Regular Jobs, MLM, Pyramids, Reverse Funnels Etc.
332 words eaten alive on March 30, 2008 - Filed Under Business, Marketing -
I had someone leave a comment on my Reverse Funnel System post saying that even a regular job is just a pyramid scheme because the people on bottom make less money. Sure, I can see his point in a very vague way. There’s the owner on top who generally makes the most money, then there is probably a manager (or more) and under them are the regular employees, who make the least money in the company. On paper this can look like a pyramid, but there is a huge difference.
First and foremost, the employees are guaranteed to make money, and they don’t have to pay up front to do so! If I hire an employee, I have to pay him/her an hourly wage, or a salary. I do not make them pay me $3000 up front plus another $300 a month just for the privilege of working for me. Does that really seem like a fair comparison? To say that a normal job is just a pyramid scheme? Didn’t think so.
Yes, there are successful MLM’s out there, legit ones that can make you money, Mary Kay being one of the most well known. The thing is, the legit ones still require hard work to succeed and they don’t advertise that you can sit back on the beach and rake in thousands of dollars a week in order to trick you into signing up and handing over your life savings.
I get a kick out of this quote “The job you have is the one someone else didn’t want.” See, not everyone wants to own their own business. I’ve been running this store for over 8 years now and there are days when I wish I didn’t. Days that I wish I was just working for someone else so that I can have days off, so that I can go put in my 8 hours and then go home to relax.
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After years of hearing about people who lost money on MLMs like Amway and travel matrixes I was very distrustfull of this type of marketing. However I did some research and found that state and federal governments recognize the difference between legal and illegal business and that there is a wide variety of different products offered by legitimate companies. Avon, Arbon, Tuperware and Mona-Vie are just a few of the real companies out there that can offer a driven individual the ability to build a good income. One of the acid tests you can apply to any of these types of business is the value of the product. Does the newest “distributor” actualy purchase a product of real value? Can it be sold for a profit? Will the company buy it back at full value? Another important question is does the company’s compensation plan require a large purchase to “qualify” for commissions or bonus money. Do you have to buy a lot to become a distributor? If you end up with a closet full of stuff that no one wants or your “product” is only on paper, you cant send back for a full refund or you have to spend hundreds of dollars a month to get paid then I would do more research before becoming involved with that company. Even after years of watching a friend of mine make a very good and I mean VERY GOOD living with a company called ETI I still did not think it was a good investment of my time or money even though the products were quite good. Late last year year he swithched to a different company which was just starting and convinced me to give it a try. If you buy the $100.00 kit you become a “distributor” and you get $140.00 worth of stuff. The quality is high and I figuered what the hell. I have two jobs that take almost all of my time so I thought I was just helping a friend out by buying his stuff. What happened next was a suprise. So far I have recieved about twice what I put in dollar for dollar. Some people I have “sponsored” make about twice what I make and some people they sponsored make about twice that. Of course not everyone will do that well that fast but many people make several hundred a month with the company and its not hard to do even with a regular woork load. So I am very happy with my MLM expierance. The old adage “buyer beware” applies here as everywhere else. Do the research, do the math and make wise choices with your money. Anyone interested in the company I am involved with can shoot me an e-mail at kitester@aol.com. I will be happy to send you the name.