To have success in an online home-based business or even a brick and mortar business, you've got to look at the long-term. Getting profitable as quickly as possible is a good goal to begin with. But without a daily course of action, you'll just spin your wheels. You need to plan today, what you will be doing tomorrow which will build your business week after week, month after month, year after year.

A lot of people say they aren't looking for "get rich quick," but if they aren't making fistfuls of money within 6-8 weeks, they are usually history. Reality is it takes two to five years to replace your current income starting from scratch in MLM. It can happen faster but unless you have a large database of people who know, like and trust you already, you'll have to build one.

Most people come into MLM without a large networking database. So, that means they have to create a new group of people who know,like and trust them. The majority of people are clueless as to how to do this. First thing you need is plug into a proven system or create a system of your own to find well-targeted prospects.

Then build trust by providing real value, something that costs you nothing or at least very little, but which is very valuable to the person you give it to. This may be an ebook, an audio or video or some other piece of content which will really help out your prospects. In exchange you get their contact information and permission to talk with them. Remember what Humphrey Bogart said in "Casablanca," that "could be the beginning of a beautiful relationship!"

To make your fortune in network marketing, you have to plan long-term. Remember, it takes two to five years but plenty of people just figure, "I'll try this for awhile and see if it works." The chance of success with that lousy commitment is not good at all.

First, it's a real key to focus on the idea of building relationships and to realize that relationships just take a "forever" commitment. Nobody says they'll try marriage for 3 months and see if it works. Commitment is key to a happy marriage or a successful business.

There is no doubt that network marketing works, when you use a system that works, and when you have chosen a good company. So we'll assume you have that part. The next crucial element is to continually tighten the grip on your own commitment. List every step of your plan. Use a weekly calendar to schedule the time each day you'll be doing these tasks. You realistically cannot do most of these business tasks while you are babysitting. That doesn't give you much of an opportunity for success. If you're calling leads, you've got to set aside time when you can give prospects your undivided attention.

Who can you go to when you have questions? You want quick access to a successful system-user who is getting good results with it right now. You need to see in a hurry, by your own experience that your system works, or you'll find excuses not to do any work.

You can find more on these thoughts and a whole lot more in Michael Dlouhy's free ebook, "Success in 10 Steps." A lot of people absolutely love this book because it addresses the frustrations we've all had in this business. Almost everybody thinks at some point, "MLM looks so easy. Why is it so tough to be successful?" And because the ebook answers this question and gives a step-by-step success plan, it's very popular with your target market. And that makes it a great tool to use as a lead generator.

"Success In 10 Steps" is free, and Dlouhy sells a system for just $20 a month where you can use the book to build your own targeted lead database. You may well wind up with a system you like, too.