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As I mentioned in my last post, I promised to provide you with what I believe, are the key points in performing your due diligence. The reason I want you to consider this, is that at some point in your life, you will be presented with a promising idea, opportunity or business venture. You may turn it down before you have done your due diligence. I have seen this happen all too often.
Over the years, I have also seen too many people jump into business opportunities and especially those linked to network marketing without doing a proper evaluation and conducting their own due diligence. It’s really too easy to join a company ‘in the spur of the moment’ and then wake up in the morning, thinking “what did I just do?” Have any of you been there?
So what is “due diligence”? Basically it is a process of evaluating a prospective business decision by getting all the information about the opportunity or venture including financial, legal, organizational, products, business ethics and capability aspects. It is really a means to confirm through a sound and complete review that this is something that is or is not right for you.
I was fortunate that I was introduced to the network marketing business model in a very positive way. My sister (and best friend) introduced it to me knowing that I wanted to have a career, and still be a stay-at-home Mom. She knew my husband and I were truly looking for balance for our family and a home based business that could provide a significant income at the same time.
She suggested I take a look at this business venture with the caution that it may or may not be for me. She also said that before I make any decision, she wanted me to do my due diligence. Keep in mind, this was back in the day when the internet was just coming in, so we still worked by snail mail and long distance calls, etc. (LOL). Getting information was not as easy as it is today.
I have to honestly say that I had no idea of what network marketing was all about and how it worked. So with her help, I decided to go through the information process. Here’s how it went: She invited me to take a look at this business concept (by phone as we lived in different cities) and then sent me an info package which included an audio cassette of testimonials, product info, pricing, business packs, etc. Following that, she introduced me to her sponsor by phone to learn more about the products, the company and the leadership team who would help me get my business started. Along with 3rd party validation of the business model and how it works, she sent me a sample of one of their core products. Once that was done, she asked me what questions I had? When those were answered, she asked me to join her.
After going through this “due diligence” process, I said YES, and to this day, I cannot thank my sister enough for showing me an exciting new way to do business.
You see, I came from owning a retail franchise for over 3 years and. as a trainer and education executive for a world renowned cosmetic company. Although I was initially skeptical (mainly because I was not aware of how the business worked), at the same time I was open to creating a business that could give me the time freedom I never had in my previous positions. By doing my due diligence and not discarding the opportunity until I did so, I made the decision that was right for me and my family. As it turned out, the timing was perfect and the company and their culture was exactly what I needed.
Feel free to contact me to get an objective opinion. You never know when an opportunity or idea comes knocking and you will be faced with doing your “due diligence”.
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