This is a totally loaded question.

Why?

Because an MLM company is just a vehicle, and when you are trying to get somewhere, the driver matters a lot more than the vehicle.

Of course, there is a caveat here – if your vehicle breaks down, you’re screwed.  So the key is to find a company that has a product or products you are passionate about, and a leadership team in place to ensure longevity.

That said, there are some companies that have lame payouts, lame products, poor capitalization, etc.  So we can list our opinion on the top 10 MLM companies, but the most important factor in MLM success is to find a company that isn’t going to melt-down after you build an organization, with products or a service that you really dig.

Your ability to market is critical.  Without that skill, it doesn’t matter which MLM company you join – you’re not going to get anywhere.  Understanding your market – what is important to them, what their priorities are, what appeals to them – these things matter a whole lot more than getting involved at the “right time” or finding the “right team” to join.

So take our list of the Top MLM Companies is much more of a direction for you to review than an endorsement or quick fix.

So here we go:

1. Cognigen
2. Xocai
3. Usana
4. Team National
5. ACN
6. Prepaid Legal
7. Monavie
8. Vemma
9. Melaleuca
10. YTB

YTB announced that they have promoted J. Kim Sorensen to Vice Chairman and Andrew Cauthen to President.

Sorensen was previously president of YTB International, and will remain President and CEO of the YTB subsidiary, YTB Travel Network.

Cauthen joined YTB in 2004 as COO, and then moved to President of Your Travel Biz in 2006.  He was then named COO of YTB International in Jan. of this year, and has now moved up with this recent promotion.

It is always good to see a company take definitive action when things get tough.  YTB has had a rough year, with court proceedings taking places, their stock getting hammered, and slim earnings reports.  Hopefully, the vision and expertise of the executive team can give YTB a boost.

It’s been a tough year for YTB.  They showed a profit of $288,000 in the three months ending September 30th, compared to the same quarter last year when they hauled in $2 million dollars.

From CEO Scott Tomer on Monday:

“While we are disappointed by the reduction in our net income, we are also aware that much of the softness we are seeing is reflective of both an industry-wide trend and a difficult comparison to last year’s explosive growth.  In the face of a looming recession, growing companies face the difficult choice of either cutting back on marketing efforts to save on expenses, or increasing these efforts in order to capture the increasingly selective customer.”

The company said that it plans to help raise cash by selling some of their assets, including an office building in Edwardsville as well as the company’s Learjet.

The YTB stock has has fallen from a high of $4.00 this year to $0.34 as of today.  We are hoping they are able to turn things around and regain strength despite the setbacks.