Are you passionate about health? Do you love to be of service? Do you like being a part of something bigger than yourself? Do you thrive in community? Do you love to have fun? Is freedom one of your highest values? Do you consider yourself a conscious person? If so, this post is for you.

Team Northrup is very proud to be in the network marketing industry. But, let’s face it, our industry gets a bad rap from time to time. Our team of wellness entrepreneurs aligned with Dr. Christiane Northrup is deeply committed to changing how this industry is seen (and practiced) because we’ve experienced first-hand how positively it can impact peoples’ lives. Personally, I make more than 80% of my income through this industry and it affords me a lifestyle of fun and freedom that wouldn’t be possible in a job or running other types of businesses.

Here’s a quick definition: Network Marketing is a distribution model in which a company manufactures a product and then pays the consumer to spread the word about it. (Network marketing and multi-level marketing (MLM) are often used interchangeably. Team Northrup’s product partner, USANA, is technically not an MLM company, but perhaps I’ll save that explanation for a future post.)

If you’re new to the network marketing industry or you’re poking around to see if it’s for you, here are six reasons network marketing is perfect for service-oriented, big-hearted, fun-long, freedom-seeking, conscious people:

1. It’s not possible for you to be successful in this business unless you help others to be successful.

The network-marketing model requires you to focus on helping others achieve success in their business in order for you to be successful. In a traditional business if you hire someone and suddenly they become incredibly successful, you might feel threatened that they would either surpass you or leave to start a competing firm. In this business, however, when someone who joins the business after you starts going gangbusters, its really good news. Their success is your success and the more you nurture your team members, the more your organization and your income grow. It’s a total win-win model.

2. You get to pick who you work with.

Let’s be honest: not everyone on the planet is fun or inspiring to hang out with.  In most work environments you don’t get to pick who your co-workers are. If you own a company you get to pick who you hire, but having employees has its own headaches. In network marketing you get to pick who you enroll in your business (and who you don’t). No more Debbie Downer co-worker who’s constantly whining about her problems to you from the next cubicle. Instead, you can choose to enroll only positive, healthy-conscious, fun people who energize you every time you interact with them. And guess what? They’re not your employees so while it is your job to support them, you don’t have to pay them, give them benefits, get annoyed when they don’t show up on time, or do any sort of micromanaging. You just get to have fun with people you like, building a business together.

3. Having a big heart makes you more successful in this business.

Whereas the traditional corporate, and even entrepreneurial, environments are cutthroat, your big heart will actually serve you in network marketing. The more you care about other people and want to make their lives better, the more you’ll be able to help them with your business and products, and the bigger your business will get. The number one most important factor in being successful in network marketing is having your primary purpose to make someone’s life better. If that’s the heartbeat of your business, you’re good to go. No more needing to shield yourself and hide your emotions at work. In this business you get to be all of you and let that big heart out.

4. It’s the only business where you can create true financial and time freedom with a proven system.

I hang out with a really dynamic group of women entrepreneurs, many of whom make incredibly solid six and even seven figure incomes. They’re doing great work in the world, but only a select few are actually free. Financial freedom is when your passive or residual income is greater than your living expenses.  In other words, when you’re financially free, you don’t have to work another minute if you don’t want to. This frees you up to work on projects that truly speak to your soul and serve the planet. It allows you to be totally present as a parent, an artist, a wife, a humanitarian, and all the other roles you fulfill. Most business owners are owned by their business. Unless they’re working, nothing is happening in the business. And those who created businesses that function without them had to spend a lot of time, money, and brain power to get where they are. Network marketing is the only business where absolutely anyone can create financial and time freedom without having to spend tons of time and money (we’re talking years and years and sometimes millions of dollars) building something from scratch. This is a proven business model with a system that works, if you work it.

5. You have no boss and you don’t have to be a boss.

If you’re a freedom seeker like I am, you also don’t like to be told what to do. In network marketing you have a supportive team, but no boss telling you where to go, when to go there, and what to do. You have free reign of your life. You can work when you want, not work when you don’t want to, and be anywhere on the planet building an international empire with just a laptop and a phone. Plus, as I mentioned before, you don’t have to be a boss either so your team’s businesses are their own responsibility. Talk about ultimate freedom. You’re only responsible for you and your business, but you get to enjoy the community of people you work with so that you don’t feel lonely.

6. The more you grow yourself, the more you grow your business.

Most of the people we work with in Team Northrup are deeply committed to personal growth. They meditate, they take workshops, they’re always learning, and they’re on a path of self-actualization. Whereas in many businesses (and certainly jobs) these pursuits might be seen as a distraction or “fluff” that you can do on your own time, in a network marketing business, growing yourself is a huge asset. Network marketing is a business about people. The more you grow yourself as a person, the better you are at relating to other people. And the better you are at relating to other people, the better you are at enrolling people in your business and supporting them. It’s a beautiful catch-22. Grow yourself. Grow your business.

I’d love to hear your thoughts. What other reasons would you give that network marketing is the perfect business for service-oriented, big-hearted, fun-long, freedom-seeking, conscious people? Leave a comment below.