Sell for Today, Sponsor for Tomorrow

So you are working at your home based business and the check don't seem all that big. Maybe the checks are not even coming at all, or you are paying out money instead of having it come in. This is known as negative cash flow. They say in traditional business you will lose money for the first 3-5 years. Capitol (cash) is what is needed for any new start-up. 

Well I'm here to show you how to do it without any money. No huge investment or loan is needed to get started with a home based business. Matter of Fact I have home-made brochure that explains how I got started with a $35 investment. I can show you how to hit the ground running, and start off with a bang that will get your cash flow up immediately. You might not be able to live off the income in the first 3-5 years but you will be positive cash flow, or "In the Black" the very first year. 

As the title of the article says: Sell for Today, Sponsor for Tomorrow. The meaning of this in a home-based or Network Marketing business is that you have to have a product that people want and need. Your first priority is to get that product out in the hands of many people. Your product should be consumable so you can get repeat business time and time again. The idea is to sell your product to someone once then resell over and over again. Take Care of the customer and they will take care of you. You should have a product that can be sold retail. If you cannot compete in a retail market the only customers you will have are those you sign up as distributors, this could take a very long time to get your residual commissions coming in. Likewise with the company that I started with; I chose to get out in the retail marketplace. Five, Ten, Fifty or a Hundred stores carrying your product is like having hundreds of sales people out there. Many of the stores that I worked with years ago still carry our products. This is because customers are still coming in to buy. A store is open 60-80 hours per week, could you work that many hours in that many locations?

Secondly, retail brings you a higher commission. Most home-based companies pay commissions based on volume of products going through that business. If you are working with only distributors, some of those commissions must be paid on your sponsored distributor before you can get paid. A company only pays once on any product sold. If you are buying products, selling retail you get 100% of the commission due to you. Stated again Sell for Today, Sponsor for Tomorrow. 

Selling retail actually takes a little more work than just registering dealers and letting them build their business. A new distributor will naturally want to get started earning a commission, but in truth it takes a long time for most to understand and learn about building a business, sales, recruiting, training, etc. The commissions you gain from sponsoring will bear fruit in the years to come. But you didn't start your home business to wait years for a good sized commission. You want commissions now, maybe an extra $500 per month is really all you need right now. This accomplishment can be done is a short amount of time if you work your business correctly. 

My positive cash flow started in the first couple months of my business and has continued every year. As more money comes in I was able to add more to the business, get new "toys", have a better cell phone, do more things etc. Going after retail first then distributors second especially in the first year or 2 will make a huge difference in your ability to earn at least a check every single money in your business. 

Just like there are 2 sides to every coin, I look at a home business as having 2 sides. There is the retail side explained above to get that immediate cash flow, then there is the sponsorship side where you learn how to train and build a sales team. Sell for Today, Sponsor for Tomorrow means starting right away helping others achieve their goals and dreams by building their own home based business. Matter of fact my sponsor died several years ago and his spouse still gets a check every single month from those initial efforts of sponsoring me into the business. This is one of the best reasons to have a home based business. Your work continues to pay you time and time again even if you can't work. Sponsoring adds depth and breadth to your business, it allows the peaks and valleys to even out in your sales efforts. There might be a time when your retail sales efforts slow down for a short bit, this could be due to your lack of time to devote that part of the business, or maybe a bump in the economy where people are just not buying much. Either way sponsoring a team of distributors will help even out those months. Sponsoring is the key to higher levels of recognition as well as higher incomes in a home based business.

So you want to sponsor but you don't know who or how to get them started. The first thing you should be doing is prospecting. Let everyone know what you are doing and  have a mission statement that you can tell others. Mine goes like this. 

Mission Statement:

1. I help customers save money, get the best products with the highest performance per cost in (insert your product here) our industry. 
2. Provide a vehicle for financial independence to anyone who wants it.

You see this two fold mission lets everyone know what I'm doing and that they too can become a distributor without actually pitching it to them.

Get your mission statement together now, this will help solidify your goal of building a profitable business. Maybe you are currently involved in a company and are not seeing the results you like, maybe you don't feel you have a product that will sell at the retail level. If you are in a company with the only way to earn money is to sponsor you might want to reevaluate if this company will allow you to meet your goals. The number one way to determine if your home business will work in the manner I have described above is to ask yourself. Does my company push the product or the opportunity? A product oriented company will continue to grow, it will be stable and always try to provide a product in the marketplace that customers want and need. 

When you evaluate a company use these 10 statements to see if your company stands up:

• Quality products that meet a need. 
• A well-established, reputable company backing its products AND distributors.
• Excellent support without all the hype.
• Multiple avenues for business growth, which allow YOU to decide how to build YOUR business. 
• Potential for financial independence within 5 years or less with limitless potential for financial growth.

The perfect home business SHOULD NOT require or entail any of the following:

• Large initial investment to become involved. 
• Keeping an inventory of products.
• Minimum quotas for purchasing or selling products.
• Lots of paperwork and record keeping. 
• Large commissions for simply signing up new distributors.  

Prospecting, then sponsoring is what you need to do in order to build a large business. How to you spot a good prospect? These are some characteristics that will provide a good indication of future performance. 

• People who value your products
• People who desire to start their own business
• Hard-working, self-starting, stable people
• People with good experience
• People looking for retirement income
• People who are driven
• Successful people
• Busy people
• Personable people
• Husband & wife teams

These types of people are all around us, you run into potential distributors every single day. The key is to be ready. Have the tools necessary to prospect any where you go. 

• Have all necessary materials on hand
• Wear proper attire, if you company has logos or clothing wear it
• Have a positive mental attitude-smile
• Know your prospect
• Believe in your products, Live your products
• Do the paperwork
• Follow up

Get your business off to a great start! Sell for Today, Sponsor for Tomorrow. 

Michael Sparks-- Entrepreneur

 

Flying to build your business

I just love to fly. The question is why? Here are some ideas that will allow you to expand your mind and think about "the bigger picture"

For me flying isn't something I necessarily enjoy because of the security, the hassle, and the all the germs being spread around. So you must realize my love of flying has more to do with a business aspect that I will now explain. Flying allows me to realize, visually how big our state, our country and the world is. As we leave the ground I can see cars whizzing down the road, rows and rows of houses, large office buildings, malls, and businesses as well as hundreds of thousands of acres of farm land. I realize the untapped business potential is essentially endless (in personal terms) meaning I know that I will never be able to work with every single person out there, though I do have the potential to work with many more customers than I currently do.

My other love as I look down is the fact that we are traveling at 300 or more miles per hour. The efficiency of doing business in distant places allows anyone to jump on a plane and in a short time be in another state, or country. Matter of fact as I write this I'm sitting on a plane headed to Florida for a business meeting. It wasn't that long ago really when flying was prohibitively expensive. Today my ticket will cost less than it would cost me to drive from Tennessee to Orlando and back, let alone the extra time it would take to drive.

In my businesses, where just about everyone is a potential customer, it makes sense to have connections, customers, and business partners anywhere I go. Flying to Florida we are turning a business event into an opportunity to connect with friends, as well as meet new folks.

I guess its not so much the act of going through the hassles of getting on the plane, but more the perspective it gives me that there is a whole world full of people out there that I haven't met yet.

Happy Networking,

Michael Sparks - Entrepreneur

Answer to the Secret

Maybe you know maybe you don't know, but The Secret is a book that was written around the premise of the power of your own mind to attract the things in life that you want. This "Law of Attraction" is what has made many in history successful or smart, or famous. After all you are what you think about.

To Create that life of abundance or that life of happiness you must first have the thought in your mind, then act upon those thoughts. We call these I am statement. After all when the mind can conceive the body can achieve. Likewise, you can not conceive of it, then there is no way to act upon nothing, therefore you will achieve nothing.

We recently took a trip to UTAH to attend a conference for a company that specializes in helping others act on their promptings. You see a prompting is little more than a thought to do something. It's a feeling that you have that makes you want to do kind things for or to others. A prompting could be the thought that you express your appreciation to someone by saying thank you, or maybe call up someone on the phone that just popped into you head. The company we visited uses real greeting cards to allow someone to go on the internet, and in a few seconds create a card, click send and the card will be mailed out to that person.

Creating a life of abundance must first begin with giving unto others, then allowing that giving to be received back. You see it's difficult to say thank you without the other person saying "you're welcome" This prompting is noted in the other mind, with the acceptance of the "thank you" which then in turn that person wants to return this thank you by acknowledgment of the "you're welcome". If you keep giving out, eventually you will begin to receive. This subconscious process works in ways like the advertising market works. Plant that seed in your mind over and over--this is why we are bombarded with ads over and over. You plant seeds in others mind and you will then be at the forefront of what they think about. You send someone a card, the act of opening it, reading it, feeling it and touching the card will put that thought directly in the front of their mind. You will be what they think about at that very second.

What I want to talk about is using subconscious processes to allow you to attract abundance in your life by getting on the forefront of thousands of persons minds. This can be possible by using tools and techniques. Staying in contact is a great way, using Social Networking, sending cards, calling and meeting in person are some ways to get started. Also note that if you are trying to sell someone, or trying to influence them, this will not work. You must sincerely want to connect with others on a personal level. This is easier said than done, but when you are able to connect personally the connection between you and that other person will be long lasting and hard to break.

From the Secret, we got the Answer. The Answer is a book written by John Assaraf and Murray Smith that delves deeper into how the subconscious mind works. I've read the book several years ago, but have recently picked it up again after listing to some of the speakers at the Convention.

The Answer Offers a step by step process for anyone who desires more success and abundance in their life. Using cutting-edge research into brain science and quantum physics, they show how readers can actually rewire their brains for success and create the kind of extraordinary lives they want. By teaching readers how to attract and use newly discovered "uncommon" senses to achieve business success, the authors demonstrate the beliefs, habits, thoughts, and actions that they have used to build eighteen multimillion-dollar companies.

The Power locked inside our own minds can be used to create any life you desire, use the techniques like the law of attraction, the law of gestation and the law of action. After a renewed sense of wanting to take my business to the next level. A reread of The Answer just might be "My Answer".


Michael Sparks--Entrepreneur

Losing those we have touched.

Sad news to report that a friend and business partner passed away 9-14-10. Our young friend, had a wife and 3 young children. What is truly amazing that you don't realize how someone can touch your life, even though you barely knew them. Someone that you had a chance meeting with, or maybe corresponded with via email and telephone can in the blink of an eye be gone.

Another amazing thing is that how this person has come into your life. Our business is an inter-connected network of people. And through those connections of people you can become friends with someone you would have never known if you were not involved with what you are doing. My friend lived in a small town in southeastern Tennessee and was sponsored by someone else. Basically we had a distributor between us and that is how we got to know each other. As a business leader, I contact everyone in our team regardless of who their sponsor is or how far down the line they are. Connections are made, relationships are created. This is how our business works.

Though our friend is gone, he will not be forgotten. We all miss him.

We all know something like this can and does happen every single day. We just never know how or when our time on earth is up and we must leave. Everyday is a time to touch someone in a way that leaves a lasting impression. Give your wife an extra hug and kiss. Tell your children, your mother and your father that you love them. These things seem so insignificant but anyone at anytime could be the last.

With this in mind, it's up to you to take responsibility to prepare yourself and your family to an unfortunate indecent. Setting yourself up with insurance that will help take care of those you care about is essential. Health, and Life insurance is a must. For life insurance I've read that you need at least 10 times your income to be properly insured. For me, my military SGLI insurance covers most of this. There are a lot of people that supplement the $450,000 with even more.

Another area to help take care of your family is to have something that will continue to pay even when you cannot work. This doesn't have to be in the event of your death, but maybe an extended disability or unemployment situation. This is a prime reason to get started now with a home based business that pays residual income. You work on something one time and it will continue to pay you for years to come.

While my friend and business partner was just getting started with his home based business, the ability to build up residual income takes some time and effort. Another friend and mentor passed away several years ago. He was my upline Direct Jobber and we spent countless hours on the phone. He coached me and mentored me when I was first getting started in the business. This encouragement was worth it's weight in gold. Now that he is gone, his family is still receiving compensation from those efforts, training, leadership and mentorship that he provided many years ago.

Get started today, go to sleep at night knowing that if something did happen, your family would be taken care of; both with the insurance as well as the security of a home based business.

Understand the basic fundamentals of working your home business and why it's important to sponsor, train and teach. Mark Yarnell's book "Your First Year in Network Marketing" should be on everyone's top list when you get started in a home-based business. Understanding the basics will allow you to build residual income, help others succeed and allow you the opportunity to be successful right from the git go.

Follow the lessons taught in "Your First Year in Network Marketing" and you will be on track to take care of  your family for years to come, no matter what happens.

Michael Sparks--Entrepreneur.

I wish I had your job

Wow to get a statement like that. I wish I was like you or had your life. How can you ask for more than that?

This could be construed as a cocky attitude but you know, LIFE IS SHORT and life is what we make of it.

What I would have never imagined is that sitting in that foxhole circa 1991 during Desert Storm with my "Ranger Buddy" that he would have ever said something like I "envy" what you have. Rewind over 20 years ago we are 20 something kids sitting side by side for 12 hours a day. We shared dreams and goals, we read books, and discussed politics, religion, life and childhood. What an amazing 20 years! Now he is a super duper engineer with a government position and I am a self made, do it all entrepreneur.  Earlier this year we get together and I get the comment "I wish I had your life". At first this was just brushed off, as looking at my life as it's just nothing special. I'm here doing what I do. But........

Looking further as how others see you and your life compared to theirs you can see that a life lived in someone else's shoes is no life at all. You have to live your own life and if someone looks up to you or at your current state of affairs in a positive light this could be a good thing. What I'm trying to say is don't take a little comment like "I wish I had you life" as something small. This is a life changing event.

Two lives stuck in a fox hole. Can we imagine that they turned out exactly how we imagined? Personally I can't see that I imagined where I would be at this time and place. Who exactly could do that? Though what I can say is that I can say I am glad how my side turned out and that I'm not the one who commented that "I wish I had your life".

The turning point in my life started in 1998, when I decide that I wanted to take control of my own destiny. Deciding that I'm sick and tire of being sick and tired (even before Dave Ramsey coined the phrase). Taking control of your own future, your own finances are something that anyone can do.

My journey started on a warm summer day in 1998. We were living in Jacksonville Alabama and I was going to school to become a machinist. As I was on my motorcycle that day I didn't want to go straight home so I cruised around to do some thinking. I wanted to have some sort of hobby, but one that didn't cost money. That made me think that I needed to check out the bookstore, which I promptly headed that direction. After going up and down the isles I found the business and investing section and started browsing the titles. That's it! I said, investing doesn't cost you money it makes you money. I selected a couple of books and headed home to read. What I found was that it took money to make money and I had very little of it. Since getting out of the Army in 1996 we were a one paycheck family and it was hard to save anything "extra" to get started investing.

This brought me to the conclusion that we had to lower our bills and expenses in order to start saving to invest. I was also working a part-time job while going to school. Every little bit helped! Eventually we reduced some bills and had a few thousand dollars in the bank. What I found is that this is not an overnight process. Staying are track was hard but within a year we managed to have about 6,000 in the bank which I decided to take 3000 and open a mutual fund account. I continued to build this up and invest. But it seemed that there was always something missing. Some type of investment that I had control over.

Over the next several years I search, learned and continued to gain knowledge in finance and investing. We moved from Alabama to El Paso, TX and I was without a job. When you are a military spouse it's hard to have a steady career since you have to move ever couple years. You get established then Bam, military orders come for another part of the country or even worse overseas. After leaving Alabama my interest in finance continued to grow and I decided that I wanted to become a financial planner or a stock broker. (This was during the height of the dot come boom) and everyone wanted to get in on the game. It was easy to make money then, just buy a stock and it went up. A found an ad in the paper for financial planners, and the name of the company was Waddell & Reed. So I applied for a job, had to take a few tests and do an interview. I scored good on the test, but during the interview the interviewer determined since I was new in town, I didn't have enough contacts to build a business portfolio. Basically I didn't have enough friends to push their crappy investments on. Looking back I'm so thankful I didn't get hired, it would suck to become a financial planner now a days, folks are losing money left and right, no one knows who the Government is going bail out or not. Many folks have seen their retirement savings dwindle down to just a fraction of what they thought they had, not to mention all the people that took equity out on their homes thinking it was like a bank account.

Being bummed, but not ready to give up I kept on searching for that perfect opportunity that I really would enjoy. I wanted a "JOB" that I could take with me, do from anywhere, and help other people. One day I was looking for some oil to use in my F150 pickup truck. I had already been using synthetic oils, Castrol Syntec to be exact. I had always known that synthetics were superior to conventional oils, but didn't know how long you could go. Everyone would say you could go 5,000 miles instead of 3,000. I thought synthetics have to be better than that. I ran across this guy spouting off about this 25,000 mile oil, AMSOIL to be exact. I thought well, that's a little too far fetched, but was intrigued to learn more. After some research and coaching from the dealer that turned me on to the product I decided to take the plunge. I used the products in my truck with some skepticism. I kept doing more research and finding out that this product really lives up to it's claims.

Now the big thing that hit me, it was so big I couldn't sleep at night for weeks, and I had the excitement of 10 year old on Christmas eve. What did I find out? What did learn about this amazing synthetic oil? I learned that you can sell the products through a business opportunity. You could become an Independent Business owner. Wow I thought, this is a product that would help every car on the road. AMSOIL is a product that I could sell. Next step was to get started, I had no prior sales experience. What I did have was a burning desire to do something, to figure out a way to get these products in the hands of as many people as possible. Right off the bat I started reading the business manual (how to get started) and I started reading books on sales, listening to tapes, and learning about the sales process. It really came quite natural to me, and once I understood a little about the products (Features and Benefits) I was off to the races. Beginning with my first retail account E-Z Rider motorcycle shop on Dyer St in El Paso. My goal was to cover up El Paso with AMSOIL. Prior to my arrival I don't believe there were any retail places to purchase products. Within 1 year you could find over 25. Hows that for success. Not to mention the many, many individual customers that I worked with.

When I found this business I really didn't understand the power of duplication. I was a do it by my self if you wanted it done right type of guy. I was out there doing it all and really didn't want to hassle with someone else. After reading many books on the subject of MLM or Multilevel marketing I started to understand that really it's not about me, but more about helping someone else. Helping another individual have the opportunity to succeed and become independent - not dependent on their employer for that paycheck. Or not relying on the Government, Social Security, or any other form of handout to survive. Little did I realize back then how important this would be a short 10 years latter. There are millions of people out of work right now for extended periods of time. I've helped many people start and build a successful home based business and to this day they are glad they started. There are dealers that are not looking back wishing they had a JOB to go back to. The feeling of freedom from that slave of a job is hard to describe. What I can tell you, if my business went away tomorrow, is that it would be aweful hard to go back to the work force. Starting, running, and building a home based business has been a rewarding experience which I'm positive will continue to get even better. Just now as I've been helping others succeed in this business I've watch people that I've never met before start out, and become friends and business partners with us. I've help other dealers in our team achieve financial success and grow.

What I hope to do with this blog is allow you to see that working with a company and product that you can truly believe in can change your life. Maybe you don't see yourself as a salesperson.  I can tell you this, when you have a high quality product, a great company and support from your friends and family anything can be possible. I never had any desire to work in sales, but once I made the commitment to become a business owner I learned all I could about sales and networking. You could do the same. 

So how do you get the statement from a long time friend "I wish I had your job"? You work hard, help others, be kind, and have fun.

Now it's up to you to take the next step.

Michael Sparks--Entrepreneur

Self-Employment Cures Unemployment.

Take Bold, Decisive Action Now!
Keep Your Cash Flow Flowing!



Yes, self-employment is the best cure for unemployment. That includes the prospect of having your job eliminated at any time without prior notice or a rational reason.

Don't wait until the shoe drops--when the boss lets you know that you've gotta go! Right now! Never mind many years of service.

Develop your self-employment plan in advance--then fire your boss at the time most convenient to you.

Thoroughly consider starting a home based business. Take this possibility seriously. Keep on reading so you'll have the complete information to make an intelligent business decision.

I'm an home business owner, but I had no previous experience selling, marketing, or operating a home business before I started. I read lots of books, talked to many people and made some mistakes all while building my business. What I did have was a burning desire to help others by providing the products and service, as well as the possibility to earn money with a business opportunity. There is a satisfaction that comes by knowing you and your products are making a difference in someone's life.


The Key to success in a home business is to "earn while you learn" or get started right away. The more enthusiastic you are in the beginning the faster you will want to learn and grow. 

In the book, The New Professionals, by James W. Robinson I found out how the evolution of MLM and Network Marketing are fast becoming mainstream. There are more companies today with great products, great business plans, and great brand recognition than ever before. This book is a must read for anyone looking to get started in a home based business.

Please consider the following:

1. You can create and use your business model that takes advantage of your own skills and knowledge.

2. Many entrepreneurs, including myself, function as national and international business owners, marketing products throughout the USA and beyond--online. With our type of business, there are no territory restrictions because we register customers, and sell products directly there are no layers of distribution. This is a factory direct business.

3. Some business owners prefer to market products locally. That's OK, too, actually it's a great way to get started and let your personal circle of influence see what you are doing. It's a great way to help your community by giving back, but it can limit how much money a someone can make because you are limiting your geographic scope. Start small, but think BIG!

Our business is based on an e-commerce model. That means our buyers purchase and pay for products online. We maintain no inventory. We handle no buyer money, either.

With a home based business you are creating your Own Economy, your Own Employment, and your Own Future. 

It's never too late to get started.


Michael Sparks--Entrepreneur

I have quit, but haven't failed

I wanted to write today about being a quitter versus being a failure.  Why is it that people quit, then call themselves a failure? Failing is a one time event when you fail to complete a task in a given amount of time. If you are doing a task that doesn't have a time line, like building a home based business, it's really impossible to fail. The only way to fail is to do absolutely nothing.

I have quit many things in my life. Some things were positive and others were things I either lost interest in or took another direction. For the positive things, I've quit smoking cigarettes, quit drinking alcohol (for over 2 years), quit consuming caffeine. Sometimes it's hard to be a quitter, I've never quit building my home business. 

I was listening to a youtube video put out by Tim Sales, who is a professional MLM trainer. He gives some great arguments against the old adage that most people lose money in Network Marketing, The truth is most people quit. It's almost impossible to fail at it because building a homebased MLM business happens over time. Some people do it faster than others, but anyone who goes out and gets customers on a regular basis is a success in my book. The whole most people "lose money" in MLM is also looked at in the wrong way. In this economy most people who bought a house in the last 3 years have lost money. Does that mean that no one should buy a house? Or that home owners are a "failure"? I don't think so, most people lose money in MLM because they are not spending time/money on the activities that will bring them the returns on their investment. I have spent money on things that did not return on my investment, but I have never lost money in my business. Even in the beginning I saw that registering customers, taking orders, and building that base has paid me back every single month in residual income. To this day I still prospect and add new customers each and every month.

Check out the video below, I hope that you come to the same conclusion that I have. Most people quit most things. But to fail in Network Marketing is just not possible.




If you are going be a quitter, start today by quitting all those bad things that are holding you back, slowing you down, and keeping you from being ALL YOU CAN BE! Like Michael Jordan says....Just Do it!

-Quit procrastinating
-Quit doubting yourself
-Quit being judgmental of others
-Quit sitting around watching others be more successful
-Quit those bad habits that are ruining your health like smoking, drinking too much, eating too much.
-Quit worrying about your financial future, by building your home based business

Start today, change those habits and by the end of the week you will see positive results in your life, your business, and your relationships.

To your success!

Michael Sparks-Entrepreneur