Thursday, December 31, 2009

Amway - Tools, Functions, Motivation, Real Estate Gurus - All Bunk?

Based on my experience in Amway, my blogging experience, and observation of other people who give financial advice such as real estate gurus who teach you to buy property with no money down, or others such as Robert Kiyosaki for that matter, all show testimonials of sucessful people. Obviously they do not show you the vast majority of people who try their systems and fail.

It is my informed opinion that whether it is Amway, WWDB, BWW, N21, real estate or the cashflow business, the vast majority of people who try these systems do not make any kind of significant income. Sure, some do, and those are shown as the possibilities. But if you watch infomercials, you will see in small print on the bottom of the screen, "unique experience", you results may vary. I believe that a similar message used to be at the end of Amway diamond recordings as well.

These systems in general do not work for various reasons. Many people simply do not have the acumen to work the system. Or the system has too many variables for the system to work, or the system calls for things beyond your control. For example, success in Amway generally requires you to sponsor others, something that is beyond the control of most people. Add in the lazy and people who are hoipng for a quick score and it is understandable that most will fail. But these systems are often set up where the majority simply cannot all succeed. Nowhere is that more true than the Amway business where the pyramidal compensation plan nearly guarantees failure for the lower level IBOs.

So what can someone do? Well, it may no be as sexy or attractive but a part time job and investing and saving might be something to think about. Even a part time business where you focus on selling products for a profit might work. It just seems prudent to avoid these "systems" as the primary beneficiary of these "systems" are the ones who directly profit from them.

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Amway - Whose Dreams Are Being Fulfilled?

One of the issues I have with the Amway plan is that the newest IBO, possibly the one who does the most "Work", receives the smallest compensation. Amway pays about 32% of their income back in the form of bonuses. An IBO who does 100 PV receives a 3% bonus and somewhere, uplines and sponsors receive the rest. Some of the upline may not have even met the IBO who actually did the work. Is that really fair and is that a level playing field? What do some of these uplines do to deserve the lion's share of the bonus you worked to get? Yes, the upline diamond may show the plan in an open meeting, which may help you, but then again, you pay for entrance into that meeting.

Many uplines will talk about dreams and fulfilling your dreams. But if an IBO would stop and think for a moment, you can easily see that you are building the dreams of your upline, and not your own. You receive a tiny portion of the bonus for the volume that you move, and then in addition, if you are on the system, then you are also paying upline in the form of tool purchases for the priviledge of giving them bonuses with your product purchases.

It is why your upline diamonds can parade around on stage with designer suits and show you their fancy cars and mansions and other toys. It is because they are cashing in on your efforts. You are making their dreams come true. Your dedication to moving volume and purchasing standing orders are fulfilling dreams. The upline dreams. Yes, someday you can hope to have your own group of downline to exploit for your own benefit, but unless you are adding members to your group, you will never achieve the kinds of dreams that uplines talk about. In the meantime though, you are definitely helping someone upline achieve their dreams with every function you attend. Ironically, the upline leaders will tell you to never quit, even if they don't know your personal circumstances.

Here's a challenge for IBOs and/or prospects who are being recruited into the Amway business. 100 PV will cost around $300 a month and dedication to the tools system will cost you around $200 a month on average. Would you not be better off simply writing a check to your upline for $100 and not even joining? Would you not be better off staying home and watching television instead of joining? If you read all of the information available on this blog and still decide to join, goo d luck to you, but remember this: Whose dreams are being fulfilled by your participation?
Yours or your upline?

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Amway - Avoid All Negatives?

One of the things that I was taught as an IBO, and I believe is still taught to IBOs is that you should avoid negative. Don't fill your head with negative thoughts. Only filter in positive by reading inspiring AMO approved books, listen to feel good standing orders and attend functions where you can gain positive association. Don't watch the news or other television as you may see negative. With this kind of teaching, I can easily see why some groups in Amway have been called cults or cultlike.

Basically, what upline is teaching you to do is become apathetic. Don't pay attention to the news, don't keep up with current events. Only listen to cds cut by Amway diamonds. Yet some of these same folks want you tell you who to vote for or influence you on various decisions. Deprive you of information and then influence you on important decisions. Did I mention that some groups in Amway have been called cults or cultlike?

There have been studioes showing that people need some "stress" in their lives. Obviously, too much stress can lead to health problemd, but having zero stress can be detrimental as well. If you lived in a sterile environment all of your life, exposure to the real world could prove fatal to you as your body could not fight off weak germs. Not being able to feel any pain could also be damaging to your body as minor injuries can become life threatening infections if not cared for.

While avoiding negatives in your life may seem like sound advice, I would take this with a grain of salt. Sure, you don't want to be overwhelmed with negatives, but the complete absence of any negative will make it hard to be able to do any critical thinking of your own. Critical thinking is important to your decision making process. If you are truly a business owner, you will have to make some important decisions to run an effective business. Avoiding negative and shutting off your critical thinking may not be in your best interest.

Do you really think that living in a sterile Amway business only environment is the way to go?

Sunday, December 27, 2009

Amway - How To Make Critics Go Away?

To this day, Amway has many critics and supporters. Many supporters become critics if they leave the Amway business. Some Amway apologists are claiming victory recently as they say there are few new internet critics. But yet, it doesn't appear that Amway is suddenly growing by leaps and bounds. The name Amway doesn't bring visions of sugarplums in most people's heads.

What does the Amway name bring? People often think of "pyramid" or "scam". Some people are negative about the Amway opportunity and they don't even know why. Many people however, were involved in Amway at one time, or knows someone who had a bad experience. While many people's experience may have little to do with the Amway corporation, surely the motivational groups such as N21, BWW, or WWDB has had an impact on people's experience with Amway. Getting tricked into attending meetings or being lied to will lead to a bad experience. So will ridiculous snake oil campaigns like perfect water.

But has Amway done anything significant about IBO abuses? Surely they must know something about this. Someone from Amway routinely visits my blog to see what I am writing. But as far as I know, even the most abusive uplines have gone unpunished.

I have some suggestions to curb Amway criticism. Transparency. Why not inform prospects of how many diamonds are currently qualified? Why not say how many IBOs are active or registered? Why not report North American sales? Why not say what the typical IBO earns? It would prevent critics and supporters from extrapolating information and making their own possibly inaccurate conclusions. Of course Amway is a private company and therefore will probably release only information that is required by law. And that is their right. But if that is the case, then criticism will continue.

Like the AMO saying goes, insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. With no apparent changes forthcoming from Amway, the valid criticism continues........

Friday, December 25, 2009

Amway - Merry Christmas From Joecool

I hope all my readers and their families have a safe and wonderful Christmas Holiday!

Enjoy this day as we celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus!

P.S. And a Happy New Year Too!

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Amway - Defenders Of Amway?

One thing that is certain, based on my blogging experience is that Amway/Quixtar is a highly debatable issue. There are some established critics of Amway, as well as established Amway defenders. The difference between the two however, differ significantly. Most critics point out flaws with the business opportunity and the ineffective training systems. Amway's biggest defenders have at times resorted to personal attacks and side tracking the discussions. One of Amway's biggest defenders was even called a "cyber bully" by an Amway corporate blogger. Many issues are very plain for all to see. I will elaborate on these issues.

The compensation plan is set up for many downline to support a few upline. Many IBOs at the platinum level report that they have approximately 100 downline. This supports the notion that only about 1% of IBOs ever reach platinum, and only a small fraction of 1% ever reach levels above platinum.

The tools systems are highly ineffective. Not counting people who do nothing, even the most dedicated of IBOs have a less than a 1% chance of achieving any significant income from Amway, even if they do what is advised by upline.

Uplines often abuse their downline financially. There is much evidence that some upline teach bad business practices, for which they are rewarded (tool profit). Some of this bad advice is to buy from yourself, channel any profits into buying more tools, and simply advising a failing IBO to continue to dedicate themselves to the system. Amway defenders make ridiculous claims that these abuses don't exist simply because of a lack of testimonies on the internet by former IBOs. We know that functions across the country may have hundreds of thousands of IBOs who hear the same bad advice, but because of shame or because they were sponsored by family and friends, they walk away and do not share their bad experiences.

Amway is apparently aware of some of these abuses, but there is no visible evidence that abuses have been dealt with in any significant manner. (See Postma Memo or Directly Speaking). Although some measures were taken such as accreditation, these measures appear to be cosmetic. The fact that Amway reported that there are about 4 IBOs to every one customer indicates that they must know that IBOs are not making enough sales to qualify for their bonuses. But I have yet to hear about an IBO who was denied a bonus for not meeting the sales requirement.

These are the real issues. If these issues are addressed, most critics, including myself, will go away. In my informed opinion, Amway doesn't need defenders, they need to look at taking corrective actions.

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Amway - Is Your Business A Joke?

I hear Amway supporters often mention that you will have a real business if you treat it like one. It is my observation that most IBOs do not treat their businesses like a real one. It is also my opinion that the Amway business itself is flawed and many IBOs, in their zeal to sponsor downline, do crazy things at times, such as tricking people into meetings.

Many IBOs do not bother to qualify their prospects. They will sponsor anyone who is breathing. It could be due to uplines making the business seem easy. For example, I have heard that going platinum is so easy that someone's dog can go platinum. Another mistake IBOs make is they do not look at the likelihood of an IBO succeeding. They will sponsor anyone, anywhere. Like real stores, opening a new one creates competition and I don't know of any IBOs who take this into consideration before recruiting a new prospect.

New recruits are also encouraged to partake in the teaching system, regardless of their expectations and business goals. This participation in the system is what often leads to IBO failure. They spend more on tools than what they generate in income. This heavily contributes to the poor retention rate among IBOs. Even IBOs who can progress and make some money will be simply channeling their profits to upline by their tools consumption. It is my informed guess that an IBO must reach the 4000 to platinum level before they start to break even. And If I might add, probably less than 1% of IBOs reach the platinum level so you are already facing overwhelming odds just to reach the break even point in Amway.

Here's the real test for an IBO. Walk into a bank. Speak to a loan officer and show the loan officer the 6-4-2 or 9-4-2 plan, whichever plan your group uses. And see if the loan officer will grant you a loan based on that plan. It is more likely that you be laughed out of the bank.

Do you have a real business or a joke? You decide.

Monday, December 21, 2009

Amway - What's Your Business Worth?

Many many people see the Amway plan, sign up in the hopes that Amway income will help them fulfill their dreams and that they will walk away from their jobs and collect lifelong residual income while walking the beaches of the world. Sadly, most IBOs will never even sponsor a single downline. These IBOs may continue in the business for a while but will eventually quit when they see the writing on the wall.

But wait, you're an "independent business owner". So instead of quitting, why not sell your Amway business? I wonder if any IBOs actually think about what their business is worth. I mean a diamond could sell their business and live large happily ever after right? Here's some food for thought. Why are there instance of diamonds quitting or resigning from Amway? Why would they just quit when they could either walk away and collect an income "forever" or sell the business?

I believe diamonds quit and resign because their business is worth very little or nothing. And most Amway businesses do not even generate a net profit. For IBOs who are seriously pondering on this very important message, try looking up this topic in Amway's rules. There are very complicated steps to be taken when selling your AMway business as each person upline must be offered ownership (To the best of my understanding). This process can go on for a long time and the attrition of your business could render it worthless before you can find a buyer, if you have a buyer at all. Also, if you quit, the downline in your group would be surrendered to the immediate upline anyway. So why would your upline want to buy your business?

So IBOs, I ask you. What is your business worth?

Friday, December 18, 2009

Amway - Get Rich Quick?

One thing many IBOs will talk about is how they were told that they would have to work hard and that they would not get rich quick in the Amway business. That Amway was not a get rich quick scheme. I do believe this, but what many Amway IBOs and Amway enthusiasts will not mention is that somewhere in the plan or when they were recruited, they were either directly told or implied that they would eventually "get rich" by joining Amway, whether it was "quick" or not.

If people were told that they would not get rich/wealthy and that they would have to work hard and that they would have to overcome the name reputation, how many people would join? As evidence to prove my point, many IBOs and former IBOs know about a major function occuring around this time of the year called "Winter Conference". Back in my IBO days, it was called "Dreamnite". A handful of diamonds would host a dinner and they would show slideshows of extravagant wealth. Since in my days, IBOs were told there was NO PROFIT IN TOOLS, it was implied that all the luxurious trappings were a result of Amway income.

The slide show was shown while the song "I wanna be rich" was playing in the background. There were pictures of jet skis, yachts, boats, jets, fancy cars, golf courses and designer suits and mansions. The audience was told that diamonds paid for everything in cash. The diamonds would stand on stage and tell the audience that they will work 24/7 but it was so worth it to go diamond. That you could catch up on sleep when you are a diamond. That the IBOs in the audience needed to hurry up and join them so they would have more playmates.

Looking back, it was a nice function. It got people to dream of having all of this material wealth. Sadly, I don't think a single one of the audience I was in ever got close to achieving that kind of success. In fact, the LOS I was in, WWDB, didn't have many new diamonds since I left Amway and in fact I think some diamonds have disappeared! Maybe they became negative losers like myself?

Yes, when you are prospected in Amway, the speaker may tell you that Amway is not
get rich quick.

What they don't tell you is that you probably won't become rich at all.

Thursday, December 17, 2009

Amway - IBOs Are My Real Friends?

You hang out with friends, generally people you like and have similar interests. You have good and bad times, but your true friends are there for you when you need them. You move residences, your friends are there to help you move. They may play a round of golf with you, or watch some sporting events, dinners, backyard barbeques, etc. These are folks you will likely end up retiring with and enjoying your golden years.

But suddenly, you get enticed to join Amway. You see the "chance" to get rich, with a shortcut (not get rich quick, but a "shortcut"). You sign up and your sponsor is your new "best" friend. Most of the people you enjoyed being with think Amway is a questionable venture to get involved in. Suddenly, because of what you have been told or taught, you view these same nice people as "broke" or "losers", simply because they do not share the same ambition of untold wealth working 12-15 hours a weeek. Suddenly, you friends become prospects, or people you want to sponsor so you start recruiting them. Some may join, but most won't. Suddenly you are immersed in recruitment meetings, functions, and avoiding "negative", which is people and events that do not support your Amway business.

Now you are missing birthday parties, barbeques, and other social events. Your social events are now recruitment meetings, seminars and Amway business related events. You are taught that these events can be put off and your gratification delayed. You can do whatever you want when you go diamond. (Even though there me be only one (1) diamond out of every ten or twenty thousand IBOs) Your dedication will pay off right? Sadly, for most people, even very dedicated people, all they will see is losses on their yearly tax returns, mainly due to the purchase of cds, books, voicemail and function tickets. But these are your "friends" right?

Here's my take on it. Try missing a few meetings or functions. Stop buying cds and see how many "friends" remain from the business. It is likely that your upline will claim that you walked away from the friendship by slowing down on the "system". If that happens, then you have conditional friends, or fairweather friends. They are your "friends" while you are pursuing the same cause. They are your friends when you are attending functions. Are they there for you in bad times?

A short while after I attended my last function (I was still an IBO, just not a business builder), my dad passed away. Not a single one of my IBO "friends" bothered to attend the memorial service. Not a single one of my IBO friends called or dropped by the home to pay their respects. All of my "real" friends, who saw through the AMO smoke and mirrors called to talk to me and/or attended the memorial service.

Are your IBO friends conditional friends? Mine were.

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Amway - Buy From Yourself Doesn't Work - Tools Don't Work

One of the biggest shams taught by some upline is the nearly exclusive "buy from yourself" philosophy. I'm not saying that supporting your business is a bad idea, but are you really supporting yout own business? If your upline teaches this, you are being mislead and I will explain why.

When you think you are buying from yourself, you are really buying from Amway. Amway makes the profit from the sales. If you buy enough, they toss you a small rebate. An IBO is in reality, a distributor or a middleman. Also, if you are a new IBO at the 100 PV level, you will receive 3% in the form of a bonus while your uplines and sponsor will split up approximately 29 to 30% in bonuses off your efforts.

Think of it this way. If your spouse was in the business of making and selling cookies, would you make money by eating all of the cookies? Even if you received a small rebate for cookie making materials, you would not profit by eating all the cookies yourself. You would have to sell the cookies to customers to have cash in your pockets. I truly do not understand how IBOs get duped into thinking they can be successful and earn money buy purchasing and consuming Amway products without selling much. Amway's own numbers suggest that IBOs do not sell much, except to their own downline and to themselves.

And upline who sell tools that teach this method are more than likely selling you a flawed system that nearly guarantees you will lose money. A rare few IBOs will emerge now and then who can overcome overwhelming odds and barriers and reach higher levels in the business, but I would have to say that more than 99% of IBOs who sign up will never even get close to emerald or diamond. Sadly, the buy from yourself system will only profit the higher level distributors, as well as your purchase of tools, which rewards upline for teaching a flawed system.

Monday, December 14, 2009

Amway - CORE Doesn't Work - Here's Why

Breakdown of CORE and why it doesn’t work. Here are the CORE steps. Some groups may have variations of CORE, but this is generally what many groups use:

1 - Show the Plan (10-15 per month)
2 - Retail the Products (10 customers @10 PV each)
3 – Tapes/cds
4 - Books
5- Functions (attend all)
6 - Accountability
7 - Counsel with Upline (Be teachable!)
8 - Buy 100% of your own products
9 – Communikate

Many upline will tell you that your success is nearly 100% guaranteed if you follow these steps for 2-5 years. Some Amway enthusiasts will tell you that 6 months of this activity will nearly assure you of a platinum level business. Certain steps are within the IBO’s control, such as reading every day and listening to cds, and attending functions. It is also easy enough to be accountable, counsel with upline, buy your own products, and use KATE (voicemail).

Here’s where an IBO’s efforts will break down. Showing the plan and retailing products. And remember, if you cannot do these steps then you are not considered “CORE” and your upline will likely tell you that it is your own fault and that you simply haven’t been CORE, therefore you did not achieve success. There is some truth in this but let me expose the system in a different angle.

Amway has a spotty reputation in the US. I don’t think anyone can dispute this fact. Therefore, for the vast majority of people, being able to show the plan 10-15 times per month is a nearly impossible task. If you are able to do this, you are a really good salesman or a good liar. In this scenario, the IBO is already successful, but not because of CORE, but simply because the IBO has the gift of being able to convince people into seeing the plan. But for many IBOs, they may contact hundreds of people and not be able to get anyone to see the plan. Even IBOs who follow upline advice on how to contact will probably not be able to show 10-15 plans per month. Thus this IBO, who is doing the work, will not be able to succeed. The system will blame the IBO, but the reality is that the IBO has too big of a disadvantage to overcome.

Secondly, with high prices (on average) and with a spotty reputation, most IBOs are unable to retail products. Amway itself has admitted that less than 4% of Amway products are sold to customers (non IBOs). Thus most IBOs are unable to sell products, therefore they are not CORE, therefore upline will blame the IBO for failure..

What if an IBO contacts 1000 people and cannot get 10 people to see the plan? Upline will claim that IBO is not CORE and therefore it is personal failure of the IBO. IMO, the only reason why upline can claim that CORE works is because in order to do the CORE steps consistently, you have to already be at a certain level of success. The vast majority of IBOs cannot and will never be able to reach that level.

That is the myth and the deception that many uplines will use to attract recruits. That each IBO can do the CORE steps. When only a fraction of 1% ever reach the level of platinum or higher, the numbers strongly support what is written here. Apologists are welcome to try and prove me wrong, but they can't. :D

Friday, December 11, 2009

Amway - Your Realistic Chance Of Success?

One thing that many Amway promoters don't like to talk about is what your realistic chances of success are. I will define success as Diamond because that is what the outcome of the 6-4-2 and 2-5 year plan. Of course you may be able to earn some income at lower levels, but my understanding is that diamond is where the real money from Amway and the tools start rolling in. And I can also understand why people promoting Amway do not discuss your realistic chances of winning. Afterall, lottery promoters do not show you the millions of losers, they only parade the winners in front of you.

Many people, including Amway enthusiasts will agree that many IBO do little or nothing. Some people never even place an order or make any attempt to do any business. For the purpose of this article, I am not speaking about these folks. I am talking about people who actually put in some effort to the business.

For many people who want to make an earnest effort, they will purchase and hopefully sell a few items with the goal of reaching 100 PV. For that effort, you will receive approximately $10 from Amway and whatever profit you might have earned by selling products. Here's the catch. You will likely need to pay website fees in excess of the $10 you earn from Amway. For the more dedicated IBOs, you may be payin for voicemail, standing orders, book of the month, and possibly attending functions. These expenses will exceed your income month after month unless you are able to increase your volume by selling enough products and/or sponsoring downline who buy and sell products.

Because Amway has to include the IBO bonuses in their prices, the products come at a premium price. Thus sales to non IBOs are relatively low. Without sales to non IBOs, the only other way to generate more volume is to sponsor people who will buy and sell products. But due to past unethical IBO behavior, getting people to see the Amway sales and marketing plan may be a challenge. Also, most IBOs are unable to sponsor a single downline.

Some Amway enthusiasts will claim that if you do their CORE steps for 2-5 years consistently, that you are likely to succeed. Sound easy, but becaue of the factors I have identified, some of these steps are impossible to do consistently. It's not like walking a mile each day where you have control of the step. People will likely fail in showing the plan and sponsoring others because they cannot find enough people who are willing to see an Amway plan. Many, possibly most other IBOs can and will do certain steps consistently such as listening to a CD daily and reading a success book. But because of a spotty reputation in the US, IBOs will very likely fail to be able to show enough plans to succeed.

Your realistic chance of success? My informed guess is less than 1 tenth of 1 percent. That's the likelihood of going diamond. Your chance of going platinum? My informed guess will be less than 1/2 of 1 percent. If you think you can beat those odds, go for it. For most people, it might be wise to look into other opportunities.

Thursday, December 10, 2009

Amway - Tapes/CDs, Books And Seminars Are The Key To Success?

I recently saw a commentary which I thought was very significant about the Amway "educational" system. This system is not run by Amway, but the for profit motivational systems such as BWW, WWDB, LTD, N21 et al. In many cases, these systems are touted as the key to an IBO's success. Unfortunately, there is no unbiased evidence that I know of to suggest that these materials do anything to help an IBO progress towards their business goals. Furthermore, these materials cost money. If upline didn't succeed until downline succeed, woudn't they want everyone moving along, tools or not? As far as I know, uplines don't offer much help unless you are on tools.

Also, what is interesting is that IBOs do not have a indivudual training plan. Uplines are often refered to as "mentors". I disagree. A mentor would work with someone one on one and make an assessment as to how to train someone. That isn't what happens for most IBOs.

Instead the upline will generalize all of their downline and tell that that books, tapes/cds and seminars is how they should learn. That eliminates many people from succeeding already. Many people do not learn in these types of learning environments. Many people have difficulty in picking up information from a tape or cd. Some upline may not be good at transfering information to downline in this manner as well.

But still, upline convinces the masses that a one size fits all teaching system. They may also encourage some people to overspend on these materials, without any regard to an IBO's finances or progression in the business. Techinically, a sponsor is supposed to train any downline without cost.

I wonder what sincere efforts your uplines make to train and to mentor downline? Flying to a seminar where they might make $100,000 for a weekend doesn't seem like much personal attention when perhaps over 10,000 may be in attendance.

These training materials might be the key to success. But that success is much more likely to be enjoyed by the people who are profiting by selling these materials, and not those who are purchasing them.

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Amway - WWDB Dream Building?

I have been in touch with an IBO who is in WWDB. Apparently dream building is a big part of WWDB. While it is good to have goals and dreams, I find it somewhat interesting to know that only a select few people in WWDB ever reached these goals and dreams because of their involvement with WWDB and Amway. In fact, despite claims by our upline that WWDB was the "best" and more profitable LOS, there is little or no evidence that this is true. I have not seen many new diamonds emerge from WWDB, but on the contrary, I have seen evidence of WWDB diamonds having their homes foreclosed and/or involvement with bankruptucy.

In my opinion, this dream building approach is simply a tactic to get a prospect interested in the opportunity and then the upline will tell the prospect that the way to achieve these dreams is to be dedicated to the system (WWDB). This is the same system that has few new diamonds and diamonds in apparent financial difficulty. These dreams may also help to retain some IBOs in the system as it would seem that quitting Amway and WWDB means these dreams are no longer attainable.

If you are an information seeker or a struggling IBO, a question you may want to consider is whether your dedication to Amway and WWDB progressing you towards these stated dream or if you are simply channeling your money into products and training materials which helps achieve other people's dreams?

Below is an excerpt from a WWDB IBO about dreambuilding:


So that’s why we have pictures and words of affirmation around our house. When you come into our condo you’ll see words like “Overcome”, “do the opposite of the masses”, “The best is yet to come”, “Play Injured”, “Are you living a dream, or just living your life”, “Break through the wall of fear”, “We' re all in” and more. We believe these things motivate us and give us a dream. Then you’ll see stuff on our fridge like pictures of Kelowna where we want to live, Wineries, because we love wine, in my office you’ll see a picture of a Breitling Chronomat B01 watch because that’s the watch I want, you’ll see magazines with inspirational things in them that relate to us. It’s these things that keep our dreams alive.

It’s so important to do this whether you are building this business or not. This what i’m writing about is part of the 95% of what we do with World Wide Dreambuilders. The 5%, the Amway Global portion is the vehicle for the 95%. You need a dream, goals and passion so that you have something to work towards.

We’ve got BIG dreams, and so should you!

Monday, December 7, 2009

Amway Pin Winners?

I hear many Amway enthusiasts and apologists crowing about all the pin winners. Some of them speak about the thousands of new platinums and people moving up and on. But one point of contention where I think there is a lof of merit. In the US, there are very few new diamonds. I can't think of more than a handful of new diamonds in recent years.

Also, if I'm not mistaken, north american sales for Quixtar and now Amway (again) hasn't really grown. Amway stopped reporting seperate sales from North America and the rest of the world, but I believe North American sales have tapered off or even declined. I recall a message from an Amway corporate blogger confirming that the US diamond club held in Hawaii a few years back had 160 diamond businesses in attendance. That's not really much after 50 years of existance. I know that there was some Amway event recently where it was reported that 4000 diamonds were in attendance. I don't think there were many from the US, unless diamonds routinely turn down free trips to Hawaii.

But here's my main point about the pin winners. If Amway sales have not significantly increased, then it is probably unlikely that there are a lot of new pin winners, unless these new pin winners are simply replacing platinums or diamonds that are not currently qualified anymore. I believe the new pin winners and growth are occuring outside of the US. I believe it is because the Amway name has been put through the wringer by IBOs who may have tricked or lied to people about the opportunity, and due to abusive IBO leaders who were greedy and wanted to squeeze every cent from their doenline's pockets.

It would appear, that in the case of North America at least, new pin winners are simply replacing former pin winners who do not qualify anymore. It would appear that the "net" amount of success in all this is zero.

Friday, December 4, 2009

Amway - Failing Businesses Succeed By Opening More Stores?

After years of studying Amway and blogging, I've noticed some thing taught by IBO leaders that simply do not make any sense. It doesn't make sense business wise and it just doesn't add up. I know that sometimes, you need to think outside of the box and go against the grain to succeed, but some of the IBO practices are simply insane and it's no wonder that so many IBOs fail in their pursuit of their Amway "dream".

Most IBOs never sponsor a a single downline and relatively few products are sold to non IBOs. These are the reasons why most IBOs do not turn a profit but for some reason, many IBOs still seem to think that training materials are worth the money they pay for them.

Buy from yourself. A fairly common practice. It is okay to support your business, but if you are the primary or only customer, you won't make money. Any profit you might turn is coming out of your own pockets. I don't know of any successful stores where the primary customers are the owner and the store employees. Yet some IBOs think this is how they will succeed.

Sponsor others. So you are struggling as an IBO. But the key to success is to try to open other stores by sponsoring. As a famous Amway apologist likes to claim, you do nto get paid for sponsoring others. So why is this the emphasis for so many IBOs? Why would you think that opening more stroes will make you successful? Yes, it is a way to possibly generate more volume, but your "success" will only come by having a bunch of struggling businesses under you. Is that how you wish to succeed? Also, the quest to sponsor others is probably how Amway got a bad reputation when IBOs tricked people into attending recruitment meetings and/or being deceptive when invitig someone to see the plan.

Folks, you need customers to succeed. I live in Hawaii and when tourism is slow, our local economy suffers. It's a very similar concept to your Amway business. Without customers circulating money through your business, you will eventually go out of business.

Thursday, December 3, 2009

Amway - Conventional Businesses Don't Profit For 5 Years?

One of the things I heard as an IBO and I believe is still said in some Amway meetings is that conventional businesses do not profit for up to five years. I don't know how true or untrue that is, but whether they do or not, how long does it take for an Amway business to profit?

Despite the small start up costs and the little to no overhead costs, most IBOs never turn a profit. I will acknowledge that many IBOs probably never do a single thing once they sign up. I believe there is an underlying story behind this as well, but I will move on. Out of the more serious IBOs, even in this group, most of them will never make a net profit if they are using tools.

Factoring the cost of the website, the voicemail, standing orders, books and functions and cds, IBOs simply get drained of their money a couple hundred of bucks a month. Amway earning profits on product purchases and someone upline earning profits on support materials that apparently do not work for the vast majority.

Toss in other challenges such as high prices for many prdocuts (higher than local retailers) and a spotty reputation from IBO behavior such as tricking people into meetings and you have an opportunity with nearly insurmountable handicaps. Yes, a few rare and usually charismatic people can overcome these odds, but only one or two out of tens of thousands are able to do so. And even those whe reach the pinnacle of diamond, may not be able to maintain qualification.

So I don't know the detailed statistics about how long it takes for a conventional business to turn a profit. It may take up to five year. But based on my experiences and some number crunching, I'd have to say that the vast majorty of Amway Business Owners NEVER TURN A PROFIT - EVER.

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Amway - 3.4% Of Amway Products Are Sold To Customers?

What store can survive by self consuming 96.6% of their own goods? I don't know of any and that includes Amway businesses. Buying from yuorself makes you a customer and not a business. Here's the link and article:

http://www.webraw.com/quixtar/archives/2008/01/couldnt_do_any_worse.php

Over on the Ada-tudes blog there was an article by Todd Krause which seemed to address some comments made on an earlier article he wrote about Quixtar sales. Anyway I found it a bit funny that he was addressing those who made statements to the effect that the corporation does not have the credibility to tell IBOs how to sell or build Quixtar/Amway businesses. Todd Krause agreed with the statements saying it was not their intention to go around IBO leaders.

Well in my opinion the corporation is doing more to teach IBOs how to sell a product then IBO leaders are. IBO leaders are concentrating on teaching IBOs how to sell a "system". One look at the numbers that only 3.4% of all Quixtar sales were sold to actual customers tells you how good the IBO leaders have been at teaching selling techniques. So I don't think the IBOs should concern themselves so much with where the teaching is coming from, 3.4% isn't exactly a high bar that has been set.

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Amway - Life After Amway?

As I have stated in a previous post, I am a former Amway distributor, or IBO. While I was active, my life was consumed by Amway related activities. If I wasn't at a meeting or showing the plan, I was at coffee shops or at other public places looking to meet potential recruits to add to my group. I was in Worldwide Group at the time and I was always taught that we were "helping people".

Looking back, we didn't help anyone who didn't join the business. Even those who joined didn't actually receive "help". The help that my upline refered to was simply someone upline showing the plan and helping active IBOs to recruit others. Sometimes this was done for free and sometimes you paid (for open meetings). Every opportunity was used to look for recruits, even weddings and other social events.

When I finally realized that the Amway opportunity was not going to deliver lifelong residual income for me, and due to some conflict with my sponsor, I decided to leave the business. Well, all my lifelong Amway friends never spoke to me again. Most of my group quit except a few of them. Allegedly, one of them continued on in the business and allegedly reached the platinum level. All that means to me is this person spent tens of thousands of dollars on tools.

The really strange thing for me was after I left the Amway oppportunity and worldwide group, I suddenly realized how much extra time I had on my hands. I also realized that I had extra cash to save as my income wasn't being consumed by PV and support materials. I was able to save and invest some of that surplus and I am glad that I did today.

As time passed, I also read and heard about some of my crossline friends losing their homes and/or going bankrupt. I am fairly certain that their consumption of standing orders and function attendance was a major factor in their lives. I also discovered through various media that our WWDB leaders had lied to the downline about tool profits. They had said nobody made a profit from tools. I later found that some of them made most of their income from tools.

I also discovered later that some uplines lied about paying for their homes in cash, and who knows what they may be lying about today. I believe upline greed has led to many of the problems the business opportunity faces today. I started to learn about some of this back in 2003 - 2004 and I eventually registered as a member on Quixtar blog. I have been debating Amway since then.

The best discovery I have made was that there is indeed life after Amway. :P