Success is subjective. Someone making ten dollars might be considered successful. For others, nothing less than a barrel of cash will suffice. One other important point is that there are undoubtably some very successful people in Amway. I am sure that some Amway diamonds are quite well off and enjoy some of the finer things in life. But the reality is that these successes are very rare and many of these successes apparently are not sustainable as many people are led to believe. The more likely scenario is an IBO making a few dollars a month while spending more than that on training. They are losing money, but they think they are successful. The reality indicates otherwise.
But the bigger issue in the Amway opportunity is where the success comes from. Sure, many people want to "go diamond" and live in luxury while barrels of cash roll in. But what is unknown to many, is that the few who enjoy the lifestyle and trappings do so at the expense of their downline. The downline move the volume and the downline purchases the system materials, both of which is profitable for the upline. Because Amway products, admittedly are not commonly sold to people who are not IBOs, then anyone can conclude that upline success comes from the pockets of the downline. Most downline would be better off writing a check for $100 each month to their upline and not participating in the business or buying products at all.This in itself would not be such an issue if the system actually churned out new successes frequently AND if the downline were not led to believe that the system is the key to their success. But less than one half of one percent of IBOs ever reach platinum and out of those who do, only a tiny fraction of one percent ever attain the diamond level. But the business has tens of millions of people or more, who tried and could never achieve what was promoted. Lack of effort may be a factor, but when that many people try and fail, it's evident that the system is flawed as well. The rate of success is comparable to a lottery, which is sad when you consider that Amway is not a game of chance.
To summarize, it is possible for someone to achieve a level of success in Amway, but it is so difficult and so rare that IBOs probably have a better chance of winning the lottery or being struck by lightning than they do of achieving a significant level in the Amway business. Some people are successful, but it is usually at the expense of their downline. The catch is that uplines will teach their faithful downline IBOs that attending a function or buying a standing order is success, regardless of whether an IBO is earning a profit. So many IBOs think they're successful but they are simply fooling themselves with the help of their upline.
Success is subjective and relative, but success sadly, for the vast majority of IBOs, it is also unattainable, at least in the Amway opportunity.
Yes, yes, I thought of doing what you said, "if I only wrote a check for $100 monthly, to my upline & did not participate, I would have been miles ahead compared to all the gas money, baby-sitting money, food on a trip, wear & tear on the car, time away from my small kids, some of the tapes & books & foods that were junk but they promoted & on & on.
ReplyDeleteI learned after one big event & a leader stacking up the cash, that about half of the earnings of Direct & above came from the non Amway books, tapes & functions money. It is not a high percentage but, if a Diamond got 50 cents each off of moving 100,000 tapes, that is $50,000, in one month. Then understanding that at above Direct level, you had to do whatever the higher up leaders said or you would not get a position to talk at a function = no money from function or tapes, your income drops in half. You were beholden to the system, to make the money they say comes from selling goods but, they don't say that includes system goods; it is a half truth.