3 Network Marketing Tips I Learned From Music Mogul Russell Simmons

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If you are unfamiliar with Russell Simmons he is the creator of Def Jam Records. He’s helped many famous recording artists get their start like Run DMC, LL Cool J, The Beastie Boys, and tons of other artists…

Anyway, I was reading through Russell’s book yesterday titled “Do You”. It’s a self help book and it’s full of wisdom. While I was reading I read a story that I thought was very pertinent to network marketing and I thought that you all would get some value out of it.

I found 3 tips for network marketing success that I feel are literally essential if you want to build a huge business like many of the leaders in MLM.

So let me tell you what I read…

In the nineties, Russell Simmons had a dream to start his own clothing line. He actually referred to it in the book as his vision. However, as he began to share his vision with potential partners and people who he wanted advice from he began to receive tons of negative feedback. (Sound famliar?)

Well Russell said that it was his vision and nobody could take that vision away from him so he kept at it. He eventually ended up partnering with an old friend of his by the name of Mark. As he wrote in the book he and Mark both agreed to put $50,000 a piece into this venture to get it running.

By the end of the first year Russell and Mark had lost tons of money. People had been telling him all along that it wouldn’t work but it was Russell’s vision so he refused to give up. Mark on the other hand did not share this same vision as did Russell, so Mark decided that he wanted out. (Russell bought Mark’s stake in the business “Phat Farm” back from him for $50,000)

Russell went on without Mark and stuck to his vision. After the first year he failed miserably, then the second, and then the third year. Russell lost millions of dollars in the first six years that he tried to turn a profit with his Phat Farm clothing line.

Then in the 7th year, something clicked! He actually turned a profit! Fast Forward 15 years and Russell Simmons decided to sell Phat Farm. After 6 straight years of failure, constant ridicule from family and friends, and no support from potential business partners, he sold it for a measly $114 million dollars…

Before I get into the 3 tips that I learned from this story, I want to fill you all in on one more little thing. Remember Russell’s buddy Mark? The guy who initially had a partnership in Phat Farm with Russell? Well had Mark not chickened out after 6 months and stuck with it, his $50,000 investment had he held his ground would have yielded him $30,000,000 when Russell sold the company!!

3 Network Marketing Tips I Learned From This Story

Tip #1: Perseverance is a must! – I’m not sure how well ol’ Mark is doing these days but I can tell you this… 30 million bucks off of a 50 thousand dollar investment is a GINORMOUS return! And to think that he let that slip right out of his fingers is a testimony that persistence and perseverance are an absolute must!

Tip #2: Never EVER Quit! – As you’ve seen from the story above, the only failures are the ones that quit. If you’ve been in network marketing for 9 years and you haven’t made any money yet, DON’T QUIT! If it is a part of your personal vision to be successful in network marketing then you cannot give up by any means! You have to stick with it if you want to reap the harvest! The Bible says “the harvest is plenty, but the laborers are few!” take a moment to soak that in…

Russell frequently mentioned in that chapter that the reason that so many people bailed on him was because it was his vision and not theirs. Obviously his friend Mark had bought into Russell’s vision, but I guess for Mark it just wasn’t strong enough. Had he had the faith to stick with it that vision would have paid him $29,950,000 in profit! So I will say it again… NEVER EVER QUIT!

Tip #3: Begin with the end in mind! – Simply put, when you get started on something visualize yourself getting it done. It doesn’t matter what that thing is. When you truly want to accomplish something you first off have to believe that you can do it. One way of assisting your faith is by constantly visualizing yourself into the future as if you’ve already accomplished what it is you want. In most cases for many of my readers it would be that you can go full time in your network marketing business.

Whatever your goals are no matter what the profession, when you get started on something, get started thinking about the final result. What will you do when you achieve your goal? How will it feel to have accomplished it? How will you celebrate it? Thinking of things like these will no doubt propel you much faster toward your dreams.