WHY IS MLM BUSINESS AVOIDED?

By Fredy A. Susanto

Translated by William Kusuma

Edited by Hasan Almunawar

Happy, Healthy, Wealthy with Tiens

The majority of people have incorrect perception towards marketing business that is run by an MLM system. Although, ACCORDING TO DISTRIBUTION PRICIPLES, MLM business does not differ from other business. In the business world, a company would certainly want their products to reach the consumers’ hands in ways that are FAST, EFFICIENT, and DIVERSIFIED.
Therefore, there are number of distribution channels to choose from. There are companies that choose to distribute their products through another company (Distributor) that distributes the products again through another party (Retailer) and then the products are offered to consumers. There are other companies that choose to distribute their products directly to consumers without going through other parties (Direct Selling). And there are others who choose to distribute them through their CONSUMERS.
Companies that choose to market or distribute their products through their CONSUMERS are called Multi Level Marketing or Network Marketing Companies or in short MLM. Clearly from goods distribution principles (fast, efficient, and diversified), an MLM business does not differ from other businesses. There are
still a lot of us who think that an MLM business is a fraud, WHY?
The discussion and question-answer (Q&A) below tries to help straighten and position MLM business the right way.

• QUESTION (Q) : I am one of the people who have negative perceptions about MLM business.
• ANSWER(A) : It’s okay. You are not alone in this matter.

• Q : According to my friend, MLM business is a business that is not profitable and not worth doing. He tried doing the business so many times but had always failed!
• A : Failure can occur in all kinds of businesses. Let’s just say you started a hand phone shop today, maybe half a year later your shop closes because it does not give you the results that you want. There could be a lot of causes, maybe because of the heavy competition or you do not feel that you’re fit for the business. MLM business is not actually about people who failed, but it is about people who stop too early! Your friend did not fail; he just simply stopped too early. I know it sounds naïve but that’s the reality. Patience and persistence always pay off in an MLM business and success is just a matter of time. Every MLM business owner realizes that persistent work ethic is at the end the key that determines success in MLM business as PROMISED!

• Q : You said “As PROMISED”. According to me, this is a classic  problem where MLM business always promises sweet and great things. They promise that you will get a free car, free yacht, free plane, free villa… and so on and so on. I’m confused listening to all these
  
• A : Ha…ha…ha… I want to ask you back a question, would you want to start a business that does not “promise” anything? Everyone who has started a business, what ever business it is, does it because of the “promising” return he will acquire when the business is successful, right?!

 For example, You started a hand phone shop again
. What do you hope to get if your shop is successful? Money? I’m sure; money is one of the factors. Let’s just say your business is a success this time.

With the profit that you get, of course you will be able to buy a car, go on holiday, and if there is a lot of profit, maybe you will put the money in fixed deposit and you live on the interest every day, and you decide to stop working and retire early , right?! Or an employee who works hard because his boss “promises” him a free trip to go on holiday overseas if he reaches the sales target.

Basically, someone starts a business or does a job because it “promises” returns and profits if he succeeds.

Unfortunately, a lot of people misinterpret promises that can be reached through an MLM business. Many think that once they join, then automatically, without any effort, they can get a lot of money, luxury car, luxury house, holiday overseas, early retirement and so on. This perception is entirely wrong! There is none of that kind of business in this world! Without effort and sweat we can have abundant amount of money?! Well… maybe if we are good at picking lottery numbers that can happen.

• Q : I can understand your point, even though there is still a lot of doubt because of promises that are “sold” by MLM businesses. 
• A : Thank you. It is not my intention to convince you, but I want to ask you to judge MLM business fairly.

• Q : Now I know that MLM business can be seen as other businesses. But it’s too bad that other people already have negative image towards this business. Logically, why would people want to join a business that has a negative image? This has nothing to do whether it is the right thing or not, right?!
• A : That’s a good question… If you want to discuss about negative image, this problem can occur in all kinds of businesses. Have you been disappointed after buying a computer because the product that you bought was not working as promised? Do you right away deduce that ALL computer shops are cheaters and you stop buying computers? Of course not, you will probably conclude that only that particular shop likes to cheat. The same way to conclude should apply to MLM business. Unfortunately, people tend to generalize. If one is bad, they are all bad. It is not fair, isn’t it? Like any other business, there are good ones and there are bad ones. Can you accept this point of view?

• Q : I agree, by right we should not generalize matters. But “there is no smoke without fire”. The negative image that arises must have its causes. There is a truth in that right?
• A : Ha… ha… ha… You are quite the critic. I’m really glad to have you as a discussion partner. You’re right, there is no cause without reason. There are mistakes that were done by a few MLM companies and the people who are doing it. But I’m sure that an MLM Company that is right and good will be able to last. The problem is there are a lot of people who already have negative impressions toward this business model even though they have not really understood the business. Personally, I look at MLM business as a positive business. Maybe you can let me know the negative impressions that you have about this business so that we can discuss them? 

• Q : Gladly. This is what I have been waiting for
  . Firstly, MLM businesses always stress its distributors to sell, sell and sell. As if there are no other things to be done. The problem is, there are a lot of people who do it in an unsympathetic way, forcing or being really pushy. At the end of the day it makes us feel annoyed and irritated towards MLM. Even though we buy the offered products, that’s because we do not feel nice because we have been “chased at” all the time not because we want to buy them. Clearly this situation is not comfortable for the buyer. Secondly, ….
• A : Stop… stop… One by one, okay
  . I agree, MLM business that always stresses on selling will one day bump into problems, whether they are with the members or with the consumers. At the moment MLM Companies are becoming more aware that they should actually stress more on the development of a NETWORK OF CONSUMERS not a Network of Sellers. Because of that, the offered products have to be products that can be consumed by the consumer or his/her family and people who he/she knows. The concept that is being developed now is to RECOMMEND not just by selling and keeping on selling! And logically we…. 

• Q : I’m sorry to cut you off. Isn’t this just a tactic by the way of softening the word “sell” to “recommend”?
• A : Of course not, apart from the two words having different meanings, the principle of it is also different. If you sell something, it does not necessarily mean that you use or buy them right? A BMW salesman does not necessarily drive a BMW car or a single man that sells women’s clothing has a high chance of not buying or wearing the products that he sells
  . The examples are not the main point here but the basic principle. If we sell something there is a high probability that we do not buy or use the products that we sell. But if you recommend something, it is a low probability that you do not use or buy the products isn’t it? A movie that you recommend would surely have been watched by yourself first….

• Q : I do not quite agree with that. According to me, there is no significant difference between selling and recommending. You still get bonus or money when your recommendation succeeds. Even less or more, agreeable or not, there are traits of selling here. 
• A : It is important to remember that MLM is a marketing business. People always say that when it comes to business at the end of the day it’s always about money. You are not mistaken by understanding that whether it is by selling or recommending, at the end of the day it comes down to bonus or money. But there is a basic difference here that you have to understand. The way we market in order to make money or bonus has to be considered! It can’t be ignored right away! The end result of be it selling or recommending may be the same but the process is significantly different. Stressing the MLM concept towards RECOMMENDATION it is hoped that the negative things that have happened before such as people being pushy or creating a condition where others become uncomfortable and buy because they are forced to, these can be avoided. You cannot force people to accept your recommendations can you?! I believe that with the “recommendation” concept, all the negative things can be avoided so that everyone will know that MLM is a wonderful business…. 

• Q : Eeeiiitt.... Hold on for a while; do not claim that MLM is a wonderful business too early. I still have tons of objections. I can understand the concept shift even though I’m still not able to take it purely because it is still to be proven on the field. 
• A : I can understand that. It is the job of MLM businesspeople to bring back the positive image of MLM. Please proceed with your objections…
  .

• Q : Secondly, there are a lot of MLM that do not sell products but sells the bonus system or compensation plan. This causes the products to be number two or maybe the last thing in consideration. The most important thing is to recruit…recruit…and recruit….
• A : Just now you mentioned sell… sell… sell… now recruit… recruit… recruit…
  . Actually your question can be divided into two, firstly about bonus system, and secondly about recruitment. About the first question, I agree with you. I do not agree if MLM business is just about selling their system. The sustainability of an MLM business always lies on the product that it sells, not just the system. If the system is great but the products don’t work, then who’s going to use? Maybe people will try the product once and after that they won’t try anymore. In an MLM business bonus system is a leverage tool to make sure that the long term condition of the business is taken care of. But this does not mean that MLM business can simply have any kind of bonus system! MLM business that only depends on the system will only last for a short while. There are a lot of cases to support this. Do not join an MLM business that only depends on the system and places their product as number two or even last. Secondly, about recruitment. It is the nature of MLM business to Develop a Network of Users. This means that we must build a network that comprises of many users. I’m sure that you do not mind “recruitment”, but it is the wrong way to recruit that you do not agree with, is that right?

• Q : No Comment.
• A : If a person is serious about doing the business, then he has to WORK! In an MLM business, there are 2 basic forms of work that have to be done. These are recommending people to use the products and recruiting other people to make MLM as their business. The two basic works demand MLM business people to be actively meeting other people, whether the ones they know or the ones they do not know, to be invited as partners. Because MLM does not need special qualifications to do then theoretically, anyone CAN become an MLM Businessperson. Doesn’t matter whether you are a student or a lecturer, a home maker or a career woman, a drop out or university graduate, an employee or business owner anyone can do the business! Therefore, you can imagine the AMOUNT of  human resources that are able to do MLM business. The logical result is, everyone doing an MLM business will always see that in everyone else there is always a potential to be a member of his network. Therefore, the recruitment process will always be ongoing. It is just that sometimes there are a few MLM business people who “forget” that everybody has the right to choose the business or occupation that they want to do. Most of the time someone that has clearly rejected the MLM business keeps on being chased after or “forced” to join. This will have a negative impact on MLM business.  Imagine, if only 10% of the members of the network make this mistake then the echo of this mistake will multiply in the society because dissatisfaction is easier to spread than satisfaction. 

By right, MLM business people understand, rather than wasting time “forcing” people who do not want to join, it will be more productive if he uses his time to invite other people who can see the success opportunity that is offered by MLM. There is also a negative perception that grows because of people who have joined MLM. When they join, they do not realize that they have to expand their network, so when their “up-line” asks them to work together, they feel forced and in the end will say that MLM is hard to do. Recruitment is the nature of MLM business. The way of recruitment has to be professionalized so that it does not bring a negative effect on the society. And this is easy to learn if we really want to do MLM business.

• Q : Now I can understand that you have to do as many “recruitment” as possible to develop a network.
• A : Thank You. Everyone that has joined an MLM Company and treats it as a BUSINESS has to go through the recruitment process. Not just “horizontal” recruitment but also “vertical”. That means not only going width (sideways) but also depth (downwards). An “up-line” has to help his/her “down-line” to do recruitment, this way the network developed will be stable and strong. In MLM, teamwork is the number one priority. Meetings, sharing, and discussion are daily “food”. MLM itself is sometimes abbreviated as MEET, LEARN and MULTIPLY. So it is clear that MLM business is about recruitment, but MLM business is a great business and….

• Q : Ssssttt… do the promotion later. There are still a lot of objections that we have to discuss.
• A : Ha….ha…ha…I’m sorry…please proceed…

• Q : So what about MLM businesses always benefiting people who are above, when the people below are the ones working hard? Here we can clearly see big time exploitation! People who are below are being used by the people above! How do you explain all of these?! How?!
• A : Relax..relax.. being too emotional is not good for your health
  .

• Q : Ha..ha..ha.. please explain.
• A : Actually, there has never been exploitation in an MLM business as long as we run the business the right way. I know you might not agree with this statement. But, we will try and analyze in a simpler manner. In an MLM business, everyone has the same opportunity to reach the “top”. The only thing that differentiates them is the TIME. Somebody that joined earlier has an opportunity to become successful first. The ones that joined later wait in the success “queue”. For example, if I plant rice today, 4 months later I will harvest. If you planted rice 3 months from today, only 7 months later you will harvest. Whoever plants first will obviously harvest first, it is fair isn’t it?

• Q : Your analogy is right, but what happened there are two independent events. They do not have any relationship with each other. But in an MLM business, everything is interrelated. Let’s just say I’m your down line, if I work hard then you are the one that will profit from it, correct?
• A : That’s right. But it does not mean that I’m exploiting you. As long as you are aware that MLM business is a networking business which means that your success is related to the success of people in your network. 

The early stage of an MLM business always needs an enormous amount of effort. Did you know that a rocket needs the most fuel when it takes off? Afterwards the fuel consumptions relatively decrease in a linear manner. The same thing happens to an MLM business. People who are above you are people who worked hard, probably even harder than you when they had just started their business. When their network is developed they enjoy the results, isn’t this a normal thing? What ever they enjoy right now is the result of all their hard work! It’s not a sin to enjoy your effort is it? Exploitation only happens if you work hard in an MLM business but do not get any return. An MLM business that is good will make sure that those people who work harder will get results. The image of “exploitation” normally comes from the people who stop too fast before their network is developed. Remember, in an MLM business there is no such word as failure
. If you want me to be honest, people who stop too early should actually realize that if he/she sponsors just one more person or if he succeeded in recommending one more person to consume his/her product, then he will also get bonus! That means if their effort shows results, then which part of that is exploitation? Or if he stops, his up line does not get anything. I don’t think there is any exploitation here.

• Q : But I still feel exploited because someone else reaps the results of my effort or profits from my effort! 
• A : I can understand this matter. There are a few people who have the same problem. Let’s think through it again for a little while. If you are doing an MLM business then the person who is your “up line” is the person who provided you with the business opportunity. So it is actually fine that he gets results from his effort in sponsoring you, right? This is more or less the same when we give commission to people who help us to look for land, house or car.  It is the same with other conventional businesses. If let’s say you, as  an employee, are not beneficial to the company where you work, then you will get retrenched right?! So would you feel exploited that your company benefits/profits because of your effort (plus the fact that you receive much less than your company)? Of course not, because you also get benefits (in wages, bonuses, facilities etc). Whatever you do, regardless whether you work as an employee or work for yourself, you will always benefit someone else, directly or  indirectly! If you do not want to benefit anyone else because you feel exploited then you would have to become “Tarzan”, live alone in the jungle without wearing any clothes
  . Because, once you wear clothes, you will be giving “benefit” to the manufacturer
  . The basic principle in an MLM business relationship does not differ from the principle above. It is absolutely normal if your up line gets benefit from your business (remember that you also get profit and benefit here). The abnormal and what is called exploitation is if your up line benefits but you do not get any benefit/profit at all!! That’s not the fact at all right?! If you sponsor one person then you will get benefit (profit). Remember, MLM is a business, not just a social gathering! As a business, MLM has to be based on a UTUALLY  BENEFICIAL and  PRODUCTIVE  relationship, between up line and down line! But there is an interesting thing about this MLM business, where you have an equally big opportunity as your up line to become successful. You can even be more successful than your up lines, which is an impossible thing to do to the owner of your company if you are just an employee.

• Q : But according to me the pyramid network structure of an MLM business still gives chance for exploitation to happen. 
• A : People often assume that only MLM businesses have a pyramid structure, isn’t that right? Actually this is not true! Let’s take a look at the structure of a company, most of the company’s structure looks like a “pyramid”. With one leader as, let’s say, General Manager, and the below him the managers, and then the supervisors, and at the bottom are the workers. The lower it goes the more the quantity of the people in the level, isn’t this a pyramid as well? According to an investment professional, Robert T. Kiyosaki, the pyramid in an MLM  business is actually an upside-down pyramid because your up line will ‘push’ you to go above as soon as possible, and not stay below. The focus in an MLM business is to bring as many people as possible to the peak! In a traditional company, is it possible for a supervisor to ‘push’ their subordinates to replace his position or in other words go above? I don’t think so!

• Q : Hhhhmmm…. You have explained quite well about MLM problems about selling, recruitment and issues about up line and down line relationship. I still cannot accept the whole idea but, it’s informative enough to give new perspectives in looking at an MLM business. Right now I can already see that an MLM business has the same basic principles more or less compared to other businesses. The roblem is now is whether I want to do it or not…?
• A : That’s right. MLM business is one option of the thousands of business models in the world. It is one of the ways to get income! 

You can decide to become a doctor, or lawyer, or a business owner or an MLM businessman. The important thing that has to be remembered is that whatever your choice is, you realize that your business or your occupation will give you benefit/profit.

• Q : Are there specific criteria that we can use to analyze an MLMbusiness?
• A : Your question is very interesting. The easiest way to analyze is to use this formula, which is PRODUCT, INCOME, COMPANY, SUPPORT, and BUSINESSPEOPLE. Let’s take a look at the table below:

1. PRODUCT Are they needed by me, my family and my friends?
2. Is there a market for them and are the purchases repeatable?
3. INCOME Does it allow me to get the income that I want?
4. COMPANY Is the company’s reputation good?
5. SUPPORT How about the support available for those who do the business?
6. BUSINESS PEOPLE Are there a lot of business people in this MLM?

I myself did this analysis before I decided to join. I will explain how to do this.

Firstly, I asked myself, are TIENS products needed by me, my family, and my friends? The answer is that they are really needed.

Personally, I needed to consume the products and so do my family members and my friends. Analysis results: positive.

The next question is whether there is a market and are the purchases repeatable? If you go to Century or Guardian or any pharmacy, you will be able to see the amount of space given for health food or supplements, this means that the market is already there. Apart from that, Tiens products are made from natural sources or are herbal based products. This aligns with the “back to nature” trend that is followed by the people around. Plus, Tiens products are products that are consumed on a daily basis which are always needed. People do not buy just once. Repeatable purchases will ensure the sustainability of my business.

Secondly, about the income. After I went through the compensation plan, actually the bonus system that has been developed by Tiens is really good, for example the advancement of qualifying levels based on accumulated sales and accumulated ranks. The result of my hard effort will surely be paid off. Not just that, I always check on whether there are a lot of success stories. Actually in here there are a lot of them! The incomes of the successful people here amaze me. Tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of ringgits in income per month have been received. Surely this is a “tempting” business to do. Analysis Result: Positive.

Thirdly, having to do with the company profile. I admit that during my early stages I did not know much about Tiens. My personal research found that the products were already being sold in the United States of America, and have already received ISO 9002, already been approved by the FDA and a lot of other awards.

In this matter I remained neutral at first. (At this moment if I was asked on whether or not Tiens is a strong company, without a doubt I will answer: ABSOLUTELY!
Even right now Tiens is also expanding supermarket network with the name of Banner Store.

Banner Store sells 4,000 – 5,000 items of products that are usually sold in a normal supermarket. Every purchase at Banner Store will be included in our bonus calculation. WOW. What else do you need?!).

Analysis Result: Positive.

Fourth, going to the next question which is whether there is any support available to help us in expanding our business? Actually there is already a support system organization that is very helpful in running the Tiens Business. This organization and support system is called UNICORE, which coordinates routine meetings, prepares brochures and books and also gives training sessions, with the purpose of helping Tiens business owners in running their business well and professionally. Apart from that, UNICORE has developed a system to reach success which is called the 7 Steps that are easy to do and duplicate. Analysis Result: Positive.

Fifth or last question is about the number of businesspeople in it.

Tiens entered Indonesia in 2001. When I just joined, it was still relatively new and there were still a small number of people who have started the business. This means that there are still a lot of opportunities.

For those of you who join later, do not fear that the competition is already tight because there are a lot of examples of other MLM companies that are supported by good products and are still able to get thousands of new members per month. Remember, there is always regeneration, which means that the amount of people entering MLM is always increasing and not reducing. Apart from that, the amount of businesspeople also indicates that this business works very well. You can choose to see it from a competitive viewpoint (still not many business people, hence smaller competition) or from the success of the business model (a lot of business people). Whichever point of view you choose does not matter. There are even some people who suggest that this fifth analysis actually does not have to be done. Believe that your opportunity is as big as my own. For the analysis above I conclude that Tiens is the best MLM business and the most promising. And then…..

• Q : Wait a minute……according to me, the analysis that you have done is simply to make sure whether the Tiens business is good or bad! You did not analyze whether the Tiens MLM business is WORTH doing or not?
• A : You are right. The analysis above was done to see whether the Tiens MLM business is good but does not provide enough fundamentals as the reasons to help me decide whether I want to do the Tiens business or not. Just a moment ago I was going to explain before you cut in, there is still one more analysis that has been used by many financial professionals which called the RICE method: R (Risk), I (Investment), C (Connection/Channel), and E (Expertise).

All these four factors can be used as a simple analysis as the following:Firstly, Risk. Before we start a business, we have to know what are the risks involved. I have learned, that if we start a Tiens MLM, then our risks would include: rejection or some people will look down on what I am doing, and (???), and (???), and I’m not sure what else?I’m sorry I could only think about those two
, maybe you can add onto the risks later on. These two risks do not mean anything compared to the income that I can gain. Which human being has never been rejected or looked down on in this world? So I decided to carry on…Secondly, Investment. This is important. There are two things that we have to pay attention to here, first is money to invest and time to invest. Firstly, I need to see how much starting capital do I need to put in? Actually, it is only RM 300 or RM 1,200. How many businesses can be started with RM 300 or RM 1,200 that can give fruit to tens of thousands per month?! We can even get a luxury car (BMW/Mercedes Benz), Yacht, Personal Plane, and House for free!!!Apart from that the money that I put in does not go to waste because I get Tiens products that I can consume personally. So then what about time? Actually this business can be done in my unproductive spare time. The second analysis is also positive.Thirdly, Connection. Every business what ever it is, always need some kind of connection, whether it is with the supplier or even mainly with he consumer. The interesting thing is, in Tiens business, we can start with the people who are close to us or those that we know. This is makes the business very easy to start. This means before starting the business itself the network embryo has already been formed! This is the unique thing about Tiens Business..... 

Lastly, Expertise. People always say that do not ever start a business that does not have anything to do with our expertise or business that we do not know at all. This is a really wise advice; too bad this does not apply in the Tiens Business! Why? Because to start and expand the Tiens business there are no requirements about the skills that you must have. Basically, everyone can do the Tiens Business. It probably sounds arrogant but that is the fact. In the Tiens business, there are those who have no title to their name who became successful, there are also home makers that can be as successful as career women and so on…and so on. It is not a strange thing anymore if in the Tiens business network, you find people with different backgrounds united together! It is clear, that if you see it from this last analysis Tiens passed the test, don’t you agree?!

• Q : Well…not entirely. Because I still have to work hard to do the business ha…ha…ha…
• A : Ha…ha…ha… unfortunately for us until this moment there has not been a genius who has created an MLM system that does not require us to work at all and get an abundant amount of money. Just like any other businesses, MLM also needs a lot of effort to succeed especially at the beginning! After that it will be duplicated and you will be able to “relax” anytime you want. 

• Q : There is another thing that I’m not really happy about MLM business which is the way the motivation is done. Sometimes I feel it is a little “eccentric”, and sometimes there is a sort of “worshipping” towards up lines – especially successful up lines. What do you think?
• A : I know what you feel even though it is not entirely correct. Sometimes because there is too much enthusiasm in the motivation therefore the environment is filled with fiery positive “emotions” which makes some people who are not motivated feel that it is “eccentric”, for example excess of hand clapping or motivational speech that is too overwhelming. Over here we have to be able to differentiate between which is the “core” of the motivation and which is the “decoration”. The main objective of the motivation is to “charge” back our enthusiasm battery to be full. This is done by listening to inspiring real life stories. If the way it is done does not match with our personality, we have to take it more maturely and wisely, just take the core of it. About the “worshipping” issue towards up lines, I think the term is too harsh to be used
  . In an MLM business we grow the feeling of respect towards each other. Respect which grows both ways towards up line and down line. Sometimes, it happens where an up line is Happy, being respected too overwhelmingly by his down line because his down line feel that his up line helps a lot and is great in his eyes which gives an impact that makes it “worship-like”. This problem comes back to each individual, and it doesn’t have to be taken in a negative manner. There are a lot of people who “worship” musicians and movie stars in similar manner without knowing about the person! At least what ever the down line is doing as described just now is a little better because he personally knows the person who he sort of “worships”.

• Q : You are really good! Oh yeah.. there is still one problem. I often feel funny when I hear people who do an MLM business calling themselves “Business Owners” or “Businessman”. Even though they don’t even have one employee! There is no real idea of where their office is
  . You use the term “MLM business people”, why?
• A :
  I will explain why we call ourselves business owner. Have you heard of the term “Cash Flow Quadrant”? According to Robert T Kiyosaki, there are 4 ways that people use to get income, that is to become Employee, Self-Employed, Business Owner and Investor. This diagram will help to explain more clearly: Cashflow Quadrant Employee (E) (Works for someone else) Example: Professional, employee, workers etc Business Owner (B) (Works with a system) Example: Network Marketing (MLM), Conglomerate/Corporations, Franchising etc Self Employed (S) (Works for themselves) Example: Small shop/restaurants owner, lawyer, doctor, business consultant, artist etc Investor (I) (Works with investments) Example: Property owners, Shares, Fixed Deposit Owners. Employee (E) and Self Employed (S) are in the left quadrant, whereas Business Owner (B) and Investor (I) are in the right quadrant. The interesting thing is, Robert T Kiyosaki divides these two quadrants to represents active income (income that comes only when you work) and passive income (income that keeps on coming even though you do not work actively). E and S are the people who represent active income. If let’s say they do not work they do not get income. This is different from people from B and I that represent passive income. They still get income even though they do not work actively. It is often said that people in the left quadrant (E and S) are people who work for money, else people in the right quadrant (B and I) are people who are able to make money work for them! Many people want to work in the right quadrant because it gives more financial freedom. People in E and S who understand the big difference between active income and passive income usually want to move quadrants. But it is sometimes hard to do because a huge amount of capital is needed. The cheapest and easiest way is to do an MLM business. Why?! Because MLM Business opens a big opportunity for everyone to be in the right quadrant as a B (Business Owner) with small capital (Cheap) and you do not need to be busy thinking about system, employee, assets etc (Easy). That is the reason why I use the term “Business Owner” for people who do MLM Business because they are the people who want to go for passive income
  .!!

• Q : This “passive income” concept is very interesting. Too bad will I will not be able to achieve this, because I don’t have enough time to do an MLM business seriously. I know you will say that is an old excuse, but that’s the fact, what can I say?! Apart from that I have a stable job now. The money that I get is more than enough for my life and my family. Why would I want to go for passive income anymore?
• A :
  Many people do not want to do an MLM business because the feel that they do not have enough time. Actually, this is a very unique thing, because time is the only thing that is equally divided to everyone in the world, which is 24 Hours a day. Does not matter whether you are a conglomerate or beggar, you only have 24 hours in a day. The riches that you have can not add or buy time. Twenty four hours a day is a “fixed” price for everyone! The only thing that differentiates it is how we allocate time for our activities. You have to give up something for every business. If we want to be serious as a Tiens Businessman, we can use for example the time that you use in front of the TV, surfing the internet/chatting, socializing on the phone and a lot of other unproductive activities that you can use. A lot of people started their Tiens business part time. They take time in the midst of all their activities. It’s true that you need to sacrifice; I know that, because I went through it. But your hard work would not go to waste. I understand if you feel that you do not need another job when the one that you have now already gives you enough. But then there are a lot of financial consultants who advise to do the MSI Concept, which is short for Multiple Source of Income. This means, do not limit your income only coming in from one income “tap” only, but try and have a lot of other “taps” so when one tap is stuck then the others are still pouring. But not everybody agrees with this concept. Let’s look into this because there is a lot of truth in it. You see many rich people invest their money in a few businesses and have started a few businesses, whether they know about the MSI concept or not. This proves that even the rich people realize that having “having only one “tap” of income is very risky, even more if the tap does not “pour” enough. I will give an illustration from a book that I’ve read titled “The Parable of The Pipeline” by Burke Hedges that tells the story about two friends, Pablo and Bruno who get a job to carry water from a river to their village.In the start, Pablo and Bruno use buckets to carry water from the river to the village. Later on Pablo started thinking, isn’t it better if you build a pipeline from the river to the village rather than having to carry the water back and forth using buckets. He shared this idea with Bruno, but too bad Bruno rejected the idea because he already felt comfortable with using the buckets. For Bruno building a pipeline is a stupid thing to do and also wasting time because you can still carry the water using the buckets. There is no use in being busy building a pipeline, that’s what Bruno thought. But Pablo believed in his idea, so he kept on working to build his pipeline in his spare time, during the weekends, even on Sundays. While Pablo digs for the pipeline, Bruno enjoys his time happily. He watches TV for hours, surfing the internet and gossips with his friends and other things that are not productive. Days go by slowly, and the pipeline that Pablo was building got longer, of course it isn’t easy because the soil was hard and rocky. But Pablo did not give up even though there were people who made fun of what he was doing. Some people even called him “Pablo the Pipeline Man”. Two years passed and the pipeline was finally finished and water could flow directly from the river to the village. Now Pablo did not need his buckets anymore, the pipeline had taken over the job. Water poured heavily to the village and Pablo earned a lot of money from it without having to carry the water using buckets anymore. While Bruno, he still carried the water using buckets. Years passed by, Bruno got weaker with his buckets; he cannot carry as many anymore, his body bent and he was getting old, people started calling him “the bucket man”. It’s really in contrast with Pablo. By then Pablo had a lot of time to do the things that he likes to do, it was paying off the hard days when he was building the pipeline. Now the pipeline gave him non-stop income. It didn’t matter whether it is at night or day, or whether he’s working or sleeping, the water keeps on coming from his pipeline.

• Q :I can see the message in your story, but I feel lazy to start a new business.
• A : A lot of people feel lazy to leave their “safe” and “comfort” zone, even though they realize that the “safety” and “comfort” that they have is “virtual”, especially for those who only have one “tap” or only “carries buckets”. Consider this, isn’t it worth it to get passive income that we can enjoy our whole life just by working hard for two or three years?! I think it’s really worth it!! Remember, who knows, one day your “tap” closes or because of some reason you cannot carry buckets anymore. 

It is a wise move to prepare our “Income Pipeline” 

when we can still carry the “Income Bucket” 

or 

before we are forced to.