WHO among you wants to work less and earn more?  Don’t be shy.  Don’t we all wish that this could happen to us?

In my own quest for this fantasy, I’ve obliged to attend some business opportunity invitations.  At all times, the room was packed with people from all walks of life.  All in search of this holy grail.

During these meetings, the attendees were made to listen to live testimonials from people in the organization who made it to the top.  Almost uniformly, the speaker related how he was once a lowly employee working from 8 to 5 often with unpaid overtime work, unable to spend time with his family, missing the childhood of his kids, having an unbalanced life and missing out on the juice of life due to work.  This would be followed by the invitation of a friend who asked him to “just listen” to the business opportunity meeting and the rest being history.  He then went on to show his big house in an exclusive subdivision and another vacation house elsewhere, his flashy cars, the yearly international trips all paid for by the organization and most of all the free time that allows him to enjoy his life and be with his family.  He went on to say:  “It’s so easy to achieve all these things.  Just join us now and we’ll teach you how.”  Wow!!!  The talk is certainly mindblowing!  Everyone in the room was salivating with envy.  Then came the how and slowly, one could feel the excitement slightly going down.

I don’t have anything against it.  Of course, they need to get the crowd all excited and pumped up; otherwise nobody would join them.  It’s true that the person who made the testimonial really accomplished all of them.  I also believe that if you stick it out with them and do your stuff, you may have a chance to be as good as their best performer.

However, don’t be fooled that it’s going to be easy.  As is true in anything in life, nothing can be gained easily.  To be good at something whether in school, career, business or our personal lives takes time, a lot of effort and sacrifices, persistence and some degree of failure.  And so it is in these types of business.  I don’t think the top performers in the organization were good at it right away and I don’t think this kind of business is applicable to just about anybody. 

I do not mean to say that you should not get involved in this kind of business.  Who knows, you might actually be good at it.  However, you must realize that there is a learning curve in becoming good at the business and that you must definitely not leave your job way before you have a stable and reliable stream of money which is enough to support you and your family.  In my analysis, you must have at least some of the following qualifications in order to be successful in this type of business.

1. You must have the willingness and humility to learn something which might be totally different from your professional background or what you are currently doing.

2. You should not have any qualms about selling because the initial stages of the business will definitely involve selling something.

3. You should be the type of person who likes being with people and can practically start a conversation instantly even with the strangers you fall in line with at the grocery store.

4. You should not be afraid of rejection because more people will reject you than be enticed in your business.

5. You should be willing to sacrifice your free time, at least initially, when you are doing this outside of your work hours because in order to make it big, you need to spend a lot of time generating contacts, calling them and meeting them in person.

6. You have to be consistent and persistent.  You need to do the prescribed hours of calling, generating contacts and closing the sale before you achieve mastery. 

So the next time you go to a business opportunity meeting, check yourself first in the mirror if you have what it takes.

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Doctor Denky is a candidate for Registered Financial Planner (RFP) designation.  She is an oncologist practicing at St. Luke’s Medical Center Bonifacio Global City and UERM Hospital. Questions and feedback about the article may be e-mailed to  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . She also has a web site at www.doctordenky.com. Join the 22nd RFP Program (January 8 to February 26, 2011). Visit www.rfp-philippines.com or inquire at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it /Tel. No. 6342204.