You know, the kind that sells grilled eggplant and provolone panini or goat cheese, bacon and grilled vegetables on salted foccacia.  Desert was going to be my specialty.  I was going to show the Germans what “Authentic American Cheesecake” really tasted like.  I even had a name for my little deli, “Heaven.”

I could imagine the locals saying let’s go to “Heaven” for lunch.  Unfortunately, reality set in when I realized that I was going to have to get up at the crack of dawn to shop and prepare everything fresh for the lunch crowd.  I’m not really a morning person.

My next idea sort of happened by default.  I was talking to my uncle on the phone, bubbling over with enthusiasm for my restaurant idea, (after all, I like to cook and I like having people over for dinner…) when he asked how I was going to finance my slice of  “Heaven.”  What, did he think I was, an idiot or something?  Of course, I had thought this through.  I was going to teach acting, in small workshops to children and adults alike.  There was a slight pause when I told him this after which he asked, “Why don’t you just open an acting school?” Well, you could have knocked me over with a feather.  Of course!  Why hadn’t I thought of that? 

I promptly set about preparations for “Actreel Studios.”  I hired a graphic artist for the logo, website, letterhead, and business cards. Found space in which to conduct my workshops and placed adverts in all the local papers.  But after seven months of advertising, I still only had a handful of interested people.  I changed my tactics and included a quote from Albert Einstein in my ads; “Creativity is more important that Knowledge.”  I thought this very clearly (and cleverly) showed how acting lessons can improve a child’s communication skills, creative thinking process, etc.  When, after another two months, I still wasn’t getting a big response, I once again changed my ads and basically spelled out all the benefits of acting lessons for children and adults. In spite of all my efforts and persistence, I guess the Germans just weren’t ready for the idea of an acting school for anybody other than those wishing for a career as a Thespian.

It was back to the drawing board.  I did as I always do when I want to learn about a new subject.  I ordered and read books; lots and lots of books.  Amazon.com loves me.  Now, as you can imagine, there are plenty of books on the subject of Entrepreneurism and I have probably read half of them.  Books about how to write a business plan, choose a location, entice clients, how to network with your business card, how to open a franchise, books that teach you what they don’t teach you at Harvard Business School, positioning books (no, they have nothing to do with Karma Sutra) and guerilla marketing books.   And that was just the first week.

What I discovered was this: almost every venture has a large element of risk.  The minimum cost for a franchise that interested me, (remember my number one criteria for a job was I had to enjoy it) was ten thousand dollars.  That was before I even rented a storefront and paid the necessary legal fees.  It just didn’t seem right.  And, then I stumbled across a book entitled, “The New Entrepreneurs,” by Rene Reid Yarnell. She introduced me to a new style of operating a business (that’s been around for about fifty years) called “Network Marketing.”  Okay, okay, so you’ve heard of it.   Just bear with me and keep an open mind a little bit longer.  (Remember people who already know everything can’t learn anything new.)  I have to admit, I, too, was a bit skeptical, but since I had already paid for the book, I decided to give it a read anyway.  It was a real eye popper for me. 

I learned that network marketing is nothing more than getting products to end users by eliminating the middle men.  In other words, there are no stores and no advertising.   So, all products are moved by word of mouth, which saves the company piles of money, which they then pass on (in large part) to the people who saved them so much money in the first place; the distributors.  It makes sense when you think about it.  It’s a form a direct selling where a lot of people are responsible for a small number of sales, unlike conventional business where a few people are responsible for a lot of sales.

The University of Illinois has even incorporated network marketing into their curriculum taught by Dr. Charles W. King who was a professor at Harvard University.  He used to give lectures on it to students at Harvard eager to learn about a way of doing business in which risk is low, rewards are high and the average person who diligently works with one company can expect to be financially independent in about five years. And, several Fortune 500 companies, such as Toyota, Xerox, Texas Instruments, General Motors, General Electric, IBM, MCI, Citibank, Coca-Cola, Gillette, and Whirlpool, to name a few, are opening up network marketing divisions or manufacturing products for network marketing companies.  What all this says to me is that this style of doing business is coming out of the closet and entering the mainstream.

The great thing about it is that you are your own boss.  Most people work from home.  So, in my case, I’m always available and my little one is back to being a Mama’s boy (Oh, jealous joy!).  If the weather is beautiful you can  look in the mirror and ask your boss if you can take the afternoon off  to frolic in the sun.  If your monthly check isn´t to your liking, just berate yourself for not working hard enough.  You get to choose who you’re going to work with...  I have actually turned people down who wanted to join me because I didn’t think our personalities meshed.  On the other side of the coin, I´ve met and made friends with some really outstanding people.  I find network marketers in general to be a very caring, open minded and charismatic bunch.  The whole system is based on helping others achieve their goals.  Only by helping others will you be successful, which is the way business should be, instead of the “rat race” that most of us are familiar with. 

The comforting thing for me was that once I joined, I realized I was in business for myself but not by myself.  It was like purchasing a franchise without the huge cost.  All the support, merchandising, training, packaging, and payroll were included.

When choosing a network marketing company for yourself it is important to evaluate the following (as I did):  Is the company one of integrity? Do they sell high quality products that are consumable?  Is the company socially responsible?  After all, if they’re making buckets of money they ought to set up some kind of charity for the less fortunate.  Is the compensation plan simple and does it compensate in real money (as opposed to company credits, etc.)?  It is important to find a company that compensates based on full wholesale volume instead of personal volume. What is the company’s market potential (what kind of growth can you expect from them in the coming years)?  Does the company stand behind its products with a money back guarantee?  Has the company been in business for at least five years?  Many of the established network marketing companies are even traded on the NASDAQ which means they’ve opened their book-keeping records for review.

Network marketing may not be for everyone.  The work is very simple but not easy.  Some people may not like the fact that their future rests entirely in their hands. In this business if you do nothing you earn nothing.  People who seem to do extremely well are those that are willing to learn, then become leaders to their organization and pass on that information.  The first year is comparable to building a skyscraper; there is a lot of work with not much to show for it.  But, once the foundation has been laid, the building seems to go up almost overnight.  If you’ve done your job right, and have taught your front line distributors how to be good leaders the rewards are staggering and self-perpetuating.  In fact, ninety percent of people who make it through the first year rise to the top level of compensation within their company.

Another bonus to the business is that you can “take it with you” wherever you go.  Have Internet ... Will travel.  That’s good news to a gypsy at heart like me.  But, the best thing about it is, if I don’t feel like working, I don’t.  Well, that’s enough for now.  I’m off to the beach.