You’ve read the promotional materials. You’ve talked to your sponsor. You are tired of working day in and day out for someone else. You want to take the leap, but you don’t want to get burned. How do you know if this is the right opportunity for you?

Make sure there is a demand for the product.

Whatever business you decide to join, you will be selling something. Maybe you are selling nutritional supplements, or clothing, or electronic equipment, or memberships. Whatever it is, make sure there is actually a market for the product. How big is the potential market? I don’t care how great the compensation plan is, if there is no demand for the product itself, you will fail. You can’t sell the compensation plan; you have to have a product that people will want to buy. I would also check to see what similar products are out there. The company you are considering may have a great product line but if XYZ Company offers the same product at a lower price and has better exposure, chances are, your success will be much more difficult to achieve.

Make sure it is a product line you can believe in.

You would probably have a hard time selling snake oil — no matter how great the compensation plan is, or how successful someone else has been with this product. Look for something you can stand behind and feel good about selling. Maybe that’s a health product, maybe that’s an educational or self-improvement product, maybe that’s a service. Whatever it is, you have to believe in the product yourself if you ever expect to achieve success.

Associate yourself with winners.

It may be an old proverb, but if you want to be wise, walk with a wise man. If you want to be wealthy, walk with a rich man. (Another, less biblical version is: If you want to soar with the eagles, don’t hang around with turkeys!) If you want to be a successful network marketer, partner with a successful network marketer. It may not be easy to tell if you are joining an on-line business opportunity, but most independent business owners work hard to “brand” themselves through article writing, blogging, video marketing, newsletters and free email courses or downloadable e-courses. I encourage you to take advantage of whatever free offer they have first to check them out before pulling out your credit card to sign up for their offer. You can always cancel your subscription later if their claims don’t ring true.

Make sure you will receive support and training.

Most great opportunities provide great support. Many of them offer a true turn-key operation. You can join an opportunity that will create your website for you on your own unique domain. This business may have pre-written, auto-responder emails ready to go out to your prospects. They may offer a 30-day or more success training program. Go for the company that offers the most bang for your buck. Some of these offers are actually free (although some of the bells and whistles may be extra). Beware of the plan that offers you a short list of tips and then pushes you out the door to sell, sell, sell! This person isn’t interested in helping YOU achieve success, but is hoping that you will manage to make it on your own and help THEM be successful.

You CAN be successful at network marketing — especially over the internet. This is a booming industry. Find an opportunity that appeals to you, do your homework, then go full steam ahead and never look back.