When I was sponsored into Amway, it was by a friend. It wasn't my closest or best friend at the time, but there was still an element of trust. It was enough trust where I took his word as the truth, especially when it was related to the Amway business. I later started to see flaws and inconsistencies in what my sponsor and upline said, but at first I took things at face value, because it seemed to make sense and it seemed sincere.
For example, when my upline said they had our best interest at heart, and that they would do their best to help us succeed, it made sense. You build depth and solidify your business. Seems sensible. It seemed perfectly reasonable and sensible until I later learned how much money my upline was potentially making on tools. My upline (WWDB) stated explicitly that no profit was made on the sale of functions and tools, thus it only made sense that upline wanted downline to succeed. Knowing that there was no profit motive on tools, you'd trust that upline truly wanted the downline to succeed. Let me clarify that upline said there was tool profits, but that profits did not benefit the diamonds, and that the profits were reinvested back into WWDB to make the functions better and cheaper. As it turned out the no profits from tools was an outright bold faced lie told by WWDB upline. To this day, noone has ever been held accountable for these lies and it has since been forgotten.
Based on things written and information available on the internet, I have reason to believe that WWDB continues to teach the same stuff today, as they did 15 years ago. They teach that IBOs should purchase homes in cash, that jobs are no good, that the wife should stay home, that WWDB IBOs have a 2% divorce rate compared to 60% for the rest of the world. Some IBOs are so flippant that they believe that only Amway IBOs have integrity in this world.
What is scary is that so many downline get systematically brainwashed into thinking that everything but Amway is no good and that only IBOs are good. Some of these folks are good and hard working, but they have been caught up in a systematic scam. They believe their upline qithout question and anything said by upline is the gospel truth and everyone else is wrong. These folks also censor information and worship their leaders. It is why so many people compare some Amway groups to a cult.
It is a bit scary but it's happening on this very day. A sad sight to see.
Friday, April 28, 2017
Wednesday, April 26, 2017
Amway Is "Fair"?
One of the bogus things my upline taught us was that the Amway opportunity was fair. That it was a completely level playing field. On the surface, that sounds right because "everyone starts at zero". While everyone does start at zero, the compensation plan is unfair to those who "do the work" and in my opinion, should be revamped so lower level IBOs make more money. It would probably help with IBO retention and maybe, some higher level leaders wouldn't have to work so hard to keep replacing people who quit. It is my informed opinion that many IBOs quit because they aren't making a profit. Real profits would motivate people to stay involved in the business.
If you are a new IBO, then you might not be really familiar with the Amway compensation plan. Amway pays out about 30+ percent of their gross as bonuses. Thus if you move 100 PV in goods, or about $300 in sales, then Amway pays out about $100 in bonuses. You as a new 100 PV IBO, would receive about $10 and your uplines, some of whom don't even know you exist, will split up the remaining $90 in bonuses. It truly is not a case of doing the work and getting paid. You are doing the work so upline gets paid. To add insult to injury, upline wants you to purchase materials (functions and other tools) that tries to convince you that this is a good deal.
And something very significant to think about. In what other sales profession are you compensated so low (3%)? I can only think of real estate, but in real estate, your sales are likely in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. In just about any other sales related profession, you get a much higher cut than 3%. Yes, your bonus or commission can be higher if you move more volume, but then you are likely receiving more money because you are now exploiting people doing 100 PV who get only $10 back. In other words, your profits come from your downline's pockets.
Even after you consider the unfair compensation, you must factor in the cost of tools. Most uplines promote tools (cds, voicemail, functions) as vital to an IBO's success. Some uplines push the tools harder than others. But the tools purchases will often be the primary cause of IBO financial losses because the cost of tools will normally exceed an IBO's bonus. It is very common in the US for monthly tool purchases to exceed $200 a month on average, and very very few IBOs will ever reach a high enough level in the Amway compensation plan to earn enough just to break even. Also, the tools apparently do not work. There is no unbiased evidence to suggest that tools have any causal relationship to IBO success.
With Amway's crappy reputation and the unfair compensation plan, IBO retention is poor. Many IBOs sign up and do little or nothing, and most IBOs don't even last a full year before they quit. What happens is IBOs begin to figure out that recruiting downline is next to impossible and therefore, generating more volume is nearly impossible, even for individuals with skills. If you are a new IBO or a prospect, I encourage you to sit down and really look at the math and factor in the cost of tools. There are many ways to earn a dollar, I just don't feel that Amway is an efficient way to do that.
If you are a new IBO, then you might not be really familiar with the Amway compensation plan. Amway pays out about 30+ percent of their gross as bonuses. Thus if you move 100 PV in goods, or about $300 in sales, then Amway pays out about $100 in bonuses. You as a new 100 PV IBO, would receive about $10 and your uplines, some of whom don't even know you exist, will split up the remaining $90 in bonuses. It truly is not a case of doing the work and getting paid. You are doing the work so upline gets paid. To add insult to injury, upline wants you to purchase materials (functions and other tools) that tries to convince you that this is a good deal.
And something very significant to think about. In what other sales profession are you compensated so low (3%)? I can only think of real estate, but in real estate, your sales are likely in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. In just about any other sales related profession, you get a much higher cut than 3%. Yes, your bonus or commission can be higher if you move more volume, but then you are likely receiving more money because you are now exploiting people doing 100 PV who get only $10 back. In other words, your profits come from your downline's pockets.
Even after you consider the unfair compensation, you must factor in the cost of tools. Most uplines promote tools (cds, voicemail, functions) as vital to an IBO's success. Some uplines push the tools harder than others. But the tools purchases will often be the primary cause of IBO financial losses because the cost of tools will normally exceed an IBO's bonus. It is very common in the US for monthly tool purchases to exceed $200 a month on average, and very very few IBOs will ever reach a high enough level in the Amway compensation plan to earn enough just to break even. Also, the tools apparently do not work. There is no unbiased evidence to suggest that tools have any causal relationship to IBO success.
With Amway's crappy reputation and the unfair compensation plan, IBO retention is poor. Many IBOs sign up and do little or nothing, and most IBOs don't even last a full year before they quit. What happens is IBOs begin to figure out that recruiting downline is next to impossible and therefore, generating more volume is nearly impossible, even for individuals with skills. If you are a new IBO or a prospect, I encourage you to sit down and really look at the math and factor in the cost of tools. There are many ways to earn a dollar, I just don't feel that Amway is an efficient way to do that.
Tuesday, April 25, 2017
Your Upline Helps Themselves To Your Money?
Over the years, I have encountered many IBOs and they often have a common theme. They trust their upline and in some cases, consider them "mentors". Now in a business venture, it might be good to have a mentor or someone to teach and guide you, but in the Amway opportunity, most of the upline mentors make money off those who they mentor. That is a major conflict of interest but IBOs simply fail to see it. Just about any "help" you receive results in compensation for someone upline. A true mentor relationship in my way if thinking would be perhaps a grandfather teaching his grandson how to be a good man or how to have a good work ethic.
When an IBO sees the plan in a big meeting or function, the speaker will often be built up as a financial guru, and possibly as an expert on how to succeed in Amway. An IBO may hear something about the trail was already blazed by upline and you just need to follow the trail. Don't re-invent the wheel, just copy what upline did. But as I have said many times before, duplication sounds easy and looks good on paper, but in real life, the vast majority of IBOs run into problems that they simply cannot overcome, such as the bad reputation that the Amway name has in the US. High prices for products don't help either. And since most IBOs don't do much and most can't sponsor a downline, how can you build a growing business?
What is troubling however, is that IBOs are taught to trust upline and do as they say (defacto requirement), but they are also taught that failure is their own shortcomings, even when they do exactly what upline (their mentors) told them. It is also troubling that many uplines will tell their faithful followers that they need to purchase more and more tools (voicemail, cds, seminar tickets). In some cases, an upline may advise their downline to sacrifice basic family needs to buy these tools. I saw some IBOs who were advised to skip meals to buy a cd, or skip paying the mortgage to be able to attend the next big function. The results are devastating for some.
I might also add that as a newer IBO or prospect, you may have heard that "everyone starts at zero", or that it's a level playing field. It is not. As a new IBO, you will likely be in the 100 PV bracket. Since Amway pays out about 33% in bonuses, your upline(s) will split up about 30% in bonuses off your efforts while you get a 3% bonus. That doesn't sound very level to me. In addition, you as an IBO are paying for this priviledge when you buy tools. You are being taught that this unfair distribution of bonuses is a level playing field when clearly it's not. Why should people upline get the lion's share of those bonuses simply because they signed up before you?
So each IBO should look at things objectively and see if your upline is actually helping you or simply helping himself by giving you advice that ends up in profit for himself with little or nothing for you. Has your business and abilities been carefully assessed? You certainly won't receive that kind of help in a function or on a cd or in a book. When your upline advises you to do more PV or to buy more tools and functions, they are simply helping themselves to your money.
When an IBO sees the plan in a big meeting or function, the speaker will often be built up as a financial guru, and possibly as an expert on how to succeed in Amway. An IBO may hear something about the trail was already blazed by upline and you just need to follow the trail. Don't re-invent the wheel, just copy what upline did. But as I have said many times before, duplication sounds easy and looks good on paper, but in real life, the vast majority of IBOs run into problems that they simply cannot overcome, such as the bad reputation that the Amway name has in the US. High prices for products don't help either. And since most IBOs don't do much and most can't sponsor a downline, how can you build a growing business?
What is troubling however, is that IBOs are taught to trust upline and do as they say (defacto requirement), but they are also taught that failure is their own shortcomings, even when they do exactly what upline (their mentors) told them. It is also troubling that many uplines will tell their faithful followers that they need to purchase more and more tools (voicemail, cds, seminar tickets). In some cases, an upline may advise their downline to sacrifice basic family needs to buy these tools. I saw some IBOs who were advised to skip meals to buy a cd, or skip paying the mortgage to be able to attend the next big function. The results are devastating for some.
I might also add that as a newer IBO or prospect, you may have heard that "everyone starts at zero", or that it's a level playing field. It is not. As a new IBO, you will likely be in the 100 PV bracket. Since Amway pays out about 33% in bonuses, your upline(s) will split up about 30% in bonuses off your efforts while you get a 3% bonus. That doesn't sound very level to me. In addition, you as an IBO are paying for this priviledge when you buy tools. You are being taught that this unfair distribution of bonuses is a level playing field when clearly it's not. Why should people upline get the lion's share of those bonuses simply because they signed up before you?
So each IBO should look at things objectively and see if your upline is actually helping you or simply helping himself by giving you advice that ends up in profit for himself with little or nothing for you. Has your business and abilities been carefully assessed? You certainly won't receive that kind of help in a function or on a cd or in a book. When your upline advises you to do more PV or to buy more tools and functions, they are simply helping themselves to your money.
Monday, April 24, 2017
Is Amway A Scam?
I've seen many debates recently on why some people think Amway is a scam. Normally a defense of all this is that the abuses or the scam part of business, being the tools, is not the fault of Amway. It is true that Amway the corporation does not scam anyone, or sell them these tools. However, the groups such as WWDB, BWW, or Network 21 are run by IBOs. They are run by Amway IBOs. Even though the Amway corporation is a seperate entity from these tool companies, these tool comapnies are still run by Amway IBOs and they use the Amway opportunity to capitalize on the downline as customers of the tools.
While there is nothing wrong with some personal development and motivation, I believe there is a lack of honesty and tranparency in how the tools business is administered. For example, how many IBOs actually know exactly how to qualify for a cut of the tools income and is there a specific compensation plan for these tools? Allegedly, there are some documents explaining this but I do not believe the rank and file IBOs know about the details. In cases where diamond income was revealed, diamonds made significant income from the sale of tools. Some diamonds make a lot more from tools than from Amway. Also, since a diamond recognition is forever, even non qualifying diamonds can be getting significant income from Amway.
So why the label of scam? Because so few people actually make money from the Amway opportunity. Amway defenders like to cite that most IBOs simply do nothing. While it may be true, this in itself represents a problem with the recruitment process or the recruiters. Even if you examine a big function where there may be tens of thousands in attendance, I wonder how many have a net gain after expenses? I would guess the answer to that is a fraction of 1%. Amway's own numbers reveal this. $115 a month average gross income. And .5 (one half of one percent) of IBOs reach the Gold/Platinum level where you earn about $1000 a month gross income, or near the equivalent of full time minimum wage.
And to gain this full time minimum wage proposition, you must overcome incredible challenges, including being able to replace IBOs who quit, and to replace them ast enough so your volume doesn't diappear. Thus some IBOs, desperate to sponsor, resort to tricks and deception to get people to see the plan. I experienced it myself. These actions, coupled with a low success rate, make it seem like a scam for most, especially when the tools are claimed (by the tool sellers) to be a bonafide means to success in Amway. Add all of these up, and over the years, you develop the reputation of "scam". Amway can do more to restore their reputation, but it is unknown to the public in general what and if anything is being done about the abuses.
While there is nothing wrong with some personal development and motivation, I believe there is a lack of honesty and tranparency in how the tools business is administered. For example, how many IBOs actually know exactly how to qualify for a cut of the tools income and is there a specific compensation plan for these tools? Allegedly, there are some documents explaining this but I do not believe the rank and file IBOs know about the details. In cases where diamond income was revealed, diamonds made significant income from the sale of tools. Some diamonds make a lot more from tools than from Amway. Also, since a diamond recognition is forever, even non qualifying diamonds can be getting significant income from Amway.
So why the label of scam? Because so few people actually make money from the Amway opportunity. Amway defenders like to cite that most IBOs simply do nothing. While it may be true, this in itself represents a problem with the recruitment process or the recruiters. Even if you examine a big function where there may be tens of thousands in attendance, I wonder how many have a net gain after expenses? I would guess the answer to that is a fraction of 1%. Amway's own numbers reveal this. $115 a month average gross income. And .5 (one half of one percent) of IBOs reach the Gold/Platinum level where you earn about $1000 a month gross income, or near the equivalent of full time minimum wage.
And to gain this full time minimum wage proposition, you must overcome incredible challenges, including being able to replace IBOs who quit, and to replace them ast enough so your volume doesn't diappear. Thus some IBOs, desperate to sponsor, resort to tricks and deception to get people to see the plan. I experienced it myself. These actions, coupled with a low success rate, make it seem like a scam for most, especially when the tools are claimed (by the tool sellers) to be a bonafide means to success in Amway. Add all of these up, and over the years, you develop the reputation of "scam". Amway can do more to restore their reputation, but it is unknown to the public in general what and if anything is being done about the abuses.
Friday, April 21, 2017
Join Amway And Become Annoying?
Many people see the Amway plan, and get unrealistic dreams of attaining incredible material wealth and retiring in a few years. I find it strange that nobody has been able to point out anyone who actually got in, worked a few years and then walked away from the business and is now enjoying buckets of cash rolling in while they spend their days on exotic beaches sipping mai tais. The more likely scenario will be debt, higher credit card bills, and boxes of unused cds and other various unused Amway products.
So why would someone joining the business become annoying? It's because to the average person, it beomes clear that to achieve this, you need to find "six" people. Thus to find six people, you need to make contacts to show the plan. Cold contacts of people on the street would be unlikely, even for the boldest of people, so new IBOs start lookin at people they know. They start with people they are familiar with, or family and friends. They may also think their family and friends will want to get rich with them.
Sadly for most new and enthusiastic IBOs, they will find that they are shunned by family and friends. Over the years, IBOs have done too much damage to Amway's reputation and overcoming this challenge is too much for the rank and file IBOs. They will hear stories of failures and opinions that Amway is a pyramid and/or a scam. Of course, IBOs will have "canned" answers to respond to from their upline. One of the humorous ones is that Amway is praised by the BBB or the FTC and is the shining example of an MLM. To those familiar with this line of reasoning, it can become side splitting humorous. Other silly comparisons will be comparing Amway to gym memberships or that 90% of small businesses fail. They forget that more than 99% of Amway businesses fail.
At first, the family and friends may humor the new IBO, but relentless persistence can eventually turn ugly. This is where uplines will teach the new IBOs to avoid "negative" and to shun these family and friends. This is why some people charge the Amway leaders with being cult - like. It's at about this point where IBOs might realize that Amway products are costly and try to sell off some of them to reduce their own costs. Often times, sympathetic family and friends might make a token purchase to show support. but that can get old in a hurry also. Most IBOs will eventually quit and make amends with family and friends, but some lose friendships for good.
To information seekers and new IBOs, hopefully this message is food for thought......
So why would someone joining the business become annoying? It's because to the average person, it beomes clear that to achieve this, you need to find "six" people. Thus to find six people, you need to make contacts to show the plan. Cold contacts of people on the street would be unlikely, even for the boldest of people, so new IBOs start lookin at people they know. They start with people they are familiar with, or family and friends. They may also think their family and friends will want to get rich with them.
Sadly for most new and enthusiastic IBOs, they will find that they are shunned by family and friends. Over the years, IBOs have done too much damage to Amway's reputation and overcoming this challenge is too much for the rank and file IBOs. They will hear stories of failures and opinions that Amway is a pyramid and/or a scam. Of course, IBOs will have "canned" answers to respond to from their upline. One of the humorous ones is that Amway is praised by the BBB or the FTC and is the shining example of an MLM. To those familiar with this line of reasoning, it can become side splitting humorous. Other silly comparisons will be comparing Amway to gym memberships or that 90% of small businesses fail. They forget that more than 99% of Amway businesses fail.
At first, the family and friends may humor the new IBO, but relentless persistence can eventually turn ugly. This is where uplines will teach the new IBOs to avoid "negative" and to shun these family and friends. This is why some people charge the Amway leaders with being cult - like. It's at about this point where IBOs might realize that Amway products are costly and try to sell off some of them to reduce their own costs. Often times, sympathetic family and friends might make a token purchase to show support. but that can get old in a hurry also. Most IBOs will eventually quit and make amends with family and friends, but some lose friendships for good.
To information seekers and new IBOs, hopefully this message is food for thought......
Thursday, April 20, 2017
Bankrupt Following Upline Advice?
I have posted a comment and link to the forum where I unearthed it. Although the commentor doesn't specify which AMO he was involved with, it sounds very similar to teaching I heard (and still hear about) from Worldwide Group or WWDB. I also saw something like this happen to more than one IBO when I was an IBO myself:
http://www.museumofhoaxes.com/hoax/forums/viewthread/11545/
"""I ended up filing for bankruptcy after trying to build a group myself for three years. I ended up having one person become interested, and they decided to sign with someone else when it got to time for me to bring them a start-up package. That was the last straw for me. I am still good friends with my sponsor, but they have also dropped out after their group of people petered out (sorry Peter).
I was encouraged to attend several conferences out of state and spend tons of money on motivational tapes and books even though I was failing to pay my mortgage and credit card bills… when I tried to get better financial advice from my “upline” - they continued to encourage me to spend, spend, spend… “fake it ‘til I make it”... and all that kind of garbage. When I finally filed for my bankruptcy they were nowhere to be found to assist me with life after Amway.
The people at the top of the sponsorship tend to make a decent amount of income while those at the bottom levels of things really have to struggle to make ends meet. I suppose if you are really charismatic you might be able to sponsor a bunch of people and bring in a fair amount of money, but to really make it big, you need to have connections inside… since support is how you make things work when you can’t."""
http://www.museumofhoaxes.com/hoax/forums/viewthread/11545/
"""I ended up filing for bankruptcy after trying to build a group myself for three years. I ended up having one person become interested, and they decided to sign with someone else when it got to time for me to bring them a start-up package. That was the last straw for me. I am still good friends with my sponsor, but they have also dropped out after their group of people petered out (sorry Peter).
I was encouraged to attend several conferences out of state and spend tons of money on motivational tapes and books even though I was failing to pay my mortgage and credit card bills… when I tried to get better financial advice from my “upline” - they continued to encourage me to spend, spend, spend… “fake it ‘til I make it”... and all that kind of garbage. When I finally filed for my bankruptcy they were nowhere to be found to assist me with life after Amway.
The people at the top of the sponsorship tend to make a decent amount of income while those at the bottom levels of things really have to struggle to make ends meet. I suppose if you are really charismatic you might be able to sponsor a bunch of people and bring in a fair amount of money, but to really make it big, you need to have connections inside… since support is how you make things work when you can’t."""
Wednesday, April 19, 2017
Amway IBOs Fail By Design
When I was being prospected into Amway, I saw the 6-4-2 plan. I am fairly certain that most groups still present the Amway opportunity using the 6-4-2, although I am aware that some groups use different variations of this. The plan sounds so simple. Just sponsor 6. The next layer does less than you and sponsors 4, and the next layer does even less and sponsors 2. First of all, most IBOs don't sponsor a single person to begin with. Many IBOs are unable to even show the plan to another person. So if you cannot achieve even the first step, how can you possibly make the plan come to fruition? The answer is you can't and most people never get past the first step. How do you build an empire that way?
Only a fraction of 1% of IBOs ever reach platinum. Out of those who do reach the milestone, few are able to maintain the business and even fewer ever go on and achieve higher levels such as emerald or diamond. WIth the attrition rate of IBOs so high, even recruiting new IBOs basically keeps you even. The effort required to maintain the business can become a full time job or more for some people. My former sponsor was out showing the plan for himself or for downline every night of the week, save for the functions and other meetings. Amway he said, needs to become your life if you want to succeed, and that's probably true even for diamonds. There is no "freedom" that these diamonds speak of. You switch one full time occupation for another, although you could argue that a diamond's work is still easier than a 9-5 job.
You have so many factors working against you that it takes an exceptional (and possibly lucky) individual to be able to overcome the challenges to reach a recognized pin level such as diamond. The spotty name reputation of Amway, the higher (on average) prices of their products, the high attrition rate and the fact that any higher level requires a large downline. These factors make it nearly impossible for anyone to go diamond and reach what appears to be the pinnacle of Amway success. Sure, some IBOs may not have such lofty goals, but the "plan" is designed to achieve diamond. I have not ever seen or heard of a plan for an IBO to achieve 600 PV.
In many instances, whether it's a business, or a sports team, or some other activity, you will notice that the winners or the successes often have a great system. Many fast food businesses for example, have a processing system. A great football team might have a great offensive or defensive system. A large business may also have a proven system. This is where the problem lies in Amway. The system is ineffective. The system as shown to many prospects, needs many "lower level" IBOs working in order for someone to achieve the levels such as platinum. Thus most people fail because the "plan" is designed that way.
As you cannot control the actions and beliefs of others, you cannot make people join your business. You cannot make them see the plan. Thus in the past, many IBOs resorted to deception and lies to get people in front of the plan. In college, I was invited to a "beer bust", only to walk into an Amway meeting. The person who invited me said we would do the beer bust after the meeting. Thus my first impression of Amway was a bad one. As one can reasonably conclude, Amway IBOs for the most part, end up failing. But they don;t fail for lack of effort. They fail by design. That's how the 6-4-2 plan is set up (or whatever version your group uses). It is in my opinion, failure by design.
Only a fraction of 1% of IBOs ever reach platinum. Out of those who do reach the milestone, few are able to maintain the business and even fewer ever go on and achieve higher levels such as emerald or diamond. WIth the attrition rate of IBOs so high, even recruiting new IBOs basically keeps you even. The effort required to maintain the business can become a full time job or more for some people. My former sponsor was out showing the plan for himself or for downline every night of the week, save for the functions and other meetings. Amway he said, needs to become your life if you want to succeed, and that's probably true even for diamonds. There is no "freedom" that these diamonds speak of. You switch one full time occupation for another, although you could argue that a diamond's work is still easier than a 9-5 job.
You have so many factors working against you that it takes an exceptional (and possibly lucky) individual to be able to overcome the challenges to reach a recognized pin level such as diamond. The spotty name reputation of Amway, the higher (on average) prices of their products, the high attrition rate and the fact that any higher level requires a large downline. These factors make it nearly impossible for anyone to go diamond and reach what appears to be the pinnacle of Amway success. Sure, some IBOs may not have such lofty goals, but the "plan" is designed to achieve diamond. I have not ever seen or heard of a plan for an IBO to achieve 600 PV.
In many instances, whether it's a business, or a sports team, or some other activity, you will notice that the winners or the successes often have a great system. Many fast food businesses for example, have a processing system. A great football team might have a great offensive or defensive system. A large business may also have a proven system. This is where the problem lies in Amway. The system is ineffective. The system as shown to many prospects, needs many "lower level" IBOs working in order for someone to achieve the levels such as platinum. Thus most people fail because the "plan" is designed that way.
As you cannot control the actions and beliefs of others, you cannot make people join your business. You cannot make them see the plan. Thus in the past, many IBOs resorted to deception and lies to get people in front of the plan. In college, I was invited to a "beer bust", only to walk into an Amway meeting. The person who invited me said we would do the beer bust after the meeting. Thus my first impression of Amway was a bad one. As one can reasonably conclude, Amway IBOs for the most part, end up failing. But they don;t fail for lack of effort. They fail by design. That's how the 6-4-2 plan is set up (or whatever version your group uses). It is in my opinion, failure by design.
Tuesday, April 18, 2017
Flawed Amway Teaching?
One of the biggest pieces of garbage 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.
The reason why upline teaches this is because most people are not turned on by the thought of promoting and selling products. And that's not to mention that you must also promote the Amway business opportunity if you want to make any significant money from the Amway opportunity. I have never heard of anyone maintaining a large Amway business based only on sales and not sponsoring other people.
But let me toss out a relatable example: 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 if you are counting on selling to downline, then you need to have downline, and those faithful downline will be losing money so you can make a profit. It is partly why there is so much attrition in Amway. IBOs are not profitable and cannot easily sell products, and quit.
And uplines 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.
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.
The reason why upline teaches this is because most people are not turned on by the thought of promoting and selling products. And that's not to mention that you must also promote the Amway business opportunity if you want to make any significant money from the Amway opportunity. I have never heard of anyone maintaining a large Amway business based only on sales and not sponsoring other people.
But let me toss out a relatable example: 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 if you are counting on selling to downline, then you need to have downline, and those faithful downline will be losing money so you can make a profit. It is partly why there is so much attrition in Amway. IBOs are not profitable and cannot easily sell products, and quit.
And uplines 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, April 17, 2017
Amway Dreams 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 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?
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?
Sunday, April 16, 2017
Why Amway Can Be Dangerous?
Happy Easter everyone!
I normally don't blog on weekends but as I passed a Starbucks today, I actually saw someone "showing the plan" at a Starbucks near my home. I remember being shown the plan the first time. I was in college and invited to a "beer bust" and I show up and my friend who invited me is wearing a suit and I thought WTH? So I was tricked into seeing Amway for the first time and to make it worse, I thought we were going to drink some beer!
But over the years and having personal experience in Amway, I can say that Amway can be dangerous. I don't mean dangerous as like an electrician's job or some other hazardous work, but dangerous because if you get involved in Amway, the leaders try to slowly gain your trust and subtly convince you to do things that you probably wouldn't normally do.
I recall seeing new IBOs come and go and many people are leery about spending money on functions and other high ticket expenses. I'm from Hawaii so IBOs who commit to being CORE are expected to travel from Honolulu to the west coast for major functions (4 times a year). Taking one specific example, the Summer function (Used to be called Family Reunion) was held in Portland Oregon at the (then) Rose Garden where 15,000 - 20,000 may have been in attendance. The cost was $250 which included 2 nights hotel and a lunch. The airfare was about $700 round trip and then you need a rental car and some other incidentals.
The danger in all this was some people only joined to make a few dollars, while others were dreaming of striking it rich. The upline will invite all to try it and eventually, you'll be pitched on buying cds/tapes and other tools. That these materials are vital to making money in Amway. Oddly enough, there was really no individual assessment of one's business before they recommended you buy these tools.
They certainly seemed to be encouraging and wanting you to succeed because they said so and they often love bombed the new IBOs. As if IBOs belonged to some kind of special "brotherhood". And therein lies the danger. If you buy into this feelng of "team" or "family", it's nearly impossible to not participate full on. What IBOs don't realize is once you stop moving PV or if you start to miss functions, you're forgotten and maybe even called a quitter or loser. Because to upline, you are no longer lining their pockets. In other words, when you're buying cds and function tickets, you're a valuable "customer" to the upline. That's why they're nice to you. ut many IBOs fail to recognize this and mistakenly believe that the upline truly cares about you. THey don't.
As evidence of this, a week after my involement in Amway stopped, my dad passed away. All the friends that I had shelved to do Amway were there for me, calling to show support and to offer help of any kind. Not a single Amway friend or "brother" called me or offered any support at that time. You see, I was no longer valuable to upline so I was as old as last week's news.
That's why Amway can be a dangerus game. You think you're doing something special to help people or that you're part of a team or brotherhood but the reality is an IBO is simply a customer of the toll systems sych as WWDB, Network 21 or BWW. You're nothing more or nothing less. Some people do succeed, but in order to do so, you have to overcome overwhelming odds and you'll have to lie and deceive your downline into thinking they're a dedicated team. Most people quickly realize this and snap out of their Amway trance and quit. I was a slow learner and took some months before realizing what was going on. Now I blog so others can avoid the potential pitfall that Amway has the potential to be.
I normally don't blog on weekends but as I passed a Starbucks today, I actually saw someone "showing the plan" at a Starbucks near my home. I remember being shown the plan the first time. I was in college and invited to a "beer bust" and I show up and my friend who invited me is wearing a suit and I thought WTH? So I was tricked into seeing Amway for the first time and to make it worse, I thought we were going to drink some beer!
But over the years and having personal experience in Amway, I can say that Amway can be dangerous. I don't mean dangerous as like an electrician's job or some other hazardous work, but dangerous because if you get involved in Amway, the leaders try to slowly gain your trust and subtly convince you to do things that you probably wouldn't normally do.
I recall seeing new IBOs come and go and many people are leery about spending money on functions and other high ticket expenses. I'm from Hawaii so IBOs who commit to being CORE are expected to travel from Honolulu to the west coast for major functions (4 times a year). Taking one specific example, the Summer function (Used to be called Family Reunion) was held in Portland Oregon at the (then) Rose Garden where 15,000 - 20,000 may have been in attendance. The cost was $250 which included 2 nights hotel and a lunch. The airfare was about $700 round trip and then you need a rental car and some other incidentals.
The danger in all this was some people only joined to make a few dollars, while others were dreaming of striking it rich. The upline will invite all to try it and eventually, you'll be pitched on buying cds/tapes and other tools. That these materials are vital to making money in Amway. Oddly enough, there was really no individual assessment of one's business before they recommended you buy these tools.
They certainly seemed to be encouraging and wanting you to succeed because they said so and they often love bombed the new IBOs. As if IBOs belonged to some kind of special "brotherhood". And therein lies the danger. If you buy into this feelng of "team" or "family", it's nearly impossible to not participate full on. What IBOs don't realize is once you stop moving PV or if you start to miss functions, you're forgotten and maybe even called a quitter or loser. Because to upline, you are no longer lining their pockets. In other words, when you're buying cds and function tickets, you're a valuable "customer" to the upline. That's why they're nice to you. ut many IBOs fail to recognize this and mistakenly believe that the upline truly cares about you. THey don't.
As evidence of this, a week after my involement in Amway stopped, my dad passed away. All the friends that I had shelved to do Amway were there for me, calling to show support and to offer help of any kind. Not a single Amway friend or "brother" called me or offered any support at that time. You see, I was no longer valuable to upline so I was as old as last week's news.
That's why Amway can be a dangerus game. You think you're doing something special to help people or that you're part of a team or brotherhood but the reality is an IBO is simply a customer of the toll systems sych as WWDB, Network 21 or BWW. You're nothing more or nothing less. Some people do succeed, but in order to do so, you have to overcome overwhelming odds and you'll have to lie and deceive your downline into thinking they're a dedicated team. Most people quickly realize this and snap out of their Amway trance and quit. I was a slow learner and took some months before realizing what was going on. Now I blog so others can avoid the potential pitfall that Amway has the potential to be.
Thursday, April 13, 2017
The Employee Mentality?
One of the really funny things that is taught to IBOs is how they need to ditch their employee mentality and convert to a business owner mentality. Those who truly have a business mentality are unlikely to join Amway the systems because the return on investment wouldn't be worth it. When you also consider that only a small fraction of 1% make any significant money in Amway, it's hard to imagine that any reasonable and logical person would want to divert time, money and effort into a venture where your likelihood of succeeding and making money is so small. A real business owner will want a business where the likelihood of success is good. Amway wouldn't fit that definition.
When you really stop and think about it, many IBOs have an employee mentality but they think they are thinking like business owners because upline tells them so. The relationship between upline and downline is often just like that of a supervisor and employee. The upline tells you what to do and the downline, who is usually less experienced, simply listens and follows their instructions. If an IBO were to do things on their own, it would be considered as de-edifying to upline who has already "blazed the trail" for you. They have what many refer to as the "system" consisting of cds, books, voicemail and functions. Many refer to the system as "CORE" steps.
Basically, the CCRE steps is the "job" of the IBO. They need to immerse themselves in the system, and then they need to show the plan to others and get others to follow them. The really sad thing is that many IBOs do exactly as they are told or advised, and never see a cent of profit, and more often than not, end up losing money despite their efforts and expenses. It's like going to work, and giving your boss $300 so you can get a $10 paycheck at the end of the month. While Amway loyalists will disagree, this scenario is the most common and most likely. All you have to do is take a look at the 6-4-2 or whatever plan they show you. The lowest level IBOs will spend about $300 to purchase their 100 PV and then they get back about $10 at the end of the month. Most IBOs never sponsor downline so their volume never grows unless they consume more themselves. Most IBOs, even dedicated ones, can never sell enough products to cover their expenses. Faced with these obvious facts, anyone can see why you are almost guaranteed failure in Amway with the system.
If IBOs truly had a business mentality, they would be focused on selling products and not desperately trying to sponsor downline. They would also focus on minimizing expenses. But most business building IBOs are selling the opportunity and a dream, which is why some critics claim that the Amway opportunity, lacking a focus on retail sales, is criss crossing into legal parameters of the law. Those who focus on "buy from yourself" without outsaide sales are the worst offenders in my opinion. If you have an employee mentality, then it's likely you will listen to what your upline says and do your "CORE" duties. What kind of menatlity do you have?
When you really stop and think about it, many IBOs have an employee mentality but they think they are thinking like business owners because upline tells them so. The relationship between upline and downline is often just like that of a supervisor and employee. The upline tells you what to do and the downline, who is usually less experienced, simply listens and follows their instructions. If an IBO were to do things on their own, it would be considered as de-edifying to upline who has already "blazed the trail" for you. They have what many refer to as the "system" consisting of cds, books, voicemail and functions. Many refer to the system as "CORE" steps.
Basically, the CCRE steps is the "job" of the IBO. They need to immerse themselves in the system, and then they need to show the plan to others and get others to follow them. The really sad thing is that many IBOs do exactly as they are told or advised, and never see a cent of profit, and more often than not, end up losing money despite their efforts and expenses. It's like going to work, and giving your boss $300 so you can get a $10 paycheck at the end of the month. While Amway loyalists will disagree, this scenario is the most common and most likely. All you have to do is take a look at the 6-4-2 or whatever plan they show you. The lowest level IBOs will spend about $300 to purchase their 100 PV and then they get back about $10 at the end of the month. Most IBOs never sponsor downline so their volume never grows unless they consume more themselves. Most IBOs, even dedicated ones, can never sell enough products to cover their expenses. Faced with these obvious facts, anyone can see why you are almost guaranteed failure in Amway with the system.
If IBOs truly had a business mentality, they would be focused on selling products and not desperately trying to sponsor downline. They would also focus on minimizing expenses. But most business building IBOs are selling the opportunity and a dream, which is why some critics claim that the Amway opportunity, lacking a focus on retail sales, is criss crossing into legal parameters of the law. Those who focus on "buy from yourself" without outsaide sales are the worst offenders in my opinion. If you have an employee mentality, then it's likely you will listen to what your upline says and do your "CORE" duties. What kind of menatlity do you have?
Wednesday, April 12, 2017
Amway Tapespeak?
WWDB Tapespeak?
A comment left on my blog. Joecool's commentary below:
Anonymous wrote: "I am an IBO with Amway and WWDB. Until you are an IBO yourself then I would stop judging those of us working with this amazing company. Our company is about yes us succeeding, but also helping others succeed as well. I am not going to lie of course the money plays a big role, however the teachings and information that is given to us is helping all of us to become better buisness people but also helping us become better people all around. Many of the people and couples who are involved with WWDB and Amway have had their lives completely changed for the better by building their buisness and being around the wonderful people involved. I was just like you before I became and IBO and when I first heard the plan thought there was a very slim chance that I would make any real money from this. I learned through my amazing upline team that through hard work and dedication you can become as successful as you want! The CORE is a great set of guidelines that keeps you focused on the goals and helps all of us build the best and most successful organization we can. Please stop judging because clearly you have a glass half empty mentality, and with the attitude you have yes you wouldn't make a dime."
**************************
Joe's commentary: I find it humorous how people claim that WWDB has changed and that they are not anything like the experience I had as an IBO back in the late 1990s. Yet I continue to see and hear current IBOs claiming to be from WWDB who say the same stuff I was taught. That diamonds pay cash for everything, even homes and other big ticket items. That WWDB IBOs have a 2% divorce rate. That WWDB makes you a better business person and a better person overall. I wonder how they determine that WWDB makes you a better business person when it is likely that over 99% of their business building IBOs suffer losses due to system expenses.
Hard work is not related to financial success in WWDB and Amway, despite what the "amazing upline" says. There is NO documented evidence that WWDB does anything except drain IBO's bank accounts. If you truly examine CORE, you will see that it is designed to keep money flowing upline via tool purchases. Any help you receive from your upline diamonds is always paid for by the downline in some manner or another.
While it's good to be positive, that also doesn't equate to long term sustainable success. I can be upbeat and positive and still be a miserable failure in Amway, which is the experience most "serious" IBOs live through. You cannot "choose" to succeed in Amway anymore than you can choose to win the lottery.
A comment left on my blog. Joecool's commentary below:
Anonymous wrote: "I am an IBO with Amway and WWDB. Until you are an IBO yourself then I would stop judging those of us working with this amazing company. Our company is about yes us succeeding, but also helping others succeed as well. I am not going to lie of course the money plays a big role, however the teachings and information that is given to us is helping all of us to become better buisness people but also helping us become better people all around. Many of the people and couples who are involved with WWDB and Amway have had their lives completely changed for the better by building their buisness and being around the wonderful people involved. I was just like you before I became and IBO and when I first heard the plan thought there was a very slim chance that I would make any real money from this. I learned through my amazing upline team that through hard work and dedication you can become as successful as you want! The CORE is a great set of guidelines that keeps you focused on the goals and helps all of us build the best and most successful organization we can. Please stop judging because clearly you have a glass half empty mentality, and with the attitude you have yes you wouldn't make a dime."
**************************
Joe's commentary: I find it humorous how people claim that WWDB has changed and that they are not anything like the experience I had as an IBO back in the late 1990s. Yet I continue to see and hear current IBOs claiming to be from WWDB who say the same stuff I was taught. That diamonds pay cash for everything, even homes and other big ticket items. That WWDB IBOs have a 2% divorce rate. That WWDB makes you a better business person and a better person overall. I wonder how they determine that WWDB makes you a better business person when it is likely that over 99% of their business building IBOs suffer losses due to system expenses.
Hard work is not related to financial success in WWDB and Amway, despite what the "amazing upline" says. There is NO documented evidence that WWDB does anything except drain IBO's bank accounts. If you truly examine CORE, you will see that it is designed to keep money flowing upline via tool purchases. Any help you receive from your upline diamonds is always paid for by the downline in some manner or another.
While it's good to be positive, that also doesn't equate to long term sustainable success. I can be upbeat and positive and still be a miserable failure in Amway, which is the experience most "serious" IBOs live through. You cannot "choose" to succeed in Amway anymore than you can choose to win the lottery.
Tuesday, April 11, 2017
Outearn Your Amway Sponsor?
One of the silly defenses that Amway supporters use to defend their business, is that it must not be a pyramid or it must be legitimate because you have the opportunity to earn more than your sponsor. While many downlines in fact do earn more than their sponsors, it's likely because about half of all IBOs don't do anything or they stay for less than a year and factoring the business expenses for those who are on tools, the reality of suffering business losses also causes people to exit the business. It's not that hard to earn more than people who quit or do nothing. But even at that, someone who quits is often better off than IBOs who continue because someone who quits has no business expenses which is likely to result in a net loss.
An IBO at the 100 PV level will earn about $10 in bonus income from Amway. If they are attending functions, buying standing orders and voicemail, they will operate at a net loss. Thus, unless their business grows each month (highly unlikely, even if they do as upline advises) then they will suffer losses each month and those who quit will be better off. It is why I have stated that doing nothing or staying home and watching television can honestly be better options than joining Amway and the systems such as WWDB, N21 or BWW. It is why reasonable people can conclude that working for minimum wage, even a few hours a week makes you better off financially than joining Amway and the systems.
The defense that someone can outearn their upline or sponsor is silly. The true benkmark of this statement would be for a new guy to start a business, and in 2-5 years, outearn some tenured diamond. It will never happen because that upline diamond has direct influence over the fortunes of their downline. It is why you have seen diamonds quit, or split from their upline to start their own training systems. They cannot affect change from downline, without upline consent, thus the breaking away from their "mentors" or leaders. At times there have even been lawsuits over the tools income. Do people really sue their mentors? Don't diamonds teach you that suing people is wrong? That you don't get something for nothing? Yet you can easily google these events or find instances of this happening.
You can surely outearn your sponsor. All it takes is for your sponsor to quit. However, your sponsor quitting might mean you don't outearn your sponsor, because you'll suffer a net loss and a quitter is simply at zero. Taking losses is not outearning someone. Keep in mind that everyone in Amway is equal. You are all unpaid commissioned Amway salespeople, bound to Amway's terms and agreements. You don't own your downline. You don't really own much as an independent business owner. You can ourearn your sponsor, but that means squidly diddly when your sponsor makes nothing or takes a loss. Come back and chirp when you outearn your upline diamond. Do I hear crickets shirping now? :-)
An IBO at the 100 PV level will earn about $10 in bonus income from Amway. If they are attending functions, buying standing orders and voicemail, they will operate at a net loss. Thus, unless their business grows each month (highly unlikely, even if they do as upline advises) then they will suffer losses each month and those who quit will be better off. It is why I have stated that doing nothing or staying home and watching television can honestly be better options than joining Amway and the systems such as WWDB, N21 or BWW. It is why reasonable people can conclude that working for minimum wage, even a few hours a week makes you better off financially than joining Amway and the systems.
The defense that someone can outearn their upline or sponsor is silly. The true benkmark of this statement would be for a new guy to start a business, and in 2-5 years, outearn some tenured diamond. It will never happen because that upline diamond has direct influence over the fortunes of their downline. It is why you have seen diamonds quit, or split from their upline to start their own training systems. They cannot affect change from downline, without upline consent, thus the breaking away from their "mentors" or leaders. At times there have even been lawsuits over the tools income. Do people really sue their mentors? Don't diamonds teach you that suing people is wrong? That you don't get something for nothing? Yet you can easily google these events or find instances of this happening.
You can surely outearn your sponsor. All it takes is for your sponsor to quit. However, your sponsor quitting might mean you don't outearn your sponsor, because you'll suffer a net loss and a quitter is simply at zero. Taking losses is not outearning someone. Keep in mind that everyone in Amway is equal. You are all unpaid commissioned Amway salespeople, bound to Amway's terms and agreements. You don't own your downline. You don't really own much as an independent business owner. You can ourearn your sponsor, but that means squidly diddly when your sponsor makes nothing or takes a loss. Come back and chirp when you outearn your upline diamond. Do I hear crickets shirping now? :-)
Monday, April 10, 2017
A J-O-B vs. Amway?
One of the ways that upline diamonds would put down jobs was to toss in the phrase that a job was simply trading hours for dollars. As if it were demeaning to have a job where you got paid for your time. I believe it's all relative. Being that many IBOs are young and maybe working in more entry level types of jobs, then yeah, your hourly wage might not be that great. If you earn say $10 an hour, then you might be struggling financially and it may take time before your skills and knowledge increase to a point where your experience is worth more money. What if you had a job paying $1000 an hour and earned $160,000 a month? Is that a lousy deal trading hours for dollars? I don't think so.
Conversely, having a business can be good or bad also. If you have an Amway business earnning less than $50 a month and you spend $200 on functions, standing orders and other training and motivational materials, then you are losing money. You would be better off doing nothing or working for free. That is still a better alternative than working a business where you are losing money. I think most people agree that a platinum group typically has a 100 or more IBOs. Thus a platinum is in the top 1% of all IBOs. I have heard that the platinum level is where you start to break even or make a little profit, depending on your level of tool consumption. If platinums are barely making a profit, then the other 99+% of IBOs are likely losing money. How much is that worth per hour?
I think uplines cleverly trick IBOs into thinking that a job is bad. Trading hours for dollars, afterall, sounds like some kind of indentured servant of sorts. But in the ned, what matters is your bottom line. If you are an IBO with little or no downline, and/or not much in terms of sales to non IBOs/customers, then you are losing money each and every month if you are attending functions and buying standing orders. Your 10-12 hours a week of Amway work is costing you money! But if you spend 10-12 hours a week, even at minimum wage, then you might be making about 300 to 350 a month groww income. After taxes, you make about 250 to 300. At least trading hours for dollars gets you a guaranteed net gain at the end of the month.
Uplines trick you into a "business mentality" where you think that working for a net loss is just a part of business. IBOs should realize that a business promoted as low risk and no overhead should be one where you can profir right away. Instead, IBOs are taught to delay gratification, or to reinvest any profit back into their business in the form of tools and functions, which results in a net loss. If that's the case I would choose a job where I am assured of a paycheck for my efforts.
Remember, trading hours for dollars is not a bad deal if you are making enough dollars per hour. And even those who make less, are better off that those who "run a business" but end up with a net loss. It's all relative and hopefully, this message will help new or prospective IBOs who are being enticed to join the Amway business opportunity. Good luck to those with jobs and those with businesses. You can be successful either way. Remember that!
Conversely, having a business can be good or bad also. If you have an Amway business earnning less than $50 a month and you spend $200 on functions, standing orders and other training and motivational materials, then you are losing money. You would be better off doing nothing or working for free. That is still a better alternative than working a business where you are losing money. I think most people agree that a platinum group typically has a 100 or more IBOs. Thus a platinum is in the top 1% of all IBOs. I have heard that the platinum level is where you start to break even or make a little profit, depending on your level of tool consumption. If platinums are barely making a profit, then the other 99+% of IBOs are likely losing money. How much is that worth per hour?
I think uplines cleverly trick IBOs into thinking that a job is bad. Trading hours for dollars, afterall, sounds like some kind of indentured servant of sorts. But in the ned, what matters is your bottom line. If you are an IBO with little or no downline, and/or not much in terms of sales to non IBOs/customers, then you are losing money each and every month if you are attending functions and buying standing orders. Your 10-12 hours a week of Amway work is costing you money! But if you spend 10-12 hours a week, even at minimum wage, then you might be making about 300 to 350 a month groww income. After taxes, you make about 250 to 300. At least trading hours for dollars gets you a guaranteed net gain at the end of the month.
Uplines trick you into a "business mentality" where you think that working for a net loss is just a part of business. IBOs should realize that a business promoted as low risk and no overhead should be one where you can profir right away. Instead, IBOs are taught to delay gratification, or to reinvest any profit back into their business in the form of tools and functions, which results in a net loss. If that's the case I would choose a job where I am assured of a paycheck for my efforts.
Remember, trading hours for dollars is not a bad deal if you are making enough dollars per hour. And even those who make less, are better off that those who "run a business" but end up with a net loss. It's all relative and hopefully, this message will help new or prospective IBOs who are being enticed to join the Amway business opportunity. Good luck to those with jobs and those with businesses. You can be successful either way. Remember that!
Friday, April 7, 2017
Believe In Amway!
Many IBOs cannot be convinced that Amway is not the best opportunity in the world, because they want to believe the lies/deception that is often used when they are recruited. They want to believe that 2-5 years of part time effort will result in lifelong residual income and that they will be traveling to the beaches of the world while cash keeps rolling in. They want to believe that they can ditch their (often) less than adequate jobs. They want to believe that a part time soap business will make all of this possible. The people (upline) who claim to have everyone's best interest at heart will sell them a proven system of success and all they need to do is follow the steps to success.
Many people sign up for Amway and do abosultely nothing. They may not ever order or try products. But these folks do not complain about Amway and the expenses they may incur are minimal. Most do not even bother to seek a refund on their starter kit. It makes me wonder why these folks even bother to sign up. Although, there are stories of people being pestered into registering. Anyway, the part where this business gets dicey is when people register and do put in an earnest effort, only to end up with financial losses. Sometimes the losses are in the tens of thousands of dollars. You get squeezed for a couple of hundreds of dollars a month and after a few years of effort, you can find yourself drowning in debt, even after doing everything your upline advised. The fact that uplines don't disclose their busienss financials speaks volumes. Former uplines who have come forward have shown that most of their income was from hawking standing orders and seminars, and not from Amway sales as they would imply.
I bought into the hype at one time. I believed the lies. I believed my upline that no profit was made from tools. At the time I was an IBO, I too, wanted to believe that I could work part time for 2-5 years and ditch my job. That I would retire at the age of 35 and live in luxury forever. I wanted to believe that. But having reached the 4000 PV level, the precipice of platinum, I also realized that I had no profit. I sat down and did the math and realized that they would be little profit at platinum. I cam to the realization that a second job would have suited me better. I finally quit when I realized this, along with my upline wanting total control of my life. But I hung in as long as I did because I wanted to believe that Amway would be the vehicle that delivered my financial freedom.
Having dropped out of Amway, my life quickly got back to normal. Friends that I had avoided returned to my life. My disposable income increased and my cashflow was positive once again, now that I was no longer obligated to purchase tools. I also noticed years later, that the same old leaders on stage were still working as hard as ever, and none of them had taken the option to retire and walk the beaches of the world. Perhaps these leaders also want to - or have to believe in Amway because they have already invested too much time and effort to call it quits and start something else. I wanted to believe, but the fact is that people were not succeeding. People were not getting free. What I saw was home foreclosures, bankruptcies and financial struggles made worse for people because of Amway and the tool systems. And apparently, these same issues apply to the diamonds. Do your research and you will likely find the same conclusion that I did. That Amway is an impossible dream.
Many people sign up for Amway and do abosultely nothing. They may not ever order or try products. But these folks do not complain about Amway and the expenses they may incur are minimal. Most do not even bother to seek a refund on their starter kit. It makes me wonder why these folks even bother to sign up. Although, there are stories of people being pestered into registering. Anyway, the part where this business gets dicey is when people register and do put in an earnest effort, only to end up with financial losses. Sometimes the losses are in the tens of thousands of dollars. You get squeezed for a couple of hundreds of dollars a month and after a few years of effort, you can find yourself drowning in debt, even after doing everything your upline advised. The fact that uplines don't disclose their busienss financials speaks volumes. Former uplines who have come forward have shown that most of their income was from hawking standing orders and seminars, and not from Amway sales as they would imply.
I bought into the hype at one time. I believed the lies. I believed my upline that no profit was made from tools. At the time I was an IBO, I too, wanted to believe that I could work part time for 2-5 years and ditch my job. That I would retire at the age of 35 and live in luxury forever. I wanted to believe that. But having reached the 4000 PV level, the precipice of platinum, I also realized that I had no profit. I sat down and did the math and realized that they would be little profit at platinum. I cam to the realization that a second job would have suited me better. I finally quit when I realized this, along with my upline wanting total control of my life. But I hung in as long as I did because I wanted to believe that Amway would be the vehicle that delivered my financial freedom.
Having dropped out of Amway, my life quickly got back to normal. Friends that I had avoided returned to my life. My disposable income increased and my cashflow was positive once again, now that I was no longer obligated to purchase tools. I also noticed years later, that the same old leaders on stage were still working as hard as ever, and none of them had taken the option to retire and walk the beaches of the world. Perhaps these leaders also want to - or have to believe in Amway because they have already invested too much time and effort to call it quits and start something else. I wanted to believe, but the fact is that people were not succeeding. People were not getting free. What I saw was home foreclosures, bankruptcies and financial struggles made worse for people because of Amway and the tool systems. And apparently, these same issues apply to the diamonds. Do your research and you will likely find the same conclusion that I did. That Amway is an impossible dream.
Thursday, April 6, 2017
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 directly 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 downline 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. Or how IBOs will use the name of their LOS to deflect the Amway name. i.e. "I'm with WWDB or Network21"
One of the reasons IBOs use to justify their involvement in the pyramid is that they can earn more than their sponsor. While that might be true, it is only because everyone below the emerald or diamond level is basically expendable, or a slave in the pyramid. Also , many IBOs do little or nothing. It's not hard to out earn someone who does little or nothing. 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)
One of the reasons IBOs use to justify their involvement in the pyramid is that they can earn more than their sponsor. While that might be true, it is only because everyone below the emerald or diamond level is basically expendable, or a slave in the pyramid. Also , many IBOs do little or nothing. It's not hard to out earn someone who does little or nothing. 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)
Wednesday, April 5, 2017
Amway IBOs = Unpaid Employees?
What happens to many unsuspecting people is they join Amway thinking they will attain wealth and riches by "owning their own business", but in reality, they have basically become unpaid commissioned employees of Amway. You don't get health insurance, vacation, or any fringe benefits. You get to work unlimited hours and you get commission by moving products. You can leverage your commissions by increasing this unpaid sales force by sponsoring others into your downline.
Some people do succeed employing this method, but you will need to be an elite recruiter in order to get people to sell Amway products for no salary. You are also handicapped right from the start because past IBO behavior has soiled Amway's reputation in the US and Canada. This point is supported by the fact that Amway's sales appear to be growing the most in foreign countries and not in North America. Seems that everyone I know has been at one time, involved with Amway (and had a bad experience) or knows of someone who had a bad experience (i.e. tricked into attending a meeting, or deceived in some way about the opportunity or the products).
Even if you are a great recruiter, your likelihood of attaining Amway success (emerald or higher) is a tiny fraction of 1%. And for those who attain Amway success, they have great difficulty in sustanining that level. It is why there are hoards of "former" emeralds, diamonds and platinums.
You may hear about how Amway was found "legal" by the FTC or that Amway is #1 in online health and beauty sales. All of this may be true, but it doesn't change the fact that an IBO is basically an unpaid commissioned Amway salesperson. You absorb all the business expenses, pay for your own training, and you get to share your commission with layers of upine (more middlemen), some of whom do not help your business, and some who don't even know you exist. It's a great deal for Amway but not for IBOs. You move their products and aborb the expenses and in doing so and they pay out a commission. As for any awards or credits Amway receives, it's great for Amway, but you are an IBO - an independent business owner. You are not Amway.
Bottom line - if you can get people to work for free, you can find numerous opportunities to get rich that are much better and more lucrative than Amway. :-)
Some people do succeed employing this method, but you will need to be an elite recruiter in order to get people to sell Amway products for no salary. You are also handicapped right from the start because past IBO behavior has soiled Amway's reputation in the US and Canada. This point is supported by the fact that Amway's sales appear to be growing the most in foreign countries and not in North America. Seems that everyone I know has been at one time, involved with Amway (and had a bad experience) or knows of someone who had a bad experience (i.e. tricked into attending a meeting, or deceived in some way about the opportunity or the products).
Even if you are a great recruiter, your likelihood of attaining Amway success (emerald or higher) is a tiny fraction of 1%. And for those who attain Amway success, they have great difficulty in sustanining that level. It is why there are hoards of "former" emeralds, diamonds and platinums.
You may hear about how Amway was found "legal" by the FTC or that Amway is #1 in online health and beauty sales. All of this may be true, but it doesn't change the fact that an IBO is basically an unpaid commissioned Amway salesperson. You absorb all the business expenses, pay for your own training, and you get to share your commission with layers of upine (more middlemen), some of whom do not help your business, and some who don't even know you exist. It's a great deal for Amway but not for IBOs. You move their products and aborb the expenses and in doing so and they pay out a commission. As for any awards or credits Amway receives, it's great for Amway, but you are an IBO - an independent business owner. You are not Amway.
Bottom line - if you can get people to work for free, you can find numerous opportunities to get rich that are much better and more lucrative than Amway. :-)
Tuesday, April 4, 2017
The Hidden Amway?
I was in discussion on another forum and a comment was made about Amway being an iceberg, because you see the shiny clean ice on the top but you do not see the majority of the iceberg. Or in other words, the diamonds show you the fancy suits, jewelry, care, mansions, jets and what you don't see is the financial carnage that takes place in their downlines at times. My former upline would tell audiences that they could skip meals to buy more standing orders because you might hear the one thing that could make your business explode.
Sure, on standing orders, you won't hear too much of the unethical and "wrong" teaching, because some of this is monitored by Amway, but it's the night owls and smaller group meetings where the real teaching is disseminated. This is where you are told to practically sell your soul to achieve in Amway. This is where the teaching comes in where you should be purchasing excessive amounts of tools in order to succeed. This is where you are told to never miss a function unless it's for your own funeral. A newbie or casual observer won't see these things but if you ever commit to becoming a business builder, this is likely to become your world.
You don't see the backstage at functions and meetings. Former rubies and platinums have made commentary about the diamonds literall laughing about how gullible the downline are. You don't see the where the cash collected at the meetings and functions go. There had been some past comments about literally, suitcases of cash leaving the premises. If your upline has a mansion and a fleet of nice cars, it's likely that your tools money played a significant part in your diamond obtaining it.
It's a simple conclusion. The tools have a higher markup than Amway products and have fewer beneficiaries to split up the bonuses. A $7.00 Amway product might cost $3.00 or so to make, plus Amway's profit and the rest will be bonus money split up by the layers of IBOs. Whereas a $7.00 cd might take 50 cents to produce and only platinums and higher receive any compensation from this source of income. But rank and file IBOs rarely ever see a true and transparent picture of this business. It is shrouded in secrecy, just like the underside of an iceberg. I challenge IBOs to be real businessmen and women and ask upline the tough questions about where the money is made. Do not accept rhetoric and anecdotal stories. In real business, schedule C business tax returns are the normal way for verification of business income. If you are going to "invest" your hard earned money into the system to the benfit of upline, you should demand this information.
Would any of you purchase a conventional business from someone without proof that it is profitable? Why would an Amway business be any different?
Sure, on standing orders, you won't hear too much of the unethical and "wrong" teaching, because some of this is monitored by Amway, but it's the night owls and smaller group meetings where the real teaching is disseminated. This is where you are told to practically sell your soul to achieve in Amway. This is where the teaching comes in where you should be purchasing excessive amounts of tools in order to succeed. This is where you are told to never miss a function unless it's for your own funeral. A newbie or casual observer won't see these things but if you ever commit to becoming a business builder, this is likely to become your world.
You don't see the backstage at functions and meetings. Former rubies and platinums have made commentary about the diamonds literall laughing about how gullible the downline are. You don't see the where the cash collected at the meetings and functions go. There had been some past comments about literally, suitcases of cash leaving the premises. If your upline has a mansion and a fleet of nice cars, it's likely that your tools money played a significant part in your diamond obtaining it.
It's a simple conclusion. The tools have a higher markup than Amway products and have fewer beneficiaries to split up the bonuses. A $7.00 Amway product might cost $3.00 or so to make, plus Amway's profit and the rest will be bonus money split up by the layers of IBOs. Whereas a $7.00 cd might take 50 cents to produce and only platinums and higher receive any compensation from this source of income. But rank and file IBOs rarely ever see a true and transparent picture of this business. It is shrouded in secrecy, just like the underside of an iceberg. I challenge IBOs to be real businessmen and women and ask upline the tough questions about where the money is made. Do not accept rhetoric and anecdotal stories. In real business, schedule C business tax returns are the normal way for verification of business income. If you are going to "invest" your hard earned money into the system to the benfit of upline, you should demand this information.
Would any of you purchase a conventional business from someone without proof that it is profitable? Why would an Amway business be any different?
Monday, April 3, 2017
The Bottom Line
So many people get duped into thinking that they will somehow get wealthy by becoming an Amway IBO. Many recruiters will tell stories about how they were once broke, but signed up, endured challenges and now they are diamonds enjoying untold wealth and luxuries. They even "show" you pictures of mansions and cars as *proof* that they are wealthy. People get caught up in "dreams" and are often encouraged to ignore the facts. People running businesses should pay close attention to the facts because it tells you much about your business and your likelihood of success. But what are some facts about the Amway business that many people don't know about? I have outlined a few important ones for those who harbor dreams of going diamond.
1. The average diamond, according to Amway, earns about $150,000 a year. Yes, some of this may be supplemented with money from the sale of tools, but after taxes and business expenses such as travel to and from the many functions that a diamond attends would leave a diamond living an ordinary middle class lifestyle, not one with mansions and sports cars as portrayed in many functions or meetings. Yes, a Q12 diamond would have more earnings, but a Q12 diamond is the rare exception, and not the rule.
2. Most IBOs are NEVER able to sponsor a single downline. Pretty hard to develop six (6) downline platinums when most people cannot sponsor anyone. Even those who can sponsor a few people, will find that attrition will make it impossible to keep these IBOs involved and active. (And how do you build a business when more than half of all IBOs are inactive and no little or nothing?)
3. Most Amway products are purchased by IBOs and not sold to customers. Name a real business that sustains itself by having it's own workers or salesforce purchase most of the goods. MLM is probably the only business where this occurs. Understandably, it explains why 99%+ Amwayers lose money when factoring in tool purchases and other business expenses.
4. For most IBOs, the cost of functions, standing orders and other support materials represent the reason why most business building IBOs lose money and it also represents a significant profit for some of the diamonds who sell the materials. A serious conflict of interest in my opinion.
5. Not working hard is not necessarily the reason for someone's failure. But conversely, working hard does not equate success in Amway. I would guess that out of those who work hard, it is still a fraction of 1% of hard working IBOs that even attain a significant profit. Doing nothing won't get you anywhere, but in this business, working hard often gets you nowhere as well. It is my informed opinion that the cost of the support materials is the direct reason why so many IBOs lose money, even out of those who work very hard.
I could go on and on, but these are a handful of facts that IBOs and information seekers should be aware of. I welcome differing thoughts and opinions.
1. The average diamond, according to Amway, earns about $150,000 a year. Yes, some of this may be supplemented with money from the sale of tools, but after taxes and business expenses such as travel to and from the many functions that a diamond attends would leave a diamond living an ordinary middle class lifestyle, not one with mansions and sports cars as portrayed in many functions or meetings. Yes, a Q12 diamond would have more earnings, but a Q12 diamond is the rare exception, and not the rule.
2. Most IBOs are NEVER able to sponsor a single downline. Pretty hard to develop six (6) downline platinums when most people cannot sponsor anyone. Even those who can sponsor a few people, will find that attrition will make it impossible to keep these IBOs involved and active. (And how do you build a business when more than half of all IBOs are inactive and no little or nothing?)
3. Most Amway products are purchased by IBOs and not sold to customers. Name a real business that sustains itself by having it's own workers or salesforce purchase most of the goods. MLM is probably the only business where this occurs. Understandably, it explains why 99%+ Amwayers lose money when factoring in tool purchases and other business expenses.
4. For most IBOs, the cost of functions, standing orders and other support materials represent the reason why most business building IBOs lose money and it also represents a significant profit for some of the diamonds who sell the materials. A serious conflict of interest in my opinion.
5. Not working hard is not necessarily the reason for someone's failure. But conversely, working hard does not equate success in Amway. I would guess that out of those who work hard, it is still a fraction of 1% of hard working IBOs that even attain a significant profit. Doing nothing won't get you anywhere, but in this business, working hard often gets you nowhere as well. It is my informed opinion that the cost of the support materials is the direct reason why so many IBOs lose money, even out of those who work very hard.
I could go on and on, but these are a handful of facts that IBOs and information seekers should be aware of. I welcome differing thoughts and opinions.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)