Network marketing is a sixty-year old industry with a colorful history. It began in the 1940's when a California vitamin company decided to sell their product through independent representatives who introduced the product and company to their friends and family. Those who enjoyed the product became representatives and also told their friends and family, resulting in huge savings due to eliminated advertising costs. Instead, they paid the representatives a small override on personal sales and those of representatives they introduced to the company.

This was the humble beginning of an industry which now has over 3,000 companies, 50 million representatives, and sales in excess of $100 billion worldwide, plus 91% growth in the last ten years. Although the network marketing industry is growing rapidly today, it hasn't always been that way. Many factors have hurt the reputation of network marketing and hindered its growth. Here are a few of those areas: