Comments on: The Simple Dollar Weekly Roundup: Never Eat Alone Book Club Edition

By: Trent

Trent — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 14:14:43 +0000

momof4: since most of my comments relate to the dangers of selling to family and friends, I’m not sure exactly what you’re defensive about. Clearly, you’re not selling to family and friends.

However, if you’ve managed to sell $100K of product to people who aren’t family members or friends…. I can’t help but think you could be making a lot more for yourself as a salesperson directly employed by a company.

By: Ram

Ram — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 14:51:05 +0000

looking forward to “never eat alone” discussion.. i have just placed a hold at a local library – i will be reading the book along with the discussion here – hope i will receive the book in another week.
@esaarem

By: David Carlson

David Carlson — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 06:21:10 +0000

Wish I hadn’t missed “The Total Money Makeover” book club, but I for sure won’t be missing this one. Definitely something anyone in business needs to know – how to network and build meaningful relationships, and how to make use of those relationships pertaining to your career.

By: thebaglady

thebaglady — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 02:13:34 +0000

Thanks for the link to my boardgames article Trent. I think it is really cool that you are into these board games because a lot of folks have never even heard of them. I can’t wait until my kid is old enough so I could play these games with him.

By: momof4

momof4 — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 20:33:09 +0000

I missed the direct sales post the other day and see you’ve kind of echoed it again today. I think you’re perspective is skewed, because it’s something that YOU don’t like so it must be that we all feel that way. I’ve been doing direct sales via the home party plan for over 4 years, managing and training a sales team as well. I checked my numbers this morning and I’ve personally sold $109,080.00 in product in my career. Less than 1% of those sales have been made with family and friends ( No business survives selling just to family or friends, not direct sales or a hardware store or any other kind of business). As of today my income has been nearly 90k total. I have always shown a profit and paid taxes on my earnings, as opposed to taking a loss. Just today I’ve had 2 phone calls and 4 emails ( no Joke! today was an unusually busy day) from people who are looking to purchase product from me, just individual orders, not a party. Clearly somebody out there must actually like the product in order for me to be bringing in a paycheck. I don’t know that many people! Obviously there are direct sales opportunities that are bad, and unethical sales reps that prey on those who are desperate for cash or who get swindled into purchasing product without fully knowing or understanding the business. That’s a shame and it happens in all types of businesses. I think that direct sales can be a good source of income with the right product for the right person at the right time. I think a better post would be how to evaluate a home business opportunity to see if it is right for you ( and for many people the answer is no).
email me if you ever want any additional info.

By: David @ DINKS Finance

David @ DINKS Finance — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 18:10:16 +0000

I’m with Gabriel. I haven’t really locked in on one specific career with one specific direction. I’m still exploring and looking for my options.

This book sounds like a book I need to read, as I tend to like to eat lunch alone and read the WSJ, but I know that I’m losing valuable relationship-building and networking time.

Looking forward to it,

-DC

By: Gabriel

Gabriel — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 17:18:38 +0000

Great article! “A message to those confused about career direction” – isn’t that most of us? I liked where it was coming from. I myself like to dabble in lots of business enterprises, since I haven’t really made my mind up yet. Glad to know I’m not alone!

By: Kevin M

Kevin M — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 16:48:29 +0000

Can’t wait for the Never Eat Alone book club, it’s a book I need to read to expand my reach professionally. This will give me a great excuse to get off my butt and do it.

By: korgo

korgo — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 16:16:22 +0000

food is always the killer for me, i always buy expensive food.