While it can be argued that technology has made our lives more complex it can also be said that it has exponentially simplified various aspects of our lives as well. This especially holds true for entreprenuers regardless of whether you are just starting up or are an experienced business owner attempting to take your currently owned business online. In fact the internet offers a whole new dimension of possibilities which which traditional businesses can greatly benefit from.
The next several paragraphs won't deal with contrast/comparisons between bricks and mortars and internet based businesses (we'll leave that for another article) but will focus on business based opportunities.
Multi-level Marketing (MLM):
There are literally hundreds of multi-level marketing opportunities out there ranging from companies dealing with services, technology, personal care and cosmetics (Avon, Mary Kay), Car products from synthetic oil to fuel treatment systems, home care, green energy, communications, book publishing etc. I have personally found more companies catering to the health community then anything else (herbalife, shaklee) and if you are familiar with Amway then you probably already have a very good idea of what multi-level marketing is. One thing it isn't however is a pyramid scheme so it's very important not to confuse the two.
- One way in which the internet has influenced Multi-level marketing is that it allows a much wider span on the number of people one was traditionally able to humanly communicate with in one given day. The internet allows for much greater exposure beyond communities and borders and thus allows one to make more sales as well as building a downline.
- As opposed to a traditional bricks and mortars business (I know I promised this wouldn't be a article to compare and contrast the two but this time I couldn't help it) a Multi-level marketing business does not require you to take on the work load and responsibility which is typically associated with it's more traditional bricks and mortars counterpart. A lot of the financial obligations which come with a bricks and mortars business can be virtually eliminated in this case. One may stock products at home and communicate with customers and team members specifically through the phone and an internet connection.
Affiliate Marketing:
Affiliate Marketing (not to be confused with Multi-level Marketing) is a method of promoting and advertising a web business and it's service or products. Affiliates earn rewards for every customer or subscriber they manage to bring in.
- By promoting these specific products and services on their blogs or websites affiliate marketers can earn money through their affiliate links.
- Affiliate programs are ran by numerous ecommerce sites such as Amazon.com while others use third party services such as clickbank.com and linkShare.com. If you do a search on affiliate programs it's very simple to spot companies which offer them such as eBay and iTunes.
- This marketing technique has enabled certain businesses to prosper and as opposed to it's early days the stigma attatched to affiliate marketers has changed. Most of the negative stigma attached were due to affiliates giving it a bad name by recklessly spamming in an effort to promote their programs. Affiliate marketing merchants have caught on to this practice and have made the appropriate modifications in their terms and conditions in order to eliminate such potentially detrimental practices by affiliates.
While the economy is rather rough at the moment it's also a good time for people to analyze their current life situation and to stop wishing next month will be better. Far too many people have the nasty habit of wishing and not taking action only to find themselves wishing for the same thing again the following month. Before They know it, it's been 2 months, 6 months or even years. Even in the face of a dissapointing and lackluster economy there are much opportunities out there if one insists on taking them.
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