"I tell you the truth," he continued, "no prophet is accepted in his hometown."  Luke 4:24

No one understands this verse from the Bible better than network marketers, especially those that have been in the business for any length of time.

I think most of us are generally skeptical about anything that does not conform to the image we all have of how one makes money--namely you work for someone and are paid a salary--the exchange of time for money.  Or you own your own business which means a shop, a restaurant, or something else that still involves you going to work.  The whole idea of something you can work at for a time, build, and then have it bring you income for a lifetime after that seems totally unreal (or illegal). I mean, if it seems too good to be true is probably is--right??? 

I think there are three main reasons that a lot of network marketers fail with their friends and families. First, the hype.  We get all excited about this new business we are in. We start telling our friends and familiy about this great opportunity. Unfortunately, sometimes we are talking about a business that we really don't know much about or one that we have only been involved in for a short time. We sometimes leave out (accidentally or just because we don't know any better) is the hard work and more importantly the TIME it takes to build a network marketing business!  Could you open a shop tomorrow and retire three months later?  Of course not!  Heck, you might not be able to retire even 20 years later from that shop!  It takes time to learn the products, learn the business, and learn the skills.  It also take a  lot of practice and, unfortunately, our friends and family are often who we end up practing on since they are often the first ones we want to tell about our new business!  Take the time to really understand your business before you "take it on the road."

The second is the unrealistic expectation of how much money you will have to invest in the new business.   Our friends and family want to help us and they believe in us, so it is really important to make sure they join our business with the right frame of mind.  Some people seem to get into a network marketing business thinking that they aren't going to have to spend any of their own money on the business once they sign up.  Really...and how is that going to work?  What business can you run without money?  Remember, any business is an investment and while you can make money, there are no guarantees, especially if you are not willing to put in the effort.  Robin is very upfront about what a person in any business can expect to spend per month to maintain that business.  In fact, he usuallly has three or four levels of investment depending on how fast the person wants to build their busines, how much time they have to spend on the business, and how much they want to invest.

The third, and probably the one people don't talk about much if the fact that, at some point, you may switch companies. There are lots of reasons that this can happen and we can talk about it in another blog, but the most important thing is how you handle the change.  I would say that switching companies can cause the most consternation with your friends and family.  To them, you may seem flaky.  Many a networker has become a member of the NFL club--no friends or family left (Robin included!) because they go to their friends and family with each and every opportunity.  On the other hand, you shouldn't be offering an opportunity to strangers that you wouldn't offer to your family.  The bottom line is be very careful what you promise and don't make unsubstantiated claims.  Remember, you have to live with your friends and family for a long, long time and they tend to have really long memories about things that went wrong.  I think the best approach with anyone is to be very clear up front that you are always looking for the best opportunities and that you want to let them know when a better opportunity comes along, even if it means making changes.

Doing a good job of educating your friends and family about the network marketing industry before they join your business will go a long way in helping you avoid problems later.  On the other side of the coin, if you could decide that you just don't want to risk doing business with your friends and family.  Of course, when you make it big, you can bet they are going to be there asking why you didn't tell them about this great opportunity!  So, be sure to give them a well informed options!  Always remember that while you might think everyone should be in network marketing, there are some people that will never understand what you are doing and never want to be a part of your business and that is okay.  You can love them anyway!

Thanks for reading!