Friday, January 31, 2014

Money For Nothing?

In my opinion, Amway is a pyramid. They are not illegal, but still a pyramid. The reason why they remain legal, apparently is because they do not pay anyone for recruiting downline. But most everyone has been, or knows someone who was recruited by a zealous Amway IBO. The emphasis of most active IBOs is on recruiting and much of the teaching by upline is on techniques to recruit and/or how to talk to people without tipping their hat to reveal the Amway name. Most IBOs are not very good at this and they stick out like sore thumbs in many cases. It's also comical when uplines teachh crazy antics, like how some IBOs use to deny that Amway and Quixtar were even remotely connected.

One of the reasons IBOs use to justify their involvement in the pyramid is that they can earn more than their sponsor. While that is true, it is only because everyone below the emerald or diamond level is basically expendable, or a slave in the pyramid. There are many many IBOs who achieve fairly high levels who quit, or had upline wreck their businesses. Thus even platinums are expendable to upline. In fact an upline might make more money by removing the platinum. For new IBOs or recruits, do you really believe that you are going to ever surpass your current upline diamond or higher? If you believe that, you are sadly mistaken.

And for those who dream of achieving diamond and walking the beaches of the world. How do you think you can ever achieve that? You don't get something for nothing unless someone gets nothing for something. In order for you to receive income for little or no efforts, your downline IBOs must keep purchasing products and replacing IBOs who quit. If your downlines cannot keep up with the attrition rate, your business will collapse in a hurry. Come to think of it, if a diamond can walk away and collect a large income forever, why hasn't anyone done it? I mean we still see crown ambassadors still busy working functions and I don't know of any who walked away to spend their lives jet setting on the beaches of the world.

The sad reality is that you see new faces at meetings and functions, just as often as you see familiar faces disappear. With that kind of attrition rate, you may have to work even harder at the higher levels just to keep your business status quo. In Egypt, the slaves built the pyramids. Do you have enough slaves? What many Egypologists find amazing is how the Egyptians were able to motivate the slaves to keep on going, doing backbreaking work all of their lives. The same can be said of a diamond level business (or higher)

Thursday, January 30, 2014

The Amway Routine?

I send this message to inform IBOs tha they should be aware of their circumstances in business. What I mean is when you are a new IBO, it is common for you to buy/sell your 100 PV, and perhaps listen to some cds. If you basically did what your sponsor or upline advised, you made your 100 PV bonus level and you will receive a bonus from Amway for about $10. If you did as advised by your upline/sponsor, then you likely made a namelist and started contacting some potential business partners aka prospects. You're probably a bit excited because things are going as you expected. You did your part and a bonus is on it's way to your doorstep. Heck, you may have even sponsored a friend or relative because of your newly found excitement and enthusiasm.

But what happens after a few months? If you are still doing 100 PV and have no downline, then what are the chances that you will ever achieve anything? Your excitement is wearing off and now the Amway opportunity is becoming "work". You are also starting to notice that it is starting to get expensive to continue to purchase products, many of which you never purchased before. For example, were you buying cases of energy drinks and "high end" vitamins before Amway? Did you buy $50 cases of bottled water before Amway? Supposedly their laundry soap and other cleaners are highly concentrated, therefore your consumables are the nutrition/vitamin products.

Even if you managed to find some downline, are they duplicating what you do? Are they also moving volume and sponsoring downline? If not, what are your chances of fulfilling the 6-4-2 plan or some similar version of it. When I saw the plan, I thought it was reasonable and I was on my way to platinum. What I discovered though, is that as you progress, upline has greater expectations of you and that includes more tool purchases. (I was in WWDB). In the end, my recommended tool purchases ate up any profits I had and at the 4000 level, I was just about breaking even, which means I was at a loss when factoring in my time spent and other miscellaneous expenses such as gas money.

Where are you at? If you're been in for more than a year, are you on schedule to become platinum or are you at 200 PV with one downline? Maybe you have a small group with 600 PV? You still aren't close to a net profit. For the vast majority of people, success is not right around the corner. What's around the corner for most is more time lost, more money expended, and no progress. If your group is now growing each and every month, you are sliding backwards. If you don't constantly have new IBOs coming into the group, you are probably stagnant. With about half of IBOs dropping out each year, keeping a group together is a tremendous task.

IBOs, where are you at after a few months? Where are you at after a year? If you haven't gone platinum, it is nearly a certainty that it will never happen, despite what your upline might say. The facts are there, it's a matter of whether you want to believe it or not.

Monday, January 27, 2014

What Is Amway Success?

Success is subjective. Someone making ten dollars might be considered successful, for others, nothing less than a barrel of cash will suffice. One other important point is that there are undoubtably some very successful people in Amway. I am sure that some Amway diamonds are quite well off and enjoy some of the finer things in life. But the reality is that these successes are very very rare and many of these success apparently are not sustainable as many people are led to believe.

But the bigger issue in the Amway opportunity is where the success comes from. Sure, many people want to "go diamond" and live in luxury while barrels of cash roll in. But what is unknown to many, is that the few who enjoy the lifestyle and trappings do so at the expense of their downline. The downline move the volume and the downline purchases the system materials, both of which is profitable for the upline. Because Amway products, admittedly are not commonly sold to people who are not IBOs, then anyone can conclude that upline success comes from the pockets of the downline. Most downline would be better off writing a check for $100 each month to their upline and not participating in the business or buying products at all.

This in itself would not be such an issue if the system actually churned out new successes frequently AND if the downline were not led to believe that the system is the key to their success. But less than one half of one percent of IBOs ever reach platinum and out of those who do, only a tiny fraction of one percent ever attain the diamond level. But the business has tens of millions of people who tried and could never achieve what was promoted. Lack of effort may be a factor, but when that many people try and fail, it's evident that the system is flawed as well.

To summarize, it is possible for someone to achieve a level of success in Amway, but it is so difficult and so rare that IBOs probably have a better chance of winning the lottery or being struck by lightning than they do of achieving a significant level in the Amway business. Some people are successful, but it is usually at the expense of their downline. The catch is that uplines will teach their faithful downline IBOs that attending a function or buying a standing order is success, regardless of whether an IBO is earning a profit. So many IBOs think they're successful but they are simply fooling themselves with the help of their upline.

Success is undeniable, but sadly for the vast majority of IBOs, it is also unattainable, at least in the Amway opportunity.

Saturday, January 25, 2014

Amway "Commissioned" Salesmen?

Amway business owners often refer to themselves as "IBOs" or an independent business owner. They often mistakenly associate themselves with the corporation, as if they were part owners, when the reality is that these IBOs are just commissioned sales people with no fringe benefits. It's a great deal for Amway as an IBO must pay to register with AMway. The IBO must move products at their own expense (Even buying their own brochures from Amway) and if they don't move a minimum amount of volume, they still get nothing from Amway. Amway has all the advantages. IBOs pay to join Amway and then the IBOs at their own expense move some products. Amway only pays if product gets sold or at least self consumed by IBO.s Basically any company could thrive under those conditions.

Because IBOs are often taught product loyalty from their upline, an IBO often purchases much more than they sell, and some IBOs sell nothing. Some upline teach self consumption where an IBO just purchases enough to meet the minimu volume requirement to earn a bonus. Some IBOs have explained how they skirted the system which requires some outside sales to actual customers. Amway probably doesn't care (and I don't blame them) if IBOs skirt the sales rules. Amway still makes the sales and the IBOs are stuck with the cost of 100 PV (or more).

When you really break everything down, an IBO is just a commission only sales person with no benefits (from Amway) and most IBOs make little or nothing, and the vast majority of IBOs who attend functions and pay for other tools end up with net losses because their bonuses cannot cover the expenses that they incur in running their businesses. Most people do not recognize this at first when they get involved and think they are simply "investing" in a business and their financial future. I fell for this when I was an IBO, but even as a growing "mover and shaker" IBO, I was not making the income that upline told me about. When I started to question them, their response was that the money will be there if I keep going. I asked why the money wasn't there as they advertised? They gave me no good answer and I started to realize the scam. I got out shortly after that, but sadly, my sponsor is still active more than 20 years later and I believe he is losing a ton of money.

So while the Amway folks will promote the business as glamorous and may show you a great lifestyle and financial freedom, these are the rare upper tier of IBOs. They rely on hoards of downline buying products and tools to support their lifestyles. But what many prospects and and current IBOs don't realize is that thay are simply commissioned Amwa sales people and nothing more. People just don't realize that these diamonds are no better or worse than the general public. They do not walk on water and in fact, if IBOs reall knew what a diamonds financials were like, they might be shocked. Diamonds (I suspect) are often living from check to check (like many people) and may be living in debt (i.e. Greg Duncan's bankruptcy). But it's not what diamonds portray. Diamonds portray a fabulous lifestyle but who knows what their lives are really like? Nobody knows because diamonds will show off slideshows of their lifestyles but they won't reveal their actual financials. It's because that information is likely not very flattering.

Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Is Amway A "Good" Business?

I have seen so many IBO's talk about all the virtues of the Amway business. They'll tell you about the billions of dollars in sales that Amway had, or they'll mention how Amway won an award for their laundry detergent in timbuktu, or they'll mention that Amway's owners are billionaires. They might speak of how Amway is expanding in other countries or how Amway sponsors the Amway arena, or that the owner of Amway owns an NBA team. They will even speak of partner stores and that Disney or Best Buy are partners and they would not partner up with a scam. Many IBO's don't know that Amway also partnered with Enron and Worldcom at one time.

While some of these accolades are great for Amway, many IBO's don't realize that they are independent distributors and they are not Amway the corporation. Amway made billions, but Joe IBO made ten bucks. Amway won an award but Joe IBO didn't. Some IBO's cannot seem to seperate themselves from the corporation of Amway. Now I'm not saying Amway's own success is not something to be proud of, but IBO's can't seem to separate themseves from the corporations as if Amway's owners making millions or billions does anything for them. It's like saying I own a share of microsft so it's so great if Bill Gates is worth 50 billion.

One thing IBO's are apparently taught but seem to miss the point on, is that Amway's success is not theirs. I believe that uplines teach this because the reality is not pretty. Most IBO's are making pennies on the hour, or more likely taking losses (if they are on tools) for their efforts. I also believe that IBOs have to use these methods because talking about their own income would be far from glamorous. Instead, new IBO's will talk about how their upline diamond makes millions, but has anyone ever seen actual proof such as a tax refund or a profit loss statement? Diamonds might make some decent money but with expenses, and not having the benefits from a job, I believe diamonds likely live a very ordinary middle class lifetyle (if even that) unless they have other businesses or investments, or unless they are at higher levels or at the founder's levels. If not, these diamonds are liekly living from function to function from check to check, and likely in debt like many others.

Now I want to say that you can make money in Amway - if you actually sell products. But aside from that, you're more likely ro make money in Amway by sponsoring a lot of people and selling them cds, books, voicemail and function tickets.

Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Amway IBOs, The Real Losers?

One of the things I recall as an IBO was thinking how sorry I felt for people who were not IBOs because we were all going to be rich and everyone else was a loser. Our upline used to tell us that we were winners - and if you weren't a winner, then obviously, you are a loser. Many times, the term "broke" was attached to the term loser. That was my mindset back then, but having been out of the system more than ten years, I can look back and laugh, realizing that the losers were the ones buying stuff they don't need, stalking people at malls and bookstores, and wasting their time and money on tapes (cds), books and functions and an endless series of meetings.

What goes unnoticed in many cases, is how much time and money really goes down the drain for IBOs who work the system. Your life revolves around the business if you are dedicated and hard core. You are always looking for prospects and people to show the plan to, and you have to rearrange your schedules, or outright skip social or family gatherings because of the neverending number of meetings and functions, many of which teach you nothing about running a profitable business. When I first left the Amway business, I was sort of angry at the time and effort that was wasted, along with the cash I threw down the crapper. Sometimes I wonder what I could have done with the extra time and money I would have had at my disposal.

But after I did finally cut ties with the business and the people associated with it, I got back into a routine of sorts. I focused on my job and after some years of gaining experience and working my way up the corporate ladder, I received some promotions and I am scheduled to be retired before the age of 60 with a decent retirement income and will likely have my home paid off by then. So while I did have to work a dreaded job to be able to retire, pretty much all IBOs are also working a job or business PLUS having to expend their time and money to run their Amway business which has little to no chance of providing a long term stable and significant income. And if I may add, it is the systems such as WWDB or N21 that usually end up costing the IBOs the most money because of things like the functions. When you stop and look around, how many of these Amway bigshots are "retired"? It seems that the diamonds work up until the day they die. They are not walking the beaches of the world with cash rolling in like crazy.

So I will ask the question. Who's the real loser? The person diligently working and saving for their future or the person chasing a dream that is unlikely to materialize? Factoring in the expenditure of time also makes the systems even more costly than it appears on the surface.

Thursday, January 16, 2014

Amway WWDB Lies?

Joecool was an IBO in WWDB back in the late 1990's. I got into the business because a close friend had gotten in and went direct. He told me it was "easy" and that he could guide me and mentor me to do the same thing. I didn't really know too much about Amway but I trusted my friend and believed he could lead me to the riches he talked about. I had a bad experience with Amway prior to that where I was invited to a cocktail party/beer bust only to find out it was a board plan. It kind of pissed me off and left a bad taste in my mouth.

But my friend was a direct and I cound use his experience to do the same. It sounded like a good deal on the surface. I saw "the plan" and decided to sign up. I signed up and went all in. Based on my sponsor's advice, I got on standing order and book of the month club. I also dedicated myself to attending the functions. I didn't realize how much these functions would cost but it was supposed to be worth it. Afterall, nobody succeeded wuthout tools (a lie). My sponsor told me that nobody succeeded without tools and that Greg Duncan, a multi millionaire, said that tools are vital but you can try to succeed without them. (Mr Duncan was bankrupt in 2009 or so). Being a newbie, how could you not follow that advice?

At the functions, I was also told that WWDB was a non profit organization (a lie) and that profits were used to make future functions cheaper (a lie). In fact, some of the WWDB leaders stood on stage and proclaimed that NOBODY MADE MONEY ON TOOLS AND FUNCTIONS (a big lie). Eventually, WWDB leaders admitted they made money on tools but were never held accuntable for their lies and they never really explained how you qualify and how much you earn from tools.

Some WWDB leaders spoke and taught how long you could skip your mortgage before foreclosure, all so you could attend that next function. They were so nice to even teach how long the electric company might allow you to skip paying before you got cut off. They even recommened you quit your job if you could not get time of to attend a function. They said you could just get another job.

They also LIED and said that WWDB IBO's had a 2% divorce rate as compared to 50% for the rest of the country. Talk about bullshit. The WWDB diamonds alone had a greater that 2% divorce rate, not to mention thst npbody that I know of is actualy tracking divorce among WWDB IBO's. Nobody really cares but when WWDB leader LIE and make these claims, nobody questions them.

I wonder if these charlatans even own the mansions, cars and jetskis they show off on slideshows at the functions where they pretend to be financailly free with money to spare? Ever wonder why these diamonds never "walk away" from their business? Maybe they can't afford to?

Tuesday, January 14, 2014

The "CORE" System And Amway?

Here is a breakdodown 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. CORE is allegedly the proven system of success. Apologists claims that people who are CORE for at least six months straight will succeed. I doubt it. There are many examples, including my former sponsor who can suggest it doesn't work.

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. An article on Amway (on Quixtar Blog) shows 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.

Monday, January 13, 2014

Get Rich Slow In Amway?

One of the things upline used to say was that Amway is not "get rich quick". I suppose they say this because most people would more likely think scam if they promoted it that way. But when you stop and think about it, 2-5 years, build it right and you have willable, residual income for like while walking the beaches of the world? That's not get rich quick? Or is it more of a disclaimer so that the opportunity doesn't sound "too good to be true"? One thing is for sure, even if uplines tell you that it's not get rich quick, it's obvious that IBOs think they will eventually get rich, even if it's not "quick".

What most IBOs don't figure out quickly enough, is that they are unlikely to even make a profit, let alone getting rich in Amway. How many of these people exist? Where are all of these retired Amway IBOs who built a business in 2-5 years and then walked away from their business and will be collecting a significant residual income for many years to come afterwards? I don't know of a single person who has done this and none of the Amway defenders and zealots I have encountered over the years have been unable to supply this information either. It's like some kind of myth or urban legend that people have actually retired from Amway on residual income. We also know that due to attrition, it is virtually impossible to maintain a profitable Amway business. People quit the business daily, thus even what looks like a solid business can be gone in a very short amount of time.

I can acknowledge that Amway is a business opportunity and will definitely take some work to be able to achieve something. But thinking realistically, what business could you actually be able to walk away in 5 years and not work again? More than likely that business doesn't exist, whether it's Amway or not. Say you opened a conventional business. There wouldn't be many scenarios where you could walk away after a number of years. The business would still require work and maintenance. But for some reason, people are mislead to believe that you can do this in Amway where there is a high attrition rate and where your business can only expand by person to person.

Sadly, many of the people who are attracted to the Amway opportunity are often young people looking to get more out of life. They are often ambitious but may lack a means to gain wealth, thus the appeal of the opportunity is there. Unfortunately, these nice young people are more likely to end up channeling their hard earned dollars into standing orders and functions which will almost guarantee that they end up with a net loss. The bottom line is that not only is Amway not get rich quick. The more likely scenario is that your involvement with Amway will very likely be not getting rich at all. A net loss is the most likely result. I challenge anyone to try and prove me wrong on this point.

Friday, January 10, 2014

True Amway Success?

Success is subjective. Someone making ten dollars might be considered successful, for others, nothing less than a barrel of cash will suffice. One other important point is that there are undoubtably some very successful people in Amway. I am sure that some Amway diamonds are quite well off and enjoy some of the finer things in life. But the reality is that these successes are very very rare and many of these success apparently are not sustainable as many people are led to believe. The vast majority of IBOs either make nothing or have a net loss. That's the reality.

But the bigger issue in the Amway opportunity is where the success comes from. Sure, many people want to "go diamond" and live in luxury while barrels of cash roll in. But what is unknown to many, is that the few who enjoy the lifestyle and trappings do so at the expense of their downline. The downline move the volume and the downline purchases the system materials, both of which is profitable for the upline. Because Amway products, admittedly are not commonly sold to people who are not IBOs, then anyone can conclude that upline success comes from the pockets of the downline. Most downline would be better off writing a check for $100 each month to their upline and not participating in the business or buying products at all.

This in itself would not be such an issue if the system actually churned out new successes frequently AND if the downline were not led to believe that the system is the key to their success. But less than one half of one percent of IBOs ever reach platinum and out of those who do, only a tiny fraction of one percent ever attain the diamond level. But the business has tens of millions of people who tried and could never achieve what was promoted. Lack of effort may be a factor, but when that many people try and fail, it's evident that the system is flawed as well.

To summarize, it is possible for someone to achieve a level of success in Amway, but it is so difficult and so rare that IBOs probably have a better chance of winning the lottery or being struck by lightning than they do of achieving a significant level in the Amway business. Some people are successful, but it is usually at the expense of their downline. The catch is that uplines will teach their faithful downline IBOs that attending a function or buying a standing order is success, regardless of whether an IBO is earning a profit. So many IBOs think they're successful but they are simply fooling themselves with the help of their upline.

Success is undeniable, but sadly for the vast majority of IBOs, it is also unattainable, at least in the Amway opportunity.

Thursday, January 9, 2014

Facing The Amway Facts?

One thing that appears to be common amongst IBOs is how IBOs are in denial. They truly believe that their uplines are working in their best interest and that upline wants their success. I don't believe that to be true. If uplines were truly making a fortune from Amway, why would an downline IBO have to pay for practically every bit of help they get from upline leaders? Do upline leaders actually evaluate your business before advising you to buy more tools?

To show the plan, you would need to pay to attend an open meeting, and pay for your guests, even if they do not register as a result of the presentation. You pay for voicemail to communikate with your upline and downlines. You pay for standing orders and you may end up paying twice if you were in attendance at the function when the standing order was recorded. You pay for books and other materials as well.

What's more, many IBOs turn their heads when ugly facts rear their heads. For example, some IBOs deny that a prominent triple diamond was involved in bankruptcy proceedings. They continue to edify and pay for financial advice from someone who could not even manage his own finances. They believe that Amway saves marriages even when the leaders who speak this may be getting divorced. It's like upline simply revises history and downlines buy it without question. Many IBOs do not even see it as a problem that some upline boldy lied and said there were no profits from tools in the past. I find this odd because tool profits are still shrouded in secrecy and downline simply believe that they will eventually get a cut, even without a written compensation plan and agreement.

I believe too many IBOs are simply in denial. They give upline their trust and upline abuses it. IBOs are told they are successful for attending a function even when they might be losing money month after month. They may be told that the Amway business is not about money but about making friends. They may be told that they are nicer people because of their participation in Amway. What too many IBOs do not see is that they are in denial about their business. Most IBOs are losing money, a little at a time, perhaps $100 or $150 a month. For the hardcore, maybe more. But they are taught to ignore these simple facts and deny that there is a problem.

It is my hope that exposure of some of these tactics will be beneficial to information seekers and perhaps new IBOs who have not yet been fully indoctrinated. I encourage people to ask tough questions, demand answers and use due diligence when checking out this oppportunity. The fact is that very few people every make a profit and people should know this before getting involved. Don't deny the obvious.

Tuesday, January 7, 2014

Fulfilling Amway Dreams?

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 regularly, 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 and/or how your business is progressing.

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 $150 to $250 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, good luck to you, but remember this: Whose dreams are being fulfilled by your participation?
Yours or your upline?

Monday, January 6, 2014

"Winners" Join Amway

One of the things that my upline taught, and I believe is still taught today in various groups is that winners join Amway and losers do not. Or that you were a winner because you were doing something to better your financial future and those who didn't were losers. or broke minded. Of course the upline who said this had no knowledge about those who were not in Amway. Some of them may already have been financially sound or may have been doing something to better their financial future. I'm not sure why these uplines, who promote "positive", had to resort to calling people losers simpy because they did not agree that Amway was the greatest thing since sliced bread.

In many games or sporting events, there will be someone or a team that wins the game and someone or a team that loses the game. Losing a game doesn't make you a loser and certainly, a team that wins the game would not say the losing team were losers. Can you imagine a pro football team's coach taking the podium after a game and saying his team won because the other team was a bunch or broke minded gutless losers? That would never happen, yet we see that frequently in the Amway/IBO world. The owner of Amway, Rich DeVos had once said in a recorded message that just because people do not agree with you (paraphrased) about Amway, does not make them losers and that IBOs should not call people losers.

In all of this, people's jobs are also criticized. That a job stand for "just over broke" or "jackass of the boss" and other blurbs. Many IBO's goals and dreams consist of ditching their job so they can sleep all day and live a life of luxury. Ironically, it is most IBO's jobs that continue to produce income so they can pay their bills and feed their family. It is also an IBO's job that funds their Amway and AMO expenses such as product purchases and functions and voicemail, etc. Without having a job, most people could not even join Amway or pay for any tools. Sadly, most IBOs won't make any money in Amway either, and will have to continue to work at their jobs. I do not believe that someone earning an honest living working a job is a loser. Ironically, the folks calling people losers are often not even netting a profit from their Amway business!

Yes, in this business or the sports world, there will be winners and there will be losers. The question is whether you are the one who is allowed to be the judge of who is and who isn't. I would also suggest that IBOs are completely shutting down potential future business by their behavior. What if I went to a store to purchase something but the item was not available on that particular day, so I don't purchase anything and leave. As I leave, the store owner says I am a loser for not buying something there. Will I go back? Very unlikely. If an IBO truly sees themselves as a store owner, all prospects should be seen as potential business, whether future or present. If your upline tells you that people not interested are losers, you should hand him a mirror.

Friday, January 3, 2014

The Harsh Reality Of Amway?

One of the things that keeps some IBOs going is the "harsh reality". What I mean by that is for some IBOs, once you have been in Amway for a while, it can be hard to quit. You were possibly recruited with dreams of lifelong residual income and walking on all of the exotic beaches of the world. Retiring young and spending that time with your wife and family. To quit means an IBO would have to face the reallity that these dreams will not come true, at least not with the Amway busines. The fact is that the Amway opportunity probably would not have delivered those dreams anyway. Even a diamond more than likely cannot afford those dreams. In fact I would estimate that most diamonds, if they flaunt some excessive lifestyle, are near broke or in heavy debt as a diamond income cannot sustain a jetset lifestyle, save for a founders crown ambassador or something similar. I believe the prominent WWDB triple diamond bankruptcy shed a lot of light into the finances of an upper level pin and it wasn't as impressive as I would have thought.

But what really is the harsh reality? It's working hard only to drift between 100 and 500 PV. It's finally sponsoring a new IBO only to have a downline quit. It's talking to people about Amway and getting laughed at or getting rejected. It's your upline or sponsor pushing you to do more. Possibly your upline is one who questions your manhood if you aren't working hard enough. It's your upline or sponsor reminding you that a winner doesn't miss functions, especially the major ones. It's staying up late for team meetings or nite owls when you need a good nite's rest to do your job the next day. It's driving the miles to show a plan, only to have your prospect not show up. It's having to be deceptive about what you are doing. It's skipping functions with family and friends so you can be core to the business.

As IBOs, do you see any of this? I saw some of this during my involvement. While I have not been an IBO in some years now, I still see many testimonies and comments by more current and even some active IBOs to indicate that a lot of this still goes on. While Amway defenders will deny it, I see no reason why any of this would have changed over the years since Amway has made no significant changes to stop abusive uplines. If Amway did make any changes, they are not immediately apparent and the continuous string of comments and testimonies do not confirm that any clean up has been done.

For active IBOs or prospects, these are the harsh realities that may be attached with the Amway oppportunity. Much of it is because of motivational groups such as WWDB, but if you are seeing these traits in your group, ask the tough questions. If you happen to decide that the Amway opportunity is not for you, take heart! There are other ways to achieve your financial goals and dreams and there are moe efficent ways out there. Sometimes, quitting something that isn't working is a wise business decisions and sometimes you can lose more by not quitting. Good luck in whatever you decide.

Thursday, January 2, 2014

Amway IBOs Make More Excuses Than Dollars

Not counting IBOs who sign up and never do a thing with the Amway business, I would guess that a typical business building IBO spends several months at 100 PV, earning $10 a month, and spending some money on functions and other support materials, thus ending up with a net loss in running their business. What I have also observed is that these new IBOs are often the most fierce defenders of the Amway opportunity. What is amusing is their defense of Amway, because they aren't knowledgeable enough about the business and cannot back up claims of being profitable.

A common defense is to attack someone's job. Oftentimes, I will hear that my job is a pyramid, or that the social security system is a ponzi scheme. What they fail to understand is that people with jobs have a net gain of income at the end of the month, unlike a typical IBO. Also, even if my job was a pyramid, that doesn't have any relevence as to whether the Amway opportunity is also a (legal) pyramid. And the same goes for social security. But although I find some faults with the social secuiry system, they have not yet failed to pay benefits to anyone who has paid in, as far as I know.

One of my favorite conversations is when an IBO, probably in frustration with facing the facts, will state that they have been in Amway for a month and they are already earning in excess of $5000 a month. Sure it's possible I suppose, just as it's possible for lightning to strike the same spot three times in a row. These IBOs are often the "drive by" commentors who never show up again. I recently had a conversation with an IBO who swore that he was earning $1000 a month in Amway, but refused to discuss what level he was at, or whether he made any actual sales, or had downline. He later asked for my email address and when finally supplied with it, he ended up blocking me from further contacting him.

I just wonder why upline leaders would teach such nonsense to downline, or whether downline simply want tp deceive others about their status in Amway? I mean it's really no big deal is a newbie IBO isn't making a lot of money. In fact that is expected when you are new. But I believe IBOs to some degree, might still be taught the old "fake it till you make it" theory that existed back when I was still an IBO 12 years ago. The concept was to fake success as a means to entice prospects until you actually made some progress in the business. Sadly, most IBOs never ever sponsor a downline, get discouraged and quit. I can't blame them when most IBOs who build the business suffer a financial loss, ironically it is usually from purchasing training materials that may have been promoted as the key to your success.

The sad result of all this is that "most" IBOs make more excuses than dollars.