Introduction

Consciousness level is rising among professional-employee on the importance of financial independence. Many are awakened after reading Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert T Kiyosaki.

There are some obvious reasons for such realization: a) more and more, there are cases of job insecurity. Stories like down-sizing, corporate mergers, certain sun-set industries, economic downturn, …  invariably result in loss of employment to many, b) cost of living is increasing with higher inflation, coupled with maintaining reasonable lifestyle, children higher education and retirement fund clearly point to the fact that, even with disciplined saving, the left over from monthly salary is difficult to make a good equation.

Pro-active employee is energetically pursuing some sort of enterprise that can bring in extra revenue while they are still employee. Some of them are of the opinion that until such time they are fairly well established in the new field of enterprise, they can then quit the job to become full-time enterprise owner.

Common Enterprise

One of the most common enterprises chosen by the employee is the direct-sale of products. (However “direct-sale” is not the preferred word they use, as the word has been badly colored due to earlier bad impression created when the agents did too much hard selling.) The new vocabularies are words like “Networking Marketing” “E-Commerce”. Whatever maybe the new expression, it is still the fundamental pyramid scheme.

The common enterprises are Network21, OmegaTrend, Nu Skin, Forever Living

Knocking on the Door

With such movement going on, many of my friends come knocking on my door to join the promising enterprise. These friends or their associates come with sincere intention to help others to create wealth, which in term help them to create their own wealth. Being research-minded and inquisitive in nature, I joined their meetings or briefings or demonstrations to understand how the whole business scheme work. As a result, I have been exposed to almost all the popular enterprises like Network 21, OmegaTrend, Nu Skin, Forever Living ….

I am amazed by the marvelous scheme conceived by the founder, realizing more the power of networking and the word of mouth.

Until today I have not joined any of them. A choice I made with my own reasons.

Business Model in Creating a New Enterprise

For quite some time, I have been conceptualizing, experimenting with a business model to create a new enterprise. This business model is taking shape with good results and more potential to explore and exploit.

The intend of this article is then to illustrate the plus and minus when making comparison between my own business model with the well established direct-sale scheme. Hopefully this will give another perspectives to thing thus seeking my friends understanding in the reasons of my choice not joining any of the schemes.

QuaSyLaTic Business Model

1. Knowledge Selling

Just like the direct-sale scheme capitalizing on the Internet technology, my business model also uses Internet to sell knowledge of my specialties. I create my own knowledgebase in my website http://www.360q.com. So far I have subscription-base type of clients, or clients purchasing piece-meal knowledge-article at knowledge trading house

Unlike selling a consumable product, the same knowledge can be purchased by one or millions of Internet users. When there is demand for such knowledge, and when the marketing is right, the business potential is huge.

2. Skills Selling

Skills selling can be on Internet or one-on-one directly meeting clients. Skills can be in the form of consultancy, training, teaching, coaching, facilitating, counseling, mentoring etc in the domains of my specialties.

3. Market Timing using Unit Trust

Unit trust or mutual fund is using agency approach to sell. It is somewhat like direct-sale, except it is much regulated by the security commission. My strategy is making use of such agency mechanism, but creating an unique business model to study the marketing movement and advise clients on timing when to buy and when to sell the units for good return of investment. In another word, I am not selling unit trust but selling the investment knowledge.  

4. Internet Coaching / Tuition on Technical Analysis

This is a specific skills in coaching interested learners in investment tools, using Technical Analysis. (Please refer to Internet Tuition Class, as per http://groups.yahoo.com/group/360qBC03/

Essentially my business model focuses on Knowledge and Skills, which can be used to create greater desired results by whoever takes them seriously. Creating knowledge and dispensing skills can be carried out outside official office hours, thus creating no conflict of interest with present employer. Furthermore, new knowledge and skills acquired with larger circle can be utilized in the present employment.

Values and Criteria for Choice

When human makes choices, there are human values and priorities to consider. Each person’s value system and priorities are different from another, thus they may not make this same choice or decision.

My value-system in order of priorities is as follow:

1.0        Creative Mind

2.0        Greater Social Network with Diversity of Knowledge

3.0        Creating / Investing and not Consuming

4.0        Helping growth in others

1.0    Creative Mind

Direct-sale or network marketing provides limited scope in lubricating creative mind in me. No doubt, some thinking and creativity are necessary in planning, strategizing of recruiting prospects, sustaining their interest or commitment when they sign up, etc. etc. But the scope is limited when compared with my own diversity of knowledge domains like organization behavior, management, leadership, teamwork, personal development, investment (equity, unit trust, bond, option trading, currency, future, commodity )etc. etc. with research work to be carried out to build more relevant knowledge for sale.

2.0    Greater Social Network with Diversity of Knowledge

Again direct-sale or network marketing imply building greater social network. However the scope and focus is somehow confined to the very products they want to promote. Sometimes it is awkward when a network-marketing friend is over enthusiastic in promoting their scheme, he or she steers every social gathering conversation to that focus, unconsciously restrict other conversational topics. Whereas in the case of building greater social network with diversity of knowledge, the scope is not only unlimited, one can be flexible to engage in conversation on any topic, except this QuaSyLatic may try to engage in deeper conversation to arrive at the essence of the knowledge or learning.

3.0 Creating / Investing and not Consuming

Direct-sale or network marketing is essentially a consuming model. The more we consume, the more we get points, the more we get points the more we create wealth. There are no doubts and good rationale in what way the products are good, of top quality, benefiting health etc. etc. Fundamentally it is a consuming model. As the entrepreneur in the direct-sale is both a business owner and a consumer, wealth can only be created when he or she has large downline-network who consume a lot. This works well when the consumption pattern continues and the very bottoms of the downline need to earn money from outside the system first, e.g. from employment work or other business, when they try hard to recruit new members as consumers. (In another word, this system does not work well for the very low-income group as they simply do not and cannot afford such consumption lifestyle.)

In the case of this QuaSyLaTic investment approach, the focus in on investing, not consuming. Investing with whatever little spare saved money as unit trust can take few hundred dollars as investment. The challenge is always how to acquire knowledge and skills to buy at low zone and sell at high zone for handsome profit as allowed by the market cycle movement.

Comparing the case of direct-sale network marketing and this QuaSyLaTic business models having influenced say 500 households, I am confident that the wealth creation for all is much greater in the later if the knowledge and skills are sound. Furthermore wealth creation can be self-generating among the 500 households, as we use knowledge and skills to create results we want, not consuming and depending on more downlines.

4.0 Helping growth in others

It is interesting to note that many of the direct-sale / network marketing schemes incorporate charity as an obligation by the successful enterprise to help others or those less fortunate. This noble gesture is based on the philosophy of “giving people the fish to eat, not teaching them to fish for themselves”. They will argue that they also donate money to charity institution or educational institution to teach the less fortunate. Ironically many of these successful entrepreneurs regret their professional qualification as engineers, doctors, or accountant after they realized their dreams through network marketing, now they sincerely believe in helping the less fortunate to go through the same educational system.

As this QuaSyLaTic business model is focusing on knowledge and skills, we constantly challenge the very assumptions and premise we made about education system, economic models and whatever that may affect the quality of life or threaten the basic human values.

Reasons for Choice

With the above reasoning and thinking, it becomes clear to myself the choice I make about creating wealth through knowledge and skills and not consuming. I thank you for those friends of mine respecting my decision and still remain friends with me.

End.