Posted by Tom M. on June 29, 2002 at 15:30:42:
I read this post on a forum today. I thought you would enjoy.
Ah yes, the realities of a real job! Work hard, move up, retire in 40 and collect your gold watch and hefty pension while cashing in those massive stock options!
You know, I get a little tired of hearing people put down our industry.
* Don't fall for the hype!
* The ones on the top make the money off the backs of those at the bottom.
* Don't be a fool; MLM is for losers!
Now, there are good and bad companies....there are good and bad people.
In MLM and in the corporate world.
I am not going to hype you and tell you to STAY AWAY from a job. But, just as people warn you of the realities of network marketing, let's be real and also talk about the realities of the corporate world.
Our family has lived in Houston, Texas for almost 21 years. My husband has been living in Orlando for four months and our family will finally join him in a few weeks. Houston is not only home to us....it's home to:
* Compaq Computer (now HP)
* Enron
* Arthur Anderson
* Dynergy
* Reliant Energy
* Continental Airlines
So, not an expert, I can give you a brief overview of the hype of traditional business:
* My husband was downsized from Compaq in June 2001 and out of work for 9 months.
* Last week HP/Compaq announced they were furloughing 5,027 contract workers in Houston for 3 weeks to ascertain if there were any of them they couldn't live without. The others will be out of a job.
* They haven't even begun the 15,000-24,000 in layoffs of employees yet.
* Prior to his 12 years at Compaq, my hubby spent 11 years with MCI (now Worldcom). Thank goodness, we dumped our stock two years ago; otherwise, we'd be using it as a unique wallcovering in the bathroom.
* The guy who cleaned our pool deck the other day is 60 years old and had 30 years with Enron till he was laid off in December. He "drank the company kool aid" and had all his 40lK money in Enron stock....he went from a millionaire to almost penniless overnight. The guy has sent out over 1000 resumes with no response. How do you tell a guy who's 60 years old and has worked hard his whole life...that he'll probably not work a traditional corporate job again?
* There's a couple down the street who are retired, living the good life on their Enron pension. Their house is now for sale. What kind of the future can they expect for their golden years?
* On my neighbor's street of 14 homes, 4 are for sale: two are out-of-work Compaq people, two from Enron. She said the property values in her neighborhood have dropped $10,000 as each tries to undercut the other in pricing their home because they can't afford the mortgage payment anymore. I predict this situation will only worsen over the next year, as the real layoffs begin.
* Although you hear of the large corporations, think of all the smaller companies downsizing and closing. Don't forget, there are a lot of small fish who feed the big fish. Those companies rarely make the news.
* When I called the moving company last week, they told me there was a hold on Houston because so many people were leaving town.
* Corporate executives have accrued millions of dollars in stock they sold, while telling the "little people" to keep buying and supporting their companies.
Now, I wouldn't be so bold as to tell you to "look at the record" and avoid a corporate job like the plague. The same way as I think it's foolish for people to say the same about our industry.
Reality:
* There are good and bad companies in traditional business and the MLM industry.
* There are good and bad people in traditional business and the MLM industry.
* Do your homework.
* Do NOT depend on one source for your income. If you have a job, develop a hobby into a side business, join a legitimate networking company, do SOMETHING that will pay the bills if your income vanishes. (And, while I won't get into the debate of promoting more than one networking company, I believe networkers should also develop more than one income stream....hobby, consulting, etc.)
The main difference is that with a traditional job, you have no control. You can be the hardest worker bee in the hive and it doesn't mean squat if the company goes out of business or has to lay off thousands of people. At least in our businesses, if you do your homework, make your selection based on the four components for success, and put in some reasonable time and effort, you can control the outcome a lot better.
Okay....got that off my chest. Now I'm going back to bed!
Debbi Bressler