Business Boom

I've lost 250 pounds and I strongly endorse, promote and share the products that helped me do that.  it has become a very nice work from home business for my family and I. One of the most asked questions I get is if our home business is a Pyramid Scheme or a Multi Level Marketing company (MLM for short). I am proud to say a resounding NO, we are NOT a Pyramid Scheme and we are NOT a MLM company.

This does raise a few great questions and points of dialog as most people have no real idea what a pyramid scheme is to begin with.  They mistakenly believe that if you talk to another person about your business or product that it is a pyramid scheme. Of course that is just ignorance. Pyramids are in fact illegal in all 50 of the United States.

The two most common indicators that you are dealing with a pyramid scheme are one, the company has no legitimate product or service to offer and two, money is paid out for just signing someone else up, not because the person made a purchase of any kind. Pyramids schemes are so dangerous because at some point you run out of people to put on the bottom and when that happens the people that came in last lose all of the money they put in and since they didn't buy any real product to start with, it is an illegal scam that hurts most involved.

At the same time, most people have no idea what an MLM company is either. Many believe if many levels of people get paid it's an MLM but that too is ignorance. You can't even buy groceries without the clerk, the manager, the owner, and the CEO all getting a chunk of that money and your grocery store is certainly not an MLM company.  Same buying a car, the salesperson, service manager, dealership manager, dealership owner and the manufacturer all get a chunk of your money. That doesn't mean your car dealer is an MLM.

Any business model has a distribution method. MLM is simply a distribution method. "Multiple Levels of Distribution" and several decades ago the term "distribution" was dropped in favor of the term "marketing" which sounded more pleasent to an unsuspecting public that had began to grow skeptical of multiple levels of "distribution".

This is why most companies sign you up to be a distributor so you can be one of those levels of distribution.  One of the things I love about the company that manufactures our products is that NO ONE is a distributor because we are not an MLM company. We are instead a manufacturing company using  a completely unique and refreshing business model.  More on than in a second...

It may surprise you to learn that most companies that use MLM as part of their model are created to fail. The average lifespan of a MLM company is 2 to 10 years at which point the people at the very top shut it down, file for bankruptcy and move on to create the next MLM to do the same thing over and over. This is a very well know fact to long term MLMers and that is why you always hear the term "get in on the ground floor". It's MLM speak for "if you act now, you can benefit while someone else takes the financial fall later" and most people have a moral objection to that sort of thing, as they very well should.

Believe it or not it gets worse.  Instead of the MLM companies adopting a better business model where people don't get hurt and actually have a chance at succeeding in the long term, they instead try to paint an overly positive and deceptive picture to new people. They lure people in with promises of long term success knowing full well in many cases that they are going to shut down the company in the near future. This creates our current environment where you have tens of thousands of well intentioned folks walking around repeating their overly positive messages to others trying to recruit them to do the same when in reality they have no idea that they are truly pawns in a larger game that will only hurt them in the end.

There are several hundred companies that have started up, claimed to be "the next big thing" and are now gone leaving a trail of people in their wake. Then there are handful of MLM companies that are barely hanging on like Amway, Isagenix, ViSalus, TriVita, Avon and Juice Plus. Something all of these MLM companies claim to have is scientific product lines that work miracles in your body and pocketbook. Of course, once you get past all the big money hype, the "win your new free car" hype and superstar paid endorsements, the actual and real provable science behind the products is usually weak to fair at best. It's what i call the "scientific smokescreen". Just enough good sounding supposed "facts" to lure in the uneducated consumer and get them to quickly part with their money thus feeding the MLM machine.

MLM = Ineffective and overpriced products... and that is no way to build a long term successful business.

You have some newer players in the MLM game today such as DoTERRA and Young Living, both offering grades of Essential Oils that are inferior in quality to the ones my company manufactures and they are more expensive than ours. DoTERRA actually patented the term "therapeutic grade" for their oils. That sounds very scientific doesn't it?  If you were going to buy Essential Oils, wouldn't you want it to be "therapeutic grade"? The problem is that there is no such scientific designation.  It is in fact a made up term. This type of bait and switch is very common in the world of MLM.

Many of these companies require you to purchase large amounts of up front inventory to come in "the right way". Getting started with these types of companies can cost thousands of dollars, but you will be forced to carry that inventory, sell products directly to others, keep track of sales and do lots of other tedious things that people these days just don't like to do.

When it gets downright scary is when people believe the MLM hype so blindly that they consistently justify their involvement, some losing tens of thousands of dollars, cars, homes and even their marriages all in the name of being loyal to their MLM company.

Some websites report an amazing 99% failure rate of everyone that has ever tried to make a MLM company work. That is not a safe business model by any stretch.

So what is the average person to do then? Is there an honest work at home opportunity that is not a scam, not a pyramid scheme and not MLM where average people can really succeed based on their honest effort? Is there truly something based on spending that you are already doing currently so it's no new money out of your budget? Thankfully there IS and that is what I share with others.

To further assist you in understanding, here is only a partial list of the major differences between our manufacturing company and things that are very common in the MLM industry. While each item may not apply to every MLM company directly, when you boil it all down they are all reasons why people fail at MLMs and why we believe we have found a better way.

MLM- Company carries large debt loads, high interest loans
Us- Company is completely debt free

MLM - Require large inventory purchases such as cases of juices,oils or other items you would not normally buy.
Us - Simply buy the same types of products you have always purchased, same money just better spent.

MLM -  No real customer support via phone, only email that may or my not get answered
Us - Real people helping you from your personal support team and full time free phone support from the company with thousands of actual employees

MLM- You are a distributor and you purchase and resell products to customers
Us- You are not a distributor, customers shop direct from the company

MLM- Prices are often 3 to 4 times the actual products' value
Us- Exceptional products at reasonable price, usually cheaper per use that the grocery store brands

MLM- Rely on the sensational, such as juice, magnets, folklore and other hyped up products
Us- Real products you really use backed by credible and independent science, doctors and published studies

MLM- Often use unfounded gurus, celebrities or doctors with questionable credentials to hype the products
Us- Our products are developed by world-class scientists, chemists, university professors and other credible professionals.

MLM- "first in" wins; "last in" loses, get in on the "ground floor”
Us- Everyone can succeed at anytime no matter when you begin

MLM - Most companies last 2 to 10 years before collapsing and hurting everyone involved.
Us- A 30-year proven track record of consistent growth backed by an A rating with the BBB

MLM - Large autoships forcing you to be charged for what you don't want each month
Us - Small optional autoship that you customize with what really want and need so its never any new money

MLM- You must buy large amounts of what you don't need to qualify for extra bonuses
Us- You only buy what you yourself use and bonuses are based on what others buy

MLM - Low customer retention & repeat purchase (usually less than 25% month to month)
Us - Very high (nearly 96% month to month) customer retention and repeat purchase

MLM - Heads of the companies are focused almost exclusively on making money for themselves personally
Us- Our management team believes that their success comes as they help others be successful

MLM - Management is on top of the biggest "legs" of the business creating a giant conflict of interest
Us- None of our company's employees are allowed to be in the Revenue Sharing side of the company keeping all interests purely professional.

MLM - People "break away" from you as they grow taking money out of your pocket
Us - You keep your customers and volume, it never breaks away from you, ever.

MLM- Hard to understand payout structures which favor the company and those who have already made it.
Us - An easy to understand compensation plan where everyone earns the same amount for doing the same thing.

MLM - Purposely confusing pay structures that allow the companies to take unfair advantage of people
Us - Super simple compensation plan built on just 2 commissions and six bonus.

MLM - Payout percentages change over time earning you less and less the higher you get
Us - Rock solid percentages that have stood for 30 years now. 

MLM - Your business is not able to be inherited.
Us - You can will your business to anyone

MLM - Everyone that joins opens a "business" for themselves, no one can only be a customer.
Us - People can just be a customer and never do the optional business, it's up to them.

MLM - No returns on products or only a partial credit given on returns.
Us - 100% of the product price credited or refunded if you are not happy.

MLM - Car program where the company owns the car and you get it taken away if you drop status
Us - You own your car and keep it no matter what

MLM - Start up costs up to several thousands dollars
Us - Less than $30 to start with big start up packs offered at cost to new customers.

MLM - Is ultimately about bettering the company and the people are expendable
Us - We value integrity first in dealing with both money and people

I also think it's noteworthy that everyone that has achieved our highest levels of earnings had absolutely no significant success is any MLM company they tried before becoming a customer here.

I don't just email you information. Instead, myself or one of my team members treat you like a real person and give you the time and attention you deserve by hearing your needs/concerns and offering personalized solutions that fit you. It's yet another difference between us and the MLMs. 

Since this is my personal blog just use the COntact button at the top of the page to reach out to me and thanks for reading!

Mark

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