The other day I was driving down a road that I hadn’t driven in a while when I noticed a grand opening sign at an eatery of sorts. Someone had decided to make an attempt at building a business where a barbecue restaurant had earlier failed.

photo credit: akeg

I initially thought it was a biker bar that had moved from about a quarter mile down the road. The sign looked like the sign I had seen there. But when I passed that establishment I saw that it was still open.

Clearly, however, the new place was similar to the existing joint just down the street. I immediately wondered why someone would try building a business so close to a competitor.

It brought to mind how the traditional business world is largely based on competition. Since there are only so many customers, each company tries to get as many as they can. Often building a business means trying to eat into your competitors market share.

That’s one of the main reasons I appreciate network marketing — its non-competitive nature. As a matter of fact, I think folks who bring a competitive sense to MLM tend to not fare very well.

I expect this is mostly while building a business in network marketing, you are rewarded when you help people in your downline succeed. This spirit often carries over within a company with what is often called “sideline support,” which means people helping others who are not a part of their organization.

This cooperation sometimes even extends beyond companies with networkers helping others in the profession. I’ve made it part of my mission to help anyone in network marketing no matter the company. I do this even while building a business of my own.

I’ve helped many networkers who are not, and never will be, in my downline. I’ve even offered tips to MLMers who live in countries where my company doesn’t even offer distributorships.

Many rooted in the traditional way of doing business struggle to understand that way of thinking, but I’m convinced it’s the best way of building a business.

Steve DeVane