"Network marketing for smart people" means exactly what it says. If you are intelligent and want to be the best you can be in network marketing, you've come to the right place.

This is a thinking person's web site, a place to come when you "want to know".

But it's also for people who, while they may not think of themselves as particularly intelligent in an academic sense, want to go about building their network marketing business in an intelligent manner. If that's you, then you too have come to the right place.

We all want the same things. We all want to be successful and we want to do it as quickly as possible. We want to build residual income that lasts for a lifetime, and we want to have fun in the process (although we all define "fun" differently). We are not afraid of hard work but we're also looking for anything that can give us an edge.

I've been accused (ask my wife) of thinking too much. I guess I have to plead guilty. I analyze things, sometimes ad nauseum, and I am something of a perfectionist. Twenty years of arguing for a living might have something to do with it. But I have done well in my network marketing business despite my ways or, as I like to think, because of them.

So, whatever your style of learning or method of operation, you are welcome here.

I've arranged this web site so that longer articles are in their own section, while shorter, more timely posts are in the blog, arranged by date. This is the first post.

To read the articles, click on the "Articles" tab and then click on one. To learn more about me, start with the first one, Why I started a network marketing business. You can also read my "About" page.

You can subscribe to this blog via RSS, and to my newsletter, The Ward Report, through the subscription box on any page or here. You'll get a gift when you do.

I look forward to hearing from you. I haven't decided what I will do about comments, but you can always reach me this way.

All the best,

David

Network marketing for smart people basically means treating your business like a real business. I've posted an article by that title in the article section of this web site.

It's unfortunate, but most people don't treat their business like a business. After all, most people have never been in a business and don't know what it means to do so. That's why we sometimes tell new people to "treat it like a job". They understand what that means–show up every day, get your work done, get help if you need it, and so on.

Failure to treat one's business like a business leads to high attrition rates, rampant discouragement and blame, and the media saying things like, "network marketing is a scam" or "nobody makes money in network marketing". No, network marketing is not a scam (although there are scams in network marketing), and most people don't make money because they don't treat their business like a business.

Take a look at some headlines I recently saw in a business opportunity magazine:

"$15,000 a month. Just mail the 2 letters I give you!!!"

"TOO DAMN EASY!"

"We do 90% of the work. You collect the cash."

"Ground floor opportunity. Get in now, spots are filling fast!"

"We take all prospect calls. We answer all questions. We make all follow-up calls. We close all the sales. We ship all the products. We send you the paychecks."

Do these sound like "real" businesses to you? Do you truly believe that you can make money in a business where you don't have to do any work or you just mail out a couple of letters?

I don't think you do. You wouldn't be reading this blog if you did. But many people do believe it. That, or they get so caught up in their desire for easy riches they act like drunken soldiers on shore leave–they just can't help themselves.

Every day, people start businesses representing companies that make these kinds of assertions. But not just network marketing businesses. Variations of these kinds of promises abound throughout the world of business opportunities. Google "business opportunities" or "home based business" or "internet business" and you'll see so much garbage, it's a wonder anyone ever finds a legitimate business, and no surprise that network marketing is so maligned.

Treating it like a business starts with doing one's homework and using some common sense. It would be nice, however, if common sense were a little more common.