Richard van Beek

Before I start to tell you my story, I want to thank Gavin for giving me this opportunity to tell my story to a new audience.

My name is Richard van Beek, I am from The Netherlands, married with 2 daughters of 5 and 8 years. I met my wife when I was 15 years old (that's now 25 years ago). We were only separated for 3 months, because I was at the age of 19 in the army, visiting other countries to do my duty. When I got out of the army I went back to work as a transport manager. We married at the age of 23. Because of my interests in sports and fitness, I went back to school in 1998 to be a physical therapist.

In 2001, during my last year in college, I applied for a job in the professional soccer world. From that time on, I build up my own therapy practice and treated mainly injured soccer players. Because of my interest in food supplements and sports nutrition I entered the world of MLM (network marketing). In my opinion these companies have the best products available.

I still can't tell you why, but this way of doing business was really exciting for me, but… just like 95% of all network marketers, I went to the hotel meetings, made lists of friends and family, doing 3-way calls, etc… anyway, just read the section of About Gavin and his start in MLM, it's almost 100% similar .

From that time on, there was a lot of pressure and hard work, I started my own practice, I worked at a professional football club and on top of that I was trying to build my MLM-company. Needless to say that it didn't work that well.

I decided that if I wanted to be successfull in MLM, I had to increase my knowledge (just like I had to learn the skills as a physical therapist) about MLM (like Gavin said… motivation, persuasion, offering value to others and much much more). Until this day, I am still learning, but now I am almost full time internet marketer.

I still treat some players, because I love helping them when they are injured or tired or whatever they have. It's funny, but because I studied personal development for my business, it made me also more complete as a therapist.

What have I done through those years to get me where I am right now? Study… Apply… Fail… Study… Apply… Succeed… Study… Apply… Fail… Study… Apply… Succeed… and I didn't quit, although there were some times I came to a point that I was so angry, so depressed that I was fortunate to have some people around me that supported me (in a nice or in a hard way) to continue. Now in detail.

I started with my first home business training back in 2005 and still to this day, I am going to class every week. Two guys, named Terry Duff and Gino Niccoli, changed my way of thinking about MLM. That was also the most expensive training, but every dollar and time worth. Indirectly, they were also the cause I changed from MLM company. I also learned very much of Tim Sales and can't say it clearer as he did.

The MLM (Network Marketing) industry is neither high-class nor low-class. Yet individual people who do MLM can be either. I'll be the first to admit that I have seen MLM (network marketing) done poorly and in a way that I personally wouldn't do it. That doesn't mean those MLM businesses didn't make good money doing it that way – many have. I decided in 2007, as a second income stream, to market this live training organisation for home based businesses.

When you are on the internet, you will meet people who are willing to teach you methods that they use to make it happen. I was fortunate to meet some in private. I even went to the USA to meet one of them and work with him very closely. That too brought me some insights about internet marketing. I partnered up with him in a high ticket program and my third income stream (my last too) was born. I really love this program, because you can learn internet marketing in your own pace, by looking at 'how to use' videos (like Craigslist, web 2.0, article marketing, offline marketing, setting up landing pages, PPC, and much more) and going to live webinars and apply all these things in your own businesses.

I purchased and spent well over $10,000 of dollars on software (like Bookmarking Demon, Web2Submit, Wordtracker, Marketingburst, Micro Niche Finder, Easy Ad Poster, Admaster, Tubeinator, Friendblaster Pro, WordPress Themes like Semiologic, Article Submission software) and programs (like Magnetic Sponsoring, MLMLeadSystemPro, Kingspoint Project by Keith Baxter, Stomping the Search Engines, Social Power Linking) and Ebooks (Authority Black Book, Social Media Daily Blueprint and motivational books, way too much to continue). All this material combined with the people who are willing to teach this has made me the internet marketer I am today. I still have a lot to learn and I don't mind, because it's my own home business.

I know that the secret of being successful is HELPING other people when they ask for more information. Try to reach as many as you can and help them in some kind of way. That's why social media is getting very important.

I am still at the beginning of using Twitter, MySpace, FaceBook, Blogging and the biggest fear of me 'YouTube'. Just to let you know I have also some fears to conquer every day, but with the help of my own backoffice, leaders and not to forget my own prospects I'll have the time of my life at the comfort of my own home. As Mike Dillard is saying: People do not join a business, they join you. The more valuable you become to others, the more they will seek you out.

If you would like to be featured on this blog, please read this blog post and get back to me with your Biography http://www.gavinmountford.com/would-you-like-to-be-featured-on-my-blog/