In 2005, July 29th, to be exact, I joined a MLM (Multi Level Marketing) Franchise Company called
Utility Warehouse. I had never been self employed, I had never sold anything professionally, and I had a full time job that paid well. All I had to do was recommend the services to friends and family, and anyone else who I talked to, and if they used the services, I would get paid a commission each month.
The
Utility Warehouse set targets that, should I meet them, I would receive substantial bonuses. The first of these was the joining fee. When I joined, the registration fee was £200, and if I gathered 6 customers within the first three months, I would receive the £200 back as a bonus (today you only have to gather 3 customers to get your registration fee back, and the registration fee is now only £100).
Because I didn't have a large circle of social contacts, I found it difficult to talk to enough people to build my business. I had no support from the people who introduced me to the business. I was left completely on my own to find my own way forward. Also gathering 6 customers would then release the monthly residual income!
It actually took me 15 months to finally gather my first 6 customers! The company provided free training, and recommended I should attend a training course at least once a month. Guess what I did? I attended two courses in September 2005, and one in October 2006. Admittedly, because of the very slow start to building my business, I freely admit that I totally lacked any motivation to be successful quickly. I wasn't prepared to go on training courses, wasn't prepared to read any books that would help with my self development. I had no role models I could follow, or look up to. Yes there were the high flyer's within the
Utility Warehouse that were constantly being talked about in the newsletters that were sent to me on a regular basis. I didn't know there was a better way to build this business. In July 2007, I finally managed to introduce someone into the business, and hopefully begin to build my business into something substantial! Only, I did exactly what my sponsor had done to me. I totally left my new distributor to fend for himself. In one year, he managed to gather just 3 customers. Then he quit!! I have only myself to blame for not giving him the support and help he probably needed to be successful in this business.
I refused to give up. The company charges a monthly fee to maintain my position within the company, and there were frequent months when the fee deducted was greater than the monthly commission that came in!! Admittedly, I never had to pay more than a couple of pounds each month, and it galvanised me into doing more activity to gather a new customer. So I never had to pay the company out of my own pocket for more than three months in a row! The next target I had to reach was gathering 12 customers (today it is now 20 customers), and this I finally managed to achieve in May 2008.
It was also in 2008 that I finally met up with someone who's team I was in. He had a vested interest in making me successful, and so he took me under his wing, and taught me how this business really works! I started attending special events, went on loads more training courses (5 of them in November and December 2008 alone!). I was also told that as I was self employed, I had to register my business with Inland Revenue, and submit tax returns myself, or employ an accountant! Admittedly, my income from this business wasn't anything to write home about. In fact, I had been probably operating at a loss, if I included all the travelling, and advertising I had done so far. What I didn't realise was that I could offset the business costs against the tax I paid from my full time employment! Now, every year, I have received a tax rebate from Inland Revenue!! Eventually, my business will begin to bring in more money, and I will, at some point in the future, have to start paying MORE tax, but happily, that time hasn't arrived, yet!
Since 2008, I have applied myself to this business in fits and starts. I would get fired up and become enthusiastic and focused on building the business, then become despondent, and lethargic. The trouble was, that the failures, or should I say lack of success, kept happening, no matter how hard I tried! Consequently, I would take my foot off the throttle, and the business would grind to a halt, until I would have another bright idea, or go to one of the company seminars or training courses and get my motivation levels back up again. The one thing I am really proud of though, is I DIDN'T QUIT!
As a consequence of not quitting, I have now introduced three other people into this business, and they have begun to build a business for themselves. I offer them help and support, and keep in regular contact with them, which is why they are still in the business and haven't quit. Because of their efforts, and my own efforts since 2005, this week, I was able to move up another step on the stairway of success within this business, and become a Team Leader! My monthly income still has it's ups and downs, depending on whether I do any work or not, but I can definitely see, that this business WILL eventually provide me with an income that will increase every month until the day I die, and then provide an income for my family for the rest of their lives too! How big that income will be will depend on how much effort I put into building this business.
I'm not an Entrepreneur, I'm not a salesman. Deep down, I hate to think that I am useless, and incapable of being successful. This is the vehicle I have chosen to prove to people that I can be successful at something!!
