Company Contracts are often written for THEIR best interest and rarely do they give YOU, the individual, any rights. How they exercise THEIR rights can impact your future.

You want to make sure that you truly are an “Independent Marketer” and that you own your business. And therefore, make sure you retain the rights to decide how your business should be run, when it should be sold, how and when to work.

1. Does your contract bind you or others in your household?

There cannot be any restrictions on the distributor's spouse or family conducting any other legitimate business of their choice. The company has no right to condition their distributors' business based on any third party that is not a signature party to the independent contractor agreement/contract. Such attempts may be illegal. Distributors should have the right to join any legitimate association of their choice.

2. Can you “will” your business and are their any stipulations attached?

Distributors have a right to sell, transfer or will their independent contractor business to any party that would qualify as a distributor under normal conditions. This is a provision that also helps protect the independent contractor status. Know who you would “will” it to, and if there any business type actions required, to continue to receive the compensations and residual income earned.

3. What is the company’s non-solicitation policy? Does it continue after you cancel your contract with them and for how long?

No restrictions should be placed on any legitimate business relationship, regardless of a competing company being involved or not. Distributors' personal business relationships shall be honored and protected. Distributors' downlines that are personally sponsored and personal retail customers are part of the distributor's business. Companies will recognize the sacred nature of the sponsor/distributor relationship. Distributors have the right to expect company’s efforts to support and sustain that relationship, and do nothing to compete with or harm the Distributors business. Be leery of contracts that hold you to standards you can not control indirectly, through a 3rd party, or unknowingly.

4. Can you sell your business at your sole discretion without limitations?

Distributors have a right to sell, transfer or will their independent contractor business to any party that would qualify as a distributor under normal conditions. This is a provision that also helps protect the independent contractor status.

Make sure you thoroughly understand not only what a company will pay you to do, but what they will take your money away for not doing. Not all companies have retractions and/or quotas to qualify for your check, but you should know what if any there are in advance.

1. Does the company have any time, travel, dress code, or location requirements to receive your check at any level in the company?

You want to make sure if travel and/or meeting are required at any level that you know the expenses, rules, and financial reward or consequence that you may have as a result.

2. Is there anytime that compensation or qualifiers can be retracted to impact future checks? (with exception from direct commissions of returned products)?

You want to make sure that once you have done the work you will be paid for it. Holding your money until a later date even, though the company has received the money for the purchase is a questionable business practice.

3. How often has the company changed their compensation plan in the last 5 years?

Companies who change their compensation plan too frequently should be avoided. Not all changes impact your check positively. Some changes can require more work to make the same money as before or simply eliminate the ability to make as much altogether.

4. Does the company offer true residual income or are there continued qualifiers?

By entering into an agreement with any company, each Distributor is entitled to specific and undeniable rights to protect and preserve immediate and long-term residual income. Residual income in my mind is ongoing commissions from past work for products/services continually being purchased without ongoing qualifiers, quotas, or caps. If the company has ongoing monthly/quarterly requirements, there may not ever be a time that you can slow down or stop working without losing a major portion of your check.

5. How are you affected when someone quits?

There should be an immediate resolution process for the remaining individuals within the group that benefits everyone involved. If the organization lacks immediate benefit while the company still derives profit, even though the full compensation is no longer being paid out, you should consider the intent.

The best predictor of future behavior is past behavior. Sad thing is, sometimes we don’t hear of past behavior until it’s too late. Red Flag it, if you hear people say “yea – they’ve been known for that” or “that isn’t the first time that’s happened.”

1. How many terminations has the company performed?

Distributors have built an asset based on their experiences, skills, relationships, time and money. The Company merely contributes a product or service to make money from the assets that Distributors have contributed. As a vendor, Companies should not be able to totally remove the results of the skill and work without recourse to the Distributor. To stop paying someone on a business they built should not be taken lightly. You will want to know who makes that decision in the company and if there is any 3rd party validation of evidence and procedure.

2. Has the company been involved in any lawsuits and how many since its creation? (Make sure they include the number settled as they usually are no longer public record)?

The amount of times the company has sued someone or been sued can speak to their integrity. (You can visit http://pacer.psc.uscourts.gov/ and search the company’s lawsuits for Federal court only. There is a $.08 charge for each page viewed.)

3. Is there high turn over in high level management?

If the high level positions are consistently being replaced you might ask where the former management has gone and why they have left. If there has been several high level management members depart from the company in the recent years you may want to consider it a red flag.

Are you an Independent Marketer in your Business or controlled rather like an Independent Employee?

If you want to start your own business you probably want to make the decisions on how you run your business. You want freedom, an ability to utilize your creative ideas, and exercise your leadership. Companies have to limit what is said about their compensation plan and the products for obvious legal reasons but everything else should be up to you.

1. Do you choose the methods in which you operate your business?

You should be able to choose the hours, the places, the tools, form of communication, methods of presenting, and marketing strategies. The more the company dictates the less freedom you’ll have.

Distributors have a right to own and operate their own independent contractor business. The company and the government should recognize that a distributorship is an independent small business with all of the rights and tax benefits of any independent small business.

2. Are there tools available to maximize your time or can you create your own?

Make sure you have the right to utilize or create your own time leveraging tools.

3. How much control or freedom do they have once you have signed the contract?

If you read the contract and need to look up the definitions to only still be confused you may want to look for a new company.

4. Are there policies and procedures in place that hold your business back from full income potential?

As more limits that are placed, your options diminish, and your potential becomes limited. Be cautious about company sponsored websites, leads, and training tools that become income generators for the company not you.

Know who you are aligning yourself with...

Obey the Law of Success and you WILL succeed. Obey the Law of Failure and you WILL fail.

The Law of Success: The Law of Success is brutally straightforward. You can't change it and you can't break it. All you'll succeed in doing, if you try, is to break yourself against it. Here it is...

Do ONLY the right things for ONLY the right reasons

Can it really be that plain and simple and still be real?

Absolutely. Think it through carefully. If you do ONLY the right things for ONLY the right reasons, you can not make a mistake. Therfore, you can not fail. You MUST succeed!

But if it's that simple, why do 90% or more still fail?

Equally simple... they do not know the right things to do, or they do not know the right reasons for doing them. You either KNOW them or you don't.

Guessing won't work.

The Law of Failure: The Law of Failure is 3 times bigger than the Law of Success. By that standard alone, it stands to reason that you have a 3 times greater chance of obeying it through ignorance. It says...

• Do the ‘right’ things for the ‘wrong’ reasons
• Do the ‘wrong’ things for the ‘right’ reasons
• Do the ‘wrong’ things for the ‘wrong’ reason

Can you see the problems here?

Success is not about the size it is today, but is about what the size will be tomorrow. The industry is ever changing and you want to ensure that you are on the right ship when the tide comes in. Align yourself with the ‘right’ people, and continue to do the ‘right’ things for the ‘right’ reasons and everyone succeeds!

1. Does the company/business partner offer what you need to maximize your success?

Trust your gut. Does the company or business partner sound and make you feel they have ‘honesty and integrity’ instilled values? Also, look for a model that will offer convenience and time leverage without wasting valuable time. Innovative methods that utilize technology can give you what you need to finally grow a significant business. Stay away from companies that resist change or embracing the future.

Who you start your business with can often be more important than the company or product itself. How can one empower others to have a high level of success if they themselves have not obtained it?

2. Does the business partner have a track record of success?

3. Is the compensation plan lucrative even for the part timer?

Most individuals will need to make money quickly and may never work the business full time. If they aren’t receiving financial benefit, then you will find duplication is difficult.

4. Is the company environment fear based or one of positive reward?

If you will you be working at the last minute to make sure you don’t lose out, rather than having a positive experience while achieving success, burn out will quickly happen.

WEBSITE w/ADDRESS: Look at the MLM or Affiliate Company’s website. Red Flag if no address or no customer service contact information. Look for the pictures and names of the owners/operators of the company. Not having these on a website is very suspicious and a good reason not to join. Some, seasoned MLM distributors use http://earth.google.com/ to look at satellite pictures of the size and location of a supposed Affiliate/MLM Company office. If the Company address is a trailer house or home? Run!

SCAM SEARCH: go to the Internet and enter the following into 1 or 2 of the major search engines. The MLM Company's name (owners too) and the word "scam". Go through two pages! Look for forums or message comments for legitimate complaints (see D below). Then do the same for "complaints, lawsuits, and news articles archived on search engines. Also check the name of who registered the website domain of any new company claiming: exciting, amazing, incredible, proprietary, never seen before in the universe, revolutionary, products, services or technologies! Check http://www.whois.net/ for the domain lookup. Companies with wonderful offerings would work on a project for more than 3 months. Smart legit executives register domain names first! A warning on MLM due diligence for Affiliate OR MLM Researchers! There are sad sites and forums that are unfairly negative toward all Affiliate - MLM - Network Marketing companies.

IGNORE: Ignore these "Affiliate MLM Bashers" and only look for appropriate information.

CHECK THEM OUT: Go to the Better Business Bureau website for the city where the MLM-Network Marketing Company is located. Some are free, some charge $2! You are looking for the number of complaints the BBB has NOT resolved. If there are over 3-5, hold off joining, it very well could mean problems. Go to the Attorney General in the state where the company is located. Be very brief with your email or phone call and stick with asking, “Affiliate or MLM Company XYZ is located in city in your state, do you have complaints against Company XYZ?”

WATCHOUT FOR: An email solicits you to a "HOT" Affiliate, MLM, Party Plan or Network Marketing Company. Look for exclamation marks and capital letters used to lend legitimacy or urgency! Beware of disclaimers such as “this is not a pyramid selling scheme or scam” (legitimate offers don't contain such claims). Don't believe promises of fast wealth. If you feel, see or hear "Get Rich Quick!” Run! If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is! MLM - Network Marketing takes some work, like any good Home Based Business. Whenever I receive an e-mail that says “Urgently go here” or “Urgently secure your spot now” – I urgently delete the e-mail.

RUN: from a company taking only money orders or checks. Only use a credit card that will accept charge backs. Returns? Honest companies allow refunds within 60-90 days (6 states require a year)!

COMMON SENSE: (Affliate MLM, Party Plans, Network Marketing) Don’t let the money over-excite you! Use the products or services being sold first! If they excite you, then look at the money. You should try sharing and selling the products/services to test them out. Spending some money to test a company and their offerings is a wise thing to do.

NEVER Spend over $500 to start!: There are also approximately 21 states that say this should be the maximum to get started in any business opportunity (not just MLM). Two states say it must be kept under $200.

FINE PRINT: Read the Contracts. These are the Enrollment Agreement or Terms of Agreement plus Policies and Procedures. These all together are a business contracts, enforceable in a court of law. The Distributor Rights Association says they shouldn't be over 15 pages long. Don't sign if you don't feel comfortable about the contract.

COMPENSATION: ask about the compensation, and if necessary, find an expert to analyze it. If it only pays for signing up new people and not sales of products/services - run!