There is no shortage when it comes to business ideas that you can pursue. That also means making a decision for which one to pursue can be hard. There are countless factors you can consider in trying to figure out which business idea to pursue. For instance, you can consider your skill set, your location, or the capital you have, just to mention a few. You can also simply look at what you are good at, even if it is not something you necessarily went to school for. For example, being good at networking can determine business ideas you can pursue. Such business ideas are what I am discussing in this article.
Multi-Level Marketing (MLM)
Multi-level marketing (MLM) is an approach where one recruits people to sell a product or service and get commissions for each recruitee and sales they subsequently make. It is in essence a distribution model that businesses or companies use to push their products or services. You basically have the independence to figure out how to recruit people and how to sell the product or service. Your success in MLM solely depends on your ability to network. The more people you recruit, the better for you.
Just to understand how this works in simple terms, there are up liners and there are down liners. An up liner is someone who recruited you whereas a down liner is someone you recruit. This means your down liners and everyone who will come under them are under you. You will be entitled to get commissions on sales all those people will realize plus your own individual sales.
The most important thing here is to do due diligence. Some pyramid or Ponzi schemes masquerade themselves as MLMs. How then do you know if an MLM is legit? Well, it is 3 things namely, there must be a genuine product or service, and the core income must be from the selling of the products or services. Thirdly, the emphasis must be on actual sales not recruiting people alone.
Consultancy Services
I have spoken about consultancy services a lot since I myself am a consultant. Consultancy can be done for literally any industry just so long you are knowledgeable in the area. You can be a business consultant, sporting consultant, lifestyle and beauty consultant, an engineering consultant, and so on. The only way you can make money from consultancy services is by building a network. That is why doing exceptional work (for positive social proofs) and cultivating referrals are key pillars in this domain.
Runner Or Errand Services
There is an ever-increasing number of people offering these services. For some, their focus is local i.e. someone carries out these services within Zimbabwe. For some it can be someone resident here in Zimbabwe but who has to travel outside the country to carry them out. For some, it can be a Zimbabwean resident in the diaspora who facilitates and delivers what clients want. It could also be a resident Zimbabwean doing so whilst here in Zimbabwe. Suffice to say the approaches are several depending on how one intends to operate.
Two things to bear in mind are that one; there is lots of competition especially in the common spaces (e.g. second-hand bales). Secondly, many people have complained or complain of being duped or given poor service delivery. That means you can take advantage of that by offering superior service. It also means you can strategically target less crowded spaces or niches. Whichever path you choose you to have to build a network. That is why well-networked individuals can easily thrive in this domain.
Influencer Marketing Services
Digital marketing is now the real deal when it comes to marketing in this digital age. There are many areas of focus in digital marketing but one overlapping one is influencer marketing. Influencer marketing basically refers to a marketing approach where a business taps into an influencer’s following. Now the term influencer or social media influencer is highly debated. However, it is in principle about the number of followers one has – even though they may not necessarily be a ‘celebrity per se.
This is a huge topic so I am just being vague to stick to my subject matter in this article. Someone who is good at networking and can build and sustain a big social media following can become an influencer. They can then offer influencer marketing services where brands tap into their following. In Zimbabwe, you will notice that making content in the form of comedy skits is a common influencer marketing route.
Master Of Ceremonies (MC) Services
This is yet another business idea for those with good public speaking skills and networking. Literally, everyone who becomes a popular MC does so by networking. They MC their first event and if they do well, they start getting referrals. They also take advantage of the events they MC to network in hopes of landing their next clients. Networking is the ball game in being an MC; if you cannot, you will not thrive. Public speakers, comedians, and poets are some of the common people who easily morph into MCs because they are good at networking. In fact one of their strategies is always attending networking events; you see, networking is a must for them.
These are 5 of some of the business ideas people who are good at networking can do. Remember, networking really is a skill every business person or entrepreneur must-have. It is all about pushing volumes and numbers so networking is indispensable. After all, your network is indeed your net worth.
