Hens Lay Eggs (HLE)

“HLE” is a bit of a joke term, (or possible tongue in cheek could be a better label) coined in my Network Marketing Group - it stands for "Hens Lay Eggs" and is a take on the exponential growth theory - recruit two people, who recruit two, etc, and in six weeks you'll have 50,000 people sending you $250,000 - the false promise of MLM.

The MLM exponential growth chart makes sense mathematically but is flawed. Unfortunately the ordinary person can't see the flaw, so buy into it, and you get your 95% of people who do MLM and can't make it work. We all know the story.

The logic is the same as "Zeno's arrow", based on an ancient greek philosopher and mathematician who preceeds Archimedes and Pythagoras. Or in the famous “missing pound” logic problem. More on these in future issues.

But here is the HLE analogy explained:

A hen lays six eggs. If the chicks grow up to be hens they also lay eggs and the hen becomes a “grandmother”. There is no guarantee that all 6 chicks will lay 6 eggs, etc. Also there's nothing to stop the hen laying another batch of eggs, maybe six, maybe 5 or 8. It's not set or guaranteed.

Also there is no guarantee that the eggs will hatch into chicks – “don’t count your chickens before they hatch” after all. In this sense, an egg is a prospect, a chick is an affiliate who has signed up. Whether that chick now grows into a hen and lays their own eggs is the next issue. And a lot of that is down to how you – the mentor – or “Mother Hen” – help them develop in their early days, months, even years.

So it is with network marketing, MLM, EMM - whatever you want to call it - we call it "HLE". As Shakespeare said "a rose by any other name will still give you hay fever", or to quote Bruce Lee "it's just a name don't fuss over it"

The same goes for EMM - Exact Method Marketing - the McDonalds formula example (more on that later).

So what I now do is lead with FREE affiliate programs, the best of which is the SFI scheme with their free online VStore. This means no signup fees, no upgrade fees, no forcing the distributors to buy inventory. The money is ONLY made from the sale of the product and money is ONLY made by helping your downline make sales.

When someone joins under me they HAVE to sell the products and I HAVE to help them, I can't just sell them the opportunity as they do in so many companies that are DESIGNED to take advantage of the fact that the new affiliate won't be able to make any sales or recruit any downline. THESE schemes don't need them to - they have made the money from selling them the opportunity - the startup fee, upgrade fee, and they sell product to the distribrutor who "must stock inventory" - they don't ever expect him to be able to sell it on - they don't need him to.

HLE, taken literally, is more "viral". It's like when someone sends you a joke on email, if you look, each "level" has dozens of different names the joke has been spidered out to.

That is "viral", and that is how you pass on the products and opportunity. It spreads like a virus – person to person – which is how network marketing is supposed to work. No spam, no sticking people on autoresponders – no junk mail.

Real people, real products, real opportunities, real results.

Time and your Internet Business

How many hours per day should you devote to your internet business?  We’ve all seen the ads trying to tell us that we can make millions in no time by doing nothing if we just sign up for XXX.  We probably also recognize by now that this is nonsense.  If you truly want to build an internet-based business that can improve your life, you will have to invest some time in doing so.  It need not be a lot of time.  Many of the available online business programs allow you to build a business with truly impressive profits in as little as two hours a day.  Of course, you can build the business more quickly if you spend more hours per day—up to a point! 

 

Logically, you should be able to build your business twice as fast at four hours per day as you can at two hours per day.  My own experience, like that of others whose opinions I value, does not necessarily support that.  I find that after the first two or three hours of sitting in front of my computer, my productivity falls rapidly.  Your span may be different, but the bottom line is the same:  Two hours of work produces two hours’ worth of results, regardless of how many more hours you spend looking at what you’ve accomplished.

 

The times of day that you choose to devote to your business may also be important.  I personally know at least one man who conducted nearly all his business after his family had gone to bed for the night, between eleven at night and two in the morning.  This man currently has an online business making more money each month than I would have ever made in a year as an employee of the company I used to work for.  For myself, I have to revisit the thought of efficiency.  I just don’t get much done in an hour of working after midnight.  I find that the best hours are shortly after dinner, when the daily demands on my attention have been met, and I’m not yet too tired.  You may, of course, choose whatever hours work best for you—after all, that’s why you’re building your own business!  Whatever times you choose, be consistent!  You must choose your time frame, and give your best for that time—every day of every week!

 

Depending on the daily structure of your life, it might be necessary to divide the hours you spend each day on your business.  This is not a problem as long as you’re consistent.  Indeed, sometimes it may be helpful to designate segments of your business time to different operations.  You may find it useful, for example, to spend an hour in the morning answering email and phone messages and generally dealing with your business contacts.  Then in the evening you could spend an hour, or two if you have it and can honestly make use of it, in such things as advertising your business, determining your best business sources, and generally doing whatever it is that causes your business to be better this month than it was last month.

 

In closing, allow me to restate what is probably the most important single piece of advice I have ever given:  you gotta be consistent if you want to be successful.  Whether you give one hour per day or eight hours per day to your business, you have to give it that every day, day in and day out.  If you honestly do that, you will find that you have a successful business far more quickly than anyone would ever have imagined!