If I walk down the street today, telling people about my network marketing opportunity, and someone asks me "Isn't that a pyramid scheme?", then that guy is bound to get a hard knock on the head. Network marketing, since many years ago, have come out of the closet and it's somewhat 'shady' and 'unorganized' practices.

Today, network marketing, or multi-level-marketing, represents a legitimate, professional and serious business opportunity worldwide.

However, it is important to realize that network marketing is still a relatively new industry, and most people still don't get it when running a MLM business. Although it is a 'business', running it like an ordinary business will often do it more harm than good. Here are 5 ways to feed your MLM the cyanide pill:

Did you know that, on average, out of every 100 people born 65 years ago, 36 are now dead, 54 are flat broke, 5 are probably still working, and only 5 are wealthy. Where will you be at 65?

Of the 5 who are healthy, wealthy, and enjoying life, almost three quarters are business owners. That means they work for themselves, set their own hours, pay their own wages, answer only to themselves. It probably doesn't surprise anyone that a growing number of that 75% are or were involved in a home-based business. The numbers show 20 million new home-based businesses in 2002 and an estimated 25 million in 2003. Amazing! This year, some say 85,000 people will start a new business every day.