The Starter Guide

Fair enough, and I'd never tell you to find money you don't have. Can I ask though, what's it actually costing you to stay exactly where you are for another year, doing the same thing and hoping it changes on its own? That's usually the number worth looking at first.

That's completely fair, and honestly, if you're after the cheapest version of something, this probably isn't the right fit. If you ever do want to see whether it's worth it for you, I'll send a small taster over, no pressure either way.

I hear that a lot, and it's worth asking yourself honestly whether it's actually true, or just easier to believe than to try. Someone who joined last month can out-earn someone who joined five years ago, if they put the work in. So the real question isn't about who's at the top, it's whether you're someone who would.

Good, I want you to be sceptical, that's healthy. A scam takes your money and gives you nothing back. Ask me anything about how this actually works, the products, the payouts, all of it, and if it doesn't add up, walk away, I'd genuinely rather you did.

Then this probably isn't for you right now, and that's genuinely okay. This only works if you can find pockets of time you already have, ten minutes here and there, so it's worth asking yourself honestly whether that's true, or whether it's just easier to say than to look at the diary.

Same here, so I'm not going to pretend it's simple. What I'd ask is whether having kids makes you want this less, or actually more. For me it was the second one, and that's usually the honest answer for most of the mums I talk to.

So did I, and I kept it for a long time while I built this alongside it. The question isn't whether you have a job, it's whether you'd want an alternative to it eventually. If the answer's no, that's completely fine, and this conversation ends here.

That's a fair question to ask, and I'd rather you asked it than didn't. A pyramid takes your money for nothing in return, this is commission on real bookings and real products. If that distinction doesn't matter to you, this isn't the right thing for you, and that's completely okay too.

Good, because I'm not looking for salespeople. I'm looking for people who'd tell a friend about something they genuinely rate, the same way you'd recommend a restaurant. If you can't picture doing that, this won't feel natural for you, and I'd rather know that now than later.

That might be true, and if it is, this will be slower for you than for someone with a bigger network, that's just honest. What I'd ask is whether you're willing to build relationships with new people over time, because that's the actual skill, not the size of your current phone book.

That's hard, and I won't pretend otherwise. Can I ask though, are you doing this for their approval, or for your own reasons? Because if it's the second one, their opinion matters a lot less than it feels like right now.

Neither did I when I started. The real question is whether you're willing to show up consistently while you build one, because that's what actually moves things, not the number you're starting from.

Is it, or does it just feel that way from the outside? Starbucks didn't stop people opening coffee shops. The honest question is whether you'd bring something different to it, not whether other people are already doing it.

Then I'd actually want to hear about that before saying anything else, what happened, what was missing, what you'd need to see differently this time. If you can't answer that yet, it's probably too early for us to talk.

You should read them, I'd be more worried if you hadn't. Every industry has them. What I'd ask is whether you're willing to look past someone else's bad experience for long enough to have your own, good or bad.