The 4 Stages of Financial Freedom in Network Marketing

Freedom is a sexy word. It’s one of the greatest things that we can offer in the Network Marketing industry.

But despite the amazing financial freedom we can offer in Network Marketing – so many will still quit. They’ll get in the vehicle and start driving, but they’ll run out of fuel – and leave.

 

And the problem isn’t the vehicle or the fuel – it’s that they were never given a proper road map. They were promised the destination of freedom, but most people aren’t given the map to get there. We’re great as an industry at helping people get started, launching new prospects, creating duplication through systems – but that’s only half of the story. There’s a couple more steps that we need to complete if we’re going to sell financial freedom.

And that’s what I want to do for you today – the 4 Stages of Financial Freedom through Network Marketing.

ACTIVE HUSTLE – The first stage is all based on your active hustle; going out into your network and sharing your story (marketing). It’s an exciting time, people see your results, your energy, your passion – and some will want to join. Making sales, getting enrolments; the commissions start to come in and the bank balance starts looking a lot nicer. The problem of course, is that you’re still essentially trading time for money. You’re still working for your payments, there’s no backend / residual commissions coming in just yet.

Many people will start / join a Network Marketing company, because they want to leave their job. But then they get stuck in the active hustle, and give themselves a Network Marketing job. Bonuses are exciting, they are great at helping you get started – but they aren’t going to give you freedom. They are like dessert; really nice, but you can’t live of them. We need to start getting a team together and creating more leverage.

 

LEVERAGE – In financial terms, Leverage is one of the most important, and misunderstood, tools in achieving financial freedom. When you get a home loan – that is a form of leverage. You pay a deposit, and the bank provides the rest of the income – at a cost of course. One of the greatest limitations to a working income / job, is that there is no leverage. You can only work so many hours – and those hours are limited by yourself. In traditional small business, you can create some leverage through having staff – but that also means the stress of finding, training and keeping great staff, along with the great expense of starting a small business.

Network Marketing and Multi-Level Marketing allows us to create phenomenal leverage through creating a team – at usually very low, to no, startup costs. The key to creating leverage; duplication through systems. If you want to grow a team, and enjoy the benefits of leveraged income, then you need great systems that people can easily follow. Systems to help people start, systems to help people bring their friends, systems to help your customers re-order. SYSTEM itself is a great acronym – they Save You Stress, Time, Energy & Money.

But there’s a catch. Leverage is a seductive mistress. It allows us to very quickly change our life, and we can be very quickly consumed into thinking we’ve found freedom. But here is where so many Network Marketers get stuck. Here is where so many Network Marketers get themselves into trouble.

Systems are great. They are essential. BUT – they also can create a culture of dependence. People follow systems, which is fine for the followers. But if we want to move into Residual Income, we need leaders. People who can think for themselves. People with initiative; the square pegs in the round holes. The most important system – is the system of leadership identification. Because otherwise, we simply have a team of dependent followers. And eventually we get so caught up in doing everything for the team that we burn out and quit.

 

RESIDUAL INCOME – When we talk financial freedom – leverage is cool, but residual income is game changing. Being able to build a great team, with systems in place for the majority, but then finding those great leaders in amongst the crowd and mentoring them to run their own teams – that’s what truly separates the good Network Marketers and the great Network Marketers. Anyone can lead a team of followers a certain distance – it takes true leadership to lead a group of leaders, and help them become independent of you. It takes time to mentor leaders to independence – years really – but that’s why it pays so, so, so well, and residually.

It’s great having a huge team – great for our egos in particular. But true freedom comes from not needing to be at the coal-face anymore. Not needing to be coming up with next month’s blitz. Not having to run next months Zoom. Not needing to organise the team dinner.

Residual Income is the jewel in the crown of Network Marketing – and unfortunately most people will quit before they achieve it. But it’s also because we don’t often tell people this part of the story. We have phrases like ‘It’s not what works, it’s what duplicates’ – but duplication can only get you so far. Leveraged Income can very easily masquerade as Residual Income. And this is where people can get stuck again.

With leverage, your income can sky rocket very quickly – and people’s living expenses can sky rocket just as quickly – sometimes even faster. But as before, there’s a limit to leverage – both in the growth it can achieve, and your emotional tank. Eventually you will hit a financial or emotional wall with leverage – and if your expenses have sky-rocketed, but your income starts to slow, that’s a recipe for disaster. Mentoring leaders to create residual income means you do have to go a bit slower at times. Teaching them the skills of Network Marketing, rather than just to follow a script. It might cost you some money in the short-term – but the medium and long term benefits are enormous. Medium term – leverage is great, but imagine the exponential growth when you have a few leaders all growing together. Long term – the residual income, that keeps coming in, whether you show up or not.

 

PASSIVE INCOME – This is the final stage of Financial Freedom. And unfortunately, the most overlooked. Network Marketing is a dream based business. The excitement of launching, the acceleration of leverage, the potential of residual income. BUT – nobody ever found financial freedom through spending all of their money. And no matter how good your business is – you should NEVER be solely reliant on one stream of income.

As exciting as Residual Income is, you should ever be totally reliant on your business. If you want true Financial Freedom – the final step is to make sure that a portion of your income each week is invested wisely. Flash cars, holidays, jet-skis – they can impress people enough that they might want to join, but don’t ever send yourself broke trying to impress other broke people. If you want to attract smart, financially minded people into your business – then lead from the front and make smart financial choices with your income. Buying flashy toys and building up huge amounts of debt – well that only attracts short-term ‘get rich quick’ minded people.

Truly set yourself, and your family, free by creating a legacy that will last generations by using your extra income to create an empire – thanks to passive investment. Never invested before? Start by reading the classics like Richest Man in Babylon and Rich Dad, Poor Dad. They’re classics for a reason. They’re the best place to start. My book could help too.

Network Marketing is the greatest business model for the 21st Century. It is THE BEST way to enter the path to Financial Freedom. But until we start showing better financial skills and habits – we won’t be seen as a great financial opportunity. We can change that – starting with how we show up for ourselves each day.

 

To your success.

Andrew Logan

 

Andrew Logan is a Network Marketing Author, Coach and Mentor.

You can access more free training on his YouTube channel here and his Podcast here.

For your Free 7 Step Guide to Financial Freedom Through Network Marketing, click here.