What Happened to My Travel Networking Business

On my previous blog, I had discussed about a travel business.  I will give you the update and tell you more about my story on how my travel business went. But first...

I just came home from work.  As usual, I can hear children and teenagers playing basketball and shouting because just outside my window is a basketball court and a playground.  The voices and the sound of dribbling is fun to my ears and I like it. - Ben

What is a Travel Networking Business?
The business that I'm in to was a travel business.  A travel business with a networking business model or should I say a pyramid scheme.  If you are not familiar with a pyramid scheme, it goes like this...

A person recruits or invite another person, 2nd person, to join and buy a product.  The customer, the 2nd person, will be the downline of the 1st person and will be placed at his lower right side.  Then when a third person joins who was recruited by the 1st, then he will be at his left side.  So goes for the 2nd person and the 3rd once they invited persons down their line.  It forms a pyramid.

The product is about travel.  Once you join the "team", you can have discounts on holidays, which the company offers and the air ticket bookings as well.  You can have your own website where you can book your ticket or someone's ticket, which you also earn a dollar per booking.

The perks and the offers are really great, no doubt.  If you compare to other holiday offers, this is cheaper. 

You will attend a scheduled conference with the trainers and the highest earners but with a cost.

What Are The Advantages as a Member?
Aside from having benefits as stated above,
1. You can also learn how to sell, especially how to convince people just to watch a video presentation of the co-founder.

2. The team will teach you how to talk to the phone with friends or strangers and having them convinced to meet with you in a place and watch the video presentation.

3. You can learn the art of networking and how not to be shy in front of strangers.

4.  Working hard will earn you more.


Are There Disadvantages?
Sure, if there are advantages, there will also be disadvantages.

1.  The team is always on the move, every after office work, to visit the new clients and to present the networking videos, the product and convincing them to join.

At this type of selling, I find it too difficult and time consuming.  It will consume 4 hours of my time and if someone signs up, lucky if it's from my invite, I can just earn $20 per person. 

It is difficult for me to convince people this way because of the nature of the marketing.  We go from house to house and it reminds of me of an electrolux man, a door to door salesman.

We go home at 1:00am, everyday!  This is totally not for me.

2.  Yes it's true that the holiday vacations are cheaper, but this is a scheduled holiday.  You can not choose anytime you want.  This is not for me.

3.  The airline booking is cheaper as compared with the normal booking at the airline booking itself.  But the airlines they offer are the expensive ones.  I only take budget airlines when I go back home.  It is much cheaper and I still can go home by air.  This is not for me.

This is Not For Me
I was holding the membership for 4 months while paying the monthly fee.  This is one of my regrettable investment in my life. 

The joy of leaving the company and informing my upline that I'm quiting is great!  Of course, at their minds, I'm a quitter! 

Lessons Learned
I was convinced by my friend to join the team in just 4 hours and I paid through my credit card. 

I should have thought of it overnight and haven't brought my credit card with me.

Do not join a group or a business without discussing it with some experienced person or checking the whole legitimacy of the business. 

Tell that someone who recruited or invited you that you have to think about it for 2 days.  If he or she still persists, don't bother to join the group or ask them more questions until you're totally convinced and think of it for 2 days...

Please check my post about why I started this blog to know more about me and my blog.  Don't forget to subscribe.

Networking Business Online and Offline

Chatting with my two-year-old son is the most rewarding and the best motivation of the day.   His older brother is sleeping because of high fever with a temperature of 37.7degC.  I hope he will be alright tomorrow.

While the washing machine is spinning my clothes, I saw an advertisement in Facebook where the man introduced some kind of an online business.  This I thought is good for my quest of making future income, so I sneaked in.

See the video here in YouTube.

Online Networking Business
Sorry, but I have to say that the video was quite boring it's simply because of the three factors:

1. His voice is so low that he sounds like he is unexcited or exhausted.
2. The presentation is not fast. 
3. The product is not properly presented.  They are focusing only on the networking part and not the quality of their product, which is the most important for the buyer.

When choosing a business that will last longer than your lifetime, you need to have a good product.  It will overcome the high price of that product easily. 

People will still buy Louis Vuitton or Chanel or what have you even if the price can reach to 5 digits, it's because of the good product that they will possess and they know that it will be their good investment.

I've heard from my housemate that they have a client who offers high end bags for rent.  This is a good idea because of the fact that not all people can afford these things.  The only downside of this business model is when some incident happens to the bag, who will cover the cost?

My Offline and Online Business
Networking business, either be online or in real world, is a good business to have.  But, before you go into that business, make sure that you really like the product and take it as your future investment.  

Do not join if you are just aiming for the money.  In fact, it's difficult to offer products that even you will not dare to use.  Be picky when it comes to networking business.

So for now, I will not get the product which they had posted in YouTube.

Few weeks ago, I joined a networking business which is about Travel.  The product attracted me most because it's all about travel.  Almost 8 out of 10 people will say that they love to travel.  In a family of 4, everyone will travel and the good thing is this product will be extended to the family members.

I have my own website where everyone can visit.  I named my website as Alagnam.  You can view it here, but you can not see the member's benefit that it offers.

The only downside of this Travel Business is the option of inviting people or visiting them at their homes for a product presentation. I find it too tiring and costly, it will cost me few dollars for my meal and parking which I think is not worth it. But few of the members took this opportunity and they are now earning dollars in exchange of their time.

Even though I don't do the selling one on one or inviting people, I still can use the product and avail the benefits that it offers, it's because of the Travel platform.  So, that's why I love it.

If you want to learn more, you can contact me at benalagnam@yahoo.com.