Expand Your Zone Of Awareness
Episode 128R
Episode Guide
Episode Summary:
Episode Timestamps
ChooseFI Podcast Episode Show Notes
Episode Title: The Pitfalls of Multi-Level Marketing and Authentic Entrepreneurship
Episode Summary:
This episode dives into the perils of multi-level marketing (MLM), authentic entrepreneurship, and the importance of establishing a genuine side hustle. The hosts, Jonathan Mendonsa and Brad Barrett, share personal experiences with MLMs, discuss the significance of expanding one’s 'zone of awareness,' and emphasize the need for authenticity in business.
Key Topics Discussed:
Introduction to MLMs and Opportunity
- Brad shares an email invitation that leads to an MLM pitch, warning listeners about vague business opportunities.
Awareness and Authenticity in Business
- Discussed the importance of authentic products and conducting business that aligns with personal values.
- The concept of 'zone of awareness' is introduced, explaining the need to expand knowledge about different business opportunities.
The Importance of Questions and Challenges in Business
- Emphasizes the necessity of asking direct questions when evaluating business opportunities.
- Red flags when pitches avoid direct answers.
Energy Audits as a Cost-Saving Option
- Brian shares insights on how scheduling an energy audit can lead to significant savings on utility bills, along with utility subsidies for the audit.
Wrap-Up and Community Feedback
- Final thoughts on the importance of community, personal experiences shared, and highlighting actionable items for listeners.
Actionable Takeaways:
- Expand your zone of awareness by exploring diverse business opportunities.
- Before engaging in an MLM, thoroughly research and ensure that there is a product of genuine value.
- Schedule an energy audit to identify potential savings on utility bills.
Key Quotes:
- "To achieve unique results, step outside the norm."
- "MLMs are often less about product sales and more about recruiting others."
- "Avoid situations where questions go unanswered; it's a red flag."
- "Make informed choices without pressure; time spent exploring is valuable."
- "Consistency in action leads to better financial decisions."
Speaker Highlights:
- Brad Barrett: Co-host emphasizing importance of authenticity and sharing personal experiences with MLMs.
- Jonathan Mendonsa: Co-host discussing the 'zone of awareness' in the context of financial independence.
Related Resources:
FAQ:
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What are the dangers of MLMs?
- MLMs often focus more on recruitment than product sales, leading to potential financial losses and strained relationships.
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How can I find a legitimate side hustle?
- Look for opportunities that align with your passions and provide tangible products or services rather than recruitment.
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What is the 'zone of awareness'?
- 'Zone of awareness' refers to the breadth of knowledge and experience you have regarding business opportunities.
Discussion Questions:
- What are some characteristics of effective networking?
- How can individuals evaluate the authenticity of a side hustle opportunity?
- What steps can you take to expand your zone of awareness?
Action Items:
- Reach out for networking opportunities that align with personal interests.
- Get a quote for auto insurance to check for better rates.
- Consider scheduling an energy audit for your home.
Podcast Description:
Discover insights on financial independence, the pitfalls of multi-level marketing, and the importance of pursuing authentic business ventures through personal stories and expert advice.
Podcast Intro:
"You're listening to ChooseFI. The blueprint for financial independence lives here..."
Podcast Extro:
"You've been listening to ChooseFI Podcast, where we help middle-class America build wealth one life hack at a time."
Unlocking Financial Independence: Navigating Entrepreneurship Beyond MLMs
Introduction
In your journey towards financial independence, it's essential to understand the landscape of business opportunities available to you, particularly those that appear enticing but might lead you down the wrong path. Multi-Level Marketing (MLM) schemes often disguise themselves as legitimate business ventures, preying mainly on those eager to achieve financial freedom. This article will guide you in recognizing authentic entrepreneurship, expanding your zone of awareness, and making informed decisions.
Understanding MLMs and Their Dangers
If you're considering joining an MLM, it's crucial to understand the hidden pitfalls. MLMs often prioritize recruitment over product sales, fundamentally turning your focus away from building a viable business. When assessing an opportunity, ask yourself:
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Is the model sustainable? MLMs tend to collapse under the weight of their recruitment structures, where only a small percentage achieve significant financial success while most joiners face losses.
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What products are offered? Before embarking on any business venture, scrutinize the actual products. A solid business should focus on delivering value, not merely facilitating recruitment.
Expanding Your Zone of Awareness
Your "zone of awareness"—the breadth of your knowledge regarding available business opportunities—plays a crucial role in your decision-making process. Expanding this zone entails actively seeking out legitimate avenues for entrepreneurship:
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Research Various Side Hustles: Engage in self-discovery to identify passions that could translate into a side business. Authenticity in what you offer significantly impacts your long-term success.
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Learn from Others' Experiences: Pay attention to stories shared within the financial independence community. Their lessons can serve as a warning to help you avoid pitfalls.
The Importance of Authenticity in Business
Authenticity in entrepreneurship is critical for building trust with customers and ensuring long-term success. Your venture should stem from genuine interests and values, not solely from the promise of high income:
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Choose What Resonates with You: Opt for business ideas that excite you. If you find yourself promoting products you don’t believe in, it’s a sign to reconsider your path.
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Replicate Successful Models: Look for small businesses or solopreneurs who have succeeded in their niches and learn from their strategies.
Effective Networking: How to Evaluate Business Opportunities
Networking is an essential skill that can open doors to new opportunities. However, not all networking events are created equal. Learning how to assess them critically will help you navigate the business landscape:
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Ask Hard Questions: During networking sessions, pose questions to gauge the authenticity of the opportunity. If someone evades your questions or becomes uncomfortable, consider it a red flag.
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Engage in Blind Networking: When attending meetings, don’t just focus on immediate sales; instead, build relationships and establish a trustworthy network.
Real-World Avenues for Sustainable Income
Several tried-and-tested avenues can lead to sustainable income beyond MLMs. Consider the following options:
Tutoring and Online Teaching
If you have expertise in a specific subject, tutoring can be a flexible and lucrative side hustle.
- Market Yourself: Utilize online platforms or local community boards to promote your services. Word-of-mouth referrals can quickly grow your client base.
Energy Audits for Cost Savings
Engaging in energy audits can offer significant savings for homeowners while simultaneously providing you with a consulting opportunity.
- Identify Opportunities: Many local utilities provide incentives for energy audits. By becoming knowledgeable in this area, you can help others save money while creating a new income stream for yourself.
Actionable Steps for Your Financial Journey
Now that you have a comprehensive understanding of how to navigate potential pitfalls while exploring authentic entrepreneurship, here are actionable steps you can take immediately:
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Assess Your Zone of Awareness: Reflect on the extent of your current knowledge about business opportunities. What have you overlooked?
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Conduct Thorough Research: Dive deep into any business model or opportunity that piques your interest. Analyze its sustainability and product offerings.
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Take Consistent Action: Make it a habit to do something actionable weekly that contributes to your financial independence—whether networking, researching, or engaging with potential business partners.
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Consider Your Values: As you explore opportunities, align them with your personal values and passion. Authenticity pays off.
Conclusion
In your pursuit of financial independence, choosing a path grounded in authenticity and informed decision-making is crucial. By expanding your zone of awareness, critically assessing MLMs and similar ventures, and pursuing opportunities that resonate with your genuine interests, you pave the way for sustained success.
Remember, achieving financial independence is a journey, not a race. Take the time to reflect, research, and act, and you'll find yourself well on your way to a prosperous future.
This article tackles the key lessons from the podcast on avoiding MLM scams and focusing on authentic opportunities in entrepreneurship. It offers targeted advice aimed at empowering individuals on their journey to financial independence.
Brad and Jonathan discuss multi-level marketing, side hustles, expanding your zone of awareness, and energy audits.
[elementor-template id="143609"]Multi-Level Marketing
Recently, Jonathan was approached by an old friend with the offer of going to lunch. At less than five minutes into the lunch, the MLM pitch started. Amway was the MLM of this pitch, but Jonathan pushed back on the pitch and asked questions about the business model and the products. The answers are always something along the lines of this is a passive way to build an income. However, it is anything but passive.
Quite possibly the least passive way to earn an income because you aren't in the business of selling a product. You are in the business of selling people to sell other people to sell other people.
Many new recruits in various MLM programs find it very difficult to sell the products once they have burned through their immediate social circle. The attrition rate of many of these programs is absurd. This isn't to say that it's impossible but statistics make it unlikely that you will thrive long term with this structure. But if you are interested in an MLM business model that's a great indicator that you are at least intrigued by the idea of entrepreneurship and there are many other (much easier ways), to build additional income streams.
Work for an MLM, maybe make some money. Start an MLM, you'll make crazy amounts of money...or forget the MLM structure altogether. What would it look like to take to create a product, find an audience and create marketing around it?
The sheer number of side hustles out there is amazing. We have covered many over the course of hundreds of episodes.
Related: Find Your Side Hustle Idea With Nick Loper
Side Hustle
If you have started down the path of an MLM, then you likely have the drive to pick up a side hustle and make it work. The key is to find something that you are really passionate about. With passion and authenticity, you can really build something profitable and worthwhile.
The hurdle you might face for starting a side hustle is simply bandwidth.
[Financial independence] gives you the bandwidth to pursue something that maybe you didn't have the courage to pursue when you were 17 or 18 years old when you picked that inital job...as you get a little more space between yourself and the financial cliff you can pursue something that would have been a little bit scary.
As you start to put more distance between yourself and the financial cliff, you might be able to pursue something that seemed scary before. Once you have that bandwidth, try everything! You will not know what you love doing until you do it.
In Alan's case, his bandwidth or suit of armor is allowing him to follow his dreams and write a movie script. What is your dream?
Listen to the whole episode with Alan here.
Lion Or Lamb?
Free to Pursue wrote Lion or Lamb- Which Would You Rather Be? The article kicked off a conversation about how Financial Independence can turn you into a lion. With the freedom to pursue whatever you like, you will not be operating from a place of scarcity which will allow you to withstand scare tactics more easily.
You can and should choose to put your time into experiments. Keep going until you find the right place of alignment for you.
Let's just be very intentional about what we take on as a community because we don't have to do something just because someone is hard selling us on it. It does not have to be that way.
To avoid becoming the lamb, choose to build your talent stack. Make sure that you cannot be taken advantage of by building your own resources to take care of yourself. Most importantly, take action. Do not expect results tomorrow. Instead, know that you will need to stick with this over the long term to achieve success.
You put in the work and you will see results down the line.
Plus, there really is no good alternative to giving things a try. The other option is to stay at home watching TV and regret it. Start by increasing your zone of awareness and see what interests you.
Increase your zone of awareness and be willing to try something new.
Luckily, Brad and Jonathan have interviewed many people that have been able to break out of the "normal" and build something exceptional. As listeners, we have the option to take this information and build out our zone of awareness.
It is not that every single thing you find out you use. But over time, you start to weave a strategy, a comprehensive strategy.
Take advantage of this knowledge and increase your zone of awareness. With that, you will be able to move forward and create a better life for yourself. Our goal is to create a resource of strategies on how to best approach life. Find what is useful for you and build your best life.
Feedback From The Community
Let's hear from the community!
Matt Writes In
“ ‘Throughout your life, you will be told that you are wrong by people in positions of power and respect. Even if those people are completely wrong, we are expected to trust their opinions and move on. At some point, you have to stand up for yourself, challenge the norm, and build your own path.’
This is one of the most powerful statements I have ever heard.”
This great quote from Alan was worth repeating! Alan has created practical strategies that can help to talk with people like this to understand their thought process and maybe change their mind. If you are interested in seeing these questions, then make sure you are subscribed to our newsletter because they will be sent out in the next couple of weeks.
FI In Schools
In this past week's episode, Brad mentioned that his daughter's school was planning to use a stock picking game to teach kids about the market. In general, the game encouraged short-term thinking that would likely not benefit these kids. So, Brad is going to stand up for this.
Brad is not the only one that disagrees with the stock picking game. Nancy, an educator, wrote in to provide an alternative game. The STAX investment game is a 20-minute game that mimics 20 real years of the stock market's actual returns. Hopefully, the STAX game will be a solution to the problem.
Brian Feroldi And Energy Audits
Brain called in with an idea about energy saving. He recommended that everyone schedule a whole house energy audit with their utility company. In some cases, the utility company will pay for it but if they don't it is worth the investment.
The auditor will come to your house and assess areas that could improve. In Brian's case, the auditor recommended 8-9 things to fix around the house for improved energy savings. Many of these recommendations were heavily subsidized by the utility company.
If the payback period is 10 years or less, that is a golden opportunity to reduce your expenses over the long-term.
Visit your local utility company to see what they have to offer.
Related: Solar Panel Cost Analysis
Take Action In The Month Of May
There are still a few days left to participate in the car insurance comparison shopping challenge. Just get a quote from Compare.com and you can be entered into a drawing for $500. If you are the person that has the most to save, then you will win $500!
Definitely check it out before May 31, 2019.
Playing With FIRE Update
The documentary is hopefully coming soon to a theatre near you this summer. If you are interested in finding a screening near you, then check out the Playing with FIRE website.
Set up a screening in your area here.
Related Episodes:
New to FI? Be sure to check out Episode 100: Welcome To The FI Community!