So today, I had a discussion with a friend of mine. She looked at the business that I am building and said, “it looks nice, but it looks like a pyramid to me”.

This friend of mine is one that I greatly respect, but as soon as she said that to me I wanted to shout “OF COURSE IT IS A PYRAMID!”

Isn’t just about everything a pyramid? Let’s take a look at every corporation and every job that I have had. There are a few guys at the top making a whole bunch of money, while there are a whole bunch people at the bottom (me and the other hapless souls caught in the rat race) making them rich. That’s called capitalism.

The difference between the corporate job and my opportunity is that my opportunity gives you a track to run on to get to the top. The chances of my becoming CEO of the corporation that I work for is.. “ah, let’s see, I have to do some calculations. Carry the one, divide by 2 …Oh, here it is… – zero.”

When I started at XYZ Corporation (let’s leave them nameless), I don’t remember sitting in HR and getting a pamphlet that was titled “How to become CEO of XYZ Corp”. Does anyone remember seeing one? Of course not. They can’t give you one of those, because they need to keep you down in the salt mines working, so that they (the guys up top) can go home and give their kids the best educations, drive the best cars and go on first class vacations.

So what do you do if you want some of those “fancy schmancy” things for yourself? Well, one obvious choice is to become CEO of XYZ. However, for most people that is not going to be a reality. Remember, HR is not giving out those “How to get to the very top” pamphlets anymore. So are you stuck, shoveling salt out of the mine and wiping the sweat from your brow for the rest of your life? Well of course not, you can start out on your own.

Now I am not saying that you have to do what I do. You could start almost any kind of business. If you like to cook, start a catering business. Like to build things? Start a construction business. However, the one thing that I like about a business model like mine is that you can start it with very little capital (notice I did not say no capital) and can work part time while you still keep your day job.

The other thing that a business model like mine does for you that the tradtional business doesn’t, is that it gives you a tremendous amount of leverage to generate a passive income. For those of you who don’t know what passive income is, that is when you make money when you are asleep. That is why I bought and still buy (BTW, this is the absolute best time to buy) real estate. You want your money working for you so that you don’t have to work for your money. If you still don’t understand the concept, ask your CEO . He will tell you all about it, because while he is sleeping peacefully the factory is still running with employees making money for him while he lies on his satin sheets in his fancy pajamas.

The reason that network marketing businesses get such a bad rap is that all the Aunt Susies and the Uncle Joes of the world tried one, and they failed. So of course, “those things don’t work”. However, I am going to give my readers a tip.

The reason that so many people fail is that they either don’t take the time or don’t know how to…

get the proper education on how to build a business like this

. You don’t become a doctor or a school teacher without spending time educating yourself, do you? Why do think that this would be any different?

Do you guys want to know what I do to educate myself? For one thing, I take classes. Have any of you been to night school? Just like a real school I take prospecting, closing, and other classes. I probably spend about 6-8 hrs a week in class. I read books. Right now I am reading a very good book on how to write web copy. My point is, if you want to be CEO, just like the guy who is CEO of XYZ, you have to be the best in your class. You have to treat your business like a business, the CEO’s certainly do. That is how they got there.

One, final thing before I close. Another thing that trips people up is that they get involved in money schemes. These businesses have no real sustainable product. Those types of businesses may look good at first, but they are the ones that fold up quickly. You get in, the guys at the top made all the money and you get nothing in the end. If you want to do this, make sure that there is a real product behind the company that you jump into the game.

If you want a quick free primer to educate you on this industry, read the free e-book “7 Great Lies in Network Marketing”.  Click on the book on this page to get your copy.

P.S.  – Today, 5/14/09 I found this link that gives the FTC’s (Federal Trade Commision for those that don’t know) definition of a pyramid.  So it you don’t believe some of what I am saying, you can read there what they have to say about it.  CLICK HERE FOR THE FTC