Wondering if ACN is the right home-based business for you? I have put together a top level overview of the pros and cons of the ACN opportunity. Any person could make a more picky list of the pros and cons, but I wanted to write from the a person who has studied and analyzed the compensation plan, met the top leaders, and has watched the business grow from zero to over 100 over The past ten months in Bozeman, Montana.

Pro # 1: Consumable Market

ACN is the worlds largest direct seller of telecommunications services which is, more or less, a consumable product. The main service is digital video phone service, but also has expanded the product line across wireless, internet, satellite tv, home security, and energy. All these home services are basically essential to the modern home, and people already are customers. They pay their bills every month to some company. It might as well be you. You can be the home service provider to a wide range of customer in 21 countries.

Pro # 2: The Company Management

The second pro to ACN is the company itself. The company is built on integrity and this permeates everything, from training, contracts, communications, promotional materials, and operations. ACN was founded in 1993 in Michigan and has grown from a business selling long distance service to a global business offering essential home services in many different markets. Basically, ACN has been around the block. Yet, it still has only penetrated a small portion of the home services market. Thus, ACN has plenty of growth in front of it.

Pro # 3: The Business Model

ACN has built its business around network marketing. There is no better compensation plan than network marketing because it rewards the best sales people, as well as team builders. In direct sales, you can sell whatever you want, but at the end of the day, you have to keep selling to make a commission. If you miss time from work for any reason, you can not sell, and you can not earn commissions. Network marketing is different. What is the same is this: you learn the business first, just like you do at any job, and then you turn around and train others, just like any job. Here is the special difference. In network marketing, you are rewarded for being a great trainer. In the corporate world, people are scared of other employees doing better than them. Supervisors do not want their underlings outshining them. It makes them look bad. It gets political. In network marketing, you love the fact that your downline is successful. It just makes for a happier team and better business relationships.

I promised you the cons to ACN, and hopefully that will help you decide if ACN is the business for you.

Con # 1: The Compensation Plan

If you did research online or if you talked to other people in other network marketing companies, such as Usana or Rodan and Fields, you will hear them say negative things about the ACN compensation plan. The facts are this. ACN competes in the telecommunications retail space, which is highly competitive and perceived as a low margin business. Compared to other network marketing opportunities, the ACN compensation plan has a commission structure that is more rewarding as you build a deep team. Other network marketing opportunities may be structured differently and have reward large agreements upfront. This leads into the next con.

Con # 2: You Have to Build a Big Team

I would say this negative should scare many part-time hobbyist away. You have to build the ACN business. An independent representative will need to meet various personal sales target along the way to qualify for the decisions, and the responsibilities are earned at the deeper levels. Therefore, you will need to have met your personal sales quota (not hard) and have a large team that has many customers at those levels to earn contracts that matter. Over time, a committed professional can accomplish these goals, but it will take an average person some years to hit these targets. I describe an average person one who can recruit one or two dedicated people a year. Furthermore, the hypotheticals used in this article are for illustrative purposes only and are not meant to implication they are typical. Success as an ACN Independent Representative is not guaranteed, but rather influenced by an individual's specific efforts. Not all Independent Representatives make a profit and no one can be guaranteed success as an ACN Independent Representative. Given this statement, a person who does not want to build a large ACN organization will not find the business that financially rewarding.

Con # 3: Customer Acquisition Bonuses Reward the Fast Builder

You have to build fast to earn aptly titled – fast start bonuses. Initial income comes from these customer acquisitions bonuses related to customers of your downline representatives. The residual income does not come into play until you have a large organization. Obviously, if you do not sign up representatives, then you can not earn any bonuses from their customer acquisitions. Even if you do sign up one really great person, and they really grow the business, you may not see any bonuses unless you are one step ahead of them. Basically, the ACN compensation plan is fair. It rewards dedication, performance, and salesmanship. The bonus plan is set up right. It rewards people who are building the business. There is not much of anything for people who do not do anything, except for the great training.

So in summary, if you are interested in taking your skills developed in defunct network marketing programs, or are ready to introduce your skeptical spouse to the same business model you discovered, there is no better company than ACN. The products for once sell themselves. In fact, most people already use the product daily and can not live without it in some cases. However, if you are not interested in building a large organization, then ACN may not be for you. You may consider one of those GO Go juice companies that have fatter margins, but tend to fizzle out after only a few years.