The Teckki Says

I was recently invited to an "opportunity" event that someone felt that would be profitable to me. Of course, details would be forthcoming, and I really needed to see the presentation to get the full story. After 10 years of business, I know of no other situation that presents itself like this like a Network Level Marketing (NLM) scheme. What I am surprised about is the source - a fellow business owner. As a matter of fact over the years, a number of business owners have approached me about various "opportunities".

Why?

I can only speculate, but I can see why this appeals to those that are employed. The thought of being your own boss, more free time, and financial prosperity are bandied about like summer rain on a hot day. It's easy to see why this appeals to someone who works 40+ hours a week and takes orders from someone that they aren't crazy about. But these aforementioned perks are some of the reasons why we started our businesses. What we found is that you work 70+ hours a week, and take orders from a bunch of people that you may not be crazy about - and these are OUR employees! Maybe after having two turns at the prosperity/freedom/more time wheel, we are open to trying something else.

But is this it?

I imagine that things could be better for many businesses and organizations – financial conditions are not great, work is too hard, and the headaches of running an organization seem to last forever. However, I am missing what the allure is for people who give and have given up a lot in pursuing their dream, in the hopes that they can make some quick money.
I have two main problems with NLM. The first one is that some of the "successful" speakers presenting still have their day jobs. My question is that if this stuff is so good, why do you still have a job? I would not quit tomorrow if I started making, let’s say, $20,000 or more a month, but all of my clients would be put on notice that my days as their vendor are numbered, and sooner rather than later. I really love what I do, but at that level of big bucks, especially relatively hassle-free, that these presenters are fantasizing about, I could quickly find some new brides to fill my days.

The next issue I have is that it involves sales. You would think I would not or should not have a problem with this, and I don't for MY business. I have a HUGE issue with developing a market for an unrelated product line, and spending time selling something to someone that they probably have never heard of. Been there, done that, and actually, still there and doing that with the stuff I know. As we have built our organizations, I'm wondering if some of us have forgotten what that was like.

An interesting note is that my colleagues don't feel that they are going to start totally at the bottom. They're business people, and they've gotten good at getting other people to work for them. Their objective seems to be geared to get you, and to get you to get people to help them move up the ladder. I see no enthusiasm in their eyes when it comes to selling the actual product or service. In this respect, business people involved in NLM schemes remain true to their nature.

We've all had it tough. Let's face it, that's what recessions do; they make business or running your organization much harder, sometimes impossible. They even cloud our dreams. However, whether you are working for someone, or for many some ones are working for you, I believe you can more often than not do better for yourself. Recessions can be times to try something different, sometimes by choice, sometimes not, or sometimes by opportunity. I would argue that there is no better time to assess and possibly reinvent yourself or what you do, because fewer people are buying what sold so well yesterday.

There is an abundance of opportunities out there. I just don't believe that NLM is one of them.

In a world of apples, I strive to be an orange.

Apples are usually first when someone asks you to list a fruit. Apples are well known. Apples have more of a varied use.

Apples are also generally more common, and cheaper than oranges at the grocery store. And that's a point I want to make.

You have to sell a lot more apples to be profitable. The apple section is usually bigger than the orange section. There are more uses for apples in recipes, dishes and food ingredients than there are for oranges. Apples are associated with the warmest of days with pie and ice cream, to the chilliest with warm, toasty cider. But just as there are many uses, someone had to come up with that use in order to distinguish their apples from someone else's.

This is true in business as well.

To state the point, there are a lot of uses for oranges too, but less so. But the reason I want to be an orange deals just as much with apples. Three familiar sayings illustrate my point.

An Apples-to-Apples Comparison

Clients always want an apples-to-apples comparison. Because of this, you try to be the biggest, most polished, reddish (or greenish or yellowish) apple there is. You'll want to be the sweetest or most tart. All of these things are good, but at the end of the day, the real thing your clients will look at is price, and the trade-off may be size, color, polish or taste.

In the world of an orange, it forces one to look at features and benefits. You already know that oranges and apples are priced differently, so choosing one or the is a matter of purpose.

An Apple a Day...

We know, "keeps the doctor away", unless I want a doctor. This is not to say oranges draw doctors, but it does speak to market diversity. Red, Granny Smith, McIntosh and Gala are all types of apples. If I don't want an apple, I have rejected all of the different types. In this case, variation is not the same as variety, and often times, clients prefer variety, even if they eventually choose the apple.

An Apple Doesn't Fall Far From the Tree

Just about all of the websites I design for clients have the same basic structure. What they don't have is the same style. No matter the variation, you can spot the differences in most apples, but you basically know what your are going to get. You also know the results, and in my business, people aren't looking for the tried and true, they are looking for a difference and a edge.

They are striving to be an orange.

Link: http://customwire.ap.org/dynamic/stories/R/RI_AMAZON_RI_TAXES?SITE=ILJOL&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

Online retailer Amazon.com is rebelling against taxation based on affiliate representation - mainly states that have imposed taxes on the retailer based on affiliates located within their borders. To states, an affiliate represents that "physical presence" that requires a retailer to pay sales taxes. Amazon.com is rebelling by throwing it's affiliates into the "Hasta La Vista" harbor. Currently, Amazon.com has cut ties to affiliates in Rhode Island, North Carolina and Hawaii. California is not far behind if it passes similar legislation.

Then Illinois State Senator Barack Obama at Chicago's Hyde Park Neighborhood Fourth of July Celebration, 2001

Business is like politics, it's better to be both!

Link: http://www.teffecx.com/news.php

Why You Care That Broadband Usage is Up

According to Pew Research Center broadband home adoption rate is up 8 percentage points from a year earlier. This report does more than give the gross rate of increase, but breaks it down into demographic categories, such as income, race, education and age groups. Read more

Down-low-DING!

A Minnesota mother of four was the latest loser in the music industry's crusade against illegal file sharing. Jammie Thomas-Rasset was found to have downloaded 24 songs, and was fined $80,000 per song, a judgment of $1.92 million.

That's a big OUCH, but many businesses risk the same fate by using any content that is in violation of copyright laws. The biggest source is lifting content from the web. Those pictures, graphics, sounds and text may look good on other sites, but if it finds itself on your site, you may be sued, and commercial enterprises will almost always be sued for damages.

While a plaintiff in a suit against you may not be awarded $1.92M, I am sure that it would take much less to bankrupt most of us!

FTC Obtains Judgment Against Payment Processor

For those that plan to or currently perform e-commerce, beware. A Payment processing company, which allows merchants to take credit cards and bank debits, was found to have perform unauthorized transactions to consumers bank accounts to the tune of $2.38 million. The FTC eventually obtained a $1.7M judgment against the company.

In the rush to get online, organizations forget or are unaware of the due diligence they have to perform, and that a primary responsibility is to protect their customers. If this company was one you used, it won't be seen as their mistake, but YOURS! Customers may get their money back, but it will be up to you to get back your credibility and their trust.

Disclaimer - Teffecx Company sells email marketing services, and is a business partner to Constant Contact, and email marketing provider

Junk (e)mail - You've got messages!

Advertising Age commented on a Forrester Report on Email Marketing that makes some good points. One, that email marketing is becoming less effective due to the amount of it, and that lack of targeting (i.e. sending messages to everyone on the list regardless of their stated interests) results in diminishing returns.


My take from this is that in the rush to be unfocused and cheap, e-mail marketing will eventually become less effective as a marketing option.