The old wisdom that says you must have money to make money is certainly true in any business, but especially a small or side business. It is here we struggle the most doing it so it seems harder to obtain that mindset that it is ok to take what we do have and invest it in this “opportunity.” In addition we also have to invest in our time and other resources to also make it happen with the expectation this investment is going to pay off with profit, more time freedom and a happier life.
Your small business, even those network marketing businesses, are legit businesses. It takes money to operate and you apply your time, energy and focus on it. The benefit of network marketing based businesses is they can fit into the situations where money is limited compared to other types of small businesses. I firmly believe it is not just luck of a few or those with extra money who “win” at it either but it is those that have the smart wisdom formula figured out and applied that make it happen. What seems to happen most commonly is we want it all now. All the good stuff that comes from what we’re taking on rather than realizing we have to work at making that dream come true in the process. There is not an advance payout in your own business.
Here’s the deal, I have operated Dragonspit Apothecary for over 3 years now while working my full time corporate career. My focus and goals have never aligned with the traditional network marketing framework either. I never cared what the ranks were called, I cared what it took to make money and what that represented in my business. My goal was not another title as I have one of those at my corporate job and I would happily give it up just to have more life work balance, a bigger paycheck and some contentment without being burned and stressed out all the time. Job titles are over-rated and the ranks used in network marketing are just fancy job titles. I wanted to see the numbers show success.
The very first goal I set was to operate in this equal space covering what I needed to spend to run a business while earning that amount back in my sales. Shifting my focus from the glitz and glamour of ranks, earning trips and prizes to this simple goal changed how I saw direct marketing. That completely split from the “hey girl” or party structure too because I saw this as my chance to do it differently; my way specifically. It was here I realized what they mean by treating this like a business, a real business and making it my own. If I was going to put in extra hours working at something I wanted it to be one hundred percent something that allowed my creative spirit to soar free and be all about what felt good. You know, the opposite of what it feels like at my career job.
The other behind the scenes truth is I am still working in the corporate world while I build Dragonspit. Guess what? I have bills to pay, a family to feed and normal stuff to take care of! Amazing right? As a result of this need to continuing working corporately I have not always had the time or energy to do it all in boosting the growth of Dragonspit as quickly as I would have liked. I do what I can by getting up early, working some on weekends and fitting it in every nook and cranny I can but sometimes other things have to come first. Anyone with a primary income job that is working on the side growing their own business understands the time investment both require at times. It means there are days, weeks and even months growth in your dream business will be flat or slow because you literally don’t have time for more. Yet we do this because it means something to us. It drives us unlike anything else we are working on.
Where we get spun up as seeing this as a “I can’t” or it doesn’t work situation is when we get tired and frustrated over it. When we see we’re investing our time and money and not getting it back in rewards or success fast enough it starts to feel like failure. We think we should be succeeding more, seeing better results for what we’re putting into it and why can’t it happen now! I’ve said all these same things to myself so I know firsthand it’s a terrible position to find ourselves in when trying to get something off the ground. It is here, exactly here, most people give up too and say it doesn’t work. We give up before we make any ground because we can’t shed these limiting beliefs or lack the passion to find the right thing for us to change the game.
What I have realized is when these feelings are coming up for me there are usually two culprits. The first being, I’m having an awful time in my primary job and I desperately want out of it to do something I love and that is all the better feelings while paying me. Secondly, I’m comparing myself to others. I see them excelling at it and wonder what I’m doing wrong. It took me a long time to realize, neither of these represent the progress, effort and evolution of Dragonspit or where I am going with it long term. It doesn’t represent what’s really important to me in why I am even building this adventure. So, I put that negativity aside and get back to investing in my own dreams.
The other area where I feel like we misapply our own wisdom in our side businesses is in thinking direct marketing doesn’t work and it is a scam. When I look at all the areas of work I could invest in to build my own wealth, time freedom and own my own business while working full time, I don’t see another option out there that works quite as well. Where I think the majority of people fail to see is just like ANY business out there you have to invest money, time, effort, creativity and the sweat and tears to make it take off. It is not luck or happenstance, it is work. You make a monthly investment in your business and you have all the controls to take it in any direction you want to create it as your own. That much freedom scares so many people because we’re used to in our jobs being told what to do, how to do it and when to get it done by. Network marketing training has sometimes provided that and when it didn’t work people here too came to think of it as a scam. I still don’t want a second job and that’s why I chose to start my own business instead.
The smart wisdom of having money to make money directly relates to entrepreneurs and those of us brave enough to embark on this dream to live differently. The best way I found to get there is through direct marketing because I can make it my own and fit it where I need to my life. This is the same approach I would have taken if I had opened a gift shop on main street selling greeting cards because it applies to any business. There is no difference between selling greeting cards you buy from somewhere and showcase in your store to me selling natural products I use myself on the web. It comes down to taking an opportunity you find and manifesting it into your own version that uniquely represents you. It takes money, time, effort, creativity, self-determination, grit and more being poured into it by you. The result is the wisdom that says doing it in right amounts reaps results.
If you are interested in knowing what I do, how I do it and seeing if it is the right opportunity for you to invest in let me know. Use the chat over at dragonspitapothecary.com
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