Now, don’t get me wrong, the quarterly Financial Reports of any publicly traded company should be reviewed completely so you and your team know exactly what you are getting yourselves into.

However, the financials only give you part of the story. The rest you will find by getting to know the founder, the corporate officers, the employees who are the backbone of the operation and most of the the field force who are on the ground daily selling the services or product to the general public.

In the case of Lightyear, when you take time to do some research on Sherman Henderson, you quickly realize he is far more than a dreamer, he is a pioneering visionary in the telecommunication industry…

Inc Magazine 1998
Comptel
Phone Plus Channel Partner of the Year
Phone Plus Executive of the Year

In March of this year Business First of Louisville wrote this story on Sherman and Lightyear.

So, now we need to ask ourselves, the following questions. Does Lightyear Wireless have the best opportunity to lead the MLM Wireless Revolution?

Let’s take a look at two of their marketing videos to see what they have to offer today to the customers they service and the distributors they are attracting.

Also, in reviewing the retail site given to reps, I could the following information which I found very positive.

Lightyear Wireless allows they reps to market the following services:

XStream VoIP
Virtual VoIP
Local & Long Distance
Cable TV & Broadband Services
Dish Network Satellite TV
Protect America Home Security

Lightyear has also just launched their You + Three = FREE Promotion which is driving momentum these days.

Here is a snapshot of the front page of the retail rep sites at Lightyear Wireless.

Well, there is no doubt the MLM Wireless Niche has plenty of room for several MLM Wireless companies. The question I have is…

Who will step up to the plate to compete with Lightyear Network Solutions and their MLM Division Lightyear Wireless?

There has never been another Excel Communications in Long Distance, ACN, Tupperware, Avon, PrePaid Legal, Primerica, Watkins, Shaklee or Mary Kay. Several have tried, but none have come close or lasted any length of time.

Is the same going to happen in the MLM Wireless Niche?

Tell us what you think!

Living An Epic Adventure,

Troy Dooly

Official Press Release

This has been a long term goal of Sherman Henderson’s and there is no doubt, this move will help drive the network marketing arm of the company run by Josh Henderson – Lightyear Wireless.

You can read a few of the public reports below:

Business First

MSN News

Courier Journal

Congratulations to the Henderson family, the Lightyear corporate staff and employees and most of the Lightyear field force.

Living An Epic Adventure,

Troy Dooly

A few months ago I had a very close friend chat me on IM and ask why I have not done anything on Lightyear? I explained to him why I hadn’t and he let it drop.

Then I did a small piece on Rico McDaniel when he left Lightyear to join MonaVie, then left there to launched his own MLM Girdle company, and my friend contacted me again. “Mate why are you not posting about Lightyear?” Again, I explained why I had not posted anything specific, and we went on down the road.

But… Then we started getting comments from MLM wireless reps in other companies and from former McDaniel reps, dogging Lightyear, and putting out false information. I called my friend, and said NOW I WILL WRITE!

As we know there is no perfect MLM company, just like there is not a perfect MLM leader. But when it comes to Lightyear, I can personal say there are great leaders at every level. And if you read this post and are interested in a solid leader you can talk with in Lightyear, I can direct you to a rock solid Servant Leader who just happens to by a Senior V.P with Lightyear. He is someone I would trust to train my kids when it comes to leadership and network marketing.

Ok, Jimmy here is the post you have been waiting for. And for you who don’t like to read, then just watch this videos.

Although, Lightyear Wireless, as we know it today, launched in July of 2008, the foundation of this company is grounded in 16 years of research and development, and specifically since 2006. The Henderson family did not just get a wild hair one day and decide to launch an MLM division to their already multi-million dollar telecommunication company. Instead, they did what all successful business leaders do they put a plan together.

Unlike so many of the “wireless MLM companies” we have seen launch over the last few months, Lightyear Wireless is backed by a parent company with over 100,000 customers, including Applebees Restaurants, Capital One Financial, and Monster.com, and doing over $80 million a year in revenue.

Lightyear is a fully federally licensed telecommunication company. Now, this is HUGE for the Lightyear distributors. Unlike so many of the newly launched MLM wireless services, Lightyear OWNS their customers. They are not a reseller, or dealer for another telecommunication company.

They buy wholesale space from two of the most respected Teir 1 provider companies in the wireless space, Sprint (for the Lightyear Pr-paid) and Verison (for the post-paid Lightyear cell service.)

In other words, Lightyear, markets, sells, ships, bills, collect, and supports their own customers. Sprint and Verison DO NOT handle any of the Lightyear customers, nor do they have any or their records.

Here is something else Sherm and John Henderson figured out. They studied in great detail the power of the money in the old Excel business model, and realized very quickly, if distributors are paid on each and every wireless customer, plus their own personal services, then the attrition rate will be very low, compared to the direct sell industry standard. So what did they do…

The offered the industry’s first residual income compensation plan, where distributors are rewarded for the wireless volume each and every month. Not just a onetime upfront reward, but a never ending, always growing, “Build It Once” financial legacy.

Now, don’t mistake what I just wrote. I am not denying the fact, Lightyear leadership could screw things up just light Excel leadership screwed things up. BUT…. I doing the research for this article, I personally do not believe that will happen.

The Lightyear Compensation Plan.

Ok, I can say there are a couple things I DO NOT like about the compensation plan. However… The reason I do not like them, has nothing to do with the payout, or the viability of the compensation package. I am conservative in reviewing compensation plans, and do not like anything which could bring the FTC snooping.

There are two specific areas in the compensation plan I think could be corrected. Both of these add money to the distributors pockets, so they are not “gotchas” in that sense of things.

The first is the CAB (Customer Acquisition Bonus) In reviewing the compensation plan, these should really be called DABs (Distributor Acquisition Bonuses.) Yes, each distributor is getting on the service, but this is a bonus for internal consumption and building a team, not acquiring just customers. Lightyear does have have another bonus called the CBB (Customer Bounty Bonus), hey anything with the word bounty in it is great by me, as a former Bounty Hunter. This is their true customer acquisition bonus.

The second issue I have with the Lightyear compensation plan, is the fact they pay commissions on the monthly fee charged for the Lightyeardtributor is website package. I feel this is borderline, as the website package is a tool used by distributors.

Outside of those two small personal issues, the compensation plan rewards both the personal producer and the team builder. One of the items I love about the Lightyear compensation plan is the fact they have fast start bonuses for both collecting customers and attracting new team members. And they barrier of entry is just $50 bucks per month.

Although there is NO PERFECT compensation plan, when it comes to comp plans inside of the mini-niche of MLM telecommunication this is by far, the most fair I have seen to date. And, before someone yells, “Troy you said TraVerus had the best compensation plan.” I want to be very clear, I just stated “inside of the MLM telecommunication niche.” I am not referring to hybrid companies.

Lightyear Training

Lightyear is very proud of their training and after being introduced to it myself I’m also proud of it. This is a company which takes away the excuses. Not since my days with Art Williams and Hubert Humphrey have I seen a leadership team put so much focus on training. And this doesn’t even include the team sites I have reviewed from some of the top players in Lightyear.

Here is a list of the training sections at MyWirelessRep.com

1. Fast Start Training
2. Advanced Training Videos
3. Co-op Lead Training (including scripts)
4. Lightlyear Forms & Documentation
5. Lightyear Business Presentation
6. Current Lightyear News
7. Marketing Materials
8. Josh’s Blog

Ok, you see what I mean. The list just goes on and on.

Although, there is massive money to be earned in building a team in Lightyear, if a person just wanted to market wireless and get paid on the monthly residual, they could create a solid monthly income which would eventually replace their current JOB, in my opinion.

And, for the person who wants to build a team, leverage their time, and also market telecommunication service on a retail basis, then they can build a residual income which will change their lives forever. (If they invest wisely and don’t live above their means.)

Folks, as I said above there is no perfect MLM. If you are not happy where you are, before you decide to move to something else, make sure your attitude and expectations are in order.

Living An Epic Adventure,

Troy

Now, based on the new FTC rules regarding endorsements… This is an editorial, and we have not received any form of monetary gratification for this review.

I followed Reco’s rise at Lightyear for the last few years, and was very impressed that a leader of such young age, had such a passionate focus, and realized that “Getting Rich” was not all about money and toys, but was 100% about achieving wholeness in every area of your life!

I was sad to hear that Josh Henderson, Lightyear wireless and the McDaniel’s were now in legal battle litigation over their former business relationship. But, it does prove to me why every distributor should be a member of the DRA (Distributor Right’s Association.)

We will continue to track the McDaniel’s and their new adventure at MonaVie along with watching the court decision on the allegations they have made against Josh Henderson operating Lightyear Wireless as a Pyramid Scheme.

And although we see trust broken more often, than in years past, between top money earners and the companies they helped to grow, I still stand firm on my belief that the Direct Marketing Profession is still the best way for the average person to see their dreams come true.

Troy’s Truth: Remember, it’s not about growing our primary Network Marketing Company, it’s about Developing the Leaders on our Teams.

Case in point is Reco & Shanee’ McDaniel’s vision below:

Never Give Up,

Troy Dooly