Increasing numbers of people are waking up to the reality that their jobs--regardless of the short-term security they may seem to provide--are actually a dead end. This has given rise to the cynical acronym, "J.O.B.,"(Just Over Broke). Even two-income families often find themselves living from paycheck to paycheck, with little left to save for a rainy day.

Recent research shows, for example, that average Americans save only 4% of their income; consumer and credit card debt, moreover, along with bankruptcies, have reached an all-time high. People are also refinancing their homes at a record pace, eroding the equity that, historically, has been a common source of retirement security.

For those with long-range vision, then, the writing on the wall is quite clear--the vast majority of people who trade time for dollars in a conventional job will never attain financial freedom. Moreover, in view of the increasing erosion of pension plans and Social Security benefits, the dark cloud of retirement poverty looms ever larger on the horizon for increasing numbers of people.

Not surprisingly, then, more and more people are opting to start their own home business. Not only does this offer many immediate advantages, but it also holds the potential of generating a high level residual income and financial freedom.

"Fire your boss, throw away your alarm clock, and set your own hours," has become an ever more popular rallying cry of a growing cadre of would-be entrepreneurs who launch themselves on this new career path. An estimated 50,000 of them join various network market companies every week.

This highly attractive alternative career has, indeed, proven to be very rewarding for tens of thousands of people, many of whom have achieved a high degree of personal and financial success; sadly, however, a far greater number have been equally unsuccessful and have become very disillusioned.

Since this is a relatively new career path, most people enter it with inadequate preparation and guidance and with minimal awareness of its major potential pitfalls.

Choosing The Right Company:

To avoid the first big pitfall, it's absolutely essential to choose the right company. There are many excellent ones to choose from and there are hundreds, or thousands, of others to avoid. Here's a brief checklist of some of the most important qualities of a really great company:

1. It's well-established and financially stable.

2. Its growth has been steady and continuous.

3. Its leaders are highly qualified professionals with impeccable integrity.

4. It has high quality consumable products.

5. There is a strong consumer demand for these products.

6. It provides excellent training and support for distributors.

7. A high degree of mentoring and support is provided by sponsors.

8. The retention rate for distributors is high--the higher the better.

9. The compensation plan is generous and understandable.

10. The company strongly emphasizes high quality service to distributors and customers.

Getting On The Right Track:

Of equal importance is choosing a business building strategy that fits for you. In the past, there has been little choice here, because the traditional network marketing model has been monolithic and has used a highly standardized business building approach.

In general, this approach has required all distributors to promote their products and business personally and directly to large numbers of other people in their "warm" and "cold" markets. This approach is intrinsically inefficient in that--in order to be successful--it entails making presentations to extremely large numbers of people who are not highly qualified prospects. As leaders often state in this industry, "it's in the numbers," or "it's a sorting process."

Unfortunately,a large majority of people entering this industry are not adequately equipped, personally and/or financially, to be successful in using this approach. Without any doubt, this has been the single biggest pitfall for new distributors and also the main cause of disillusionment and failure.

But there is some very good news in this regard. Thanks to internet technology and some very talented leadership in applying it to network marketing, a highly effective and attractive new business building model has emerged. One of its greatest advantages is that IT COMPLETELY ELIMINATES ALL PERSONAL PROMOTION, RECRUITING, AND SELLING.

Instead, it utilizes a sophisticated and generic online system, along with a highly detailed, step-by-step action plan for utilizing that system, to build ANY primary network marketing business.

With this model, then, all business builders utilize a completely different promotional and recruitment strategy from that used in traditional network marketing. Their single purpose here is to attract as many targeted prospects as possible into their business building system through many different forms of internet advertising.

One result of this is that they have personal contact ONLY with prospects who have already enrolled in their business system. This saves a huge amount of wasted time and effort. And, for at least many network marketers, it's far more satisfying than trying to recruit large numbers of people who are not good prospects. It basically shifts one's prevailing role from that of promoter/recruiter/salesperson to that of mentor/guide/support person.

There's good reason to believe, then, that anyone who chooses the RIGHT COMPANY AND THE RIGHT TRACK has a MUCH greater probability of success than has previously been possible.

You can get further assistance in getting on the RIGHT TRACK by visiting the author's website and/or blog listed below.