar into blogging, social media marketing, and sucking knowledge from the Internets most badass bloggers, that I became a Professional Internet Marketer.

With all that said, I’m moving forward and washing my hands of Jaguar, Why Start, Web Rhyno, or whatever the hell you wanna call it. Nothing can compete with social media marketing and blogging, I have the cutting edge resources at my fingertips. What Jaguar can teach me, I learned and mastered years ago.