How to Compare a Business

How to Tell if an Opportunity is a "10"

  1. Crucial: Product offered MUST provide a greater value to the customer than is received in monetary consideration. This is a basic law of success and any business that works on a competitive (i.e. take), rather than a creative (i.e. give), basis is doomed to failure at some point.
  2. Everyone, or nearly every consumer, should already own or be considering the purchase of some or all of the product(s). You should want to sell something as common as toilet paper and toothbrushes not $2 a day "vitamins", a computer program that will be duplicated for less money, anything that can become obsolete when the technology catches it, or that has not withstood the test of time. You don’t want the FDA or some other Federal authority putting you out of business because they found some glitch in your product or service.
  3. The price must be in line with market averages or use/unit cost MUST be less, or equal to, what they are spending already; there must be added value to purchasing from me rather than from Sam's Club. Even if I provide that value in service, the net result MUST be that the customer either gets MORE for the same money or the SAME for less money. No “funny” figuring allowed either, comparisons must be truthful and accurate.
  4. You need to be able to work according to your own schedule as little as 4-5 hours a week to 60 hours a week. You should also want an opportunity that allows you to recruit a broad spectrum of potential associates, any limitations create a reason to say “No” to the opportunity. Some folks can do great when starting out slowly, others like to race right out of the gate. You should want to be able to help both types and all in between be successful.
  5. Any sales and long term residual income, i.e. a continuing business "entity" developed by your efforts must be retained by you as a legitimate business enterprise. The easiest way to "ink test" this is to determine if the business is inheritable, or is saleable. As long as it has value, can you pass it on to your children or grandchildren. No “qualifications” should be in place other than does it have “value” so that someone will be willing to buy it.
  6. Start up costs should be reasonable (less than a few hundred dollars) and "internal use" (the members/distributors buy most of the products) opportunities need not apply. You want retail markup as well to real customers, not just recruiting activities. Retail is always a great way to make some instant cash. The true measure is to ask, “Can a person with average skills make a living just selling the product(s)?”
  7. Another glitch that would make an opportunity a “no-no” is any type of noncompete clause. In addition to that is there any type of “secrecy” agreement by an upline or the company itself. While these types of things are usually not legally enforceable they can be costly to disprove. Besides that, every smart opportunity seeker knows the secret anyway, “be a student, be coachable and work hard”.
  8. Ability to recover costs to join. How realistic is it to recover the cost to join in 30 days? Can it be done part-time without having to recruit anyone? How many average sales or clients have to be developed (must be less than 8)? Is there any type of monthly contract, bank draft for computer programs, auto-ship for products, any other fees that feed money to the company or sustain the flow of cash to the field? The wrong answer to any of these questions requires a definite “No” to the opportunity.
  9. Legal or Liability Issues. No matter what the product, whether nutritional, financial, travel, etc. there is a potential liability for the seller of the product or service. Without having to ask are these potential liabilities explained? Are you advised to obtain proper liability insurance coverage for salespersons or E & O insurance for financial services agents? If you are told “the company” takes care of this, RUN!
  10. Last, but possibly most important, who are you going to be working with? Have you done your due diligence on the corporate staff, their backgrounds, lawsuits, private lives, debts, affiliations? Is any type of background check done on applicants prior to contracting them with the company? Can a convicted felon join? Yes, we have all heard about “being at the right place, at the right time, with the right people” but of these three the last is the most important. You must be certain about all these factors prior to affiliation.