If you have a dream of running your own business you have almost certainly thought about network marketing or MLM.

MLM companies that are well run offer a ready-made, repeatable business plan that, when followed correctly, can generate substantial incomes.

These same plans can also lead to dissillusion and dissapointment. How come? Surely if it works for one, it should work for everyone.

The truth is that no matter how good the parent company, how ethically they run their business or how generous their remuneration plan, MLM'ers are still human beings. And human beings are just about as variable as you can get.

For some, network marketing is the answer to a prayer. These people will excel. They will earn large commissions and regular bonuses.

For others it will never be 'that simple.'

Just as some folk love mustard and others love ketchup, so it is with MLM. Some folk will just never get it.

At various points in our lives, my wife and I have jumped into MLM to 'help pay the bills'.

Let me tell you, for us, the effort always far outweighed the reward.

Sure, I personally know of several people who are genuinely making seriously big money. One couple made a £150,000 bonus check a couple of years ago. Nice bonus!

So, MLM isn't necessarily the ogre that it is sometimes made out to be. Get the right company, with a good reward scheme and a great product that people want to buy - and keep buying - and you potentially have a winner.

But ... MLM isn't a magic wand.

The people who do make good money would probably make great money at anything they did. They work all the hours that God sends (and more).

They also have a very specific blend of personality traits that frankly, most of us don't match: they combine super sales abilities, with immense patience and teaching skills, AND they have boundless energy.

You will make a little money in a good MLM company by selling the

The real cash only starts to flow when you reach a critical mass of recruits - all feeding small amounts of commission back into your account.

So, you have to ask yourself some honest questions:

* Do I have the time to devote at least 12 hours a day to building my business. (Believe me, any less and you will never get big checks.)

* Have I got limitless energy to keep on doing this day in, day out?

* Am I imaginitive enough to keep finding new ways of reaching people?

* Am I a highly persuasive sales person?

* Will I have a problem recruiting others?

* If and when I do recruit others, will I have the time and patience to train them in the best ways to run the business?

* Am I prepared to travel long distances to host recruitment meetings?

* Can I afford to advertise to get leads?

* Can I afford to do all of the above for very little return for at least the first 3 months?

I know from repeated personal experience, and that of many, many others that unless you can answer yes to all of the above questions, MLM isn't ever going to make you a fortune.

And, as an observation, it seems to me that if you do have the boundless energy, limitless time, and superb sales talent needed to prosper in MLM, you would be far better off applying it to building your own business. That way you would keep all the profits.

That was ultimately what I did - and I haven't regretted it for a second.

MLM can be good. But go into it with the rose-tinted glasses firmly locked in their case.

Martin Avis is a management and training consultant. To get your unfair advantage in Internet marketing, business and personal success, (and 6 free gifts), subscribe to his free weekly newsletter, BizE-zine. mailto:subscribe5@BizE-zine.com or visit his information-packed website at http://www.BizE-zine.com