My first network marketing adventure - Part 1

Just so it is clear during my discussions about network marketing - I am a proponent of it, I currently have a couple of network marketing businesses that produce small incomes, but I am not actively growing either business.

With that out of the way, let's talk about my first adventure with network marketing!

The year was 2003. A co-worker of mine had recently returned from a field assignment that had lasted about a year. When he got back, he was ready to start a side business.

I was just as excited as him, so we formed an LLC together. Only one problem - we had NO idea what we were going to do!

So we had a business, we had a bank account, and we even had business cards. We just didn't have a business plan or a way to make a profit. Small hitch, that.

So we first looked into rental real estate. We listened to some Carlton Sheets materials that we borrowed from someone else and read a few other books. We went to a few foreclosure auctions at the courthouse steps, but (thankfully) decided that real estate was not our first choice based upon what we knew then.

About the time we were deciding real estate was not for us, my business partner "stumbled" across a company called AMSOIL. The rest, as they say, is history.

He was looking for a bypass filter system filter system for his almost new Toyota Tacoma pickup (the same kind of filter system they use on steam turbines in power plants where they don't change oil - can you imagine a 15,000 gallon oil change?). The advantages of such a system would be extended engine life and not having to change the oil nearly as often, which he hated doing.

He found this company called "AMSOIL" that had these bypass filter systems as well as just a 25,000-mile, 1-year oil change. He called the local dealer to get a quote.

Well, the bypass system cost about $200 at the time, but you could pay $30 to become a dealer, which would drop the price of the system to about $150. That seems like a no-brainer.

So we decided to go out on a limb and pay $30 so that we could get the products (synthetic oil and filters) at better prices. (I should also mention that my wife and I were driving about 50,000 miles per year combined, so changing oil twice a year instead of 16 times a year REALLY appealed to me.)

As mechanical engineers, these products made A LOT of sense to us:

1) Generally cost less than regular oil changes over the course of a year (fewer oil changes),
2) Saved gas on top of that (1-4% better efficiency/performance),
3) Protected your engine better (so it lasts longer),
4) Are guaranteed for the longer service (yeah - if something breaks and it's the oil's fault, they pay for the engine repairs or replacement).
5) Reduced oil waste and gas consumption (I thank John Wachholz for my environmental awareness).

We figured if we thought this was cool, all of the other engineers we worked with would think it was cool as well.

As with many network marketing products, your friends and family don't always immediately join your excitement for the products that you are now marketing, and AMSOIL was no exception.

We got a few customers from work and family that started using it. And let's face it, a customer that switches to AMSOIL generates very little commission initially because they only need to buy product once a year! For me even now a customer that is only changing oil on two cars is worth about $8. Especially considering the time it took to get a sale, that is not a great wage.

So we needed to figure out how to get more customers or get larger customers (or both), and that is where I will pick up in Part 2...