Back in 2000, my father was into Multi-level networking. He tried Forever Living, got scammed by Prosperity.com, and then he signed up as an Affiliate of SFI (formerly known as Six Figure Income). He was very passionate about SFI. He would print out cards and flyers which he would distribute to people in random, hoping that he would be able to recruit anyone. He said the good thing about SFI was that it was online, and he did not have to leave the comfort of his own home to buy products. Unlike any other Multi-level network and/or Affiliate Marketing network companies, SFI, presently known as Strong Future International, does not have sign-up fees or membership fees. There is no obligation or purchasing necessary. You can sign up for free!
I remember my father would always read the SFI training modules or lessons (because even training is free). He devoted his time to studying the program and the business model of SFI. He believed the SFI had potential of growing and becoming successful. He believed in the SFI business model and was a very enthusiastic and passionate SFI Affiliate. I remember back then, he was doing the old-school form of marketing, where he’d give flyers and business cards, bearing his SFI signature and his own web address, to people that he encountered or met in random. He would leave flyers on the bus where he sat, hoping that the person who would sit on it would get the card and be interested one way or another. He was somehow apprehensive of the idea about recruiting or encouraging family members, because probably, he didn’t want to affect good relationships with family members, just in case this Affiliate Program of SFI would not work. So he just stuck to recruiting people he barely knew, be it strangers or just mere acquaintances. Anyway, the idea of SFI Affiliate program is that everything works online.
My father told me about it. As passionate as he was, he was really trying to convince me to learn the business model of SFI. “What do I know?” I’d ask myself. I was only 18 then. He told me, “Once you are ready, and have the luxury of time of your own, look into it and see for yourself what SFI offers.” (Of course, we had this conversation in our native language, which is Filipino.) Anyway, I have never forgotten what my father said to me. Like I already mentioned, I was 18 then. Here I am, trying this on my own now. I am interested what my father had seen in SFI. I have yet to see it firsthand, although I know for a fact that like in any business, success doesn’t happen overnight. It takes hard work, patience, perseverance… and even money… for your business to grow and flourish.
People may think and ask: “Why bother?” or say, “You don’t need this, you’ve got a good-paying job already” or “This is only for desperate people.”
Well, I’m not desperate. I am quite living comfortably and I’m thankful for a lot of things that God has blessed me with. Why bother? Well, it’s free. There’s no obligation necessary to be part of SFI. If I want to purchase from their store, it’s my choice and to my discretion. And yes, I don’t need this because I am a teacher by profession. But there’s no harm for me to devote 30 minutes to 1 hour of my time every day just to log on to SFI and do the daily tasks that are necessary to gain points… and another good side, I get to learn their business model (since the training modules are free) and also I get to enjoy the games that I like playing which also helps me to earn “BADGES” which when I collect so much, I will be rewarded with prizes.
I told myself upon signing up, I would give SFI a chance, because my father told me so. I mean, if he was still alive, he would have been my “upline” and I’d gladly work under him. So, I’d give myself 2-5 years trying to achieve success in this Affiliate Program. There’s no harm in trying… nothing to lose. Come what may, I will still gain something from it – the understanding of how any business works, the way of communicating with people from different countries, and the knowledge marketing strategies that I may be able to use anytime or in the future given the opportunity. So far, I am still enjoying it. It doesn’t take much of my time anyway, only when I have to answer questions from my affiliates to the best of my knowledge. Of course, as their Sponsor, I am here to support them and also help them understand how everything works in SFI.