MLM network marketers are a lightning rod in any discussion about small business, salesmanship, or entrepreneurialism. Many successful people first got started as MLM network marketers, though the field is viewed with deep suspicion or outright hostility by many. The tiered compensation structure is most likely the most onerous issue for such individuals, though many sales-heavy operations work that way, on a comission-only basis and with overrides and bonuses for managers, directors, vice presidents up the corporate ladder.

MLM business opportunities might also be derided for their pay-to-play nature, though franchises work in the same exact way. In reality, the standard admission fees for traditional franchises are many times that required of any MLM scheme. MLM is simply a way of doing business, or a business model.

It is one rather easily subject to abuse precisely because it is so easy to get into – providing a good solid fighting chance for ordinary individuals to dabble in a bit of entrepreneurialism to see if doing business is something they would like. With nearly no barriers to entry, it’s in fact a fairly safe way to go for many individuals who have little cash on hand and little experience actually running a business.

Even first-time MLM network marketers will learn very quickly the basics of supply and demand, inventory management, and most importantly salesmanship. As independent contractors who file IRS Form 1099, they will also learn very quickly about taxes and accounting! It’s all there, in microcosm, all the many maddening elements of owning a business. And it is no wonder that so many wind up burned.

After all, the overwhelming vast majority of start-ups do not last five years, and even fewer last ten years. MLM schemes are no different in this regard, and it is important to note that several of the most successful, which have withstood the test of time and also the occasional scandal, share much more in common with non-MLM organizations than commonly held misconceptions would suggest.