Behind The Scenes?

 One of the things that the Amway Diamonds and some other leaders do to attract new IBOs is to put on a dog and pony show. They want prospects to think that you can consume Amway products and get others to follow your lead and in a few years, you will be set for life financially, speaking on stages and securing the future for generations to come. They might use props such as pictures of mansion. slideshows of cars, yets, yachts. It looks impressive but based on what I know now, who knows whether the diamonds actually own this stuff or if they are simply showing you a slideshow of "lifestyles of the rich and famous". The reality is very likely that many diamonds are actually living in debt or bonus check to bonus check. It is a fact that more than half of NBA basketball pros end up broke less than 5 years after they retire, and they earn tons more cash than diamonds. Why would a diamond be different than the average Joe, especially when they appear to live beyond their means?

In the few cases where diamond income was exposed, we can see that they were not making the kind of money they would have you believe.  A Triple diamond (documented) was making about half a million a year from Amway. A nice income for sure, but not what people would think, and not enough to save that diamond from chapter 7 bankruptcy. Another WWDB diamond apparently lost a home to foreclosure. Another diamond, unnamed but documented in the book "Amway Motivational Organizations, Behind the Smoke and Mirrors", talks about a diamond who had a gross income of over 3 million dollars, and a net of about $320,000. This diamond was in debt, had back taxes owed to the government, and was working hard to portray the diamond lifestyle while living in serious debt.

Some of these leaders also use religion or Christianity as a means to justify their involvement in the business. For those who know, the Bible is clear that the love of money can lead to destruction. When you have functions such as Dream Night, what does that say? I would also like to note that in cases where these diamond's financials were exposed, there were no significant contributions to charity. I wonder if these charlatans talk a good game but do not contribute time or money to worthy causes? Where are the ten thousand dollar checks they talk about donating to charity? These leaders often refer to themselves as mentors, but any help they provide to downline results in some kind of compensation for them. This is not a mentor, but more like a paid consultant who is not getting effective results.  

Behind the nice suits and the glitz of the functions, I believe that IBOs and prospects would see a world they truly would not want to be a part of. A world where deceit is practically needed to succeed. Where you take advantage of people who trust in you. Where you pretend to be wealthy and free, but in reality a slave to the mighty dollar. Where you traded a 9-5 job for a job that works the graveyard shift. If you look objectively behind the scenes, you might see what I see.

Great For Amway?

 I hear ridiculous claims from IBOs at times. They make all kinds of claims that have nothing to do with their business. For example, Amway recently reported their sales at 1 billion dollars in a month. It's good - for Amway! It has no bearing on "John Smith" Enterprises, or whatever you call your business. In fact, because most Amway IBOs lose money, you could conclude that more Amway sales could result in more IBOs losing money.  This is because the vast majority of business building IBOs lose money, primarily because they have too many business expenses for a small, person to person business.  Expenses are typically tools and functions.

Amway Arena had a rock concert! Great for Amway - it has no bearing on John Smith Enterprises. The DeVos and Van Andel families are billionaires! Great - it has no bearing on an IBO's business. Amway winning awards has no correlation with an IBO making a net profit. Amway at one time reported a partnership with the Detroit Red Wings. Great, but that helps IBOs in what way other than having a topic of conversation?

So many IBOs mistakenly or ignorantly confuse Amway's success for their own. Of course, it helps when the corporation gets good press because it can help them recruit downline by having something nice to point out. But then again, many IBOs don't sell goods, they "buy from themselves". If you buy from yourself, then all of this good press does nothing to increase your sales. Without sales, you can't make money unless you recruit tons of downline, and even at that, without sales and many downline, you may be running an illegal pyramid.

All of the good things happening for Amway or because of Amway - is it increasing your bottom line? Is it helping your "Independent Business"? If not, then why brag about it? Aren't you an IBO - Independent Business Owner? Can you make the same or similar claims about your own business?

P.S. Amway is NOT endorsed by the BBB or FTC. IBOs who make these claims are possibly in violation of the Amway IBO rules of conduct. IBOs should go look it up if they don't know what I am referring to.

Illusion?

 One of the things my Amway upline taught us ad nauseum was that we needed to have faith in our business and in our upline. That we needed to believe that we were going to be successful. IBOs are told that they should act successful even if they are still working their way up the ranks in the business. It is why they ask (require) IBOs to wear suits and business attire to all meetings and functions. This is one of the weird quirks about the business in my opinion. I live in Hawaii and I remember a function they held in the middle of July in a high school auditorium and there was no air conditioning. I think my suit needed special cleaning because it was completely saturated with perspiration.

Anyway, with this part of the year, soon there will be thousands of IBOs shuffling off to a function called dream night, or in some cases, winter conference. The tickets are about $60 to $80 and includes a dinner. What IBOs are often unaware of is that many venues will allow you to run these conferences for $20 to $25 per person. The rest of that ticket prices goes directly into your upline's pockets. Anyway, the dream night function will feature slide shows of mansions, yachts, jet skis, sports cars, fabulous vacations and other trappings of wealth.

What many IBOs don't realize is that this display of wealth is just that. There is no bonafide evidence to indicate that these diamonds actually own all of those toys and goodies. The diamonds probably won't verbally confirm it either, because these toys and goodies may not really be owned by them. It could be rented, or maybe some upline corwn ambassador may own the mansion, but IBOs will assume that these trappings of wealth are common once you reach diamond. As an IBO, I never actually knew how much a diamond really earned. I just assumed it was a lot because we were shown all of these goodies and just assumed all diamonds had these kinds of lifestyles.

If I posted a picture of a mansion and a jet and said I owe it all to my earnings as a blogger, people would cry foul, that I am lying or making things up. And they would be right. Well, I would guess that many diamonds are doing the very same thing if they appear on stage and implying that they have jets and mansions. As I said, someone may own a mansion and a jet, but to imply that this is a part of the typical diamond lifestyle is a stretch. The evidence is there. Some diamonds have lost their homes to foreclosure. My old LOS diamonds (WWDB) taught us that diamonds pay cash for everything, including homes. Now confirmed as a blatant lie. Who knows what else they may have misrepresented?

I ask IBOs and prospects who may be attending dream night, to watch with a critical eye. What is being implied with the display of wealth? Analyze if those goodies can be purchased with a diamond income ($150,000 plus some tool income). Ask yourself if this lifestyle is truly sustainable? Ask yourself if you can live with yourself if deception is a part of earning your diamond lifestyle?

Mentors?

  One of the humorous things that Amway IBOs talk about us how their upline is some kind of mentor.  I find it humorous because someone standing on a stage makes a no mentor. A mentor has a personal relationship with the person they are helping, and they likely spend a great deal of time with the person they are mentoring.  That's how this kind of relationship works.  Exchanging pleasantries at an occasional function or meeting does not a mentor make.

Another aspect that IBOs overlook is that mentors don’t charge their pupils money for their help.  This is just another BS line that the upline diamonds have dropped on the audience that makes them feel good.  My time spent at functions or large meetings are hardly anything close to resembling mentor ship.  Even if you got to spend some time with your upline diamond, you are still spending money on tools and functions.  A diamond would never give time to an IBO who was not serious enough to invest in tools and functions.  How they justify this as mentoring is beyond me and makes me wonder if IBOs lose their critical thinking skills once they commit to building a business.  

I’m curious as to what specifics a diamond would teach a downline because the things that IBOs parrot seem to be ridiculous and out in left field, so to speak.  I engaged in a conversation where an IBO told me the facts don’t matter because he has a big dream.  Another IBO told me that even if he’s buying from himself, he still made profits because he charged himself full retail price for products, therefore he was profiting.  I mentioned that moving cash from your savings account to your business account is not true profit.  Not to mention that the amount of cash you moved from one account to another is now subject to taxation.  

The diamond’s main theme will always be to get you to participate in the tools and functions because they can profit from you and then because of the sunken cost fallacy, sone IBOs don’t want to quit despite losing money month after month because you’re already invested in the business.  

The fact remains that the relationship between a diamond and IBO is not mentorship and student.  The upline is more like a paid consultant that unfortunately has miserable results.  That’s a fact.  

Justifying?

  One of the things I heard as an Amway IBO was how as an average working man, we tend to justify our existence. For example, we will tell others that "I'm doing okay", at least with respect to our finances. We justify our apparent lack of finances that way. So, my upline would talk about building the business so that the money is literally pouring in. But based on my observations and some tangible evidence, we know that many diamonds and certainly those below diamond do not have money pouring in. In fact, I suspect many diamonds are in debt and possibly living month to month. As much of a diamond's income is from annual bonuses, it's possible that a diamond's monthly bonus from Amway is quite small. It is why I have often said that many diamonds are likely living very middle class lifestyles while trying to portray a fabulous jet set lifestyle. It is why I feel that many diamonds are actually broke or near broke. When you do the math, it makes sense.

And if diamonds can get into financial difficulty, then certainly IBOs are also in trouble. Many recruits are in financial difficulty, or do not earn enough income, which is why Amway appeals to them in the first place. It is why Amway appealed to me at the time I was involved. Many are convinced that Amway will make them rich. While uplines may have said Amway is not get rich quick, the prospect must have been fed the line that they will eventually get rich, else why would anyone sign up in the first place?

But in the big picture, IBOs are no different than other people. They also justify themselves. In fact, many are taught to justify themselves. It is why I still see IBOs claiming that Amway saves marriages. One IBO recently made the age old claim that the world has a 60% divorce rate and WWDB IBOs have a 2% divorce rate. Well, I am certain that is not true. I would guess that in many cases, Amway is the very reason some couples get divorced. And actually, this would not be an issue if IBOs and their leaders would not claim it. I believe the divorce rate amongst WWDB diamonds is already higher than what these IBOs are claiming. But upline just covers up scandals and downlines ignore the lies and cover ups.

Another funny one is when IBOs claim they are helping people by building the business. How do you help someone by enrolling them in a business where they are nearly guaranteed to lose money? What do IBOs do that is helpful to others? While IBOs are at functions or prospecting, other people are doing community service projects or feeding the homeless. I challenge an IBO to explain how recruiting others into Amway is helping them. Many IBOs also believe they are nicer people as a result of their involvement with Amway. If true, then it is a nice benefit, except this is a business and a business exists to make a profit. How many would join if they were only going to accomplish everything but make money?

IBOs, are you succeeding or justifying yourselves?

False Hope?

 The really insidious part of Amway, in my opinion is that certain leaders of AMOs such as WWDB use the hopes and dreams of people to get them to join Amway and to sell them motivational tools that are supposed to help people to achieve these hopes and dreams. Many of these folks are nice, motivated and hard working people who have dreams and goals. What they don't often see right away is that those dreams and hopes are not going to be fulfilled by building and Amway business and using WWDB as a support system.

Since my time in the business, WWDB has fewer diamonds now than there were when I was an IBO. While there may be some new diamonds, I don't really know of any in the US. I believe there are some new diamonds in foreign countries where the Amway name and tool scam hasn't been fully exposed as it has in the US and Canada. This is a glaring issue. If diamond is the pinnacle of success, then where are they? The same old tired diamonds are on stage and apparently teaching the same BS today, that they taught many years ago, despite claims that things have changed.

They still teach about buying everything in cash, and that there is residual income and walking the beaches. I find it very odd that with the benefit of walking away from Amway while cash rolls in, why hasn't anyone exercised their right to do so. Is it that all of these tired old diamonds love Amway and they downline so much that they cannot bear to quit? Or is it more likely that the residual income for life is a complete myth and that these diamonds work because they have to?

I know of at least two (2) WWDB diamonds who had their homes foreclosed. There is also a triple diamond who was dabbling in chapter 7 bankruptcy, and ironically, this diamond is still on stage teaching audiences about his financial acumen. There are some diamonds who lived and loved Hawaii and the ocean, but saw it fit to move to the mainland US. Many WWDB diamonds put their homes for sale in a bad real estate market. Sure, they may just want to liquidate, but maybe they can't afford these mansions and toys anymore? Maybe.

WWDB still has a function called "Dream Night" where the diamonds parade around showing off sports cars, fancy homes, jet skis and other toys, implying that they all own these things and paid for in cash. They want the audience to dream of obtaining the same and that Amway is the only way to attain it. Sadly, for most, joining Amway and WWDB is far more likely to push you farther away from your hopes and dreams. Amway's own numbers tell the story. About $200 a month average IBO income (and that includes diamonds and higher ups), and about one fourth of one percent (.26%) achieve the gold/platinum level where you might earn about $1000 to $2000 a month gross income.

Buyer beware.

The Scam?

 A lot of people come and go in Amway, but many of those who come and go don't even notice the scam. They get sold on what they believe is a business opportunity that they can make some money at, or at the very least save some money on products that they would normally buy anyway. If they do it right, they can possibly make some "real" money and with some had work, you can build it right and have the option one day of walking away from Amway and living off ongoing residual income from Amway. It sounds reasonable and therein lies the scam.

For years, I have challenged people to name 2-3 people, aside from the Amway owners, who joined, built the business "right" and was able to walk away and retire with ongoing residual income, enough to be financially free forever. Not a single person has been able to name and confirm that even a single person has done this. I believe it's all a lie and part of the scam. Amway's distributor force turns over about 50% each year. How can you build a residual income empire when half of your downline quits each year? I believe Amway diamonds trade their 9-5 jobs for the night shift. They work at night and into the morning hours because they are working to replace people who quit and to support downline platinums who might struggle or fail to re-qualify for that level. If upline says they are working for the love of their downline, I call BS on that. If walking away and enjoying life was an option, why hasn't anyone chosen it?

Now you could argue that a diamond's "work" isn't that bad, and they aren't reporting to a boss. And that would be true, but I imagine the pressure of churning people in and out to keep qualifying can be stressful in itself. If you live on an island like me, you can eventually have trouble finding new people to work with. In 1997 or so, there were a bunch of diamonds in Hawaii and they all moved to the mainland. Now I'm not sure why but my upline diamond was Harimoto, who loved the ocean and the beaches. Yet he moved to Washington state. I believe they needed new grounds to mine, just like gold miners.

The next part of the scam is how IBOs will tell you about Amway's generous money back guarantee. 100% they'll tell you. What they don't tell you is that the guarantee is only on some of the products and the sign up fee. The cds, books, voicemail and functions are not sold or run by Amway. And these expenses can be very significant over a period of time. IBOs and prospects need to know this. You can lose thousands and get back pennies on the dollar asking for a refund on the sign up fee and perhaps a few products. Another piece of the scam.

Also, IBOs and prospects are often shown only the very best case scenario (such as going diamond) but not told that your chance of being struck by lightning is much higher than your chance of going diamond, even though going diamond is not a random event. A real life and likely scenario is getting in and trying hard for a while, and then quitting with some business losses. At least if you know this and still try anyway, you will have done so with full disclosure.

Lastly, it's insidious in my opinion, for upline to tell you to trust them and to do as they say, and then turn around and tell IBOs that failure is their responsibility. That they didn't work hard enough or do thing just right. That sure isn't what they are preaching when recruiting you into the business. They are saying how sharp you are and how you're likely to tear up the business. But it's just another facet of the scam. I've outlined the parts of the opportunity that I believe are scams, but I'm sure it's not limited to my point of view.

Good luck if you read this and join anyway.

IBOs Talk A Good Game?

 Having blogged for a number of years now, I have observed that Amway IBOs talk a good game about retailing, sponsoring and doing Amway business activities. They will tell you to set yourself up with 20 customers, sponsor 6 frontline, show a number of plans and set up certain follow ups with contacts, and doing other activities supposedly to build an Amway business. I find if humorous when these same IBOs start throwing insults or diverting the discussion when someone asks if they are actually making money. Of course, it would be understandable if a new IBO would admit they had not made a fortune as of yet, but it seems that even that response is not forthcoming from IBOs.  

It seems that the Amway business is simple enough. Buy some products, sell products and try to sponsor some downline in order to leverage your volume with your downlines. IBOs mistakenly believe that you can build it once correctly and that the income will flow into future generations. What goes unnoticed is that IBOs come and go with such a high frequency, that a business generating residual income would be like a sandcastle on the beach. You might build it nice and big, but the waves of attrition would quickly turn that sandcastle into nothing. The same would be true of an Amway business. The IBOs dropping out would wipe out your business unless you are constantly replacing the people who quit. IBOs like to talk about Amway sales and how the company is growing in sales, but the Amway sales have no relationship with making IBOs more profitable. 

IBOs may also toss in comments about how they are nicer people or how they are improving their marriage because of the Amway business. I often wonder how that can be when functions and meetings take you away from your family and spouse. I suppose it could be because the uplines talk about people being nicer or tossing out lies about Amway and the AMOs saving marriages. I remember a WWDB diamond talking about how WWDB members had a 2% divorce rate while the rest of society has a 60% divorce rate. Ironically, that diamond's marriage ended in divorce. I believe this crap is still taught as a WWDB IBO who blogs, had mentioned this tidbit on his blog last year. I don't believe Amway IBOs or anyone else has a higher or lower rate of divorce than society, but it becomes an issue when uplines teach it and their downlines repeat it. 

So, it would seem that IBOs talk a good game. They know what to say and how to act, but they're like poker players who are bluffing. If you call them on it, they are likely to fold in their hands because they don't have the goods. It is why many Amway discussions turn into a insult contest, when the IBO suddenly gets confronted with facts that are contrary to upline teaching. It's usually quite funny but I wonder if these folks question their upline or go on their merry way repeating uplines lies? It becomes apparent to everyone but the IBO when they are repeating crazy stuff taught by their upline. Good luck to anyone who tries to build this business against nearly insurmountable odds.

Inconvenient Facts?

 So many people get duped into thinking that they will somehow get uber 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 may even tell stories about how they ran out of Amway toilet paper and winded up using Amway tissues or paper towels to remain 100% loyal to Amway products.  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 (before annual bonuses), earns about $150,000 a year. Yes, some of this may be supplemented with money from the sale of tools and functions, 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 (and possibly in debt), not one with mansions and sports cars as portrayed in many functions or meetings. Update: Now Amway lists the average earnings at nearly $600k, but that is for Q12 diamonds (qualify diamond for all 12 months in Amway fiscal year). Q12 diamonds are the exception and not the normal in Amway. Amway no longer mentions "regular" diamonds but I have no reason to believe that the average diamond in Amway increased or decreased significantly.  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. And how do you grow and maintain a group when most of your group won't be able to sponsor anyone despite all of the training?   Which begs the question, why pay for training that doesn't work?

3. Most Amway products are purchased by IBOs and not necessarily sold to customers. Name a real business that sustains itself by having its own workers or sales force purchase most of the goods. MLM is probably the only business where this occurs. Understandably, it explains why 99%+ Amway IBOs lose money.

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. Because Amway doesn't say which diamonds are currently qualified, you easily could have "former" diamonds who are still speaking at functions who make more on tools and functions than from Amway.  Would you pay money to see a diamond who perhaps qualified once in the 1980's and never qualified again, to hear what they have to say about building an Amway business?

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, unlike many pro Amway supporters.

Conventional Business?

 One of the things I heard as an Amway IBO, and I believe is still said in some Amway meetings is that conventional businesses do not profit for up to five years. That's bogus. Conventional businesses make a profit as soon as they sell their first product. They may not have a net profit right away because of the initial investment into equipment and rental property, but they do profit by selling goods. The same principle would apply to an Amway business except that Amway IBOs have difficulty selling products. If you opened an Amway catalog and compared their prices to local retailers, you would know what I'm talking about.

Despite the small startup costs and the little to no overhead costs, most IBOs never turn a profit. I will acknowledge that many IBOs probably never do a single thing once they sign up. I believe there is an underlying story behind this as well, but I will move on. Out of the more serious IBOs, even in this group, most of them will never make a net profit if they are using tools. Factoring the cost of the website, the voicemail, standing orders, books and functions and cds, IBOs simply get drained of their money a couple hundred of bucks a month at a time. Amway uplines meanwhile, are earning nice profits on product purchases and someone upline are also earning profits on the tools. The tools carry a higher profit margin so it would make sense that some uplines earn more from tools than from Amway.

Toss in other challenges such as high prices for many products (higher than local retailers) and a crappy reputation from IBO behavior such as tricking people into meetings and you have an opportunity with nearly insurmountable handicaps. Yes, a rare few and usually charismatic people can overcome these odds, but only one or two out of tens of thousands are able to do so. And even those who reach the pinnacle of diamond, may not be able to maintain qualification. It's very common for someone to reach the level of emerald or diamond only to backslide and not qualify the following year. So much for residual income and walking the beaches of the world.

So, I don't know all of the detailed statistics about how long it takes for a conventional business to turn a net profit. It may take up to five years. But based on my experiences and some number crunching, I'd have to say that the vast majority of Amway Business Owners NEVER TURN A PROFIT - EVER, and most of them ending up with net losses when business expenses are factored in. And toss in the fact that Amway allegedly has little or no overhead costs and I can only conclude that the Amway opportunity sucks.

The Information Buffet BS?

 In the Amway business, most active IBOs are advised to trust upline unconditionally.  To think of upline as a coach or a mentor. These upline mentors or coaches are supposed to have your best interest at heart and they will guide you to success if only you will be open to learning. Many uplines, including my former uplines used to coin the term "copy" or duplicate. If you can do that you will be successful. Even the simplest of people can copy. The upline may crack a joke about getting thru school by copying. Thus, many IBOs follow exactly what their upline advises them to do. 

But then uplines turn the responsibility away from themselves. Many Amway defenders will also claim that downline should not simply follow the advice of upline. They may make a ridiculous claim that standing orders and functions contain advice that must be discerned. That information is like a buffet. You pick and choose what you need and discard the rest. If you are a new Amway IBO or prospect, let me tell you that is a load of guano (crap) that is being heaped on you. Your upline is touted as having experience and wisdom in the Amway business, which is why you are paying good money for voicemail, books, cds/audios and functions. So why would their advice be something you pick and choose? How would a new IBO know what to pick and choose?

Imagine hiring a guide for a trek in the wilderness. The guide is supposed to be an experienced outdoorsman, perhaps an expert. So, if he recommends that you eat certain plants or fruits, you trust that he is going to guide you right. Imagine eating something that made you sick to your stomach, only to have the guide tell you that he just points out plants and fruits and you have to discern which is good for you and which is not. You would fire the guide and tell everyone you know not to use that guide anymore, and rightfully so. 

But here we have these "systems" such as Network 21, WWDB or BWW that have been "guiding" IBOs for up to 20 years or more in some cases, and the number of diamonds are negligible. Sure there are many new platinums, but many tool consuming platinums have been found to be losing money or making very little money for their efforts. What's more, it would appear that Amway is losing ground in North America based on sales and revenue.  One can reasonably guess that any new platinums that break are simply replacing the volume for a platinum that no longer exists or a platinum that no longer qualifies. My former upline diamond appears to have all new qualifying platinums from the time I was in the business and here's the kicker. My former diamond had 6 downline rubies. As far as I know, none of these rubies are qualified as platinum anymore, although I have heard that one or two of these are still active, but as customers and not as leaders in Amway.  

Uplines also program their downline to take responsibility for the failure. Thus you have IBOs who did everything that was asked of them, only to fail. Yet these IBOs often blame themselves for their failure. It is my opinion that former IBOs who did everything asked of them only to fail should file a formal complaint against their LOS with the better business bureau. Amway defenders like to think that a lack of formal complaints means that the system works when clearly, there is no unbiased substantial evidence to suggest that the system works. It looks like some succeed in spite of the system, not because of.  The vast majority go system IBOs lose money.  

The catch in all this is uplines skirting responsibility for the outcomes of those they "mentor" and profit from. IBOs should ask if upline really cared about their success, why do you have to pay for any help that you receive from your upline diamond?

A Likely Experience?

 One thing Amway promoters and apologists like to do is to paint a best case scenario when promoting Amway. I can't blame a promoter for wanting to show the best case scenario, but in my informed opinion, it's a matter of whether there is deception or outright lies in displaying that best case scenario. For example, when other "financial" gurus air their infomercials, they have a disclaimer to explain that success testimonials are a "unique" experience. Many Amway promoters apparently do the opposite and make it seem as if financial success in Amway is the norm and not the exception. But what is the more common or likely experience for an IBO?

I am not going to discuss the IBOs who sign up and do nothing, even if this may be common. (That's because there may also be reasons for this, such as deception or harassment used by the recruiters).

I believe that for many, they will see the plan, usually the 6-4-2 plan which is to show how you can become a platinum. The speaker may slide in how all you need is six of these groups and you will be a diamond and make hundreds of thousands of dollars and walk the beaches of the world.

The reality for many is to sign up full of excitement, and thinking that certainly, some of their friends and family will agree that this is viable. So, the new IBO will buy or consume 100 PV and may try to sell a few items. Eventually, this same IBO will talk to family and friends and many of their friends and family will show sour faces as they already had or know someone who had a questionable or bad experience with an Amway IBO. I myself got tricked into a meeting at one time. They may listen to the standing orders and attend the meetings with the intent of succeeding as per the plan.

But after a few months, not many people are interested in registering, not many want to buy the products, and it becomes increasingly harder to make contacts and to get new people to see the plan. The expenses start to add up. You have products such as laundry detergent or LOC that you don't need to replace but you have your defacto 100 PV quota, so you end up buying other things to reach that all important 3% bonus bracket. By now, you have a cache of household products and goods that you never really used prior to Amway, you notice that your checking account is shrinking as the products, and the other expenses such as voicemail and functions are starting to add up.

You finally quit, in some cases with the now former IBO feeling embarrassed or ashamed that they even got involved in all this. They disappear and all of their former "lifelong" IBO friends could care less. They won't bother to complain about their experience but may feel the need to vent if someone discusses Amway again.

In the final analysis, the bad experience and financial losses likely came at the hands of an AMO such as Network21, WWDB or BWW, but the attachment of a bad experience will be tied to Amway. This is a more likely experience than someone quitting their job to walk the beaches of the world.

The Quota

  Most LOS groups that I know of, use 100 PV as the benchmark when promoting the Amway business. Many groups also teach that you simply "change" your shopping habits and you can easily reach 100 PV. This teaching creates an artificial demand for Amway products, and I believe that Amway sales would take a huge dip if not for this teaching. I also am of the opinion that for this reason, Amway had/has done little to reign in LOS abuses of downline.

100 PV is roughly equal to about $250 to $300 worth of products. Of course, your cost may vary, depending on whether you purchase a lot of CORE Amway products such as laundry detergent, and nutrilte vitamins. For many people, the 100 PV benchmark is seen as the minimum for a business building IBO. The problem for many is that Amway products are not competitively priced, thus it is a hard sell. If I can buy the same or a similar product elsewhere for a fraction of the price, I will. And most consumers feel the same way.

It is why some LOS groups adopted the "buy from yourself and get others to do the same" philosophy. Since most people do not like selling, and because of the high prices of Amway products, simply telling prospects to buy from yourself made the concept palatable. The problem with buy from yourself is that it reaches the borders of being illegal, in my opinion. That is because in a buy from youself environment, the only way for an IBO to make a profit, is to recruit downline to benefit from the volume rebates. That is because there is no outside customers to bring in cash from outside the circle of IBOs.

What makes this issue even worse is when you have LOS groups such as WWDB creating an even greater problem with programs such as eagle. If 100 PV is an inflated demand for Amway products, incentive programs such as eagle make it worse. How can a single person reasonably be expected to move 200 to 300 PV when most of it is personal consumption? The upline leaders use these programs as an incentive for downline IBOs, but in turn, they benefit financially by having more downline volume, as well as potentially enhanced tools sales by dedicated downline IBOs.

I challenge any IBO or prospect to take a close look at your Amway purchases. Are you truly just changing your shopping habits and achieving 100 PV or are you buying things to give away, or buying things that accumulate somewhere? Unless IBOs are selling half of their purchases, they are probably overbuying Amway products. I believe it is simply because of upline teaching which creates a defacto 100 PV quota and an artificial demand for Amway products. I challenge you to examine this closely and make your own conclusions.

Buying Prosperity?

  One thing I can credit Amway diamonds with is coming up with the most bat sh@t crazy ideas that sound sensible to IBOs but utter madness to anyone else.  One that I heard about was how you can buy your way to prosperity.  Buy your own Amway products and get others to follow and you’ll soon be on the road to early retirement and residual income.   Why not just buy a diamond business?  Then you get to speak on stage and talk about your "success". Of course the benefits of this might be outweighed by the cost.  

Have you ever seen a store or business prosper when the majority of sales are simply to the business owner and employees?   The answer is no because such a business does not exist, except perhaps in Amway.  It’s amazing that people actually believe that you can get rich buying from yourself.  But it works on the downline so the diamonds perpetuate the storyline.  Buying from yourself seems appealing to those who do not like selling, which is most people.

One thing I saw at a live function was the diamond telling IBOs to ask prospects if they like selling stuff and whether the answer was yes or no, your response would be “great, then this business is perfect for you”.  Of course, actual stories of significant retail sales were rare, and my own experience suggested that sympathetic family and friends comprised most of whatever sales took place and I found myself at times selling items at my cost just so the expenses of moving 100 PV wasn’t all on me.  

The strategy of buying your own stuff seems to work because most people do not like selling stuff and especially not to friends.  But many will give it a run because they are hopeful that Amway will deliver the wealth that upline seemingly promises.  The sad thing about a that dreams of wealth is all you get and there’s very little success to speak of.  From function to function it’s the same old diamonds time and again.  It's pretty rare to see a stream of new diamonds, at least in the US in my opinion, unless I'm mistaken.  Even in Hawaii, I still see Amway venues at times, but they seem to be smaller.

The diamonds might say they want downline success but they don’t.  They just want to keep replacing quitters with new members as long as they can churn in new tools and functions subscribers.  That’s the real game of diamonds and that’s why the emphasis of the tools and functions is recruiting new people into the game. It’s an elaborate scheme that prospects and new IBOs don’t see because they have Amway dreams clouding their thoughts.   If you really break it down, hordes of new diamonds would mean less money from tools and functions for existing diamonds.  It better for a diamond if people join, work hard for a period of time and quit, provided you can continue to replace them.  That's how a diamond maximizes profits.  

Upline Advice?

 We have had some really good discussion on this blog in the past about how someone can build a business in Amway without abusing downline. I was an Amway IBO in WWDB, and I was given really bad advice from upline. These uplines are still around and apparently still giving some of the same bad advice to downline. Having said that, I believe there are some factions within WWDB who may be operating differently.  A former contributor on this blog, James C. has explained in some of his comments, how he operates, contrary to the mainstream WWDB teachings. 

My sponsor and uplines were Harimoto, Wolgamott, Duncan. We were taught that Amway saves marriages, and that the rest of the world gets divorced. Ironically, I believe the Wolgamotts got divorced despite teaching the audience that Amway saves marriages.  Greg Duncan was touted for his financial acumen and told the audience that only stupid people took out loans, even to purchase a home. Then we find out he was in chapter 7 bankruptcy proceedings with interest only loans. This is just a side bar. I will further explain what other advice was given to rank and file IBOs.

My sponsor and uplines told us that we should never miss a meeting. Period. That missing a meeting was setting a bad example for your group. In fact, we should always purchase extra tickets to meetings and functions as an incentive to bring guests. We were taught that in addition to standing order, we should be purchasing 5-7 extra tapes/cds each week. Afterall, you can't listen to the same recording each day if you are core. We were told that if you had downline who quit, you could not cancel a standing order because it was too much trouble to call upline who called upline who finally reached Greg Duncan to cancel a standing order. I found it ironic that they NEVER complained about calling upline who called upline who finally reached Greg Duncan to ADD a standing order. Our group was also told that nobody made a cent of profit from the tools. A lie that nobody has ever been accountable for to this day. If selling products were ever mentioned, it was only so IBOs could earn money to buy more function tickets and/or standing orders.

Our upline also enjoyed holding meeting after meeting, AFTER the functions. Thus, IBOs went home after 3:00 in the morning at times, even on nights when the job was waiting for them the next morning. Our upline also taught more tenured IBOs that money wasn't important in the business because we are friends for life. The group was taught that we could have our families skip meals in order to buy more tapes/cds. IBOs were told that they should NEVER quit, unless they give up on life as they would be doomed for financial failure.

This is some of the bad advice I heard from some WWDB leaders.  Many of these leaders are still around today and I believe some of this is still taught. What does your upline advise?

Freedom Forever?

 When I was an Amway IBO, I frequently saw my upline diamond driving around town dressed in a business suit. I used to think why does he keep working if he can walk away and collect residual income? My sponsor told me that the diamond only works because he cares about his downline and wants to help them. So, there are two possible scenarios, the diamond is working hard to help his downline out of a genuine concern, or possibly he is working because he has to?  The only difference now is that the diamond works the night and/or graveyard shift, because many IBOs are building the business after they complete their day jobs. **We should also note that my former upline diamond dropped down to the emerald level around 2005 and has since re-established his diamond level. And this diamond moved from Hawaii to Washington State (Due to a lower cost of living???)

Now Amway once stated that the average diamond (non-founders)earns about $150,000 a year. That is a decent income, but after taxes and paying for basic expenses such as medical and dental insurance, the average diamond probably lives a very middle-class lifestyle. Keep in mind that a large portion of a diamond's income comes in the form of an annual bonus, thus a diamond's monthly income may be quite small. Yes, diamonds may have other sources of income such as speaking engagements and income from standing orders and functions. But income from speaking engagements and other functions depends on the diamond's continued appearances and efforts.

So, is it likely that a diamond is "free"? I can only conclude that a diamond is not free and may actually have to spend more time maintaining his group than if the diamond simply had a 9-5 job. (You could argue that a diamond's duties are preferable to a 9-5 job I suppose) For one thing, a diamond needs to maintain a personal group to keep qualifying for bonuses. With a poor retention rate in Amway, I am fairly sure that a diamond spends much time recruiting personally sponsored IBOs to maintain this group. Additionally, a diamond must help his six or more groups of downline platinums to maintain their businesses or face the possibility of falling out of qualification. My former diamond dropped down to the emerald level but apparently later re-qualified at diamond. A diamond must also dedicate time to reward up and coming movers and shakers, to keep them motivated. I got to spend time with my upline diamond when I was considered a promising up and coming pin. All of this takes up valuable time and diamonds can get spread pretty thin at times.

In order to continue to receive tools income, a diamond must also travel to numerous functions and speaking engagements. Although the tools income allegedly doubles a diamond's income, it also adds a lot of expenses, especially if the diamond and his family travel first class and/or take fancy vacations to show off the diamond lifestyle.

After breaking down projected income and considering projected expenses, I can only conclude that a diamond probably lives a middle class lifestyle, and probably works as much as a man with a 9-5 job, except that a diamond works nights and weekends. A good portrait of this is shown in Ruth Carter's book (Amway Motivational Organizations: Behind The Smoke and Mirrors). In the book, the diamond had a net income of over $300,000, but lived in debt, could barely pay his mortgage, and was always on the run from one function to the next. A high income means nothing if you live beyond your means.

I believe that diamonds may actually be busier at the diamond level than an average Joe who has a 9-5 J-O-B. The difference is that the diamond works the night shift. Is this the freedom you are seeking?

Pigs Don't Know Pigs Stink?

Reprinted article, but still a good read:

 I once came across some comments on another forum indicating that they had heard comments about "Pigs don't know pigs stink". I'm certain it stems from a tape/cd/audio recorded by a diamond named Dave Severn (wife was Jan). This slogan was quite popular when I was an IBO in the 1990's and I'm sure that some Amway IBOs still toss around the phrase. It was basically used to describe people who weren't in Amway. They worked hard at their jobs, but they were basically "broke" and weren't getting anywhere in life financially.   At least the IBOs (who were also broke) were doing something about their financial situation (Amway!). So, the ignorant rest of the population didn't know any better, thus the term pigs don't know pigs stink. 

Having been out of the Amway business and having done a great deal of research about Amway and the Amway groups such as WWDB and BWW, I can say the exact same thing about IBOs. IBOs don't know IBOs stink. Of course, I don't mean that literally, but business building IBOs order their products each month. The pay for their standing orders, book of the month, voicemail and attend all the functions. They desperately try to recruit new prospects, and they use all the catchy phrases taught by their upline, either in person or off of a tape/cd/audio (thus the term "tape speak") They are very likely losing money each and every month, all the while thinking they are becoming successful and better or nicer people. At the end of the year, they sometimes suffer massive financial losses in the thousands because purchasing all of the tools and training materials add up to a tidy sum of cash after a while.  They might even think they are successful while losing money because it's what spline teaches.  That you are successful because you are trying to improve your financial situation, even though the facts might prove otherwise.  

At the functions, the Amway IBOs smile and act positive, even when they are losing their shirts. Upline will edify their dedication to the system and teach them two very important, but self-serving pieces of advice. They will teach IBOs to never quit, and that if IBOs quit or fail, it is always their own fault, even if they did everything upline taught them. In this manner, upline removes any responsibility for the IBO's failure. Ironically, upline is quick to accept responsibility for any success (even if there is little to none). All the while, IBOs are attending all the meetings, doing all the steps they have been taught. They act alike and, in many cases, look alike. Most of them also share a common result. They are losing money, and many are losing lots of it. They are simply taught to ignore the losses and to remain positive. Most people eventually figure it out and walk away from Amway. Most will never mention their involvement again and because many are sponsored by friends and family, will never file any formal complaint or discuss their displeasure.

The Amway IBOs continue to associate with their positive and active fellow IBOs, all the while their bank accounts are shrinking and transferring funds to upline. Pigs don't know pigs stink indeed??

Integrity?

 I used to follow the blog of a WWDB IBO named "Shaun". He runs the blog called "Expeditions Of Truth" http://expeditionoftruths.com/..  The blog is not running currently as Shaun has now quit Amway (imagine that?  He swore he would be a double eagle ruby making well over 100k.  What could possibly go wrong?)

He seemed to think that not only is he in business with people full of integrity, but he also thought that he was going to retire in November 2011. Is this now August 2019?  While I think doing business with people of integrity is a good thing, I also know of many successful people in business who are ruthless. So are Amway and in particular, WWDB people full of integrity or are they just as ruthless as other business people? Does it matter? In my opinion, it doesn't matter except for the fact that WWDB people seem to think that they have integrity filled leaders.

Well, let's look at some of these leaders. Back in the 1990's, the current batch of WWDB leaders swore that nobody made a profit on tools. Nobody knew the truth at the time. We now know that this was a lie. Is this integrity? We know that Greg Duncan was in chapter 7 bankruptcy proceedings. Not paying for your obligations is integrity? We know that Greg Duncan and David Shores had homes foreclosed (Public information). Is that a move filled with integrity? With the tons of money Duncan and Shores make, couldn't they have made an effort to pay off their debts?
If you look at a blog linked to this one "Rocket's Rants", there's a YouTube video of "crown" Brad Duncan telling rank and file IBOs that they can make "hundreds of thousands of dollars" a month. First of all, I wonder if Brad Duncan has achieved this himself, let alone any others? Even if someone had achieved it, it would be illegal or unethical to portray that kind of success as achievable to a a prospect.  

Brad Wolgamott used to talk about how WWDB had a low divorce rate. Is it full on integrity for WWDB leaders to separate or divorce when they talk about integrity and how Amway and WWDB saves marriages? What about Dean Kosage? Another divorcee? Are they full of integrity? What say you Shaun Guthrie of WWDB? What about Howie Danzik whose website doesn't mention that he was once married to Susan? Is it integrity to say you built the business as a single when Howie previously built the business with his former wife Susan?

Amway's owner Rich DeVos acknowledged that the "tools" were likely a pyramid scam and Amway did nothing after sales dropped following some attempts to clean it up. Is that an integrity move? I don't know but it sure seems as if WWDB and Amway have issues where integrity is concerned.

Most Do Nothing?

 I saw some online discussions and some people were debating the average income of Amway IBOs and how $202 a month as reported by Amway is a lot of income, considering most IBOs do little or nothing. Well, that $202 a month average income survey is from some years ago while many Amway forums were very active.  That has calmed down these days.  Somewhat laughable when Amway defenders like  to hang their hats on the possibility that Amway critics claims are outdated. Maybe Amway defenders should complain that Amway's own information is old and outdated. I wonder what updated numbers would reveal? And even smaller average income?  Keep in mind that Amway's average income does not include IBOs who do nothing.  Thus, the real average is very likely much lower as the average also includes diamonds and higher, although I understand that diamond bonuses, etc. are not included in the average.

Amway only counted "active" IBOs, although Amway's definition of active can leave you scratching your head. Amway describes active as someone who attended a meeting or attempted to sell products. However, we know that unless you actually sell something, you won't make anything and certainly attending a meeting takes money away from you and is not a way to earn money in Amway. Let me also add that Amway diamonds are also a part of the average income, so the "average" is very likely inflated by the alleged higher income of the diamonds.

To me, the biggest question is why do so many IBOs get interested enough to sign up and then do nothing? It is my informed opinion that there are several reasons why this happens. I believe that some IBOs are such pests, that their prospects sign up just to get their IBO sponsor to leave them alone. While it may not be common, I believe it happens. Also, I believe some IBOs go into shock when they see the prices of some products. This will cause newbies to realize that the business is nearly impossible before they even get started. Or, a new IBO will go and talk to family and friends about Amway and will get shot down because in North America, just about everyone seemingly had, or knows someone who's had a bad experience in Amway. Sadly, the experience may not be a result of Amway the corporation, but of unethical IBOs who may lie, cheat or trick people into attending meetings. Some IBOs actually get started but soon realize that that Amway opportunity along with the systems such as N21, WWDB or BWW, simply becomes a money pit with the tools and system expenses exceed the monthly Amway income. A few IBOs will bite hard and stay dedicated for a few years or more. Many of these IBOs end up reporting losses that may exceed tens of thousands of dollars or more in some cases.

Sadly, many IBOs and prospects are recruited by family and friends. Thus, even if they quit or have a very bad experience, they just quit and disappear. Folks generally will not file complaints with Amway or the Better Business Bureau (BBB). So IBOs, even if you did little or nothing in Amway, if you got ripped off or treated unethically, you may want to consider filing a formal complaint with Amway or with the BBB. So why do so many IBOs do little or nothing? I believe the answer is crystal clear. Most IBOs do little or nothing because it's not worth the effort for most as very few IBOs will ever attain any kind of significant income. In fact, doing nothing is likely to get you a more favorable result than someone who attends the functions or who subscribes to standing order because you have less business expenses for the little bit of business that you may or may not do.  

8-12 Hours A Week?

 One of the Amway myths that upline used to, and likely still perpetuates, is the claim that you can build an Amway mega empire on 8-12 hours per week. I'm venturing an educated guess that this number is used because while it still represents time, it is probably less hours than working a part time job. But let's take a closer look at this 8-12 hours per week.

If you listen to one (1) cd per day as recommended by upline and read one of their "success" books 15 minutes each day, you already spending close to nine hours of time used and neither of these activities produces any income for your Amway business. In fact, both activities cost you money and produce no tangible result. If you spend another 15 minutes a day contacting people, you are close to 12 hours per week. Where will you find additional time to show the plan and to expand your name and contact list? What about servicing customers, at least for IBOs who actually may have some customers.

What about attending meetings and functions? These are also non income producing activities. It's no wonder the vast majority of IBOs don't make money. Their upline has them running around participating in activities that produce no income for their businesses. Ironically, their non income producing activities such as listening to a cd, produces a lot of income for certain uplines who produce and sell them. To me, it is just an elaborate game of bait and switch played by upline. Your upline might tell you that you "need" these tools to succeed but the reality is that the tools take away resources and you wind up in non income producing activities such as listening to cds.

You sell the prospect the dream of financial freedom. You tell that prospect that Amway is their best chance. You tell them that you can help them and that the tools of the business (standing order, voicemail, books, functions) are the key to their success. Those who are serious enough to commit to the system likely won't quit without making some effort and will allow uplines to earn some nice profits before these downline eventually realize they aren't profitable and quit. Because many IBOs are sponsored by family and friends, you don't see too many formal complaints about the business. Most people chalk it up as a life lesson and do not complain.

But IBOs and information seekers, do not be fooled into thinking that you will create a financial empire by working 8-12 hours a week. If you attended a big meeting, look around and see how many people are rank and file as compared to the "successful" IBOs. It's likely less than 1%. Not the kind of odds a real businessman would undertake.

Right Around The Corner?

  I recall being taught to never give up and never quit in Amway.  They would tell stories of perseverance and feel-good stories about people who would hang in there and eventually succeed like the story of Rudy, which was portrayed in a movie.   Or they would talk about a fierce competitor like a Michael Jordan who would never quit. They would keep fighting,  You are to never quit because success might be right around the corner and you might quit just a little bit too soon, so keep going!  

But Sports is not the same as a business.  Rudy was on the Notre Dame football team but he never got much playing time even if the ending of the movie might have been inspiring.  Michael Jordan would never quit but he was still on teams that lost games.  But the Amway business isn’t a sport and having the never quit attitude is nice but if you aren’t making a profit and the prospects of improving is not good, the. It’s just a bad business decision to never quit.  Sometimes quitting and trying something else is the recipe for success in business.

Like Michael Jordan might have been on teams that lost games, his team could regroup and win the next game. The same can be said if a business.  If you’re not profiting and cash flow negative, sometimes the best thing to do is to close up and do something else.  After all, the objective is to make money.  It doesn’t have to be exclusively from Amway.  There are many other opportunities that you can explore and experiment with, even if that might be a job.  

The diamonds try to imbed in your mind that only through Amway can you build wealth and riches.  That’s incredibly false.  You don’t even know if your upline diamond is wealthy.  You assume they are wealthy because you’ve been told they are, but they don’t disclose any information that would demonstrate that they are wealthy.  They could be up to their ears in debt.  Many Americans are in debt.  Why would diamonds who flaunt a lavish lifestyle be any different?  It’s no secret that many wealthy people don’t act it and the opposite is also true, that broke people can try to act wealthy. 

And why not?  You could be a broke rank and file Amway IBO but you are to wear a suit to meetings to portray an image of success.  Who’s to say the diamonds don’t do the same thing but with a few more expensive props?   Showing photo copies of big checks are not a reliable indicator of success but your upline wants you to believe it is. 

Face The Facts?

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

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

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

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

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

Big Dreams?

 One of the things that Amway leaders use to attract new IBOs is to talk about the dreams that these folks have. They may talk about how having a job will wear you out and dreams that you once had as a child or young adult gets suppressed and/or completely forgotten. They try to revive some of these dreams in the hopes that they can convince prospects that Amway is the only way, or the easiest or best way to accomplish these dreams. They also try to instill the notion that people can choose to succeed in Amway. Being that success in Amway has so many variables out of the direct control of an IBO, nobody can simply choose to make it big in Amway any more than they can choose to win the lottery. And by the way, the chances of going diamond and maintaining it is about as remote as winning a lottery.

What is somewhat cruel is reviving dreams that for many, will never come to fruition, no matter how much work is done, and no matter how many tools are consumed. There are many instances where no matter how big the dream, it will never come to pass because of physical and financial limitations. For example, as a child, many of us had dreams of playing professional football, hockey or basketball, and living in the glory of winning. However, no matter how many hours you put in and no matter how hard you work, the vast majority of people will never be pro athletes. And even out of the ones who become pro athletes, very few are considered "elite".

Yet the Amway promoters will have people believe that just buying a few products and selling a few products and 2-5 years of "hard" work, people will join the financially elite in the world. As if home care, beauty and nutritional products moved from person to person is going to make you achieve your dreams. That you will quit your jobs and walk the beaches of the world while the cash rolls in by the barrel full. Sadly, many young people become attracted to a proposition that allows them a shortcut to retirement instead of working until age 62 or whatever the standard retirement age is. They are basically promoting false hopes and promises to the vast majority of people who get involved. I believe those who are deemed as "dream stealers" might be doing their family and friends a favor by stealing their dream, which will not come to pass anyway.

With about 1 out of 240 IBOs reaching platinum (the alleged break even point) and about 1 in 20,000 IBOs reaching diamond, the dream is a stretch indeed. Even for the select few who can overcome major challenges and hurdles, maintaining their status often becomes impossible and and not worthwhile (many diamonds have quit).
Also, if you do make it, you will leave behind a trail of people who could not or did not come close to that level of success. It means that in many cases, your success will come at the expense of those you sponsor. It is why many claim that Amway is a legal pyramid.

Having dreams and goals is a good thing. But do you want to accomplish your ultimate dream by hurting (financially) those who trusted you and agreed to be your downline? Is it your dream to go diamond and have 500 to 1000 or more downline IBOs losing money? Is it your dream to be wealthy by exploiting people who trust you and believe that they can achieve the same level of success, when the opposite is true?

What is your dream? Are you willing to hurt others to achieve it?

Pink Unicorns And Amway Retirees?

 I was recently watching a show on Discovery channel the other night about Sasquatch. It was followed by a show about evidence of UFOs. It made me start to think about these phenomena. It seems like everyone has heard about or knows something about Sasquatch (Big foot) and/or UFOs, or pink unicorns for that matter. LOL. There are many documentaries showing pictures and evidence of such, but to date, there is no bonafide evidence that these things exist. You'd think that a body or bones of a Sasquatch would turn up somewhere, sooner or later, or we would find compelling evidence of a spaceship from another galaxy.

It sounds just like stories of people who built a diamondship, then "walked away" from their businesses, retired in the lap of luxury and did nothing while the money kept rolling in. I heard numerous scenarios about this happening, but looking back, all the diamonds kept working and since Joecool left the business, the diamond either kept working, dies, or quit or got terminated. But I never heard anyone name some higher up Amway pin who built a business, and then walked away from it to travel the beaches of the world while hundreds of thousands of dollars kept rolling in. Many have heard about it but nobody seems to be able to name any of these folks. I mean after over 50 years in existence, you'd think some of these folks would exist, especially when it seems to be a selling point of the business for many of the Amway recruiters.

It is my opinion that Sasquatch, UFOs and retired Amways diamonds (with significant Amway income) are non existent. If these folks existed, there should be at least some shred of evidence of it. The lack of evidence indicates to me that it is either non existent or so rare that nobody can display bonafide proof. I mean there aren't any T-Rexs roaming the earth anymore but fossil evidence proves that they existed at one time.

Keeping in mind that the Amway business has a high attrition rate, coupled with low sales to non IBOs and you can easily conclude that residual and significant income is nearly impossible. An Amway business that is left alone will deteriorate like a sandcastle does as the waves wash it away. You (in theory) could possibly walk away from an Amway business for a while and collect some income, but you won't be collecting enough income to live the "diamond lifestyle" as portrayed by diamonds in their functions and open meetings. I'm not even sure that active diamonds can comfortably afford that lifestyle even when building their businesses. There is ample evidence to support my claim. Diamonds losing homes to foreclosure, diamonds in bankruptcy, former diamonds revealing secrets about their income. If you really believe you can walk away from your Amway business and collect untold wealth, I have a bridge in Brooklyn to sell you. :-)

Joecool Headed To Vegas?

 Joecool is headed for Vegas.  I'll be staying in downtown Las Vegas at Circa.  I used miles for my airfare and I got some comps for rooms and some meals.  I just have to not "lose my ass in Vegas"  :).  

In the meantime, I'll leave this article on financial freedom:

When people see the Amway plan, it sort of makes sense. You need to find six people to go direct, in 2-5 years and you have residual and willable income for life. You are then financially free and can spend your days walking on exotic beaches while checks keep coming in. This is what lures many prospects to take a better look and maybe even test the waters and give Amway a shot. After all, who wouldn't be interested in financial freedom and the ability to fulfill some of your ultimate dreams? Only a fool would turn down such an opportunity right?

While Amway looks good on paper, too many things derail this plan for financial freedom and untold wealth. Over the years I've been blogging, I've challenged Amway supporters to name a couple of people who are financially free and walking the beaches while income rolls in. Very predictably, nobody has identified a single person who achieved some high level in Amway and is sitting back relaxing while money keeps coming. We even see crown ambassadors passing away while still working the business.

So why can't IBOs achieve what they aspire to? Because in my opinion, the odds are stacked against them. Sure, a rare individual might go diamond but the occurrence is very rare and almost as rare as winning the lottery, even though Amway is not a game of chance. I will go and list the reasons why IBOs are playing a game they can't win, even though they think they can. That is the sad part, that the upline is motivating downline to "never quit" even though they will "never succeed".

The system is set up for very few to succeed. Even in the common 6-4-2 plan where everyone did enough to earn a bonus, there is one person at the highest level with 78 downline who earn less. In real life, most IBOs do little or nothing. At Amway.com, you can see income disclosures that show how few people reach the higher levels. It's a tiny fraction of 1% that reach the higher levels. Even reaching platinum is a lofty achievement and platinums might not even see a net profit due to business expenses.

Business expenses such as product packs, catalogs, cds, books, voicemail and functions add up to significant expenses in the course of a month. If you're hoping to achieve financial freedom, you'll be expected to participate in the teaching system and more than likely, these expenses will be the reason for your business losses. Beware of upline who encourage you to go in debt to purchase training.

The products in general are not competitive. Sure, the Amway IBOs may give you some pitch about products being concentrated or of high quality but let's face it, consumers don't care about high quality soaps and household cleaners. There is nothing wrong with the similar products that you can purchase at Target or WalMart at a fraction of the cost. When your products can't compete on a level playing field, on what basis do you expect to sell these products? For that reason, many IBOs become "self consumers" and wind up with no actual customers.

Amway's reputation is soured. Most people know or know someone who had a bad experience with Amway. Due to past IBO behavior, people have developed a negative view of Amway. People being tricked or lied to in the past may have contributed to this issue. Add that to the fact that so few people actually make money turns this business into an almost insurmountable challenge. Even those who achieve often find themselves out of qualification shortly after.

For these reasons, my conclusion is that the Amway opportunity is a game that IBOs simply cannot win, even for those who learn from upline and put forth tremendous effort. And the longer you play. the bigger your losses become. Do your due diligence before undertaking any business opportunity.

Debt?

 One thing that many Amway/WWDB IBOs tout is how their upline teaches them to get out of debt. While on the surface that sounds like an awesome thing to do, it's not what WWDB mentors are actually doing. They want to give the appearance that they have your best interest in mind and that they want you to succeed. At least that's what they want you to think. Sadly, many IBOs get sucked into believing this. I will go on to explain why this is and to give prospects and information seekers some food for thought.

If you have an open mind, you will see my point. Prior to someone joining Amway, they most likely didn't buy any Amway products and certainly didn't focus on spending about $200 to $300 monthly on buying household products, especially if they are single people. So how is buying more stuff than you used to, supposed to help you get out of debt? All you are really doing is sacrificing things you used to enjoy to spend on Amway stuff. If you actually made a net profit from your Amway business, that might be okay. But most IBOs are making nothing or losing money while being taught to never quit or that success is right around the corner.

If your upline or mentor is teaching you to get out of debt, are they also advising you to invest any "extra" money into investments? Are they teaching you to plan for the future, in case the Amway business doesn't pan out? Are they advising you to save money? More than likely, the answer is "no".

Your upline will be advising you to use any money you have available to invest in tools and functions. WWDB premiere club, download audios (at a charge), standing orders book of the month and attend all functions. You will be advised to do this even if your business has not made a cent in profit. But you say your sponsor or upline loans you tools and pays for your functions? That might be true, but guess what? Once you sponsor someone, you will be the one loaning tools (that you paid for) and/or paying for your downline's functions because with a downline, you are now a "real business owner". It's amazing how so many people get fools into believing that upline wants you out of debt for your own good. Upline wants to out of debt for upline's good. For that reason, you might be told to get to the next big function at any cost, no matter what. That your business will be set back months or years if you miss it. The reality is missing a big function might be your wisest financial decision.

Your upline may want you out of debt, but they more than likely have their own interest at heart and not yours. Look at it objectively and ask your trusted friends who are not in Amway what they believe. This is advice from someone who has no reason to lead anyone astray. I experienced this and fell for the trick as a young and hopeful dreamer. Now I am hopeful that my experience can prevent others from falling into the trap that I fell into.

Upline Credentials?

 I read a comment from an Amway apologist on another forum. She mentions that someone's credentials must be considered when looking at information that is presented by critics. I will comment that showing me a sports car or a fancy suit is not sufficient evidence of financial success. Telling the audience that you buy homes in cash is not proof either. In fact, some of these boasting diamonds were found to have their homes foreclosed and some had financial difficulty, even though they at times had shown off pictures of their lifestyles. I believe that many diamonds are likely to be more like the general US population - in debt. In debt trying to portray a lifestyle that is unsustainable with their Amway and Amway related income.

I find this subject ironic because not one single upline leader, as far as I know, has ever supplied Bonafide credentials about themselves. The audience assumes that the person on stage has financial  success and certain credentials, but do they really? I will say that certainly, if someone is wearing a diamond pin for example, that this person has at least achieved the diamond level as recognized by Amway, but the level may not be current, and the level doesn't indicate the kind of income this person earns from Amway. (Joecool is criticized for being outdated even though I was at 4000 PV at one point in my Amway career)

What many people assume is that the diamonds buy homes and cars in cash, that they wake up at noon every day and participate in leisure activities all day while the cash rolls in. I have heard from some new IBOs, that their upline makes more money taking a crap in the morning than a critic makes in a whole year at a job. That IBO became quiet when some critics offered to take that bet. (Do the math people)

But the truth of the matter is that as far as I know, only former diamonds have come clean about their Amway income. They are the only ones who spoke of credentials and accomplishments. Even critics of Amway will often openly speak about their experiences and achieved levels in the business. In the REAL business world, showing business tax returns and credentials are a normal part of doing business. It appears that only in the world of Amway is the supply of credentials and financial statements a big secret. Now I am not suggesting that IBOs or upline leaders should disclose their financials to the entire world, but certainly prospects and some downline should be able to see how their upline is doing financially in Amway, especially if that is the basis for purchasing their standing orders and function tickets. And I refer to business (Amway and Tools) income and expenses only, not from other personal sources.

I believe that Amway IBOs and upline leaders do not disclose that information because it would not be beneficial to them. If it were, they would likely publish it freely, just as they flash around photo copies of checks. IBOs and prospects should take this to heart and ask upline the tough questions

Time And Money?

 Time and money. When you control both, you are financially free. At least that's how the Amway business was pitched to me as a prospect. It made sense at the time. If you have enough money, then you don't have to have a job and go to work every day. Having enough money allowed you to control your time. It sounded like a great deal to sleep late every day and not have any financial difficulties. It sounds so simple. Join Amway, 2-5 years and there you are. But can anyone name a diamond who did the 2-5 years and walked away to enjoy financial freedom? I can't think of a single one. I did see diamonds and crowns quitting or dying on the job.

But for most people, joining Amway (and the systems)ironically robs you of what you desire most. Time and money. For those wanting to build a business, you may be told you need to invest in your business, and while that may be true, I do not believe there is any bonafide evidence that can support the relationship between the investment of time and money into the Amway business and earning a significant income. Many people have invested years and thousands of dollars (or much more) into the business only to end up with nothing or massive losses. My sponsor was a physician who spent many days away from his practice (lost income) and his oldest child (son) probably didn't see him very much since he was out showing the plan every nite. You can make more money but you can't ever get back lost time.

Diamonds give the appearance of being filthy rich with nothing to do but golf and go shopping but we are now seeing evidence that diamonds may not be all that. Home foreclosures, bankruptcy, former diamonds speaking out, diamonds moving their groups out of Amway, diamonds possibly selling their homes and downsizing. I believe that there are possibly many - a - diamond who is in financial difficulty and they have not escaped the tough economy as they may have implied in a meeting. Many Americans are living in debt. Why would diamonds who show off a lavish lifestyle be any different? Seriously, think about this very carefully.

Also, if diamonds were so free and filthy rich as they like to portray, why don't any of the bigger pins ever walk away from the business and live on the beaches of the world that they like to talk about? Why are they always attending and running functions? I am guessing that most of them are working these functions - because they have to. I suspect that some of these diamonds are in debt trying to portray a lifestyle that they truly cannot afford. A diamond lifestyle seems to be one of luxury and excess But can a few hundred thousand dollars a year provide that? It's clear that even many professional athletes who make bank, wind up broke or in debt within 5 years of retirement. Maybe that's why diamonds can never retire. But they pretend to "love" their downline and keep working?

If you are joining Amway to gain more time and money, I urge you to make sure you are keeping track to see if you are gaining time and money, but if you look carefully, you will probably find that what you desire more of, is what you actually have less of. That is, time and money.

Millionaire Thinking?

 A comment left by an anonymous site visitor:

"I love Amway. I just don't understand why people have to be negative about it. I don't hurt or steal from anyone yet I make money. I'm not a millionaire as of yet but working towards that goal. It's called "millionaire mentality". Joecool, you will never succeed with penny mentality."

Joecool's commentary:

Most diamonds do not have a millionaire mentality. If you see how they spend money and how they flaunt excessive wealth, I see people who could win the power ball lottery and wind up broke. They might earn a nice income (even if it may come by lying and deceiving), but they spend it all, and possibly more by portraying the diamond lifestyle. In my opinion, the diamond lifestyle as portrayed in functions such as "dream night" are not sustainable for this reason, we are now seeing evidence of this such as a triple diamond who participated in chapter 7 bankruptcy proceedings, diamonds losing homes to foreclosures. We are seeing diamonds selling their mansions. Sure, they might be downsizing or liquidating their assets, but if these homes have been paid in cash as they claim, why sell them in a bad real estate market? Why not wait a few years?

In the past, I have posted some articles showing the traits and characteristics of millionaires. Many of these articles cite saving, investing, and living below your means. Many wealthy people drive regular everyday cars and live in the suburbs. They don't commonly have Porsches, and jaguars. And for the record, the average diamond income, as reported by Amway, isn't all that much when you factor in business expenses and taxes. So why do diamonds try to show off wealth?

I believe diamonds show off wealth because it is a way to attract recruits. Because the Amway opportunity has a high turnover rate, nobody can reasonably "walk away" from their business and have cash rolling in for long. Attrition would eat away your business in a matter of days or weeks. It is why I believe diamonds do not walk away from their businesses, because they can't afford to. The business requires constant attention, or it will crumble faster than stake cookies.

Most IBOs are simply fooled into thinking they are developing into having a millionaire mentality. An honest question for IBOs. How do you even know if your upline diamond is a millionaire? Anyone, even a broke guy can wear a nice suit and show off pictures of mansions and sports cars. For that matter, how do you know if your upline diamond is currently qualified as a diamond? Amway doesn't release that information except for new pins.

In my opinion, diamond's displays of excessive wealth and luxury portray something, but it's not the millionaire mentality.  It's interesting but flaunting wealth is not necessarily a trait of millionaires.

Just Make More?

  One of the things my (WWDB) upline frequently told us, was to "just make more money". This was about how our lives are impacted by rising prices of things. For example, a friend of mine who works for a gas company has said the price of gas in the US is likely to keep rising until it exceeds $10.00 a gallon. Your Amway upline will probably just say you need to make more money by working your business harder. My upline certainly did.  But what does it mean to work harder?  Reading more books, attending more functions or many of the upline recommended activities are non-income producing activities.  The only things that make you money are selling goods and services for a profit, and to sponsor downline who actually move some volume. 

Now for most IBOs, you are likely losing money due to the "system" consisting of books, meetings, standing orders, and functions. You cannot simply "make more money" just because you want you. There was a time when I had that mindset, because it was taught by WWDB leaders. Amway was supposed to be the answer to that problem, but for most, the Amway opportunity ends up being the reason for more debt rather than a way for people to make more money. You are programmed to think you just earn more money to solve financial issues, if only you will "be core" and work your business hard. Sadly, most hard working IBOs will end up with "less money" because of the advice of their trusted "mentors and business coaches".

Ironically, in WWDB (my former LOS), some of the leaders and mentors may have been exposed as frauds as some of them experienced financial problems, including home foreclosures, thus exposing them as liars and frauds as many of these very leaders stood on a large stage claiming that WWDB diamonds pay cash for everything and that people who make loans are "stupid". Makes you wonder about the integrity if such leaders. These leaders are for the most part, still teaching this garbage today.

You may think earning more money is the simple answer to many of your problems, but you are unlikely to solve these problems by attending functions and listening to standing orders. Seriously.  Instead of blindly following upline advice, do the activities that generate income, not ones that cost you money such as standing orders and functions.

WWDB Lies?

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

But my friend was a direct and I could use his experience to do the same. It sounded like a good deal on the surface. I saw "the plan" and decided to sign up. I signed up and went all in. Based on my sponsor's advice, I got on standing order and book of the month club. I also dedicated myself to attending the functions. I didn't realize how much these functions would cost but it was supposed to be worth it. Afterall, nobody succeeded without tools (a lie). My sponsor told me that nobody succeeded without tools and that Greg Duncan, a multi millionaire, said that tools are vital, but you can try to succeed without them. (I believe Mr. Duncan filed for chapter 7 bankruptcy in 2009 or so). Being a newbie, how could you not follow that advice?  

At the functions, I was also told that WWDB was a nonprofit organization (a lie) and that profits were used to make future functions cheaper (a lie). In fact, some of the WWDB leaders stood on stage and proclaimed that NOBODY MADE MONEY ON TOOLS AND FUNCTIONS (a big lie). Eventually, WWDB leaders admitted they made money on tools but were never held accountable for their lies and they never really explained how you qualify and how much you earn from tools.  WWDB leaders simple re-write history or don't mention the falsehood they previously told.

Some WWDB leaders spoke and taught how long you could skip your mortgage before foreclosure, all so you could attend that next function. They were so nice to even teach how long the electric company might allow you to skip paying before you got cut off. They even recommended you quit your job if you could not get time of to attend a function. They said you could just get another job.  That's such a farce because an employee who invested time into a company can't just quit and easily go to a similar position with equal pay unless the job market is hot and your position is in high demand.

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

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