And remember. IT'S NOT ABOUT THE PRODUCTS. You can have the greatest products on the planet, but if your company does not have all five pillars, you can have everything taken away from you overnight.

So, do your own research and determine for yourself if your company or the one you are about to join meets these 5 criteria.

1. Company Management Experience with Integrity.

• Read your Policies and Procedures and look for the words "termination" and "ongoing".

• Find out how safe you are, how your downline is protected, and whether you can ever retire.

• Rule of Thumb: The longer the contract, the more overhead the company has, and the less you earn.

• Do a Google search on the company and the owners of the company you are researching.
• Have the owners ever built their own downline?
• Are the owners CEO's who had lawyers write their Policies & Procedures Guide?
• Add the word 'scam' to your search.

• Check reliable websites like www.mlmwatchdog.com and www.MarketWaveInc.com for warnings.

• Beware of companies where you can buy your way to the top.

• Check eBay to see if the company's products are being sold there.

• Beware of sponsors offering you a "good position".

• There can be no "deals" in an ethical company.

• There must be a level playing field.

2. Timing in the Company / Timing in the Industry.

• Beware of "ground floor opportunities" and start-up companies.
• There should be no rush to get in on the "ground floor".
• 99% of companies don't last two years.
• If the company is good today, it will be great tomorrow.

• Most people don't make money in the first two years while the company is dealing with start-up problems.

• Profit comes AFTER two years. Join then.

• Do not join a company with a product that has no profit margin; for example - a long distance service or a vinyl record company!

3. There MUST be a Remarkable Product.

• Be sure your product is unique; it should standout among the competitors. Read Seth Godin's "The Purple Cow".

• Warnings:
• If the product would not sell without a business opportunity attached, it is ILLEGAL.
• If you can't pay online with a credit card, and if you can only pay by cash or money order, it is ILLEGAL.
• If distributors collect the money while the company stays at arm's length, it is ILLEGAL.

• Once you begin to justify your product to someone, you become a salesperson. Networking is a relationship business NOT a sales business.

4. The Compensation Plan MUST Pay Part-Timers.

• 95% of networkers are part-time people. Make sure that people can make a decent income working a few hours per week.

• Beware of companies that advertise how many millionaires they have created. Make sure it's not at the expense of those "at the bottom". Everyone should be able to benefit.

• Ask your upline the question "How many people must I have in my business to earn a residual income check of $10,000 / month?" There are companies out there that require as many as 10,000 and as few as 400. It's not unusual to see well-established companies that require 3000 to 7000 people, and still attract new distributors.

• If your upline won't or can't answer this basic question, then ask his upline. If you can’t get an answer, be very careful and figure it out yourself.

• If a company stresses "Recruit, Recruit, Recruit!", you should "Run, Run, Run!"

• The key to success is moving product from the company to the end consumer. That’s where the commission should be.

• If you are making only 5% to 8% commissions on product, you are being extremely underpaid. You can get 12%, 15% or better with a 5 Pillar company.

5. There MUST be a Teachable System for Success.

• The company must have a duplicatable system for success.

• People are not duplicatable - systems are. For example - If you have to rely on your upline to do your presentations, this is NOT duplicatable.

• Just because the leaders in your company are making big checks, doesn't mean you can do the same thing. The system MUST allow you, and the people you bring onto your team, to learn how to do the same thing.

• DO NOT MAKE A LIST OF YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY.

• DO NOT BUY LEADS.

• These methods do not work anymore. 90% of the world population are NOT good salespeople; and not only that, most of that 90% don't even like salespeople.