For more information, visit www.mlmlegal.com.

Visit us at www.mlmlegal.com to learn more.

A Focused Webinar for Startup MLM Companies Launching the MLM Startup: Essentials

Complete the Information Field Below and a Link to the Hosting Page will be Sent**

(**Available only to Executives of MLM Startup and Existing Companies.)

A 150 minute MLM Startup Webinar with five leading Experts in the Direct Selling Industry

Sponsor and Chair:

MLMLegal.com and Babener & Associates

Conference Chairperson: Jeff Babener, Babener & Associates

Babener & Associates Law Firm

Conference Co-Chair: Michael Sheffield, The Sheffield Group

Learn from the professionals who have been behind hundreds of companies..

….and those who have advised (and started many), including Avon, Herbalife, Amway, NuSkin, USANA, Melaleuca, Nerium, Excel Telcom, ACN, Team National, Shaklee, etc.

About the industry and succeeding in our current business environment.

Being successful, but staying in business in our regulatory environment.

Compensation Plans in today’s direct selling environment.

Stages of MLM Startup Development.

What to look for in a technology provider

What is the driving foundation of success.

Directions in Technology.

Competing with the Amazon experience and the Gig economy opportunities.

Recruiting leaders and distributors.

What successful distributors are looking for in a company.

Panel of Experts discuss the most frequently asked questions about MLM Startup

Check out the full webinar HERE.

Visit us at www.mlmlegal.com to learn more.

We have hosted more than 70 national conferences on starting and running a direct selling, network marketing, MLM or party plan company. We have started and advised many of the leading companies in the industry and we have a “big picture” that may be difficult to find elsewhere. We are big believers in education and our website, www.mlmlegal.com, is hopefully evidence of this, with hundreds of articles, cases, statutes, and scores of videos. We take a particular satisfaction in helping entrepreneurs pursue their dreams and the consequence is often the creation of thousands of jobs and opportunities. And at our conferences, we have started many companies that are today, household names. It has been a pleasure and honor to assemble professionals in these conferences to assist individuals to create “something from nothing.”

At the conference, we facilitate relationship-building, networking, and the educating of MLM entrepreneurs. We bring direct selling experts from around the country to one location to coach attendees on software, technology, compensation plans, sales kits, recruiting, funding, capitalization, legal, and many other topics that are imperative to any MLM executive. Attendees are educated in a classroom-type setting by industry experts and then are offered one-on-one time to speak with any (or all) expert they choose. Our goal is to harness long-term relationships, while educating the next generation of network marketing entrepreneurs about the strength and credibility of the MLM industry. An industry that supports millions of people around the world.

As the creator and host of the original MLM Startup Conference, we support the MLM entrepreneur and play a key role in establishing new companies in the industry through our event. If you’re starting, or thinking of starting a network marketing company, we highly recommend that you attend. This is the best, and most longstanding, conference offered anywhere.

Are you interested in attending the Starting and Running the Successful MLM Companyconference? Visit our conference page, view our speaker list, or get more details. All executives/owners of direct selling companies are welcome to attend. Call 800-231-2162 to register.

For more encouraging words to achieve success in network marketing, visit Attorney Jeff Babener’s websites: www.mlmlegal.com and www.mlmattorney.com.

Visit us at www.mlmlegal.com to learn more.

Sign up for the MLM News Global newsletter for top headlines, news stories, scam alerts, videos, articles, and more information on the network marketing industry.

Vocal critics are abundant in the direct selling industry, but the positives drown out the negatives. It’s not hard to find a loud voice criticizing the direct selling industry through a quick Google search. And it is true… there are many pyramid/Ponzi schemes, primarily internationally based, that parade themselves as MLM/direct delling… and they are not. They are merely pyramid headhunting recruitment schemes that often use bogus products and services as an excuse to move money. The entire emphasis of such organizations is to cause investors to pay money and cause others to do the same, with a thin veneer of an actual product or service. In fact, the revenue to pay commissions instead comes from distributor payments and not sales to the ultimate user.

Despite this, the facts remains MLM and direct selling are a major part of the fabric of commerce. Statistics on 2014 sales, compiled by the World Federation of Direct Selling Associations, indicate global sales of $183 billion and 100 million distributors. In the U.S., there are 18 million distributors posting $35 billion in sales. Numerous direct selling companies are traded on the NYSE.

Many direct selling companies have histories dating back to the 1800s (see our MLM company profiles page to read over 700 MLM company profiles). Avon, alone, dates back 130 years. Companies like Avon, Mary Kay, and Tupperware have long and credible company histories and support thousands of households in the U.S. and internationally. Network marketing has a lengthy history of reputable companies. This industry supports millions of independent consultants in the United States and abroad.

Finding a Good MLM Company

How do you find a good MLM company for you? There are ways to make sure that a direct selling company is a good business and ethical. First, contact the industry association websites, such as the Direct Selling Association (DSA), to see if the company is a member and if they abide by the DSA’s Code of Ethics.

Secondly, if you’re considering becoming a part of a startup network marketing company, learn how to recognize some red flags. Is the company offering a tangible product or service? Make sure that the company offers a product or service, and not something intangible, such as prayers or wishes. Does the company ask for an unreasonably-high investment to join? Startup kits average anywhere from $50-$150. If a company is asking for $500 for their startup kit, perhaps you should begin asking more questions. This alone is not a sign of a company operating illegally, but can be a sign to look for additional clues for questionable practices. Does the company focus its mission on primarily recruiting new members and not focus on the sale of product (or service) to the end consumer? A legally-operated MLM company will have a primary focus of selling products (or services) to the consumer, not just in recruiting new consultants.

Be sure to investigate any opportunity that you are considering joining and due your own due diligence. And, if you are starting your own network marketing company, it would be wise of you to hire a credible MLM attorney that specializes in direct selling law.

And probably your best educational resource: check out the hundreds of articles, videos, company profiles, etc. at MLMLegal.com.

If you are interested in attending the Starting and Running the Successful MLM Company conference visit our conference page, view our speaker list, or get more details. All executives/owners of direct selling companies are welcome to attend. Call 800-231-2162 to register.

Visit us at www.mlmlegal.com to learn more.

Sign up today at http://www.mlmnewsglobal.com/.

This newsletter offers recent news, videos, company profiles, and weekly articles delivered to your inbox on a timely basis. Each newsletter contains top news stories in the network marketing industry, the most recent MLM scam alerts, timely articles on the direct selling industry, and so much more.

Make sure you’re not the last to know about top MLM news stories, or to hear about the latest scam reports. Our timely headline reporting will keep you up-to-date on stories that affect everyone in the network marketing industry.

We will also make sure you receive a “Video of the Week” on industry educational topics, such as distributor education, industry Q&A, executive interviews, MLM startup, and pyramid schemes.

Each newsletter features the profile of a direct selling company, like Avon, Mary Kay, and Amway, or perhaps a startup multilevel marketing company that you haven’t heard about yet! MLM News Global also highlights two featured articles on industry-related topics, such as pyramid schemes, compensation plans, recruiting, lead generation, legal analysis, software, and more.

The MLM News Global Newsletter is presented by industry educator, MLM legal expert, and network marketing business consultant, Attorney Jeff Babener.

Sign up today to receive valuable MLM, network marketing, direct selling content, an imperative to anyone in the direct selling industry. Join our newsletter today!

Check out our Archives for past issues.

Learn more business tips at www.mlmlegal.com and www.mlmattorney.com.

If you are interested in attending the Starting and Running the Successful MLM Company conference visit our conference page, view our speaker list, or get more details. All executives/owners of direct selling companies are welcome to attend. Call 800-231-2162 to register.

Our next Starting and Running the Successful MLM Company Conference takes place in Las Vegas. View our conference flyer and speaker list online.

If you’re reading this blog post and the conference dates above have passed, check our website for the current conference dates.

Visit us at www.mlmlegal.com to learn more.

With the costs of the compensation plan, attorney’s fees, software, hiring staff, recruiting consultants, creating/designing products, the list goes on… starting a direct selling company can be expensive and difficult! We understand how complex it is to tackle a MLM startup. That’s why we offer the Starting and Running the Successful MLM Company Conference.

We offer MLM entrepreneurs a way to network with experts from all sectors of the direct selling industry: legal, recruiting, technology/software, compensation plans, funding, generate leads, website and back office, business model, and more – all in one place, for one affordable price ($195 for the first attendee, each additional is $150).

So, if you’re starting a MLM, network marketing, direct selling company, or just thinking about starting a MLM company, come join us at the MLM Startup Event/Seminar in Las Vegas! The Hosts are Business Consultant and MLM Legal Expert, Jeff Babener, and MLM Compensation Plan Consultant, Mike Sheffield.

Our next conference takes place October 25 & 26, 2018 in Las Vegas (who doesn’t want a good reason to go to Las Vegas?). We even offer the Innovation Campaign for those who are on an even tighter budget.

Visit our website, www.mlmlegal.com, or our conference page to learn more and to see the full line-up of speakers. Read testimonials and watch our invitation videos. Anyone who is starting or running a MLM, network marketing, direct selling, party plan company is welcome to attend.

Call us at 800-231-2162 to register.

If you’re reading this blog post and the conference dates above have passed, check our website for the current conference dates.

Sign up for the MLM News Global newsletter for top headlines, news stories, scam alerts, videos, articles, and more information on the network marketing industry.

Visit us at www.mlmlegal.com to learn more.

First, for better or worse, legalities impacting an MLM company are significant. A new company needs competent and experienced MLM Legal counsel to advise on all documentation, trademark, FDA, tax, regulatory compliance, distributor relations, vendor relationships, etc. Actually, in our experience, your MLM legal counsel may become your closest business advisor.

Second, a technology solutions provider should be sought out to address downline payout, back office access, sales tax management, replicated websites, communication tools, etc.

Third, if the company does not have compensation plan expertise, an expert in compensation plan design should be brought on board.

Finally, the creative element involving collateral materials, web graphics and video is essential.

For information on leading-industry vendors, check out the MLM Startup Conference for Executives of Startup and Existing MLM Companies and the Speaker List.

View the video invitation here.

Be sure to check out MLMLegal.com for the best information on MLM on the web.

Visit us at www.mlmlegal.com to learn more.

The FTC and the Direct Selling industry are clearly of the same opinion of the basic goal that the direct selling industry should prosper through effective and ethical practices. However, FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez emphasized new legal standards that would abandon a 40-year old gold standard, the Amway Safeguards Rule, and that would also upend and call into question decades of industry accepted business practices.

Briefly, the Chairwoman argued for:

1. Abandonment of reliance on the Amway Safeguards Rule as a key test for legitimacy.
2. Effectively creating a new legal standard patterned after those requested by the FTC in the FTC/Herbalife settlement that, in reality, may upend decades of industry accepted practices and rewrite 40 years of court legal standards.
3. The existing Court standard derives from:

(1)  Koscot … Compensation to upline should be based on sales to the ultimate user.

(2)  Amway … A program that enforces the Amway Safeguards of a retailing mandate to qualify for MLM commissions, a 70% rule that prohibits ordering unless product is sold or used and a reasonable buyback policy for inventory for terminating distributors, if effectively enforced and in conjunction with avoidance of inventory loading, is indicative of legitimacy. (Also, Amway did not challenge recognition of distributor personal use purchases as legitimate sales to the “ultimate user”.)

(3)  BurnLounge … The primary motivation for distributor purchases should be the purchase of product in reasonable amounts for resale or use as opposed to mere qualification in the program for rewards. A pyramid analysis will be “fact driven.”

1. On the FTC wish list for a new paradigm for legitimacy is:

(1)  Abandonment of the reliance on the Amway standard.

(2)  Redefining Koscot to require compensation to upline to be based on sales to the nonparticipant retail customer rather than the ultimate user.

(3)  Adopting the FTC/Herbalife settlement “punch list” of mandates in lieu of the factual analysis of “primary motivation,” called for in BurnLounge, including:

(a)    Only one-third of MLM compensation to upline should come from personal use by downline distributors, whether or not such purchases are reasonable in quantity for use by the distributor “ultimate user.”

(b)    Autoship to distributors should be prohibited.

(c)    Monthly activity volume requirements may not include any purchases by distributors.

(d)    Tracking of performance activity connected to wholesale purchasing should be banned.

Leading MLM industry expert Jeff Babener takes a closer look at what this means for the direct selling and multilevel marketing industry. Read the full article: Fact Checking the FTC’s New Legal Guidance

Visit us at www.mlmlegal.com to learn more.

May 2016 Conference

We appreciate all the guests in attendance, as well as the lineup of incredible speakers.

If you weren’t able to make the May 2016 conference, no problem! We are hosting the next Starting and Running the Successful MLM Company Conference on October 27 and 28, 2016 in Las Vegas.

We invite anyone who is starting or running an existing MLM company to join us! MLM business owners, executives, corporate staff, you’re invited! The classroom-like setting of the conference promotes education, not selling. We work hard to provide you with a fully credible lineup of expert speakers who advise in the areas of recruiting, legal, compensation plans, software, technology, raising capital, and so much more. At the end of each day we offer one-on-one time with the speakers. As you hear the speakers discuss various topics, you can decide who you’d like to sit down with to discuss your unique situation with at the end of each day. Sign up with them all or just a couple! It’s up to you!

Visit our website for details.

October 27 & 28, 2016

Las Vegas, Nevada

9AM-4PM

4PM-7:00PM – one-on-one time with the speakers

Call 800-231-2162 for more information or to register.

Visit our conference page and speaker list for additional information.

Visit us at www.mlmlegal.com to learn more.

Although the terms sponsoring and recruiting are often used interchangeably, they are actually have two very different meanings. Recruiting is the act of searching and soliciting for new distributors for the downline sales organization of an existing distributor. Of course, the activity carries important responsibilities, such as compliance with company and statutory guidelines on earnings representations, product representations, and representations as to the business opportunity of the company.

Once a recruit has agreed to join the company, a recruiting distributor becomes a sponsor. Almost all company policies set forth very specific duties and responsibilities of a sponsor, including supervision, training, and communication with their downline sales organization. In addition, all companies have specific rules on cross-sponsoring and respectful relationships with other sponsors and distributors.

Watch the video for a detailed explanation by Jeff Babener, Editor of MLMLegal.com. View all of our new videos and more on our new and improved website: MLMLegal.com!

MLMLegal.com is bustling with educational content for direct sellers and startup/existing MLM companies! Be sure to visit us often!

If you are interested in attending the Starting and Running the Successful MLM Company conference visit our conference page, view our speaker list, or get more details. All executives/owners of direct selling companies are welcome to attend. Call 800-231-2162 to register.

Our next Starting and Running the Successful MLM Company Conference takes place May 20, 2016 in Las Vegas. View our conference flyer and speaker list online. Participate in our Innovation Campaign for your chance to receive TWO FREE TICKETS to attend our next conference.

If you’re reading this blog post and the conference dates above have passed, check our website for the current conference dates.

Sign up for the MLM News Global newsletter for top headlines, news stories, scam alerts, videos, articles, and more information on the network marketing industry.

Visit us at www.mlmlegal.com to learn more.