One of the things that get people excite about joining Amway is the big talk about dreams. My former LOS, WWDB, still has a big annual function called "dream night". At dream night, the diamonds will display a slide show with pictures of mansions, sports cars, jets, jet skis, breath taking vacations, golf outings and other fabulous goodies that will get people excited. For many, the prospect of not having to work 9-5 while still having cash roll in is enough to convince them that Amway is the greatest thing since sliced bread was invented. But who is attaining these dreams? Certainly not the rank-and-file IBOs.
The problem is that the diamonds are simply filling prospects and starry eyed IBOs with false hopes and dreams. But the IBOs fall for it. I've seen IBOs so caught up in the hype that they literally have tears streaming down their faces because they want the financial freedom that the diamond pitch as attainable. Then after these fired up IBOs get home from the function, they are told that they simply need to invest in these tools and functions and their business will flourish. Of course after a short while, the vast majority will read between the lines and quit, typically with net business losses.
While some people may attain some of these goals and trappings of wealth, the vast majority, probably more than 99% of people who come and go through the business, end up in failure and most with a loss of money. Even those who put forth heroic efforts often find themselves at a loss after several months or several years of effort. I suspect that many diamonds themselves, cannot afford the luxuries they show off. There is evidence of this happening. Several diamonds have had homes foreclosed, a prominent triple diamond was in chapter 7 bankruptcy proceedings. Former diamonds have come forth and explained that their income came mainly from tools (audios and functions) and that Amway income wasn't that much. Some diamonds have resigned or quit, which debunks the myth of lifelong residual income. Some diamonds even took their entire groups and left Amway for other MLMs. So much for Amway being the best and providing lifelong residual income.
It is a sad thing indeed, that so many innocent prospects and IBOs have been deceived by shady upline leaders into thinking that in a short time frame, they will be purchasing homes in cash, retiring before the age of 40, and "walking the beaches" for the rest of their lives. In fact, I don't know of any diamonds who have done just that. It appears that crown ambassadors and others are all still working and some of them have passed away while still actively working the business. Why aren't there people going diamond and then "walking away" to live a quiet life of luxury unmatched by any other opportunity?
Maybe it is a big lie or a myth? IBOs are basically dedicating their time and money to chasing an unattainable dream?
2 comments:
If someone has a big down-line that is generating solid income for him every month, he CAN'T quit. The minute he stops recruiting to replace those IBOs who give up, and working like mad to propagandize those other IBOs who are growing skeptical, his entire Amway structure will begin to disintegrate.
You can't put together a 6-4-2 down-line structure and then just sit back and collect cash. It doesn't work that way! It never did work that way! The notion that it only takes two to five years to build an Amway business, and then you can retire forever, is completely false.
The language of business is not presentations of financial comfort and a comfortable lifestyle, it is financial statements, things like income statements, balance sheets and cash flow. This is not rocket science, we can even simplify it and say for a micro business that is not accumulating assets, it comes down to an income statement.
If want to you sign up for a business, where you want to emulate what a mentor has done whose advice is going to carry weight, you should demand to see his income statement, also known as a profit and loss statement. That is every bit your business, he is after all going to know exactly what your turnover is, and trust should go both ways. If he wants to you can sign a non disclosure agreement before he shares that with you, but see it you should see it.
It is what he does with his money that is not really your business. You want to see how he earns from the business he claims is great, what revenue streams in that business, and how he out earns his expenses. If you have a common interest in sports cars sure he can share that, but a pic of a mentor in a sports car has no place in a business decision. Sharing that to an audience is meaningless and I actually find it a bit nauseating. Good for you, I'd say, but so what?
MLM defenders say "It's none of your business! Do I ask you what your net worth it?". That is a ridiculous defense, you just want to see the books of the particular business he wants you to emulate. That is business 101. It is actually less personal than what he does with his alleged fortune.
Some defenders say "I don't know yet, still counting!". And asking about income is "employee mindset". What utter nonsense! All businesses have a pipeline and revenue that has actually been realized. You are interested in the latter. If the business is ever going to work, if it is marketed as easy to start, and if he wants to be your mentor, there should be realized income after a few weeks.
Do not sign up for any business on dreams and hype. You sign up on a workable plan that makes realistic provision for all overhead expenses such as travel and accommodation, training, phone and internet, everything. As well as projected earnings. That plan becomes your budget, and after you've started you revisit what is happening against that.
Anybody who advises you otherwise is not in the business of helping you with a business. If people look back and say "I haven't made anything but I've learned so much about business" and they don't practice the above, that statement is empty.
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