So my final post on the “Money Talk Tuesday” will be an opinion piece on network marketing and what I have experienced in the last 7 months.  It was supposed to be a post encouraging others to give network marketing a chance but reading through several articles I have come across both pros and cons to network marketing.

First of all, network marketing or multi-level marketing is not for everyone.  Literally it only works for a few and is wildly successful for less.  The more saturated a market is in a product the more difficult it is to sustain the market.  It is the basic economic concept model of supply and demand.

That being said, network marketing has also allowed me to establish a business far more lucrative and enduring than cosmetic distribution.  I have dreamed of being a travel agent and blogger for a long time, especially when I became an expert on affordable travel to Cuba.  Researching it though, I discovered that the expenses of starting the business were well beyond my means.  I found a way through network marketing to starting up a business I love though with a start-up cost less than $200.

As I’ve worked the business I also learned that you aren’t just selling the product so much as you are selling yourself.  It forces you first to define who you think you are, then it allows you to realize who you really are.  Finally, as you gain traction you run into the biggest question of your life.  How do people see me and how do I want them to see me?

When you answer these questions, as I have very recently, you begin your journey of success and whatever you are selling you sell with confidence that comes through in everything aspect of interactions with people, regardless of the environment.

Now, I do not advise everyone go out and get a side hustle but I do advise you get into the business of NETWORKING following the same model.  All of us have a passion, something that moves our soul.  Be it travel or Comicon conventions, roller coasters or jewelry.  Don’t worry about the naysayers and the doubters(there will be many).  Follow your passion, learn to love not just life but YOUR life, and surround yourself with people of like mind.  This is the core of networking and I’ve lit a fire that I can’t put out.

~LaTisha Carbonell, BSN, RN

Owner of La Dahlia Travel