Network marketing is not a new invention.
Over the decades of its existence, many companies have come and gone. Large companies with million-dollar turnovers have disappeared, flashy newcomers couldn't keep their promises, and some "boring" companies have remained steadfast in the market for decades.
In this interview, we take a personal look at more than 25 years of network history and learn one or two exciting aspects.
Question: Hello Sebastian. Before we start, for those who don't know you: who are you and what do you do?
Answer:
I am, above all, a very curious person who likes to gather experiences. I think a lot through and am a creative problem solver. Nevertheless, I am not immune to mistakes and failures; that's what makes our interview so exciting.
Ich bin 1983 geboren und damit nicht mehr ganz jung und habe seit 2001 Erfahrungen mit dem Network Marketing. Dazu gekommen bin ich, weil ein guter Freund mir einmal über einen gemeinsamen Bekannten gesagt hat „Ey, der Michael hat gesagt, wenn man Geld verdienen will, kann man über ihn Handyverträge verkaufen und so.“
And so I stumbled into my first network company without any background knowledge.
Question: That was quite a long time ago. Who was this first company, and why didn't it work out with them?
Answer:
As I said, I had no idea about anything and was just enthusiastic. Earning money easily? And building a team and earning from it? Where do I sign? Here: with net-com 2000.
net-com 2000 was then a German model company: young, dynamic, rapidly growing (at the time, the mobile phone boom was just beginning – almost no one had one, and almost everyone wanted one), interesting tariffs for customers and with Mike Düring a charming company founder.
The signs were quite good, but the company had no unique selling point, as it only sold mobile contracts. The market changed quickly, new competitors emerged, and net-com 2000 also came up with new things: soon there were new products (the legendary ITC – Infotainment Center), a new marketing plan, and shortly after, bankruptcy.
I don't know the exact background, and the passionate young founder Mike Düring certainly had very interesting and also painful experiences – but so did we as partners, who had invested money in materials and products and were now left high and dry. I expressly do not blame Mike Düring at this point, because we all would certainly have benefited more from a stable company. But in life, not everything always goes according to plan.
Question: You mentioned you were "left high and dry." What does that mean? Did you invest a lot of money and lose it? What do you learn from all this?
Answer:
Well, I was young and didn't have a job yet. I started with network marketing while still in school. I had a little money from a part-time job, but I practically blindly believed the leaders and trusted the company blindly. Little hint: you shouldn't do that.
In der Folge hatte ich mir nicht nur Werbemittel gekauft, sondern vor allen Dingen auch ein ITC. Das Gerät hat knapp 2.000 € gekostet und ich habe mir das Geld von meinen Eltern geliehen. Kein guter Schachzug. Geld sollte man im Besten Fall weder leihen noch verleihen. Nicht unter Freunden und nicht in der Familie.
After net-com 2000 went bankrupt, the Infotainment Center was practically useless because the connected service and promised services could no longer be used. Expensive lesson.
One of the lessons: no matter how good and interesting the offer is – do you really need it? Really??
Question: So be cautious with what you spend and don't believe everything the leaders say. Any other lessons?
Answer:
Yes. Fortune hunters are not good friends or business partners. What do I mean by that?
My mate, who first told me about network marketing, joined the same company as my sponsor. Everything was great with him, honest, sincere, and we are still good friends today.
But there are also the type of people who want to take the easy way out, who don't want to do anything and would like others to work for them without lifting a finger.
There was such a fortune hunter, Manuel, whom I met through this network company. We initially became friends and thought about how we could approach people about the opportunity with net-com 2000 or simply conclude mobile contracts. The internet was very new at the time, and ISDN was just coming up; most people didn't have internet access back then, and we didn't even have the ideas on how to specifically reach people over the internet.
So we did something else. On the one hand, we printed flyers to be distributed. But Manuel didn't bother. He always just calculated how much money he would earn if x% of the people who received the flyer concluded a contract.
And on the other hand, we booked stand space in the city centre for one day. To offer as many people as possible in a conversation in a small pavilion the great mobile contracts we had.
Although – I had booked and paid for the stand space, took care of the material, and set everything in motion, only to find out:
- on that day, there was no market day. So we were a single, rather shabby-looking stand in the city centre.
- Manuel didn't come to help or work as agreed.
- and I'm not an extroverted person. So I don't just approach strangers and talk to them.
Manuel had promised to share the costs, but I was young and naive and hadn't gotten anything in writing. As it later turned out, Manuel also had no money and wanted to pay his share of the stand from the concluded mobile contracts.
This may sound like a story of obvious stupidity (and it is), but it shows: if you start something new: be very careful. Ask your friends, parents, or your environment. Let them tell and show you where the pitfalls are.
Often, people who are new to something are a bit narrow-minded. But not everyone who says something critical about a new job – or business opportunity – means it badly or doesn't understand what it's about. Quite the contrary: sometimes they understand very well what it's about. And then critical voices are worth their weight in gold. I would have saved a lot of money if I had asked more questions and been a bit more reserved.
Question: Very instructive indeed. How did things continue for you after the net-com 2000 bankruptcy?
Answer:
Initially not very well, I would say. And my biggest mistake was that I still had contact with Manuel. And he had discovered a new, hot, young network that he absolutely had to show me. We could be there right from the start and "really cash in."
I don't know what possessed me, but I let him show me this company. It was the extremely short-lived company MegaKonzept.
MegaKonzept was founded and run by people who… how do you put it elegantly?… whose ethics and interest in people I would doubt.
It was about bringing some insurance contracts to the man. There was an interesting commission system. There were regular training sessions. These training sessions were not only regular but also disgusting because the trainer was not recommended humanly. Eloquent without a doubt. But how he treated people behind closed doors was not good.
And this MegaKonzept was introduced to me by Arno, a former policeman. Why "former" I was to find out over time. But let's say: he fit well with the rest of the people who founded and marketed this system.
But there was one good thing about this encounter: this ex-cop was an LR consultant and the perfume "Jungle Man" captivated me once I smelled it. And so I became an LR consultant.
Question: You joined a network marketing company because of a perfume?
Answer:
Ja. Das Parfüm war so gut, ich musste es haben. Und natürlich wollte ich nicht vollen Preis zahlen. Ob die Produktpalette tatsächlich zu mir gepasst hat, war damals nicht Teil meiner Überlegung. Es hieß auch immer: „unsere Kunden sind alle Menschen, die duschen und waschen“. Das ist zwar gut und schön, aber viele Menschen bevorzugen einfach nach wie vor die günstige Zahncreme für 0.99 € aus dem Supermarkt statt einer mit Aloe für 5.99 €.
But since I still didn't have much money, I wanted to save some and possibly earn some too.
Question: How did LR help with that?
Answer:
In short, not at all. But that's more because I didn't know what I wanted, the product range didn't really suit me, and I still wasn't great at approaching people about products or business.
In my time, Helmut Spikkerwas still in the company, the worldwide No. 1 was Ilhan Dogan, Thomas Heursen came later, and Achim Hickmann was remembered well. I was part of the large organisation Yandimoglu, who was then a Gold Organisation Leader. There were regular monthly presentations at the Hotel Pyramid in Fürth, and LR was at that time the largest MLM company in Germany in terms of sales.
I was at every seminar, at every business presentation, got all the information, and spent a lot of money on advertising materials. If there was something interesting and others had good experiences with it, I wanted it. In my time, there were still video cassettes, and so I bought video cassettes with the report on Aloe Vera in the TV show "Fliege" (Jürgen Fliege). Together with a flyer, we were supposed to distribute them everywhere, ask people to watch the video, and we would pick it up again in two days. But to be really successful with it, you had to go door to door. And that wasn't my world.
At that time, LR had just added Aloe Vera to the range and was competing with FLP (Forever Living Products) on the German market. The LR Aloe with blossom honey according to the recipe of Father Romano Zago still tastes better to me than FLP Aloe. Every few years, I buy a few bottles on one of the sales portals because I have long since ceased to be a partner of LR.
None of the approaches really suited me, and the product range, as mentioned, didn't either. I was also there when LR introduced the Starbox; exclusive fragrances named after celebrities and created with or for them.
Damals hieß die Aktion „Mit 12 zu 21“ und wir wusste nicht, was das sein soll. Dahinter steckte, dass mit den 12 Promis der Weg zum 21%er (einer wichtigen Karrierestufe bei LR) für jeden einfacher als bisher möglich sein sollte. Und das zu Recht. Die Starbox war hübsch gestaltet, hatte die Testsätze der 12 Promi-Parfüms an Bord (Boris Becker, Ralf Schumacher, Heidi Klum, Sarah Connor, Udo Walz, André Rieu, No Angels, Heiner Lauterbach, Sonja Kirchberger, Iris Berben, Nadja Auermann, Anna Kournikova, später kamen Leute wie Bruce Willis dazu, andere wurden entfernt) und dass nach meinem Empfinden mind. eines der Promi Parfüms einem früheren Duft der LR Hausmarke (Racine) verdächtich ähnlich roch, störte nicht.
Whereas previously they could work nicely alongside each other or had even bought products from one another, it now came down to comparisons of who had the "better product". And these battles were fought vehemently. And where you could once work nicely side by side or had bought products from each other, comparisons now arose about who had the "better product." And these battles were fought vehemently.
I can't answer that generally and certainly can't speak for all leaders. But I have witnessed a lot.
Answer:
I remember a presentation where three consultants from different companies sat at a table trying to make it clear to each other that their product had the greatest health benefit, was absolutely the best, and that the others should consider themselves lucky to finally learn something and please sign up immediately.
Cats fighting over territory were more civilised than what I saw that day. Particularly memorable was an incident at a seminar when one of the guests was not allowed back into the hall after the break and the organiser practically threw him out.
I admit that at the time I also wondered what odd questions this guest was asking; in hindsight, however, a seasoned speaker should be able to answer simple, albeit unexpected, questions and not behave like a delicate flower just because someone asks questions and doesn't immediately shout hooray. This "uninvited guest" was an extroverted FitLine® consultant, always in a good mood, successful, and approachable. Much more relaxed than the suit-wearing faction found in the higher ranks at LR who had expelled him from the hall.
This "uninvited guest" was an extroverted FitLine® consultant, who was always in a good mood, successful, and approachable. Much more relaxed than the suit faction you found in the higher ranks at LR, who had him removed from the hall. Question: And then did you switch to FitLine®?
Well, it didn't happen that quickly. At first, I didn't even know what it was, what they did, and where the differences lay. Besides, at the mentioned seminar, I first met the person who had invited the "uninvited guest".
Answer:
Well, it didn't happen that quickly. At first, I didn't know what it was, what they were doing, and where the differences were. Moreover, at the aforementioned seminar, I first met the person who invited the "uninvited guest." And that was my upline, whom I hadn't known until then. Also a policeman, but on active duty. Athletic, slim, likeable, and with a "can-do" attitude.
Health has interested me since childhood, and I was always on the lookout for good products. At PM / FitLine®, vitamins weren't a "we-have-that-too" product, but the focus. That was interesting. A few months earlier, I had a random FitLine® experience when an acquaintance offered me an Activize, and the typical "flush" set in; but it wasn't the right time or the right people back then.
Ich hatte bis zu diesem Seminarerlebnis also keinen echten Kontakt zu FitLine®, was komisch ist, da die weltweite Nummer 1 von PM / FitLine®, Joachim Heberlein, aus meiner Gemeinde Bischberg stammt. Ich bin im Ortsteil nebendran aufgewachsen und Joachim hat durch Fleiß und Glauben an seine Firma praktisch jeden 10. Haushalt in Bamberg zu FitLine® Kunden gemacht. Oder zumindest schien es so, denn plötzlich sind einem mehr und mehr dieser FitLine® Autos aufgefallen. Er hat sich auch neue Marketingmethoden einfallen lassen, die dann von fast allen verwendet wurden. Unabhängig, was man von der Firma oder den Produkten halten mag, kann – und sollte – man Beharrlichkeit, Fleiß und die entsprechenden Erfolge anerkennen. Und der Erfolg wurde Joachim sicherlich nicht geschenkt.
No, I wasn't in his line, as far as I know. I belonged to an organisation in Fürth, whose upline came from Aschaffenburg. It was a wonderful couple, Michael and Monika, who worked with a lot of passion.
Answer:
Under them was Michael from Fürth, then came Jürgen (the "troublemaker" at the LR seminar), then Chris, and then me. I was in an interesting situation: on one hand, I had the advantages available in my hometown, such as the first nationwide DSC (Direct Sales Centre) from FitLine® and could stock up on products locally.
Among them was Michael from Fürth, then came Jürgen (the "troublemaker" at the LR seminar), then Chris, and then me. I was in an interesting situation: on one hand, I had the advantages that existed in my hometown, such as And I had the advantage that the "rebellious" Fürth structure was allowed to conduct experiments: exclusively for this line, the option was introduced on a trial basis to sign up interested parties as FitLine® partners with a very small package. One can of Activize and a small fee.
Normally, one had to start quite differently, it wasn't usually possible so cheaply.
And I had the advantage that the "rebellious" Fürth structure was allowed to conduct experiments: exclusively for this line, the option was introduced on a trial basis to enroll interested parties as FitLine® partners with a very small package. A can of Activize and a small fee. It's a liability issue. Although I don't know if the altered marketing material we had back then was approved by PM or just tolerated. I suppose, for legal reasons, they didn't give an official okay.
Question: And did you see your future with the company? Basically, yes. But I was still relatively young at the time and my environment had nothing to do with all these things. So when I wanted to tell them something about health, the younger ones weren't interested, and the older ones didn't see me as competent. More like a vitamin seller.
And those who sought information were all disappointed that it had to be taken "regularly"; they had hoped for a quick pill that you take once and the problems are gone. But if health is to be lasting, I have to take care of it permanently.
Answer:
So in the end, I was my best customer over the years. I attended all the lectures and training and made an effort, but it didn't work out that way. And those who got information were all disappointed that you have to take it "regularly"; they had hoped for a quick pill that you take once and the problems are gone. But if health is to be lasting, I have to take care of it permanently.
So I wouldn't want to call myself successful. But I had tons of material: whether flyers or T-shirts, sports bags, car stickers, drinking cups, jackets, pins…
At that time, the very good "Gut - Pot" concept came up (as far as I know, Joachim Heberlein came up with it) and it worked well - but I was probably too young or didn't take the business seriously enough or it just wasn't right for me. Yes, but it got even wilder.
Most companies have exclusivity clauses. At least that was common back then. So officially, you couldn't work for another company with a similar range at the same time. Most people weren't bothered by that. And I was also both an LR and PM partner for a while.
Answer:
LR had better perfumes than PM, which had their own series "Pierre Martèn". Very funny, because the initials of the perfume brand also read PM.
However, PM had the better supplements in my opinion and with Laurent Cristanel, a very good, a better cosmetic. But at that time, LR had introduced Aloe Vera and with that, I could get perfume and Aloe from LR and FitLine® supplements from PM.
LR had better perfumes than PM, which had their own series "Pierre Martèn." Very funny, because the initials of the perfume brand also read PM.
Yes, ex-cop Arno came back into the picture. One must bear in mind that all this happened in a very short time and I was still trusting that he basically meant well. And from a certain perspective, he does, only he wasn't a good influence for me.
Completely different types, completely different views of people and dealing with people, and completely different life experiences.
Answer:
After the failure of this MegaConcept, he wanted to build his "own" distribution. And I and fortune hunter Manuel could be right at the forefront. Lured by ignorance and the chance of a generous income, I agreed to be part of it, Manuel was initially wiser at this point because he was more cautious.
After the failure of this MegaKonzept, he wanted to build his own distribution. And I and fortune hunter Manuel could be right at the forefront.
Lured by a €900 monthly fixed salary and an alleged training I was supposed to receive, I left my regular training position still during the probationary period. And he was right in that the "sales" turned out to be an insurance office, and he wanted to rope us in as insurance agents there.
Question: And that was a mistake? That was a big mistake. I mean, nothing in life is ever really wrong because it has brought us to where we are today and made us the people we are today, but I could have spared myself the experiences. Or could have had it easier. And the next few months were quite a horror.
Because I received no training: I was taken on as a full-time self-employed insurance agent in this office. Without training, without assistance, and practically without an office.
Answer:
An office in the city centre was rented and I could use it, but as equipment, I got an old PC, a phone, and a phone book.
And that was it. The task was: "Call people and see if you can sell them insurance." We hardly had the internet back then, I didn't receive a conversation guide, no briefing on liability or similar, and the most interesting thing: Arno wasn't the owner of the insurance office, but Sabine. A friend/partner?
And that was it. The task was: "Call people and see if you can sell them insurance."
Question: That sounds not only wild but also immoral? Well, I'm sure everything was formally correct. But morally, highly questionable. At least I felt very uncomfortable. Just not my world.
Through one of these entanglements, I even temporarily lost my health insurance. I can't recommend it. I really can't recommend it.
Answer:
My acquaintance Manuel was lulled into becoming active part-time as well and then had to suffer under Arno's power games. Fortunately, the agency didn't last long. And Arno left a lot of scorched earth behind.
During that time, I had intermittent contact with DVAG and considered switching there; after all, there were proper offices, a training concept, and a humane way of dealing with each other. Luckily, I didn't take that step.
I got caught up again with a financial distribution from Hof, the Futura Finanz. They had the best training process in terms of network and organisation that I had seen so far. They knew how to do network. They knew how to structure it properly.
The sales talk was great: one product, everything geared towards it, and easy to learn. Brilliant.
Unfortunately, the product wasn't sold honestly: customers were made to sign a confirmation that the basis for their decision was a brochure, which they only received afterwards.
Fortunately, the company was sued multiple times and had to close, the founder absconded, and I couldn't get in deeper. Who knows what financial damage I might have caused to people who were important to me? Or to others? Question: What did you learn from all these failures? That's quite an intense journey in a short time?
A bitter journey. With high financial losses. Very educational though.
Learned? Firstly, not to fall for/go along with the first opportunity that comes along. No matter who presents it.
Answer:
Then to choose what suits you. Can I work with the products? Do I like it? What does my gut feeling say? And the people have to fit. By the way, it's not a big deal if you lose a "friend" over not saying yes immediately. Because what kind of friends are those?
Then, not to be blinded by high commissions. Everything has to be sold first. Can I do that, do I want to do that? So is such a sales model even suitable for me? Just because the hurdles are low doesn't mean it's suitable for me.
Then you should choose what suits you. Can I work with the products? Do I like it? What does my gut feeling say? And the people must fit too. By the way, it's not a big deal if you lose a "friend" because you don't say yes immediately. Because what kind of friends are they?
There are even people who insult others who don't take their "great opportunity". I'm neither such a person nor do I want to work with such a person. There's a lack of humility and experience.
Question: Okay, so there was a detour into the financial sector. But you were still with LR and PM at the time? There are even people who insult others for not taking their "great opportunity." I'm neither such a person nor do I want to work with someone like that. There's a lack of humility and experience.
NWA stood for Network World Alliance and wanted to shake up the market massively. Sometimes people talk about "disruptive events", which shake everything up and the NWA was such an event. Because: they had a very interesting product range:
Answer:
Aloe Vera, cheaper than at LR
NWA stood for Network World Alliance and aimed to shake up the market significantly. People sometimes talk about "disruptive events" that turn everything upside down, and NWA was such an event. Because: they had a very interesting product range:
- Their own personal perfume line: customers could have their scent mixed exclusively for themselves. Cheaper and more individual than elsewhere.
- and other products that had already proven themselves on the market
- So: the NWA suddenly offered the range of several competing companies under one roof. In the same or better quality. At a cheaper price. With a quite reasonable bonus plan. And with a message: come to us, because the others will do so.
- At least that was the spectre haunting the German network marketing landscape: "switch to us before your partners switch to us and you then have to join under your former structure."
The fear was real, especially since some leaders switched directly. So I also let myself be guided by fear and signed up.
At least it was this spectre that haunted the German network marketing landscape: "switch to us before your partners switch to us and you then have to join under your former structure."
For reasons unknown to me, most likely mismanagement or legal disputes, the company unfortunately quickly fell again. The rumour mill was bubbling over, also regarding what had happened in the background of other companies. But I don't want to repeat all that.
Question: Sounds like a "network war"?
You could say that. At that time, there was a lot of noise in the market anyway and a lot of bickering about who had "the better or best product" or who had the best earnings plan and there were always new scandals.
Question: Does it sound like a "network war"?
Answer:
You could say that. At that time, there was a lot of noise in the market and a lot of bickering about who had "the better or best product" or who had the best compensation plan, and there were always new scandals.
Question: What else did you learn? I've seen many, many companies come and go.
It didn't matter whether the companies were new to the market or already established and whether they had big role models, leaders, or financial capital: many disappeared from the market again.
Answer:
Experienced – through personal contact or directly involved friends – I have, for example,
FEN – fashion-europe.net – a company that sold jeans. Dirt cheap, modern, fashionable, mostly directly from the boot of a car. Rapid growth, simple earnings plan, newcomer of the year, German company and unfortunately crashed spectacularly.
Organo Gold and other coffee networks. Those who drink coffee can relate to it more than I can. A former leader from fe.n (fashion-europe.net) moved directly over and built large structures there.
- Unicity Network – that was a big one. There were some "luminaries" on board. Their own supplements and many other things in the product range. Hardly anyone knows them today.
- STB Network stood for "Simply The Best" and was founded by one of the luminaries. Noticeable was the unpleasant, aggressive marketing, with which everyone whose address they had was persuaded to join their network. "Simply The Best"? More like "Stop The Bullshit"!
- Unicity Network – that was a big name. There were quite a few "luminaries" on board. Own supplements and many other things in the product range. Hardly anyone knows it today.
- STB Network stood for "Simply The Best" and was founded by one of the luminaries. The unpleasant, aggressive marketing was striking, with which everyone whose address they had was persuaded to join their network. "Simply The Best"? More like "Stop The Bullshit"!
- WellStar was another company that wanted to make a new start in the market and was founded by a former leader. The product line was a single powder from the algae Lithothamnium, Chlorella, and Spirulina.
- DubLi was once founded as a kind of competitor to eBay, then it was more of a social commerce platform. Then it was changed and changed again. It didn't establish itself anyway.
- Another company focused on selling digital signatures – so that one would have a legally secure and valid signature on the internet. Anyone who knows how well Germany is doing with digitalisation can imagine what happened to the company.
- DubLi was once founded as a kind of competitor to eBay, then it became more of a social commerce platform. Then it was changed and changed again. In any case, it never really took off.
- Another company focused on selling digital signatures – so that one could have a legally binding signature on the internet. Anyone who knows how well Germany is doing with digitalisation can imagine what happened to the company.
- Then there's Goolux, which was initiated by a PM distributor. It still exists and offers email marketing, a bio page, landing pages, and contact management. However, it's not a network, just a simple partner programme behind it. The company was founded by networkers with the intention of making a networker's job easier. In the age of mobile apps and more well-known companies offering similar services, it's not quite up to date.
- Not to forget the rise of Energetix, a company for magnetic jewellery. It then split into two companies of the same name due to disputes and difficulties.
- There was also AGEL on the market for a while, a company that offered supplements in the form of small gel sachets. It was supposed to have better bioavailability. The company caused a stir for a short time and is no longer active today.
- And we could also talk about Herbalife, Amway, AMC, Vorwerk, Tupper, Rainbow, Hyla, proWin, JeMaKo® and many other companies. Of those mentioned, JeMaKo® probably has the best reputation, and rightly so, I think.
Question: Were there any companies that particularly stood out?
Answer:
Yes. ASEA® eventually entered the German market, and with it came the hype about "redox signalling molecules."
My old acquaintance Christian once came along with a bottle of the product and urged me to try it. Of course, he was a partner with the company. He generally only got in touch when he was with a new company and wanted me to sign up under him.
So, I let myself be persuaded to take the bottle because I do like to try things. But the effort it took to actually drink the contents was quite significant. I don't know if ASEA®'s product is related to the intriguing CDL (chlorine dioxide), but there were certainly similarities in smell and taste. If there are similarities, I'd rather go for CDL.
A journalist I know published his research on ASEA® (about 20 A4 pages) on his blog, and there was lively discussion under the post from people who had also tested the product. It was the largest source of information on the company and product for a while – until the post was taken offline one day. I assume he wanted to avoid disputes. It's a shame because the article wasn't malicious or erroneous, as far as I can remember.
ASEA® is still on the market today and doing its thing. However, the company was never of interest to me because I learned that I can only work with companies I can stand behind. Both in terms of content, ethics, and product range. And I had already found my new home back then.
Question: Are there companies with which you've had positive experiences, and what became your new home?
Answer:
Yes. Let's list the companies that, in my experience, have a good reputation:
- Let's start with Tupperware. Everyone has Tupper at home. Unfortunately, Tupper has had some very bad years. Everyone knows Tupper, and hopefully, the company somehow survives.
- Vorwerk – although not a network, but a direct sales company, still belongs to the well-known companies and doesn't have a bad reputation. I only had problems with the company's representatives in recent years, but I hope that's just my experience.
- Hyla and proWin may not be giants in the market, but over the years, I've hardly heard anything bad about them, and I'm always pleased when someone gets involved here.
Let's move on to the companies with a very good reputation:
- Berner GmbH, a company from northern Germany, which brings a micronutrient concentrate called Cellagon® to the market and probably has never done anything wrong.
- JeMaKo®, the company for cleaning cloths, cleaning agents, and other things related to cleanliness. It sounds unspectacular, but it has built a good reputation through quality and ethics.
Question: And which of these companies did you end up with?
Answer:
None of them. I haven't even mentioned my new home yet.
Through my studies in health sciences at Coburg University, I got to know two companies that convinced me in terms of ethics, price, quality, effectiveness, and product range.
One company is PEN-YANG®, a German (founded in Coburg!) company that works with "energy." The founder is an ancient dowser, a Schneider student and researcher. Throughout his life, he identified hundreds of wells for boreholes and not only specified the exact location but also the exact depth in advance. Without ever making a single wrong bore. Just by measuring with the tools of dowsers.
And his company PEN-YANG® uses this knowledge to programme plates, antennas, and other data carriers to have a positive influence on the environment. While a magnet is aligned on the magnetic level, here, for example, a metal plate is aligned on three levels – magnetic, electromagnetic, and electrical (the most valuable and difficult one). As a result, the quality of food can be improved, and things like earth radiation, interference zones, water veins, and all these influences from the ground and technology are no longer harmful to health.
So, with simple and, above all, time-tested means, a positive change can be achieved without having to change much in everyday life. However, it must also be said that this is not a network company. Nevertheless, I would recommend everyone to test the products. If you don't know where to start, I would recommend a Vital-Slab.
Question: And the second company?
Answer:
That would be Platinum Health Europe.
A company whose products are practically 100% plant-based. I got to know the company through the raw food scene.
During my internship while studying, I was at a publishing house for a raw food magazine. And almost all the raw food enthusiasts there consumed Platinum products. Raw food enthusiasts place a high value on the quality and purity of their food, and I didn't know why they took something "extra." Until I realised that these were high-quality plant powders.
And something about these "natural products" grabbed me and hasn't let go to this day.
I appreciate that the company values naturalness, quality, and fair prices. There are no superlatives, no "we are the best," no elaborate car programmes that somehow have to be financed, and no dubious marketing measures; it's simply about fair products and the benefit for people.
I can stand behind that.
Question: And that's your network story. Can you summarise the key points again?
Answer:
Of course:
- a company isn't good just because it's new
- you don't have to be there right from the start
- it doesn't matter what names and faces speak for a company or product
- make sure the company operates legally
- a company from the USA or elsewhere doesn't necessarily have to be successful in Europe
- it doesn't matter what phase a company is in
- choose a company whose products interest you and align with your values
- don't be lured by the promise of lots of money
- don't choose a company just because your friends are already there, choose a company that's right for you
- trust your gut feeling
- get started
Question: That's a good summary. Thank you for sharing your extensive experiences. One last sentence?
Answer:
If you really want to work in this industry, find something that truly suits you. Don't be too quickly tempted, lured, or dazzled. Check with your feelings and see if a company aligns with your values. And if that company happens to be Platinum, then do get in touch with us.
A Platinumberater is certainly also right near you. And we are nice, down-to-earth people. Do have a chat with us.
