In the past I’ve been very leery of MLMs, especially after being stalked by someone wanting to recruit me. But over the years I have watched a lot of my friends make a little money on the side working with Multi-Level Marketing companies so I’m starting to change my tune. I’m in a financial slump and I’m starting to think that maybe…just maybe…I might get involved in a company to make a little side money and ease up the tightness of our finances.
The question is…which one is right for me?
Are any of you dopers working with a MLM company? Which one?
I’m trying to find one that has a good reputation and has been around for a while, that sells a product people will need to replace often (like make-up versus cookware), and last but not least, one that hasn’t saturated my area. That would mean, Amway, Mary Kay, LulaRoe, Scentsy, Origami Owl, Avon, LipSense are out.
Also, I won’t do health stuff like AdvoCare or Essential Oils. I have to fully believe in the science behind it and I am a huge skeptic when it comes to stuff like that.
Why not just get a part-time job? Even a minimum-wage fast food job is going to make you more money than any MLM scheme. Actually, the MLM scheme will end up costing you money.
You can make a lot of money with MLMs but you usually have to be a manipulative borderline sociopath to do so. The “making money” part is growing your downline by convincing others to enmesh themselves in an enterprise that will yield little to no benefit with a strong possibility of losing money for 95% of those getting involved. If you can get past that moral hurdle you’re golden.
If you’re entrepreneurial and want make some side money a small ebay business is a low risk route that can generate a few hundred to a few thousand dollars a month if run diligently and correctly assuming you have some expertise in items you are savvy enough to be able to buy, list and flip. I buy discounted footwear (usually 70%+ off often larger or smaller odd sizes) on various discount and clearance sites then list it on ebay and flip it for 50% of retail. You could easily lose money doing this (and i have on some items) if you did not know what brands, styles and sizes are enough of a deal to flip and will move. It took me years of doing this to be reasonably good at it.
Some people also have success in selling things like inexpensive, artsy jewelry pieces you can’t find in stores. They carry no inventory but what they wear or have to show people and there is a catalog to choose from for clients. If the clients are registered and order from you (you have a personalized online store) you get a healthy profit cut.
Neither of these is megaton of cash but it does add up over time.
But it takes a long time to build up a downline in an MLM scheme, and in the meantime, it’s going to cost the OP a lot of money to establish the business. And as you said, selling stuff online requires you to be familiar with the merchandise. Really, the majority of the people are going to make more as an employee.
You may want to check out PinkTruth.com . It’s largely about Mary Kay, but all the others really aren’t that much different, and they do occasionally discuss other MLMs, especially on their message boards.
In short, you are much more likely to lose money doing any kind of MLM or direct marketing scheme than you are to make it. Very, very few people make any kind of money doing MLM. They’re set up so you can’t. You would probably be better off on Etsy or Ebay than getting sucked into an MLM.
My friend sells Lularoe. She is making an absolute fortune. A quarter million profit the first year.
But she had to put up a ton of money to start ($8k I think) and works her ass off. Like 24/7 she’s working and her husband is too when he’s not working his day job. And her mom helps too.
She has earned every penny through hard work that’s for sure. Now she is making money downline and stuff. And easing up on her business as she reaches a higher tax bracket and gets less bang for her higher bucks.
She also has no need to recruit or to get her family and friends to buy. I personally do not like the clothes but I’m not their target shopper. Her friends and family are banging down her door to get the stuff and her downlines are waiting in line for a spot to open up.
You can become a LLR millionaire. But you can’t do it without a lot of sacrifice. I assume that’s how most of these things work - the ones that are legit.
They can look pretty good when paired with the right things. Like loud leggings paired with a long, solid-colored shirt that complements the colors. Or a loud dress with a plain sweater. Just on their own they look pretty crazy. And paired up they look even more crazy (which is why they sell a lot of plain shirts and sweaters!)
But every supermarket in America sells coffee and tea (as do many other places), and there are many stores selling women’s clothes, cosmetics and all the other stuff people sell through MLM schemes. So from the point of view of the customer, what advantage is there to shopping this way? Are there any types of products not available except through an MLM scheme? (I know that when Avon and Tupperware started, their direct-sales model worked well with their target market of housewives, some of whom had no car, or had to stay home with children. But today? What is the appeal?)
It’s evolved to include MANY military spouses who stay at home for one reason or another; often it’s b/c their kids are too young for all day school and daycare costs their entire paycheck. W/ a home-based business the parent staying home can work while taking care of their kids. I was one of the few milspouses I knew that didn’t have a home-based business of some kind.
OP, can you tutor from your home? MLMs almost always require you to put money in before you make any, but if you already have skills and tools to tutor you’re ready to go.
I buy Monat (to help out a friend, who just does it for the discount) but do not sell it. I like the product, but last time I ordered it took me over a month and two nasty phone calls to get my conditioner. It was on “back order” but they charged me for it anyway. I’m going to keep an eye on that next time I have to buy. It may be a sign of trouble.
My BIL was involved in MonaVie. He was going to buy a BMW in six months. :rolleyes:
My theory on this type of thing is if the product is so great, why go through the rigamorole of a MLM? Sell it on Ebay or Etsy and have done with it.
So either do that, or wait tables or deliver pizza. Good money with no headache.
I have a few friends and acquaintances that sell a variety of MLM products and I would never buy any of them on principle, ignoring the fact that most of the product is crap. A few appear to make some money, but they do so at the expense of some friendships.
My mom lost a friend over this: she was only interested in buying the product from her friend, because she liked the product (various body products), but not selling it, and her friend pressured her so much to join that eventually they no longer spoke.
Again, what you seem to be describing are reasons why a home-based business would appeal to the seller, but why would the customer want to buy stuff that way?
People lie all the time about how much money they’re making in MLM. I mean all the time. A large part of this is their hard sell to draw in other suckers so they can make money off of you. Also people who get into these things go into big denial about the money they are losing. It’s just like all those gamblers we know that claim to make money at the casinos or with the lottery.
Do not trust anyone you know who is in MLM. There might be a few reliable people here and there. But very few and and it’s impossible to tell them from the rest.