Network Marketing: the Humble Beginnings
The exact time and beginning of Network Marketing remains a mystery, even today, however, many
believe that it started before World War II with a company called Nutrilite, who is now a division of Amway.
Nutrilite not only founded Network Marketing but they also developed the vitamin and food supplements industry from the ground up in the 1920’s and were originally known as California Vitamins.
The first Nutrilite distributors were Rich DeVos and Jay VanAndel who in 1949 began to build a prosperous business. They operated for just under a decade before they had a dispute with manufacturers which saw them open what is known as Amway, the largest known Network Marketer today. In 1959, ten years after Amway was founded the dynamic duo purchased Nutrilite adding it to the Amway stable and has continued to build a profitable empire.
The success of DeVos and VanAndel then sparked a wave of Network Marketing activity and soon a revolution began with other companies electing to travel down the Network Marketing path. Most businesses were legitimate, but some were not and the first Pyramid Selling Scheme started in order to fleece the unsuspecting, giving Network Marketing a bad reputation.
However in retrospect, today’s Network Marketing has never been stronger as it continues to evolve through innovation, reward and incentive schemes and the introduction of new and exciting products, as well as capture the interest of millions of industrious people searching for an effective way to earn an income, globally. As such Network Marketing has become one of the most revered and respected marketing plans in the 21st Century and accumulates some 34% of the retail market in North America alone and is rumored to be an $800 billion industry.
Serial entrepreneur Samuel Fitzpatrick is publisher of 'FasTrack Network Marketing' and owner of www.greatmarketingsystems.com & www.Samuelfitzpatrick.com where he teaches and talkes about the different avenues in marketing.
Article Source: ArticlesBase.com - Network Marketing: the Humble Beginnings