Examine Network Marketing Opportunities Carefully - All Pyramids Are Not Schemes, Ask a Pharaoh

I recently read an article in the paper (one of those advice columns) and the question had to do with network marketing. The person had a friend (it's always a friend) who was thinking about getting into a network marketing company and the writer knew all those things were scams. The answer given was that it could be a good learning experience, and if it didn't cost much, it might be worthwhile to check out.I have to say that I have been involved with a couple network marketing companies, and some are scams and some are legitimate, but the monetary cost isn't necessarily the greatest cost. There is a lot of time that you are investing in the business. Now for those of you who don't have much money, a low cost time intensive second job might be appealing. The benefit of the time invested is often a good education on marketing and social skills.An important thing to look at is the product (or products) that the company is selling. Are you required to buy a large inventory? That's a warning flag. Stay away from those sorts of offers as they are mostly looking to make money from associates buying products and not from building a genuine customer base. Are the products high quality and drop shipped for you? This is a good sign.Has the company been in business a while? Generally this is also a good sign, although some poorly run companies have been around for a while. Make sure the company makes or distributes quality products and has a good reputation - do an online search before getting involved with ANYTHING. A good way to research this is looking at the companies rating with the Better Business Bureau. Know that when you do online research there are always some people who are raging with anger at any company and that may have more to do with the individual than the company or its products and services.Finally, is the company recruiting more than actually selling product? Some companies really don't make much on product, it's just a prop to hold up the pyramid. Recruiting as an ends to making money is the biggest sign of scam. The nay sayers will scream pyramid and run at the first sign of an MLM business, but a pyramid is a natural organizational structure and it doesn't go hand in hand with scheme. Know that if you get involved the returns usually take a while to be seen, but the rewards can last a lifetime. Research and know any company you do business with, whether as a consumer or as a business partner.