"It's Free! It's Free! It doesn't cost anything to join!You can make money! You can sponsor lots of people because it doesn't cost any money and the products are cheap! It's the easiest sale in the world"!

If I can paraphrase Forrest Gump, "Free is as Free does".

People who promote free or what I call "low-ball business opportunities" feel that the path to wealth is the path of least resistance. They truly believe that the reason most people don't make it in MLM, or any home business opportunity, is because of the the start up cost or because what is marketed needs to be cheaper than traditional retail outlets.

I believe that they are missing the point entirely.

Sales objections are universal. That a free or low-cost business opportunity will make money because it's easier for people to join is a myth. You will work just as hard to earn $.25 on everyone in your fifth level, as I do to earn infinity bonuses.

Free business opportunities are poorly paying because their profit margins are so narrow, they CAN'T pay more. You still have to advertise a low cost business opportunity. You have the same expenses I do at a lower profit margin. You will learn less money for the same amount of work. That's why I personally feel that low-ball, or free, opportunities are a myth.

These opportunities attract people who believe that cost, not return on investment, is how one should evaluate a business. They often believe that frugality is the number one value. They believe that products with higher price tags are bloated solely for the sake of profit. They often have low financial resources. They often have a poverty mentality that prevents them from creating any significant wealth.

Some people will make money on a free or low-ball business opportunity. The same 10% that would make it big in anyhome business, MLM, or affiliate program.

Why? Because that 10% are business people at heart. They understand marketing. They understand that their target market in a low-ball business opportunity, are people who have low financial resources. The top achievers know how to market to them.

The people who drop out of a free, low-ball business opportunity are the same ones who would drop out of any business opportunity. Why? They thought it would be an easy sale. They believed that start-up costs and product price is why they failed before. When prospects say to them, "it's too expensive" , the free biz owner thought they were hearing God's truth, not one of the 5 most common objections. They thought that free, cheap, "easy", is what would make them successful. When the realities of building a business hit them, they were unprepared. It was deja vu all over again.

Any business has a market segment. The Dollar Store has a market segment. Rolex watches have a market segment. The objections one gets from prospects are universal. The reasons for success or failure are universal. The 80-20 Rule is a law as strong as the law of gravity.

The free business opportunity as a path to riches is a myth because business is business. What is required to be successful in a high-end busness are the exact same things that are required to be successful in a low-end buisness. If you market to the wrong people in the wrong way you will fail. Period. Evaluate any business not on its start up cost alone, but on its return, its marketing system, and on how well they reach their target market. Evaluate a business on its track record. Evaluate a business on its profit margins and how much of the sales dollar they can pay you.

Ultimately, whether a not a business is free or low cost is not the chief criteria for success. It never was.