Second Income

Through the evolution of network marketing from the past 60 years the modern MLM and networking business is able to enjoy ongoing success, even though the beginnings have a slight tumultuous twist. The idea of letting those who sold the products to actually buy them was rooted in the 1800s when the first commission based sales began. Later, Amway took the idea a step further and let people buy the products, recruit business partners and build a network of businesses.

When Henry Heinz wanted to push his ketchup and pickle products to those who did not grow their own, he did much of the work himself. However, he began to see the benefit of giving a commission to anyone who wanted to sell the product instead of a full salary. This idea was eventually used by Asa Candler, the founder of Coca-Cola.

The 1940s and 50s were when the idea of ownership in sales was perfected. Several of the most successful Multi-Level Marketing businesses began. The most famous original was Amway. Originally, the founder sold Nutralite, but the manufacturer became jealous of the sales success and began scaling back production hoping to force the sales side to fork over more revenue. The founder simply began producing his own formula, built the company known as Amway, and eventually bought the original manufacturer. The founders of Mary Kay Cosmetics and Tupperware both had their start during this period as well. Using the same owner-seller model they are some of the largest corporations in existence.

As fate would have it, there were some people who decided to use the model provided by the very successful MLM companies and build a fake company based on the recruitment model. Selling memberships in an organization that had no product, but instead would pay out to those at the top of the pyramid, the pyramid scheme was born. Because its model was so close to the successful MLM model, many people then and now associate the two. This is a link that the MLM industry has had difficulty shaking, even with their huge successes.

In 1975 Amway was sued by the United States FTC with the accusations that Amway was a pyramid scheme. A few years later the courts final decision was the company was a legitimate business with legitimate products. Even though this link has remained in many peoples’ minds, the MLM industry was the first to request laws preventing pyramid schemes.

As time and technology has advanced, so has the industry. The communication tools have improved. People are able to receive orders much faster. Training has gotten better and even skeptical people have found how many products they use thanks to an MLM somewhere.

The advent of the internet has taken this industry to a whole new level. The ability to build a webpage as a business and incorporate social networking into the mix has created a boom for both legitimate and non-legitimate business opportunities. In many cases the products are able to be sold without ever having a face to face meeting with a client. The basic concepts have not changed because the personal reference portion of the idea continues to be an extremely important part of the package.

Through technological advances and a tumultuous time, the evolution of network marketing from the past 60 years became a model that has been highly successful and long lasting. Through the relationships and trust that is built, networks are created. The ideas are the same now as before.

Discover why the evolution of network marketing from the past 60 years provides ongoing success now in our guide to all you need to know about how and where to find the best network marketing opportunities

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