Marshall and Christine Hughey are a Power Couple here in Las Vegas. As a team, they are awesome teachers and mentors. Along with much successful business experience building other business owner’s businesses and their own businesses, the Hughey’s are following a Multi-Level Marketing Business platform.

Q: Tell us a little bit about what types of businesses you’ve owned or operated to give us some perspective on your perspective.

A: We have been in financial services for over 20 years. Part of the time we were employed with different firms. We have started a couple of business over the years from scratch. We have also been involved in several MLMs, but we describe it more accurately as “referral compensation” business .

Q: What about owning an MLM business appeals to you? What’s your favorite thing about owning an MLM business?

A: Several things appeal to us about MLM businesses:

• The referral compensation: Everybody’s told someone they should see a movie or eat at a particular restaurant. Then those you’ve told could tell others, and before you know it, 50-60 people are watching a movie or eating at the restaurant because of your one referral.
• Time leverage: If you are a busy person and you feel like you don’t have the time for this sort of thing, then it is perfect for you. Your 3 hours a week and asking 3 other busy people with only 3 hours a week means you have 12 hours working now towards your business each week.
• Technology leverage: The internet with online store fronts and the parent company takes care of everything for you.

Our favorite thing about an MLM business is being a real service to others and truly helping them; we believe this is a life changing opportunity.

Q: What’s the biggest challenge of owning an MLM business?

A: We don’t look at things now as challenges but only as progression.

Q: How did you choose your specific MLM business?

A: We prayed and changed our life plan from the path we were on to the one God directed us to. And we were directed to FreeLife International as the company we should refer people to.

Q: Can you really make any money owning an MLM business, and does the money come as easily as many MLM’s say in their marketing?

A: Yes, you can make money! The company that we were directed to has an income statistic chart they put out each year. Some of the top earners earn over 2 million dollars a year. This kind of money comes with the amount of effort you want to put in to your business. It is a direct reflection on how many people you help.

Q: Tell me a bit about what makes a good training program in an MLM business?

A: We first start with our core principle of being a service to others and allowing people to be who they are and not requiring them to become someone different to be successful.

Q: How are you using online network marketing to expand your business?

A: We use online marketing mostly now for our training purpose, with audio and written messages for anyone to be inspired to continue with working their business.

The company also uses online ordering and store fronts that keep you well informed about all the products and meeting, etc.

Q: How do you approach goal-setting?

A: Our goal setting is a little different – 2 parts:

1. The people that choose to join with us, their goals become our goals. We make their goals our priority.
2. We teach that you should not set your goal so high that you become discouraged. We want people to set reasonable achievable goals each day. Little strokes fell great oaks – better to have little consistent activity then big inconsistent activity.

Q: Do you think systems are important in business? If so, what’s so important about systems?

A: The system is important because it is a way to help people set goals. The system that we have uses core principles of being open to new information and passing it on.

Q: Your main MLM business is Jule of the Orient. Why did you choose this business?

A: Jule of the Orient is a product of FreeLife, the company we chose because, quite literally, we were directed by God to join.

Q: Are you following a system created by Jule of the Orient, or have you combined it with your own successful system? What part of your system is your creation?

A: What came first was Plexus Gathering System. It was given to us as an answer to prayer. We refer to ourselves as co-founders of the Plexus Gathering System. Then what came after was the direction to join FreeLife which has the same principle of service to others.

Q: What personal attributes lead to success for a MLM business owner?

A: Just be who you are – nothing different than you were created by God to be.

Q: What is the Plexus Gathering System all about?

A: Plexus Gathering System is a way to transform what you want into what you have. It is transmutation from the unseen to our physical reality. In its broadest definition it is alchemy.

And our Bonus Question: Mac or PC?

A: PC but with resentment!

You can contact Marshall and Christine Hughey by email, and you can find them on Facebook, as well.

I ask myself, “Do I follow my own business advice?”  Within my own businesses, do I do the very things that I suggest other people do in theirs?

It’s really a great feeling to know that yes, I do follow my own advice.  When faced with a choice within my own businesses, I actually think about how I would advise one of my clients when faced with the same decision.  And then I follow that advice.

I meet a lot of business owners, and one of the things that always impresses me is a business owner who has made a business out of following his own advice.

Larry Brauner

A great example of someone who follows his own business advice is my friend and associate, Larry Brauner.

Larry’s business is helping other businesses navigate the intricacies of the web and online marketing.  He knows the ins-and-outs of how to market yourself and your business utilizing tools readily available to you on the Internet, such as blogs, Facebook, Twitter, and other social networking sites.

I like that Larry has used these resources effectively to market himself and his business.  He doesn’t just tell you how to do it, he does these things for his own business, and finds that they work!  He has had measurable success, i.e., traffic and subscription to his blogs, fans and followers on social websites, articles picked up and discussed on the web, and clients who hire him based on what he can do in all these arenas.

Larry practices what he preaches.

Do you follow the advice you give to your clients?

We are embarking on a series of posts interviewing a variety of entrepreneurs. The focus will be on learning about the different categories of businesses available for entrepreneurs.

We will be talking with franchisees, MLM business owners, and people who built their businesses from scratch. We will also be hearing from some non-profit organizations.

While these entrepreneurs have different backgrounds and experiences, the common thread is that they have found success as entrepreneurs. In the coming weeks, we’ll find out how they chose their businesses, what successes they’ve had, and what challenges they’ve faced with their selected business structures.

We’ll also find out what they think attributes to their own successes and what kind of characteristics make for success in their chosen businesses.

Don’t hesitate to call upon these awesome business people for more information; they are a great resource. I’ll post their contact information. You may also call NexStep Innovations for more information or for help in contacting them.

I hope you enjoy reading about the different types of businesses and these successful entrepreneurial spirits as much as I’ve enjoyed interviewing them!

A reader of my previous articles on non-profit organizations asked, “Why would someone want to form a non-profit organization and not want to become a 501c3?”

What is a Non-Profit?

Simply put, a non-profit — or not for profit — is an organization that does not distribute its profits to shareholders or owners. Instead of distributing taxable wealth to owners (like a for-profit company), a non-profit uses profits in order to fund its programs and services.

A non-profit can hire employees and a management team and do anything else required to operate. After all such expenses are paid, a non-profit business treats its surplus money differently than a for-profit business.

Instead of paying profits to stockholders, the “extra” money is instead used within the organization to pay for and expand its programs and services.

Non-profit is a legal status pertaining to how and why an organization is being run. It doesn’t confer tax-exempt status, nor must such an organization necessarily pursue tax-exempt status.

What is a Tax-Exempt Organization?

Tax-exempt is a taxation status. Tax-exempt means that your organization will not pay regular income taxes on monies left over after expenses are paid.

While you may be running a non-profit organization in terms of how you handle “extra” funds, you might or might not have a need to obtain tax-exempt status.

Your organization will be doing things to raise money to afford the products and services you want to offer, and some of that money will be used to pay your employees or marketing or other operational costs. After those things are paid, you have a profit.

Do you want that profit to be taxed, or do you want that profit to be tax-exempt?

If you want the Internal Revenue Service to exempt your organization from paying the same taxes as other businesses, you must seek approval for one of the many tax-exempt statuses available. The most commonly known tax-exempt status is 501c3.

You apply for 501c3 status with the IRS. If approved, your organization will be tax-exempt. As I explained in Now You’re Ready for Tax-Exempt Status, having a tax-exempt status does not mean that you don’t have to file with the IRS. You will have to file, and you will have paperwork.

Do I Need Both Non-Profit and Tax-Exempt Status?

Again, your organization can be non-profit and tax-exempt, or it can be non-profit and not tax-exempt.

Non-Profit	Tax-Exempt
Legal status	Tax status
No shareholders	No Shareholders
Pays taxes on profits	May not pay taxes on profits
No extensive application process to IRS	Extensive application process to IRS
Activities not regulated by the IRS	You’ve volunteered to have your activities highly regulated by the IRS

You will have to weigh the costs versus the benefits against the objectives of your organization. These are not decisions to be made lightly. However, these decisions can be changed as your organization grows and perhaps changes some of its objectives.

Have you heard the pseudo ancient Chinese curse, “May you live in interesting times”?  It seems that it has never actually been proven up as an ancient Chinese curse, but 2009 has been one of those years…

So as we head into 2010, I propose that we focus on the positive parts of living in interesting times.

While during tough times it can be difficult to grasp why we’re going through what we’re going through, how we choose to get through difficult times defines who we are.

Watch for Opportunities

Now is the time to look for those rare opportunities that only present themselves during times of upheaval.  Fortunes can be made, if only you see the signs and then have the fortitude to follow those signs.

Don’t Let Politics Get You Down

The political-economic climate looks as though it will get way more “interesting” in the coming year.  Becoming paralyzed by fear of the unknown will get you nowhere.  Instead, this can be a rare opportunity, if only you recognize it as such.

What opportunity we see will be different for each of us, but the important part is that we don’t hide because of fear.

My Coming Year

Within my business, I will be working to bring better education to my clients.  I will be working on innovative solutions for my clients to continue reducing their financial burdens, through lower-cost business solutions and new ways of reducing their tax burdens.  Just that will keep me busy as we continue to see more and more business taxes.

And I will be working to offer the best service available in my industry so that my clients see the value in my services.  I know that each of my clients is working to find ways to protect their dollars; I want to be one of the services that they decide to keep.

Within my financial life, I will be looking for opportunities to build my wealth.  While others are holding onto their income out of fear of what is coming, the successful understand that this is the time to invest.

Within my personal life, I will continue to offer support and encouragement to those in my community, as they find their way in these “interesting” times.

Keep Moving Forward

Whatever area of life you are looking to improve, you won’t move forward if you don’t keep moving.  Certainly you take a chance at moving in the wrong direction.  But as long as you keep a clear mind and don’t allow the fear to grab you, you will be able to recognize the road signs.  If you see that you are headed in the wrong direction, simply turn around and get going again.  That is better than not moving at all.

Happy New Year

May 2010 bring you happiness and success in all of your endeavors.  Maybe that’s a better saying than “May we live in interesting times.”

And thank you for all of your support and interest and questions throughout 2009.  I look forward to writing for you in 2010.