How Long Does It Take to Achieve MLM Success?

by Chuck
(MD)

How much time does it really take to succeed in MLM? There are lots of variables in this equation, such as previous network marketing experience, work ethic, desire, goals, and commitment. While a select few people enter this industry and make it big right away, most don’t. Most people join our industry and quit within a few days, weeks, or months. And most top earners take several years to get to that level in their compensation plan.

I watched a great video today with Eric Worre of Network Marketing Pro. If you haven’t checked out his website before, you should. He interviews many top producers in our industry. He discussed the average timeline for MLM Success. I couldn’t explain this any better myself, so I’d like to summarize what I learned in his video.

Assuming you work your business every single week for minimum 5 to 10 hours, you could expect:

• 1 Year to be Profitable

• 3 Years to Go Full Time

• 5 Years to be a High Income Earner

• 7 Years to be a World Class Earner

I want you to think about this for a moment. Most people who join our industry don’t even stick around 60 to 90 days, let alone 1 to 7 years. And they wonder why they don’t achieve success? In fact, I don’t think you could start any type of business and be profitable in 60 to 90 days. There might be a couple exceptions, but I can’t think of any.

Our industry is probably the only industry where people start a business, and quit within a week. How many Subway franchisees do that? How many mom and pop stores open for business and quit within their first month? You know the answer to that question.

If you are going to join this industry, you have to make a commitment and give it a chance. You can’t expect to get rich quick. You must develop a business mindset. You must invest consistent time each week, for several years, before you can expect to build a profitable business. I’ve owned several traditional businesses, and all of them took at least one year to earn a profit. Some took longer than that. And others never earned a profit. I’m saying this to put things in perspective.

Think about this for a moment. What other type of business could you get similar results with the same 5-10 hour time commitment? Could you start a tavern, work 5-10 hours a week, and be rich in a year or two? I doubt it. Could you start a restaurant and do any better? Nope.

My best advice to most people is to “don’t fool yourself.” All businesses require time, money and energy to build. Network marketing is one of the few industries that give you the chance to build a business that produces residual income. Best of all, you don’t need to quit your day job or go in debt to do it. But, you must make a commitment to develop new skills. And you must be persistent and consistent. If you can’t do that, you shouldn’t get started in the first place. If that's the case, you shouldn’t own any type of business.