By Myrna Widlend
In the past, a job was for life. Until the 80s it was common for people to spend their entire career with one company. In the United States, companies such as Kodak, IBM and General Motors offered generous benefit plans and lifelong careers. Many of these jobs were held by men who were the sole breadwinners for their families.
In the late 80's corporate downsizing spread across the industrialised world. The profound effects of downsizing are demonstrated by these U.S. statistics. In 1960, 5% of men between 30 and 55 were unemployed. A large portion of this unemployment is attributed to blue collar and professional men refusing to accept jobs that fall below their skill and qualification levels, or which don't offer adequate benefits.
The career and financial uncertainties arising from corporate downsizing has coined terms such as McJob and permatemp. A McJob is a low-paying, low-prestige position requiring few skills and offering little opportunity for advancement. Permatemps are temporary workers who are expected to do the same work as permanent employees but without benefits or prospect of career advancement.
Network Marketing Offers an Alternative to Job Insecurity - Smart people looking for financial freedom and a better way of life have turned to network marketing. There are many reasons why network marketing offers a viable alternative to working in the corporate world.
First, a network marketing business can be developed in your spare time while you continue working. Often wives build successful network marketing organisations while their husbands continue to work in the corporate world. Over time, the network marketing business grows large enough to support the whole family. In the meantime, it offers an additional stream and decreases the risks associated with corporate downsizing.
Second, most network marketing businesses require little start-up capital. For many organisations, this is less than US500. Starting your own business or buying a franchise can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. (And there's no guarantee that the business will generate sufficient income to repay the money borrowed)
Third, network marketing generates an ongoing stream of residual income. This is especially true for organisations marketing a product that gets used up and needs to be purchased regularly
Residual Income is the Key to Financial Freedom - Residual income (also called passive income) is one of the greatest benefits offered by network marketing. This is why Robert Kiyosaki, best-selling author of Rich Dad, Poor Dad and many other publications, highly recommends network marketing in his books.
Kiyosaki writes about ways to develop residual income streams. They include:
1. Network marketing
2. Royalities from patents and copyrighted works
3. Sales commissions in some industries, e.g. insurance
4. Rental income from property investment
5. Dividends from shares
With the exception of network marketing, most of these methods require large amounts of capital, time, or both to generate long-term results.
With a small investment and dedication, network marketing has helped many take control of their financial destinies by generating a residual income. They have found a solution to corporate downsizing in the form of network marketing.
More importantly, residual income from network marketing can lay the foundation for your future wealth and financial freedom.
More info at Attainable Financial and Time Freedom