Do You Have a Friend in Business?

What a Friend In Business Can Do For You

I recently bumped into my good friend Gloria (name changed). We used to belong to the same team in a network marketing venture we had joined a few years ago. She was one of the most active members and a rising start at the time. After the initial chit-chat, her face darkened when I asked her about her business. Despite all the hard work she had put in it, her venture had collapsed. “I tried everything in the books, applied every single lesson I was taught but nothing worked out. I don’t know where I went wrong.” When I invited her for a free talk by one of my mentors, she flatly refused. “How many talks have we attended Angela? How many motivational speakers have we listened to?” On prodding her further I realized there was still a flicker of faith within her. She still believed that success was possible in business, but she was at a loss when it came to finding what would work for her. And she wasn’t ready to go through the same hurdles and heartaches again.

Meeting Gloria brought back memories of my own experience of network marketing. Robert Kiyosaki calls it “The opportunity of the 21st Century”; because a good networking company exposes distributors to high quality trainings at minimal costs, effectively putting them on the path of entrepreneurship. Gloria’s business experience was mostly in network marketing. I shared with her four personal observations regarding the differences between a network marketing model and traditional business, and why she shouldn’t give up on entrepreneurship just yet.

1. Sharing versus selling
   The marketing plan of a network marketing company requires you to be your own best customer by using the products, so that you can in return share your experience with potential clients. This is because they rely on word of mouth as a marketing strategy. The problem arises when some leaders teach their team members that they are only sharing, and not selling. This has the effect of maintaining in their comfort zone the ones who are afraid to make calls that would lead to sales. Yet in business, if you can’t sell you are not in business.
2. You are not in my team, I can’t mentor you
   In network marketing, it’s extremely rare to find a leader mentoring a distributor who is not in their team, for the simple reason that such a distributor isn’t bringing them any revenue. This is a sad situation, because a distributor with great potential may find themselves in a team that is not in a position to give them the support they need to succeed.
   In traditional business, successful business leaders are more than eager to mentor new entrepreneurs, even if they are in the same field. Nothing makes a true business leader happier than nurturing an upcoming entrepreneur towards achievement.
3. Excitement versus reality
   To join a network marketing company you are invited to a presentation, and you are expected to join based on the excitement generated by the opportunity you are being offered. However excitement in business is like romance in marriage. As much as romance is an ingredient that contributes to a happy marriage, it can’t sustain it on its own. Excitement is necessary to business, but to build a long lasting venture, an entrepreneur should be prepared for the challenges ahead. A presenter of a network marketing opportunity paints a rosy picture of the business and makes it look very simple to execute. After joining, the new distributor realises that there’s a lot of hard work to do, weekly, monthly, quarterly and periodical meetings and events to attend; and sometimes miles to travel. And that all of that requires money. Many distributors who abandon their network marketing businesses do so because they feel cheated and mislead. A good mentor in traditional business prepares you to face challenges and helps you surmount them so that you can build a successful business.
4. The never quit syndrome
   Some distributors hang on to loss making network marketing ventures because they are told time and again that “winners never quit and quitters never win”. Yet success in business can’t occur without a good measure of observation, judgment and flexibility. A distributor has little possibility of changing the model of her networking marketing business since it’s a form of franchise. On the other hand most entrepreneurs grow their traditional businesses by constantly adjusting them until they find a model that meets the needs of the market. Of the 80% businesses that are said to collapse within the first 3 years, many actually don’t fail; they just morph and change. The only thing you should never give up on is your big dream. Quit the loss making venture and find the right vehicle that will transport you to your dream destination.

Have you realised already how lonely the journey can be on the entrepreneurship highway, even when surrounded by loving family and friends? Do you feel disgruntled and frustrated like Gloria? Do you wish you had a friend in business to help you find you way?

If you said Yes to any of the above question, I would like to be your friend in business. I will be honoured and privileged to hold your hand and guide you as you chart your path to your own destiny.

Over the last 12 years, I’ve met countless sisters in entrepreneurship like you. Their passion for achievement and eagerness to surmount challenges and make it in business have inspired me to publish Mkazi-The Entreprising African Woman magazine.
It’s that same spirit that led me to creating BizzRafiki, a program that I believe will help you:

• Define clearly where you truly want to go
• Understand what you are doing wrong and rectify it
• Take the necessary steps to get to your intended destination

Are you ready to make things happen this year? Subscribe here to BizzRafiki and join me for our first meeting.

Date and time: 21st March 2015; 9 am to 12 pm
Venue: Hibiscus Guest House, Kirichwa Road off Ngong Road, Near Adams Arcade, Nairobi
Advance booking Fee by 19 March: Ksh.2000
At the door: Ksh.2500

 

Angela

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