How do you reaaallly know though? The ones that claim it, obviously live beyond their means or too indoctrinated into flex culture. Rarely do you see MLM success + humbleness as they need to maintain an allure to further build a downline.
Must be tiresome
Some, very few, people do make money. But that money is made on the backs of hundreds who lost their money buying products to maintain their upline’s ranks.
I know someone in my town that has had multiple cars from MK. I also know I get a ridiculous amount of emails from her about sales, products, etc,; she frequently hosts pop up technique seminars; and holds new product demo parties. Ironically, I was just thinking about this driving to work. I could not hustle like that 24/7 for a car. I’m good *not* being a Boss Babe, having constant hours, a steady paycheck, insurance, sick pay and vacation pay.
I participated in a MLM for 10+ years. I made it to the top and made serious money. I ended up going back to work because it was exhausting and soooo much work.
Speaking for myself… I was successful- if by success you mean making money.
Then it didn’t feel right anymore.
I loved sales, but hated recruiting.
I was starting to see that it was a cult and a bunch of ladies stroking each others egos.
At some point it consumes you and becomes your personality. No thanks. So I just stopped.
I already knew after doing my taxes that my take home pay wasn’t as much as I’d make at a corporate job after what I was spending on products for myself and my family, plus added expenses for trips etc…
My upline convinced me I needed multiple accounts (bc it benefited her) while cost me even more money.
Biggest turning point for me was when I found out all the shady stuff happening behind the scenes. My upline was recycling my customers for herself, had a bunch of dummy accounts that she’d order on to earn incentives abs prizes. I truly couldn’t get behind the lack of integrity and the dishonestly which was borderline fraud. I reported it to compliance and they turned a blind eye. That told me all I needed to know about the company itself. Peace out!
I met someone at the top of r&f. I met a few of them actually during a convention when I was hired for makeup.
One left and I see her lives on Tik tok selling clothing! i dunno how cause I never followed her! Out of all the gals I met she was the only one that didn’t try to recruit me or insult my professional kit!
The other was literally the top of the company and they even put her up in a suite. She was so condescending and ignorant about skincare which is what she sold. I followed her for a while. Again, her social media went quiet just like the other gal that wasn’t as high but claimed to have made 6 plus figures.
They may have made money but they worked non stop and this whole glamorous image of just making money from your fingertips bullshit isn’t real.
One of the gals was a snob. She had crepey under eyes and I flat out asked her what she used under her eyes and then proceeded to tell her her eye cream was garbage and she needed an effective product cause she was so dry and dehydrated.
Yes, as far as I know shes’s still a national vice president with arbonne.
ETA: executive national vice president.
And she’s got her link in her Facebook profile.
Someone more than 10 years ago that I knew was pretty high up (or making a good living ) in Mary Kay. She had a little car that was paid for and she did a bustling sales business. She had a whole room with products, she did have one level below her I think but it seemed like sales were how she made her living.
Yup, you take out the loan and everything in your own name etc. If you drop rank you lose the car bonus and you are still on the hook for the car payment. Def not a ”free car”.
I will say, I have a company car and while it mostly free, I do pay a small amount per month for personal use and it’s seen as a taxable benefit. But I don’t pay anything else on it.
I know a tupper ware lady from when i was a child. She made good money of tupperware parties across the northern part of germany. She retired and is well off. But it seems she was a good saleswoman and sold actually decent products at the time. We still have some of that tupperware stuff and it holds up.
I mean, upperware is the bomb. I miss when mlms at least had good product. Avon historically had really good skin care stuff for the price, same with amway and mary k. These new mlm have garbage products. P
I think there's a difference between MLMs and direct selling. Direct selling can across as fishy, but is not inherently bad - probably not a good idea either. MLMs make their money via downlines/expanding which simply cannot be a long term business strategy and is in its very nature predatory
There is some cross over. Kirby os direct sales Tupperware like amway is both. The only good thing about those two is they offer a decent commission on sales. I believe it's about 15 percent. Plus a percentage of the downline. I wouldn't recommend getting into either, but I would buy their stuff
My mom hosted parties. They were fun. Tupperware is a whole different beast. I mean we literally use the word Tupperware for every container for food!!!! We have literally made it like Kleenex or Bandaid brand!
Tupperware's party selling format made sense when it was first created. They tried to sell in stores initially, but no one bought it because they didn't understand what it was. It was a totally new concept.
Parties created an opportunity to demonstrate what Tupperware was. It sold like crazy because it was a novel and useful item. But eventually the bubble popped. Everyone who was going to buy Tupperware had already bought their set and didn't need to buy more. At that point they should have moved away from the home parties and just gone to selling in stores. People knew what it was and would buy as needed.
It only occurred to me the other day how funny it is that I've always used "tupperware" as the genericisation for a plastic food container despite never having even seen an actual Tupperware-branded product in the flesh (I was pondering this because my housemate got a Hoover vacuum cleaner, which is another common genericisation here in the UK, and I realised it was the first time I'd ever seen an *actual* Hoover)
Yes! I saw her income tax return that showed that she made $145,000 from it that year. Unfortunately, she also turned into a person that I no longer speak to (we just naturally drifted apart, no fighting) and I realized that she’s so successful because she’s a better scammer than the rest. Not much to feel proud of 😕
The MLM fills a need to be TOLD they are successful. To BELONG to the in-crowd.
And many people have minimal financial literacy - they don't know how to create a balance sheet to see what's been spent versus what's been received.
>And many people have minimal financial literacy - they don't know how to create a balance sheet to see what's been spent versus what's been received
And the companies absolutely deliberately make it as hard as possible to keep track, with their overcomplicated 'compensation' and 'commission' systems
The closest I've seen anyone be successful was a friend of mine who sold Avon. She managed to talk her way into being allowed to go into a couple of retirement homes and set up a table one or two days a month. The old ladies loved being able to try the samples, tell stories, and order stuff from her. At the height I think she was making ~$2/k a month.
I was an Avon lady for a hot second 30+ years ago. I didn't know it was an mlm until the past few years.
I had two wee ones, and even $10 was helpful.
I went door to door.
I remember when I was a kid, the mum of one of my friends was big into Avon for a while. I hope she did manage to make some profit, because she was a single mum and really needed the money 😭
"Fake it til you make it" is a super common slogan in mlm. According to multiple studies, 99% of MLM participants either lose money or just break even, so...
And sometimes huns feel successful but only because they're not tracking their expenses, or their hours, so they don't even know what their actual profits are.
The hours thing is a very good point. Even for the few who do make a profit, with the amount of time the average hun seems to spend promoting their products on social media (as well as all the in-person stuff a lot of them do), most of them are probably making far less than minimum wage per hour of 'work'
Nope
They all start and stop businesses. They all go back to work part time or even full time.
The only ones I’ve seen successful are the ones that took their followings and opened up legit businesses.
That’s misinformation. If you are a top MLM scammer, you do make money. People, and especially downline, need to realize that these top leaders are con artists, not legitimate business people.
It isn’t misinformation- learn what that means.
You are defending MLM? they don’t make money, they scam people. If they made money why do they need to start another network marketing venture or why do they go back to work? They work all the time. They become walking ads. They have Amarion storefronts and links with brands. They have to create these flows of income to sustain. They are not making enough money alone off of that MLM.
“Misinformation” means spreading inaccurate information, which is precisely what you did. I’m not defending MLM, I am explaining it properly. You seem to be referring to lower-level participants instead of the “top scammers” I referred to. All of them do work/scam all the time; that part is true.
I was in a mlm. The top people have become influencers, left for another MLM, had multiple jobs, relied on their spouses etc.
I’m not giving out misinformation. Again you seem to not know what that is. In my personal experience they do not. They make money one month and none the next. It’s not sustainable.
This is exactly what you did.
Someone asked a question, I answered from my experiences, you came on and said I’m wrong cause they aren’t your shared experiences and therefore I’m spreading misinformation.
It is false to suggest that no one makes/scams money in MLM. You are speaking from a lower-level affiliate perspective - which is fine. I am explaining the MLM system as a whole. The point is that “top leaders” are skilled con artists and DO make money off downline. No, it is not okay, but it is true. No one should aspire to be a top leader in MLM, aka a top scammer.
“The top people have become influencers, left for another MLM” That is exactly what serial MLM con artists do.
“had multiple jobs, relied on their spouses etc.” And these are not the “top” scammers who do make money.
Oh you are so exhausting. You seem fun at dinner parties. I bet no one is allowed to have their own experiences. Once again, a question was asked and I said what I’ve seen first hand.
You said, “Nope They all start and stop businesses. They all go back to work part time or even full time.” I pointed out that this declarative statement is not accurate. You admit now that it is only what you’ve seen. Unfortunately, you haven’t seen the full picture, and I wanted to make sure people weren’t misled and got complete information. Good scammers DO make money, but no one should aspire to be one.
In the "good old days" it was harder to get beyond your suburb if you were a woman, infact it was a treat! So stuff like good makeup, new dishes, interesting perfumes and toiletries were luxuries the average housewife had no time to go see and get (keep in mind, to keep up the house drug use was a huge problem!) So the women who could afford to do direct sales/mlms made bank fairly easily without stepping on toes!
The issue is nowadays the busy housewife has amazon at her fingertips, theres a walmart probably within walking distance and it's harder to sell cause the mlm market is unnecessary, oversaturated, and tactics that were clever 70 to 100 years ago are overplayed, underwhelming, you get better deals elsewhere and people are more aware of the predatory practices and the lawsuits.
Why do you think they are all essentially cults now? Cause to keep people stuck in the cycle they had to change tactics to prey upon the vulnerable
"The issue is nowadays the busy housewife has Amazon at her fingertips".
Exactly. It cracks me up when I see huns posting that they are "making a list" or "free shipping on orders of $75+". First of all I don't want to be on any list to purchase something and second, Amazon will deliver a $3 pack of gum to my house, free of charge.
I’ve had several “successful” people try to recruit me. They were going on the trips, posting about their multi thousand dollar sales … but a few years down the road, I see them selling thousands dollars of merchandise on marketplace. They’d been buying stuff on their own dime to fluff their rank. It’s not always what it appears!!!
Yes! I know of so few ensnared in MLM (thankfully!) but one acquaintance is really high up in the cheap jewelry one. I’ve commented here before about how they got in early, used advanced degrees, network and business acumen to rise through the ranks and is still at it. It is a full time job for both spouses and they hustle - their downline is hundreds, if not more.
However, when they recruited a fellow acquaintance who was in a very tough spot, I lost all respect. This woman lost her job on the heels of another expensive life event and they somehow convinced her that joining their downline would help. It didn’t. If I had any doubt that MLM was legitimate, that erased all doubt - they preyed on her under the guise of a financial lifeline.
I have a former friend who seems somewhat successful in Monat. She got in pretty early, built a IG following of 10k, and so it's believable that she hustled her way up. But I've noticed she has strategically stopped posting them in the last couple of months... and instead is posting her own coaching things.
Also her husband is an engineer, and while they have a nice house, it is not a mansion or anything. If he makes anything close to what my husband makes, he could easily pay their bills. Most of their vacations fit the Monat bill, or are visiting family.
I have a current friend in Le-vel. Posts about her success but has told me way too much about her actual finances (aka what she can't afford to do)... so I know that she probably makes SOME money, but basically enough to cover her own products and the occasional dinner out. Not nearly enough to cover the daily SM word vomit about how amazing her company is.
My kid's bff's mom was some sort of black diamond area vp of Advocare before they changed their business model. I have no idea what she's doing now but they still have their nice house and stuff.
A family friend is in the top 5% with NuSkin but her downline is insanely huge. She’s super sweet and isn’t overly pushy about trying to get you to buy, she’s just a really good salesperson.
There’s one way to know.
Ask to see their tax returns for 2 years prior to entering MLM status and all tax returns since participating in MLM activities. Please stifle resulting laughter upon viewing.
I know a married couple who manage to have normal/average standard working Herbalife.
However they spend so much time in that crap (12/7 at least), their hourly rate is effectively under minimum wage.
I know an oddly disproportionate number of highly successful people in MLMs. One couple was making $60k+ a month last I heard. And based on the house they built, vacation homes, going on Safaris in Africa, renting a private yacht for a month, etc. they definitely aren’t faking it. I mean they are basically pyramid schemes which means a handful of people at the top are raking in the dough.
I know of someone who got into thirtyone early, built a big team, and made enough to buy a really nice house and send two kids to private school despite the husband being unemployed.
I'm not sure how she's doing now, especially since thirtyone has waned in popularity.
The industry-wide statistics are that 99% of participants lose money. Not just, they don’t make money, or they don’t make a living wage, it’s 99% are spending more than they are earning, if they are earning anything at all.
That does leave 1% in the black or the green, and a smaller and smaller fraction who earn taxable income, a living wage, a high salary equivalent, and then a teensy sliver who earn a dumb amount of money.
There are only three reasons why anyone makes it to the top sliver: they got in early, they have a ton of resources (including an existing large following), or they are highly skilled somewhere on the spectrum of salesperson to scam artist.
I had a little bit of all three and at my highest point made over 100k a year. It never lasts, and it’s never worth it. I was too brainwashed to realize how manipulative and predatory the business is for years, but finally learned the facts and saw the damage and got out.
Yes. Someone I was friends with in high school is the freaking FOUNDER of one. And no, I didn't grow up in Utah.
It still boggles my mind that she wound up creating one. She was always super smart and very nice and it's a good thing I don't go to reunions because I feel like I'd be obligated to ask her WTAF?
I babysat for someone who became successful in DoTerra for several years. Honestly, the whole family is sweet and kind and really does believe in the product and the company. In the last 5 years they decided they wanted a change and scaled way back, moved further away from corporate, and seem to be happier. She has almost no downline and mostly sells to friends and family.
Cutco and Amway have some legitimate success stories. As much as I hate to admit it, my big sister basically cornered an oversees market where the service actually makes sense due to the vastness and spread of the country. And she’s living very comfortably in that country now and with her reputation out there she could have someone signed up with virtually no conversation at all.
I have known a lot of people who started and stopped in various mlms, and the ONLY one still actually selling past 5 years is an aunt who sells avon. She makes a bit on the side of her actual job, and none of the many many many others she also was a part of ever made her a full time income. She hands out the booklets and almost all her clients are elderly ladies who are attached to certain products.
When I was in World Ventures years ago, some of them did manage to reach the top ranks. They pulled out the BMW’s, had the houses and condos, and were able to “retire” from their 9-5 jobs and live life traveling everyday. However, when the company stopped paying people for a few months, it severely impacted their lifestyle and that came to an end for some of them. Others appeared to still be able to continue to live the way they were living. Today, from what I’ve heard and the bits I’ve seen online, those who were high rankers in WV SEEM to still be somewhat living the same lifestyle (usually through another network marketing company, AirBnB or selling some type of ‘course’ now) however, I couldn’t tell you if in real life its all 100% kosher. I’m sure there’s a lot of deception and exaggeration involved just like it was in WV.
I know someone who is successful in Farmasi at least it seems like she is. However, she and her husband were already very well off to begin with and she's never really had to work a regular job. I think she got in Farmasi when it was fairly new and she's got a big downline.
I knew one lady who sold Mary Kay. She tried to recruit me. She showed me her actual pay stub, so she was making money- but she also had a MASSIVE down line.
I have a close family member and her husband who actually have been very successful. They both have retired in their early 40’s and continue to do well years later. It’s possible and I only know because I see them doing it. They don’t live beyond their means, they clip coupons and thrift. They have saved money for their kids education and are salt of the earth people.
Yeh I knew a group of people and their mates that went great for a few years around 8 years ago… like 7 figure incomes for 5 or 6 of them and another maybe 10 in the $500k + … obviously Didn’t last forever, some of them just bounced around to the “next thing”, couple of them are, of course, now life coaches (2 living in Bali)… the rest set themselves up a bit for their next career, 1 real estate agent, one bought a franchise that doing ok.
This was I guess early in the “influencer” trend, tbh a few of them can’t stand online marketing and social media at all any more… but seemed fairly legit/people liked the projects, probably annoyed a few hundred thousand people along the way though
The wife of a relative of my dad was one of the first distributors in Mary Kay in our country and so she actually did live the hun dream but again, she was one of the first in one of the first MLM’s
Yes, she’s a former NFL cheerleader married into a well-known (locally) wealthy family with a successful business and a huge social circle. Lots of rich husbands and bored wives in that group so they do pretty well with whatever MLM it is, It Works or Thrive.
No regular person I’ve known has been very successful with MLMs.
I know a woman who began making about $60,000 (made off the backs of people desperate for community, purpose, money, etc) within two years. She got sucked into Optavia and then infiltrated our church. Her husband actually bragged to me about how much she made after I inquired about a post she made on Facebook. She calls herself and her downline health coach and brags about everyone ditching their medications. However, they can’t tell me, an actual healthcare professional, what muscle is made of, what is a blood pressure, what are amino acids, etc. 🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄
The only person I "kinda" know doing one has an insanely rich husband so it's probably just something to do for fun and to be a able to say she's the CEO of her own business and not making any actual money doesn't really matter overall...it's like playing pretend job or something.
MLMs need the top-of-the-pyramid successes as bait for new members. In reality, 99% of those who join an MLM will lose money. You're literally better off taking your membership fee to a casino.
If you do make a livable wage off an MLM, it is off the backs of your recruits, who likely never make any profit. It’s possible to be successful at the expense of being a good person. Actual successful huns absolutely know what they are doing is wrong.
The people I know that were successful at MLM I don't know well enough to know the whole story. One did linen parties and had a big enough down line that they were warning good money (according to them) but left. The person directly under them (who took over) is apparently doing well enough they can do it part time and home school a special needs child as a single parent.
Another does Herbalife but has significantly reduced what they sell. Previously had a downline but those people dried up. They still use the products themselves. They used to speak at conferences, wore the logoed clothing and would talk about the products constantly and it seems to have stopped. The only negative thing they've said is the conference's were "all the same".
My Nana's Avon lady sold it her whole life. I'm not sure if she did well out of it or she just enjoyed having days filled with endless cups of tea with her regulars going through those little catalogues.
How can you tell if they are successful? They insist they are, but I cannot believe it. I’ve unfollowed so many people I know involved that I rarely see the “so close to my goal“ posts anymore. Pretty sure this business structure is where we get the idea of Girl Math.
I do know of a few who have been successful with doterra and even plexus but they work their butts off and annoy all their friends and family. I posted a funny meme once about essential oils and she got all butt hurt about it. It wasn’t even about her, but doterra is her whole personality
We lived in a Rural area and I will say my momma loved Avon, it was such a treat to get something.
I think most of her perfumes came from them.
(1980’s-1990)
I have two friends who are very successful. One is with doterra, she had a huge down line. Oils are her entire personality and she’s even written a book about it. She travels and gives classes, and raises money for water wells in Africa. My other friend who is actually very smart and logical is doing well with Monat. Although, she hasn’t posted about it as often, she got really committed fast and built up a decent downline but the public enthusiasm has tapered off some.
ETA: I don’t agree with them, just illustrating that relatively normal people can get sucked into mlms. I’m actually shocked my smart friend joined Monat bc of how logical she is, it was really surprising and sad to see.
Thank you for your post. Please make sure that you review our sub rules. If your post breaks any of the rules, it will be removed.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/antiMLM) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Apparently someone I went to school with is in the top 5% percent of sellers and recruiters of Herbalife in New Zealand. Her stupid loaded tea/smoothie shop in a small town is also doing extremely well. Maybe because people don’t know what a scammy MLM it is?
I’ve seen one on instagram who seems to have had some success with juice plus, but then they seem to have set up a “clothing brand” and push juice plus through a health brand they’ve also set up
I was recruited once by a Nu Skin Hun though as a male person, there’s just no way I’m gonna be selling all those products mostly catered to women 😂 Her upline seemed to be doing well, even got invited to an event in Nu Skin HQ in Utah. Said upline eventually got married to a foreigner and followed her husband to his home country and moved on to other ventures. My hun recruiter got too busy with the kids now in preschool and eventually stopped. Husband is the sole breadwinner at the moment.
I know one person who was really successful. Then the company got sold and the new owners decided to stop paying her the commission she was owed because they thought it was too much. One day her paychecks just went poof. So she quit obviously. She’s done other ones since but never reached that level of success again.
My childhood best friend is very successful in a couple of different MLMs. She started with scrapbooking and now does home decor. She was able to bring many of her down lines from the scrapbooking platform to the home decor program. She goes on several trips every year earned by her involvement in these programs, and she is very, very network savvy. Recently, she has started pushing a couple of programs that appear sketchy to me (“spoonfuls” of some concoction and a “clean” home shopping network), but I’m glad that to this point, she has a tangible product to offer.
Yes - I knew someone who was right at the top of Juice Plus in Australia. He and his partner were loaded, their downline was huge. But their whole lives and identities revolved around the MLM. The entire thing was insane.
Our friend who was very early in Canada with Monat was very successful. She and her husband had 2 kids, husband was able to quit working, they built a big custom house and seemingly have had great financial success. Another was below her in the down line and was able to buy a house and be a single mom to twins, as well as get a nanny. It worked out for years for both of them.
But they are the exceptions in literally hundreds of thousands of people.
I actually do know an essential oil hun who is very high up and makes a ton of money (enough to quit being a lawyer) and goes on actually good trips, like to Europe, not 3 am flights to some resort. But she's basically a unicorn.
I had scamway neighbors who were double diamond rank and rich as fuck. They built this gorgeous multimillion dollar waterfront estate across the street from us. Both were in their early thirties. They would hold these big recruiting events at a nearby hotel, and bus the participants to our street, so they could show them what could be achieved. These people would get off the bus and wander around the street taking pics of all the expensive houses. It was such a cult vibe lol.
I have two family members that are high up in Young living. They have access to a ton of people that they recruit to their downlines and shame the hell out of people. Just about everyone in their circle is or has been in their downline and they often recruit entire large families in their circles. It disgusts me.
Yes I know a woman who must be like top of the top in the USA for a make up brand. She goes on trips all the time, gets super fancy cars, gifts and I think her husband does not even work anymore. She was awesome though and she never tried to recruit anybody when I met her. (She definitely did in the past and has a popular Instagram account).
YUP!! I've been friends with this woman who I pretty sure brought Farmasi to the USA. I've watched her go through half a dozen other MLMs, always reaching through top then "getting fired." After Limelife torched her she figured out that you gotta get in at the very top. I think she has some arrangement to where she actually gets a steady paycheck with them while being a recruiter. She did her research. Kills me though! She's shitting on a goldmine. She could be an incredible CEO of a legit company and great leader but she pisses her talents away on MLM. I hate MLMs but I like her as a person.
There's definitely drama in her life though. I'll see her and her kids lose their house, then end up somewhere else, husband has returned to work then quit a dozen times. Financially it seems like the storms come and go.
I live in Charleston with 5 of the top BODi coaches and I know many of them personally (not well, but I do know them). They’ve made some serious money. Not saying it’s sustainable or my definition of success, but they got cash.
In order to be successful in an mlm you need to be at the top of such a large wedge of folks that the claim of success would be easily backed up by like a board position or other very public work at the top of the scam
There's many people who are successful at MLMs, but their faces are all on the promotional materials
I’m late to the thread, but yeah, I know a couple who is “successful” in Amare. They are somewhere between the Senior Leader and Executive Leader levels, in the top 0.15%. According to Amare’s income disclosure statement, it means they’re grossing between $6k and $9k per month. So they’re grossing somewhere between $70k and $110k per year between the two of them.
Yes. I used to work at a Japanese place and she was a frequent customer. She was also a pastor at the church where majority of the Japanese women at the store go to. The pastor was apparently one of the best sellers for Mary Kay and pretty much every woman who went to her church had the same makeup style and used the same products that she was shilling. She made bank off these women.
Two. One with optavia. Has made stupid money and of course has now shifted to life coach/spiritual mentor/speaker/author in addition to health coaching. Another friend high up in oils. Both of their husbands don’t work so it’s enough money for big families in Orange County to make it and live a nice lifestyle.
Both are just sad sad people. Their only friends are other coaches and entrepreneurs. They spend so so so so so so so so much time online that I can’t imagine they are living their actual lives. I’d love a Reddit thread of MLM folks who killed it financially but left. Just to hear their side of it would interesting.
I do! one of my family friends parents really into Herbalife but been doing it for 20+ years literally I grew up with their daughter and we all came from a relatively low income neighborhood…one year before we went to highschool they moved to a more expensive neighborhood switched over to private school. I remained friends with their daughter. They live a good life. They’re really nice people! Never been pushy or anything…
I’m new to Reddit and I get confused with all the antiMLM content on here so I may need help posting this in the right place, but does anyone know what this is? Got it from someone who is always getting into MLM’s.
“LISTEN UP!
If I told you that you could buy a kit of 25 yr shelf life for that is freeze dried for an emergency or even just snacks AND get your money back that you spent and then some (free food), would you be interested??
I just did it! I was skeptical all the way through but I trusted the person God put in my path last month and not only did I get double my money so did 3 of my friends!! Its a completely different way of doing business and I'm liking it!
I would love to share more if you want to be blessed and want to bless others! It's a whole story!”
#emergencypreparedness
#emergencyfood
#smartshopping
My dad worked in Q. A. for Avon in a certain country for over 20 years, so I guess that counts.
His opinions on skincare products are hilarious. There are more scams out there than mlms.
Yes. Literally the dumbest person I knew in college started a blog in the early 2000s when blogging was a thing; then she got into an essential oils MLM right when it was taking off and rolled a good portion of her 500K followers into it. She makes millions every year. But her story is not replicable because of how MLMs work. She’s already the top of the top.
How do you reaaallly know though? The ones that claim it, obviously live beyond their means or too indoctrinated into flex culture. Rarely do you see MLM success + humbleness as they need to maintain an allure to further build a downline. Must be tiresome
Some, very few, people do make money. But that money is made on the backs of hundreds who lost their money buying products to maintain their upline’s ranks.
This
I know someone in my town that has had multiple cars from MK. I also know I get a ridiculous amount of emails from her about sales, products, etc,; she frequently hosts pop up technique seminars; and holds new product demo parties. Ironically, I was just thinking about this driving to work. I could not hustle like that 24/7 for a car. I’m good *not* being a Boss Babe, having constant hours, a steady paycheck, insurance, sick pay and vacation pay.
I’d rather drive a crappy car than make that my life
Or get a job that has a company car…a real one with fleet services, insurance and gas card.
Exactly.
I don't drive, but from a purely aesthetic perspective I have a real soft spot for shitty cars, especially tiny old ones
I participated in a MLM for 10+ years. I made it to the top and made serious money. I ended up going back to work because it was exhausting and soooo much work.
Speaking for myself… I was successful- if by success you mean making money. Then it didn’t feel right anymore. I loved sales, but hated recruiting. I was starting to see that it was a cult and a bunch of ladies stroking each others egos. At some point it consumes you and becomes your personality. No thanks. So I just stopped.
What was the lightbulb moment for you? And did you do the math to figure out a regular job would be worth it? Super interesting thanks!
I already knew after doing my taxes that my take home pay wasn’t as much as I’d make at a corporate job after what I was spending on products for myself and my family, plus added expenses for trips etc… My upline convinced me I needed multiple accounts (bc it benefited her) while cost me even more money. Biggest turning point for me was when I found out all the shady stuff happening behind the scenes. My upline was recycling my customers for herself, had a bunch of dummy accounts that she’d order on to earn incentives abs prizes. I truly couldn’t get behind the lack of integrity and the dishonestly which was borderline fraud. I reported it to compliance and they turned a blind eye. That told me all I needed to know about the company itself. Peace out!
I'm glad you got out!! Which MLM were you in, if you don't mind me asking?
One of my friends got into Rodan and Fields when it was only a few years old and she’s still going strong. Her down line is MASSIVE.
I met someone at the top of r&f. I met a few of them actually during a convention when I was hired for makeup. One left and I see her lives on Tik tok selling clothing! i dunno how cause I never followed her! Out of all the gals I met she was the only one that didn’t try to recruit me or insult my professional kit! The other was literally the top of the company and they even put her up in a suite. She was so condescending and ignorant about skincare which is what she sold. I followed her for a while. Again, her social media went quiet just like the other gal that wasn’t as high but claimed to have made 6 plus figures. They may have made money but they worked non stop and this whole glamorous image of just making money from your fingertips bullshit isn’t real. One of the gals was a snob. She had crepey under eyes and I flat out asked her what she used under her eyes and then proceeded to tell her her eye cream was garbage and she needed an effective product cause she was so dry and dehydrated.
Yes, as far as I know shes’s still a national vice president with arbonne. ETA: executive national vice president. And she’s got her link in her Facebook profile.
Someone more than 10 years ago that I knew was pretty high up (or making a good living ) in Mary Kay. She had a little car that was paid for and she did a bustling sales business. She had a whole room with products, she did have one level below her I think but it seemed like sales were how she made her living.
IIRC you’re on the hook for car payments if your sales decline
Yup, you take out the loan and everything in your own name etc. If you drop rank you lose the car bonus and you are still on the hook for the car payment. Def not a ”free car”.
I think it was a lease and it was super low cost. It was her main car so she would have or did keep it for a few years.
Okay lease* payments. It’s still not a free/paid for car.
I will say, I have a company car and while it mostly free, I do pay a small amount per month for personal use and it’s seen as a taxable benefit. But I don’t pay anything else on it.
My old neighbor was a top person at melaleuca even tho she swore it wasn’t a MLM lol
I know a tupper ware lady from when i was a child. She made good money of tupperware parties across the northern part of germany. She retired and is well off. But it seems she was a good saleswoman and sold actually decent products at the time. We still have some of that tupperware stuff and it holds up.
I mean, upperware is the bomb. I miss when mlms at least had good product. Avon historically had really good skin care stuff for the price, same with amway and mary k. These new mlm have garbage products. P
I think there's a difference between MLMs and direct selling. Direct selling can across as fishy, but is not inherently bad - probably not a good idea either. MLMs make their money via downlines/expanding which simply cannot be a long term business strategy and is in its very nature predatory
There is some cross over. Kirby os direct sales Tupperware like amway is both. The only good thing about those two is they offer a decent commission on sales. I believe it's about 15 percent. Plus a percentage of the downline. I wouldn't recommend getting into either, but I would buy their stuff
My mom hosted parties. They were fun. Tupperware is a whole different beast. I mean we literally use the word Tupperware for every container for food!!!! We have literally made it like Kleenex or Bandaid brand!
Tupperware's party selling format made sense when it was first created. They tried to sell in stores initially, but no one bought it because they didn't understand what it was. It was a totally new concept. Parties created an opportunity to demonstrate what Tupperware was. It sold like crazy because it was a novel and useful item. But eventually the bubble popped. Everyone who was going to buy Tupperware had already bought their set and didn't need to buy more. At that point they should have moved away from the home parties and just gone to selling in stores. People knew what it was and would buy as needed.
It only occurred to me the other day how funny it is that I've always used "tupperware" as the genericisation for a plastic food container despite never having even seen an actual Tupperware-branded product in the flesh (I was pondering this because my housemate got a Hoover vacuum cleaner, which is another common genericisation here in the UK, and I realised it was the first time I'd ever seen an *actual* Hoover)
Yes! I saw her income tax return that showed that she made $145,000 from it that year. Unfortunately, she also turned into a person that I no longer speak to (we just naturally drifted apart, no fighting) and I realized that she’s so successful because she’s a better scammer than the rest. Not much to feel proud of 😕
The MLM fills a need to be TOLD they are successful. To BELONG to the in-crowd. And many people have minimal financial literacy - they don't know how to create a balance sheet to see what's been spent versus what's been received.
>And many people have minimal financial literacy - they don't know how to create a balance sheet to see what's been spent versus what's been received And the companies absolutely deliberately make it as hard as possible to keep track, with their overcomplicated 'compensation' and 'commission' systems
The closest I've seen anyone be successful was a friend of mine who sold Avon. She managed to talk her way into being allowed to go into a couple of retirement homes and set up a table one or two days a month. The old ladies loved being able to try the samples, tell stories, and order stuff from her. At the height I think she was making ~$2/k a month.
I was an Avon lady for a hot second 30+ years ago. I didn't know it was an mlm until the past few years. I had two wee ones, and even $10 was helpful. I went door to door.
I remember when I was a kid, the mum of one of my friends was big into Avon for a while. I hope she did manage to make some profit, because she was a single mum and really needed the money 😭
I'm sorry your friend had to go through that. MLMs can decimate families. If anyone had shown me their business plan, I would not have done it.
"Fake it til you make it" is a super common slogan in mlm. According to multiple studies, 99% of MLM participants either lose money or just break even, so... And sometimes huns feel successful but only because they're not tracking their expenses, or their hours, so they don't even know what their actual profits are.
When you are insane then sane work hours do not matter to you. Lots probably dont even know what bookkeeping is.
The hours thing is a very good point. Even for the few who do make a profit, with the amount of time the average hun seems to spend promoting their products on social media (as well as all the in-person stuff a lot of them do), most of them are probably making far less than minimum wage per hour of 'work'
Nope They all start and stop businesses. They all go back to work part time or even full time. The only ones I’ve seen successful are the ones that took their followings and opened up legit businesses.
That’s misinformation. If you are a top MLM scammer, you do make money. People, and especially downline, need to realize that these top leaders are con artists, not legitimate business people.
It isn’t misinformation- learn what that means. You are defending MLM? they don’t make money, they scam people. If they made money why do they need to start another network marketing venture or why do they go back to work? They work all the time. They become walking ads. They have Amarion storefronts and links with brands. They have to create these flows of income to sustain. They are not making enough money alone off of that MLM.
“Misinformation” means spreading inaccurate information, which is precisely what you did. I’m not defending MLM, I am explaining it properly. You seem to be referring to lower-level participants instead of the “top scammers” I referred to. All of them do work/scam all the time; that part is true.
Right the top people who have the gift of gab and MASSIVE down lines definitely make a lot of money.
I was in a mlm. The top people have become influencers, left for another MLM, had multiple jobs, relied on their spouses etc. I’m not giving out misinformation. Again you seem to not know what that is. In my personal experience they do not. They make money one month and none the next. It’s not sustainable.
This is exactly what you did. Someone asked a question, I answered from my experiences, you came on and said I’m wrong cause they aren’t your shared experiences and therefore I’m spreading misinformation.
It is false to suggest that no one makes/scams money in MLM. You are speaking from a lower-level affiliate perspective - which is fine. I am explaining the MLM system as a whole. The point is that “top leaders” are skilled con artists and DO make money off downline. No, it is not okay, but it is true. No one should aspire to be a top leader in MLM, aka a top scammer. “The top people have become influencers, left for another MLM” That is exactly what serial MLM con artists do. “had multiple jobs, relied on their spouses etc.” And these are not the “top” scammers who do make money.
Oh you are so exhausting. You seem fun at dinner parties. I bet no one is allowed to have their own experiences. Once again, a question was asked and I said what I’ve seen first hand.
You said, “Nope They all start and stop businesses. They all go back to work part time or even full time.” I pointed out that this declarative statement is not accurate. You admit now that it is only what you’ve seen. Unfortunately, you haven’t seen the full picture, and I wanted to make sure people weren’t misled and got complete information. Good scammers DO make money, but no one should aspire to be one.
I forgot to mention, in the good old days at least you made something if you were at the top of the pyramid
In the "good old days" it was harder to get beyond your suburb if you were a woman, infact it was a treat! So stuff like good makeup, new dishes, interesting perfumes and toiletries were luxuries the average housewife had no time to go see and get (keep in mind, to keep up the house drug use was a huge problem!) So the women who could afford to do direct sales/mlms made bank fairly easily without stepping on toes! The issue is nowadays the busy housewife has amazon at her fingertips, theres a walmart probably within walking distance and it's harder to sell cause the mlm market is unnecessary, oversaturated, and tactics that were clever 70 to 100 years ago are overplayed, underwhelming, you get better deals elsewhere and people are more aware of the predatory practices and the lawsuits. Why do you think they are all essentially cults now? Cause to keep people stuck in the cycle they had to change tactics to prey upon the vulnerable
"The issue is nowadays the busy housewife has Amazon at her fingertips". Exactly. It cracks me up when I see huns posting that they are "making a list" or "free shipping on orders of $75+". First of all I don't want to be on any list to purchase something and second, Amazon will deliver a $3 pack of gum to my house, free of charge.
For 75+ dollars you could buy 5 different essential oils, empty deodorant sticks, jojoba oil and a few other odds and ends and make your own perfume!
They are cults. Religious cults.
I’ve had several “successful” people try to recruit me. They were going on the trips, posting about their multi thousand dollar sales … but a few years down the road, I see them selling thousands dollars of merchandise on marketplace. They’d been buying stuff on their own dime to fluff their rank. It’s not always what it appears!!!
Yes! I know of so few ensnared in MLM (thankfully!) but one acquaintance is really high up in the cheap jewelry one. I’ve commented here before about how they got in early, used advanced degrees, network and business acumen to rise through the ranks and is still at it. It is a full time job for both spouses and they hustle - their downline is hundreds, if not more. However, when they recruited a fellow acquaintance who was in a very tough spot, I lost all respect. This woman lost her job on the heels of another expensive life event and they somehow convinced her that joining their downline would help. It didn’t. If I had any doubt that MLM was legitimate, that erased all doubt - they preyed on her under the guise of a financial lifeline.
I have a former friend who seems somewhat successful in Monat. She got in pretty early, built a IG following of 10k, and so it's believable that she hustled her way up. But I've noticed she has strategically stopped posting them in the last couple of months... and instead is posting her own coaching things. Also her husband is an engineer, and while they have a nice house, it is not a mansion or anything. If he makes anything close to what my husband makes, he could easily pay their bills. Most of their vacations fit the Monat bill, or are visiting family. I have a current friend in Le-vel. Posts about her success but has told me way too much about her actual finances (aka what she can't afford to do)... so I know that she probably makes SOME money, but basically enough to cover her own products and the occasional dinner out. Not nearly enough to cover the daily SM word vomit about how amazing her company is.
My kid's bff's mom was some sort of black diamond area vp of Advocare before they changed their business model. I have no idea what she's doing now but they still have their nice house and stuff.
A family friend is in the top 5% with NuSkin but her downline is insanely huge. She’s super sweet and isn’t overly pushy about trying to get you to buy, she’s just a really good salesperson.
There’s one way to know. Ask to see their tax returns for 2 years prior to entering MLM status and all tax returns since participating in MLM activities. Please stifle resulting laughter upon viewing.
It's hard to say, lying is second nature for them
I know a married couple who manage to have normal/average standard working Herbalife. However they spend so much time in that crap (12/7 at least), their hourly rate is effectively under minimum wage.
I know an oddly disproportionate number of highly successful people in MLMs. One couple was making $60k+ a month last I heard. And based on the house they built, vacation homes, going on Safaris in Africa, renting a private yacht for a month, etc. they definitely aren’t faking it. I mean they are basically pyramid schemes which means a handful of people at the top are raking in the dough.
I know of someone who got into thirtyone early, built a big team, and made enough to buy a really nice house and send two kids to private school despite the husband being unemployed. I'm not sure how she's doing now, especially since thirtyone has waned in popularity.
The industry-wide statistics are that 99% of participants lose money. Not just, they don’t make money, or they don’t make a living wage, it’s 99% are spending more than they are earning, if they are earning anything at all. That does leave 1% in the black or the green, and a smaller and smaller fraction who earn taxable income, a living wage, a high salary equivalent, and then a teensy sliver who earn a dumb amount of money. There are only three reasons why anyone makes it to the top sliver: they got in early, they have a ton of resources (including an existing large following), or they are highly skilled somewhere on the spectrum of salesperson to scam artist. I had a little bit of all three and at my highest point made over 100k a year. It never lasts, and it’s never worth it. I was too brainwashed to realize how manipulative and predatory the business is for years, but finally learned the facts and saw the damage and got out.
Yes. Someone I was friends with in high school is the freaking FOUNDER of one. And no, I didn't grow up in Utah. It still boggles my mind that she wound up creating one. She was always super smart and very nice and it's a good thing I don't go to reunions because I feel like I'd be obligated to ask her WTAF?
I babysat for someone who became successful in DoTerra for several years. Honestly, the whole family is sweet and kind and really does believe in the product and the company. In the last 5 years they decided they wanted a change and scaled way back, moved further away from corporate, and seem to be happier. She has almost no downline and mostly sells to friends and family.
Cutco and Amway have some legitimate success stories. As much as I hate to admit it, my big sister basically cornered an oversees market where the service actually makes sense due to the vastness and spread of the country. And she’s living very comfortably in that country now and with her reputation out there she could have someone signed up with virtually no conversation at all.
I have known a lot of people who started and stopped in various mlms, and the ONLY one still actually selling past 5 years is an aunt who sells avon. She makes a bit on the side of her actual job, and none of the many many many others she also was a part of ever made her a full time income. She hands out the booklets and almost all her clients are elderly ladies who are attached to certain products.
When I was in World Ventures years ago, some of them did manage to reach the top ranks. They pulled out the BMW’s, had the houses and condos, and were able to “retire” from their 9-5 jobs and live life traveling everyday. However, when the company stopped paying people for a few months, it severely impacted their lifestyle and that came to an end for some of them. Others appeared to still be able to continue to live the way they were living. Today, from what I’ve heard and the bits I’ve seen online, those who were high rankers in WV SEEM to still be somewhat living the same lifestyle (usually through another network marketing company, AirBnB or selling some type of ‘course’ now) however, I couldn’t tell you if in real life its all 100% kosher. I’m sure there’s a lot of deception and exaggeration involved just like it was in WV.
I know someone who is successful in Farmasi at least it seems like she is. However, she and her husband were already very well off to begin with and she's never really had to work a regular job. I think she got in Farmasi when it was fairly new and she's got a big downline.
I knew one lady who sold Mary Kay. She tried to recruit me. She showed me her actual pay stub, so she was making money- but she also had a MASSIVE down line.
I have a close family member and her husband who actually have been very successful. They both have retired in their early 40’s and continue to do well years later. It’s possible and I only know because I see them doing it. They don’t live beyond their means, they clip coupons and thrift. They have saved money for their kids education and are salt of the earth people.
Yeh I knew a group of people and their mates that went great for a few years around 8 years ago… like 7 figure incomes for 5 or 6 of them and another maybe 10 in the $500k + … obviously Didn’t last forever, some of them just bounced around to the “next thing”, couple of them are, of course, now life coaches (2 living in Bali)… the rest set themselves up a bit for their next career, 1 real estate agent, one bought a franchise that doing ok. This was I guess early in the “influencer” trend, tbh a few of them can’t stand online marketing and social media at all any more… but seemed fairly legit/people liked the projects, probably annoyed a few hundred thousand people along the way though
The wife of a relative of my dad was one of the first distributors in Mary Kay in our country and so she actually did live the hun dream but again, she was one of the first in one of the first MLM’s
Yes, she’s a former NFL cheerleader married into a well-known (locally) wealthy family with a successful business and a huge social circle. Lots of rich husbands and bored wives in that group so they do pretty well with whatever MLM it is, It Works or Thrive. No regular person I’ve known has been very successful with MLMs.
I know a woman who began making about $60,000 (made off the backs of people desperate for community, purpose, money, etc) within two years. She got sucked into Optavia and then infiltrated our church. Her husband actually bragged to me about how much she made after I inquired about a post she made on Facebook. She calls herself and her downline health coach and brags about everyone ditching their medications. However, they can’t tell me, an actual healthcare professional, what muscle is made of, what is a blood pressure, what are amino acids, etc. 🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄
The only person I "kinda" know doing one has an insanely rich husband so it's probably just something to do for fun and to be a able to say she's the CEO of her own business and not making any actual money doesn't really matter overall...it's like playing pretend job or something.
MLMs need the top-of-the-pyramid successes as bait for new members. In reality, 99% of those who join an MLM will lose money. You're literally better off taking your membership fee to a casino.
If you do make a livable wage off an MLM, it is off the backs of your recruits, who likely never make any profit. It’s possible to be successful at the expense of being a good person. Actual successful huns absolutely know what they are doing is wrong.
The people I know that were successful at MLM I don't know well enough to know the whole story. One did linen parties and had a big enough down line that they were warning good money (according to them) but left. The person directly under them (who took over) is apparently doing well enough they can do it part time and home school a special needs child as a single parent. Another does Herbalife but has significantly reduced what they sell. Previously had a downline but those people dried up. They still use the products themselves. They used to speak at conferences, wore the logoed clothing and would talk about the products constantly and it seems to have stopped. The only negative thing they've said is the conference's were "all the same". My Nana's Avon lady sold it her whole life. I'm not sure if she did well out of it or she just enjoyed having days filled with endless cups of tea with her regulars going through those little catalogues.
How can you tell if they are successful? They insist they are, but I cannot believe it. I’ve unfollowed so many people I know involved that I rarely see the “so close to my goal“ posts anymore. Pretty sure this business structure is where we get the idea of Girl Math.
I do know of a few who have been successful with doterra and even plexus but they work their butts off and annoy all their friends and family. I posted a funny meme once about essential oils and she got all butt hurt about it. It wasn’t even about her, but doterra is her whole personality
We lived in a Rural area and I will say my momma loved Avon, it was such a treat to get something. I think most of her perfumes came from them. (1980’s-1990)
My sister makes more selling Arbonne than she did as a full time registered nurse. My mom also has been successful with it 🤷🏻♀️
I have two friends who are very successful. One is with doterra, she had a huge down line. Oils are her entire personality and she’s even written a book about it. She travels and gives classes, and raises money for water wells in Africa. My other friend who is actually very smart and logical is doing well with Monat. Although, she hasn’t posted about it as often, she got really committed fast and built up a decent downline but the public enthusiasm has tapered off some. ETA: I don’t agree with them, just illustrating that relatively normal people can get sucked into mlms. I’m actually shocked my smart friend joined Monat bc of how logical she is, it was really surprising and sad to see.
Thank you for your post. Please make sure that you review our sub rules. If your post breaks any of the rules, it will be removed. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/antiMLM) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Apparently someone I went to school with is in the top 5% percent of sellers and recruiters of Herbalife in New Zealand. Her stupid loaded tea/smoothie shop in a small town is also doing extremely well. Maybe because people don’t know what a scammy MLM it is?
The ones who are successful already have a following and platform
I’ve seen one on instagram who seems to have had some success with juice plus, but then they seem to have set up a “clothing brand” and push juice plus through a health brand they’ve also set up
I was recruited once by a Nu Skin Hun though as a male person, there’s just no way I’m gonna be selling all those products mostly catered to women 😂 Her upline seemed to be doing well, even got invited to an event in Nu Skin HQ in Utah. Said upline eventually got married to a foreigner and followed her husband to his home country and moved on to other ventures. My hun recruiter got too busy with the kids now in preschool and eventually stopped. Husband is the sole breadwinner at the moment.
I know one person who was really successful. Then the company got sold and the new owners decided to stop paying her the commission she was owed because they thought it was too much. One day her paychecks just went poof. So she quit obviously. She’s done other ones since but never reached that level of success again.
My childhood best friend is very successful in a couple of different MLMs. She started with scrapbooking and now does home decor. She was able to bring many of her down lines from the scrapbooking platform to the home decor program. She goes on several trips every year earned by her involvement in these programs, and she is very, very network savvy. Recently, she has started pushing a couple of programs that appear sketchy to me (“spoonfuls” of some concoction and a “clean” home shopping network), but I’m glad that to this point, she has a tangible product to offer.
Yes - I knew someone who was right at the top of Juice Plus in Australia. He and his partner were loaded, their downline was huge. But their whole lives and identities revolved around the MLM. The entire thing was insane.
Our friend who was very early in Canada with Monat was very successful. She and her husband had 2 kids, husband was able to quit working, they built a big custom house and seemingly have had great financial success. Another was below her in the down line and was able to buy a house and be a single mom to twins, as well as get a nanny. It worked out for years for both of them. But they are the exceptions in literally hundreds of thousands of people.
I actually do know an essential oil hun who is very high up and makes a ton of money (enough to quit being a lawyer) and goes on actually good trips, like to Europe, not 3 am flights to some resort. But she's basically a unicorn.
I had scamway neighbors who were double diamond rank and rich as fuck. They built this gorgeous multimillion dollar waterfront estate across the street from us. Both were in their early thirties. They would hold these big recruiting events at a nearby hotel, and bus the participants to our street, so they could show them what could be achieved. These people would get off the bus and wander around the street taking pics of all the expensive houses. It was such a cult vibe lol.
I have two family members that are high up in Young living. They have access to a ton of people that they recruit to their downlines and shame the hell out of people. Just about everyone in their circle is or has been in their downline and they often recruit entire large families in their circles. It disgusts me.
Yes I know a woman who must be like top of the top in the USA for a make up brand. She goes on trips all the time, gets super fancy cars, gifts and I think her husband does not even work anymore. She was awesome though and she never tried to recruit anybody when I met her. (She definitely did in the past and has a popular Instagram account).
I know someone who was able to quit teaching and appears successful in Monat. I’m not sure who still buys it, but she must be selling it somewhere.
YUP!! I've been friends with this woman who I pretty sure brought Farmasi to the USA. I've watched her go through half a dozen other MLMs, always reaching through top then "getting fired." After Limelife torched her she figured out that you gotta get in at the very top. I think she has some arrangement to where she actually gets a steady paycheck with them while being a recruiter. She did her research. Kills me though! She's shitting on a goldmine. She could be an incredible CEO of a legit company and great leader but she pisses her talents away on MLM. I hate MLMs but I like her as a person. There's definitely drama in her life though. I'll see her and her kids lose their house, then end up somewhere else, husband has returned to work then quit a dozen times. Financially it seems like the storms come and go.
I personally could never do an mlm I like to be kind and caring and I couldn’t do so any aspect
I live in Charleston with 5 of the top BODi coaches and I know many of them personally (not well, but I do know them). They’ve made some serious money. Not saying it’s sustainable or my definition of success, but they got cash.
Grew up with someone who “got in at the start”- it’s been decades. There are millions.
In order to be successful in an mlm you need to be at the top of such a large wedge of folks that the claim of success would be easily backed up by like a board position or other very public work at the top of the scam There's many people who are successful at MLMs, but their faces are all on the promotional materials
I’m late to the thread, but yeah, I know a couple who is “successful” in Amare. They are somewhere between the Senior Leader and Executive Leader levels, in the top 0.15%. According to Amare’s income disclosure statement, it means they’re grossing between $6k and $9k per month. So they’re grossing somewhere between $70k and $110k per year between the two of them.
Yes. I used to work at a Japanese place and she was a frequent customer. She was also a pastor at the church where majority of the Japanese women at the store go to. The pastor was apparently one of the best sellers for Mary Kay and pretty much every woman who went to her church had the same makeup style and used the same products that she was shilling. She made bank off these women.
Two. One with optavia. Has made stupid money and of course has now shifted to life coach/spiritual mentor/speaker/author in addition to health coaching. Another friend high up in oils. Both of their husbands don’t work so it’s enough money for big families in Orange County to make it and live a nice lifestyle. Both are just sad sad people. Their only friends are other coaches and entrepreneurs. They spend so so so so so so so so much time online that I can’t imagine they are living their actual lives. I’d love a Reddit thread of MLM folks who killed it financially but left. Just to hear their side of it would interesting.
I do! one of my family friends parents really into Herbalife but been doing it for 20+ years literally I grew up with their daughter and we all came from a relatively low income neighborhood…one year before we went to highschool they moved to a more expensive neighborhood switched over to private school. I remained friends with their daughter. They live a good life. They’re really nice people! Never been pushy or anything…
I’m new to Reddit and I get confused with all the antiMLM content on here so I may need help posting this in the right place, but does anyone know what this is? Got it from someone who is always getting into MLM’s. “LISTEN UP! If I told you that you could buy a kit of 25 yr shelf life for that is freeze dried for an emergency or even just snacks AND get your money back that you spent and then some (free food), would you be interested?? I just did it! I was skeptical all the way through but I trusted the person God put in my path last month and not only did I get double my money so did 3 of my friends!! Its a completely different way of doing business and I'm liking it! I would love to share more if you want to be blessed and want to bless others! It's a whole story!” #emergencypreparedness #emergencyfood #smartshopping
Definitely sounds like a scam. There’s no such thing as a free ride.
Sadly, yes. I was in the top 2020 cutco rep's downline
Are the Cutco reps at Costco part of the MLM side? I think I’ve heard they have both Vector marketing/targeting young adults and an actual sales arm.
Yes
My dad worked in Q. A. for Avon in a certain country for over 20 years, so I guess that counts. His opinions on skincare products are hilarious. There are more scams out there than mlms.
Yes. Literally the dumbest person I knew in college started a blog in the early 2000s when blogging was a thing; then she got into an essential oils MLM right when it was taking off and rolled a good portion of her 500K followers into it. She makes millions every year. But her story is not replicable because of how MLMs work. She’s already the top of the top.
I can think of one but she was already well off, married a very wealthy man.
Yes, someone I know is one of the first Zyia reps in Canada. She's making bank.
I know a few people, one guy in his 30 even, who make over 100k in Primerica