I have had some interesting exchanges recently with a reasonably well-known CEO of a family of eLearning/Income platforms. The business model of most of his platforms involves some form of monthly residual income. This is the same space in which we dwell. As such, I have no issue with the overall business model.
However, if you are paying (pick a number) $100 a month on a subscription basis, then what are you really paying for? In some comp plans, a certain percentage goes to the company as an Admin Fee (say 20%), or in this case, $20. In some cases, there is no Admin Fee and the entire $100 goes to the person who enrolled you.
This begs a question, "What are you paying for?" Are you paying for a ticket to the money mechanics, the back office of the platform, and all of the tracking of people and payments? The obvious answer is YES, you are. But it begs a second question: "Are you paying for support and mentorship?"
In other words, what is the person on the receiving end of your $80-$100 monthly payments doing for earning this money? Is there an implied responsibility to engage in a relationship with the one sponsored to ensure their overall competence and success? I submit there is such a responsibility.
If so, then what mechanisms are in place (at the company level) to ensure this is happening? Can it be done through a Business Code of Ethics? Are there expectations and standards for what these relationships should entail? Are there suggested or expected contact frequencies during the onboarding phase of a new member's learning curve? Is it stipulated, negotiated or otherwise agreed upon through what medium (phone, email, text, IM) that this communication will take place and how often?
What tools are in place to accelerate getting to know each other? Or should this just be left to chance and left to the wiles and communication skills of each party? I think not... and think there has to be an Acquaintance Tool that blasts through the superficial layers of "How you doing" to get to the heart of what people truly know about operating a home business, and what is keeping them awake at night... and a myriad of other things.
If these kinds of things are not in place, then all you are really paying for is a ticket to a money game. There is no real business model if you believe that businesses are made of people who form relationships. However, the premise of this post is, WHAT ABOUT THE RELATIONSHIPS?
Are you paying for mentorship? Or if you are on the receiving end of a monthly stipend, are you being paid to be a mentor? I think you are. There is no other way to look at a successful business.
However, THIS IS A HUGE HOLE IN THE HOME BUSINESS INDUSTRY and it needs attention with a bright light on the problem. It is a glaring deficiency that requires real leadership to put the mechanisms in place to address the issues in a granular way.
Otherwise, we all lose credibility and get drug down by the posers and charlatans who do not want to do any of the work to truly engage and help people gain skills, discipline and ultimately achieve success.
Our Community makes a best-effort to address these issues and is proud to do so.
