Better Than Amway?

 One of the silly comments I often receive on this blog is that Joecool should offer suggestions about what might be better than Amway since I make comments against the Amway opportunity. First of all, I would like to make clear that most of my point of contention is against the tools companies and not Amway itself. Having said that, I believe Amway can and should have done more to prevent IBO abuse by upline and tool selling companies. But I believe Amway has not because the uplines are the ones who recruit new IBOs and teach (defacto) 100 PV quotas to new IBOs, thus keeping Amway sales consistent. Uplines also teach product loyalty.

But what can be better than Amway? Well, since most IBOs earn less than $15 a month, there are many things better than Amway. I might add that the $15 I refer to is gross, not net income. Thus after expenses, the vast majority run their Amway business at a loss. Working part time for minimum wage would be more beneficial to most people who get involved in Amway. Buying and selling items for a profit on Ebay is likely to get you more income than selling Amway products. Heck, a lemonade stand on the roadside is likely to get you more net income than an Amway business. Since most IBOs lose money, staying home and watching TV makes you better off as well.

What makes the Amway business financially dangerous to many, is not Amway and Amway products, but the involvement in Amway training such as voicemail, standing orders, functions and other materials. This training is promoted as the key to Amway success, but as far as I know, there is ZERO unbiased documented evidence that any of this materials work. In my old LOS, Worldwide Dream Builders, or WWDB, the same leaders I saw 12 years ago are still (minus those who left or passed away) there and there are no new diamonds that I know of. I would guess that there were "some" new diamonds, but there are also many diamonds who are no longer in business. Kind of makes me wonder why diamonds would quit or resign from Amway if they could "walk away" and continue to collect "residual income". Perhaps this residual income is a myth perpetuated by your LOS. Afterall, Amway doesn't mention anything about residual income and income from your business would come from Amway.

What is really discouraging is that so many eager and motivated people get caught up thinking their financial dreams and goals will be achieved by their involvement with the Amway opportunity. Sadly, most will end up losing money because of the very training that was supposed to bring them success! Even the fiercest of Amway defenders have no documented proof of success. It appears that Amway success is elusive even to the most dedicated of IBOs.

So, what's better than the Amway opportunity? Seems just about anything. In fact, if you are involved in the training system, donating $100 a month to charity and doing nothing else would make you better off financially than participating in Amway and the related training. Doing nothing would make you better off. Watching football games would also likely make you better off financially than Amway and the training systems. My recommendation (but you must make your own decision) is to simply find part time work and invest your extra income wisely. It isn't quick or flashy, but you are likely to benefit long term. Of course, your mileage may vary. Good luck on whatever you choose to do.

Options?

 One of the things I heard as an IBO was how money may not make you happy, but it buys you options. I agree with that, but what is not said is that for 99% (or more) of IBOs, they are likely to have less money because of their involvement in Amway. More specifically, the tools end up being a drain on IBO resources and income, thus the result is a net business loss. Factor in the time spent doing the business-related activities and the collateral damage can begin to get significant, especially after several months have passed.

I find it somewhat ironic that the reason why many IBOs get involved in Amway is to attain the dream of having more time and money. The time to do anything you want, and the money to be able to do anything you want. This dream, however, is like chasing the end of a rainbow. You can see it, but it is always just out of your reach. Your effort makes no difference, you can never find the end of a rainbow. Just as IBOs are out chasing the dream, hoping to find like-minded people to sponsor.

No matter how many people you can find, it will never be enough. Just look at the triple ripple mega crown ambassadors and quadruple diamonds. How many of them are doing what they want, whenever they want? Sure, you see slide shows of them on trips or at Disneyland but stop and think. Why are they constantly at functions and meetings? Do they really and truly want to be playing Amway when they can do anything they want whenever they want? Or is it more likely that they profit from selling you standing orders and functions, so they continue to work? Do you honestly believe that the diamonds are philanthropic and work out of love for their downline? If so, then ask why they are compensated for doing so. If they loved what they are doing, they would do it for free right? That's how they related to my job, that if I loved it, why would I need compensation?

Money is an important aspect of life. Everyone needs to earn some money to pay for their homes and to put food on the table. Having more money can obviously give you more options. But do diamonds really have all that money? I suspect not. Diamonds seemingly speak about being "job optional", and being able to walk away from the business, but it makes me wonder why nobody can name even a handful of people who built a sizable Amway business, and walked away to enjoy the beaches of the world while the money keeps pouring in. Amway's been around more than 50 years. Surely there must be many people who are retired and living large on (primarily) Amway income. But these Amway retirees are about as common as the sasquatch or UFOs. Everyone seems to know about them and have heard about them, but no one has bonafide proof that they actually exist.

Money buys you more options. But the question is whether or not you can actually attain that money from Amway. My conclusion is that it is highly unlikely.

Ruthless?

 The really scary and insidious part about some of the Amway LOS leaders, such as the ones I had in WWDB, is that they apparently are ruthless businessmen with nice suits and disguised as your mentors and friends. They get you to trust them, and they will tell you that they have your best interest at heart, or that they would never purposely lead you astray (which is likely not true). On the surface, you may think this is true but look at their actions and you can easily discern that some of these uplines are absolutely ruthless businessmen who would take every cent from you if they could. I was in WWDB, and I have good reasons to believe that they are still doing this, based on a WWDB IBO blog. On this blog, I see all the same teachings today, that I heard as an IBO and some of the same claims such as buying homes in cash. It's scary.   (The blog was called "Expeditions of Truth" and the fired up blog owner has now quit and is doing other things)

They may even claim moral superiority such as using religion as a basis for building the business. I heard some leaders say "Amway is a God pleasing business". Really? God likes lying and exploiting others? I would beg to differ. They might tell you lies such as Amway and/or WWDB IBOs have a lower divorce level than the world. They may tell you a bunch of unsubstantiated details. I urge IBOs to verify and confirm claims like these.  How do splines know who gets divorced?

As an IBO, the diamonds may tell you to never miss a function, ever. The only good reason for missing a function was for your own funeral. I recall some crossline IBOs rearranging pre-planned anniversary parties, weddings, and other special family events in the name of being core and attending all functions. Some IBOs actually did quit their jobs to attend functions, and they very well may have done so because some uplines taught this. IBOs were also encouraged and told to go into debt to attend a function. This was okay because it was an "investment" into your business. 

Our group was also strongly encouraged to buy extra cds every week. To be core, you needed to listen to a cd each day and you cannot listen to the same one each day, right? Couples were told to buy their own separate standing orders. Brad Duncan even had a true north tape (cd) that said sponsors were to eat the standing orders for downlines who quit because it was too much trouble to call upline who calls upline who calls upline to cancel a standing order. Oddly enough, they didn't mind upline calling upline calling upline to add a standing order. 

In the end, I was lucky enough to have been progressing up the pin ranks, so my losses were not that devastating. I ended up losing in my early months of the business but mostly broke even when I was at 4000 PV. Sadly though, my crossline did not fare so well. I know of one couple who declared bankruptcy. I don't know how much their WWDB involvement contributed to bankruptcy, but I am certain it was a major factor, and I know of two couples who had homes foreclosed, and I believe that their allegiance to WWDB was a factor in those foreclosures. But I guess hey, two WWDB diamonds had homes foreclosed so maybe they were duplicating?

Do not be fooled. The diamonds may have a nice smile and a nice suit, but they are cutthroat wolves in sheep's clothing who will take your last dime if you allow them to.

Do Uplines Insult Your Intelligence?

 Joecool has been out of the Amway business for nearly 30 years now.  Looking back, I have no regrets as Amway products along with the WWDB systems were becoming a drain on my finances as I had attempted to be CORE and tried to build a big business.  Of course, it never materialized for obvious reasons.  Quitting turned out to be a blessing to me as I managed to recover financially from my experience and got om with my life.   

But now when I reflect on the experience, I realized how uplines basically insults everyone's intelligence with their teaching.  When you're involved in the system, you likely won't see it because you want to or maybe have to believe that you're going to find six and go diamond.  Uplines teach you this.  That you basically have no chance other than Amway to gain wealth and live a good life with a secure retirement.  Upline will tell you stories about people being old and broke or having to keep working because of a lack of financial security.  

I recall bat shit crazy stuff that we were taught that seems insulting to my intelligence.  I'm guessing that some of my readers can relate.  How many of you heard the following teachings?   For example, fake it till you make it.  The premise being that you pretend to be successful because you'll eventually be there so you may as well act the part in advance.  It's nuts, but this was actually taught at meetings and functions and we paid money to be taught this BS.  Another one was buy from yourself.  As if you could buy your way to prosperity.   The thought behind this was that people don't like selling so you teach this.   IBOs following their upline don't question the leaders so this kind of craziness goes on.  

There are other things that insult your intelligence that might go unnoticed like submission to upline.  Or to seek upline guidance on the business and even in your personal life and finances.  And what qualifications does your upline have to provide this guidance?  They signed up for Amway before you.  Thus, if I'm an older person and financially stable or even wealthy, I would need to submit and seek guidance from someone who might know nothing about life or finances but because they signed up for Amway before me, that qualifies them?   Is this insane or what?  But this is true and partly why Amway appears cult like to some people.  

I could go on forever, but a last example.   That you should have a business checking account, which is not crazy, but if you're taught that you make money by purchasing from yourself and you transfer cash from your savings to your business account is insulting.  How do you profit by moving money from one pocket to your other pocket?   But this is actually taught and it's amazing that uplines have been teaching this garbage for years.  I'm not sure if it's their actual strategy or if they purposely insult your intelligence, but it sounds like insanity when you are no longer under the spell of upljne teaching.   There are many more examples of this kind of teaching.   

I think upline just insults your intelligence and adds insult to injury by having you pay for this kind of ridiculous teaching.  Feel free to comment or share your own stories of upline insanity.  It's amusing now that I can see these things clearly now.  

Teaching On Debt?

 Getting out of debt sounds like good advice. On the surface it is because people should not be racking up consumer debt or committing large sums of their income for cars they cannot afford. But what does it mean for an IBO? I know my former upline taught our group to get out of debt. However, I believe my former uplines had self-serving intentions when they taught this. Let me translate what I believe they meant:

"You should not have any debt because it would affect your ability to buy more PV and tools. If you have debt, it affects my cash flow"

Ironically, for many, maybe most IBOs, although taught to get "get out of debt", the bottom-line result is more debt. There is more debt because the cost of products and tools begin to mount. How many families actually spend $300 a month (approximate cost of 100 PV) on household products? And then to add onto that expense, IBOs who are trying to be "successful" need tools which cost anywhere from $150 a month up to more than $500 a month depending on whether the IBO is married, single and the level of commitment. Thus, IBOs are now spending at least several hundreds of dollars that they never spent before.

Most IBOs, especially new IBOs, generally earn less than $50 a month. In fact, $50 a month income in this business would make you quite exceptional. Most IBOs earn less than $20 a month. With that kind of income and with the expenses I listed above (tools = voicemail, books, standing orders, and functions), nearly all "serious" IBOs operate in the red and never turn a profit. The only way an IBO can turn a profit is to sell Amway products like crazy (which I have never witnessed) or to sponsor enough downline to absorb the losses for them. The only true success stories are the ones who sell the tools.

The reason why I believe that my former uplines (who are still in WWDB and apparently teach the same things now as they did back when I was an IBO) are teaching self-serving advice because although they said to "get out of debt", they made an exception to this and said it was perfectly okay to go in debt to attend functions or to buy more standing orders. IBOs were also told to do "whatever it takes" to get to the next function or to buy more tools. It is why I witnessed some cross lines go bankrupt, more than one couple lost their homes following upline advice. And these couples were told they shouldn't worry because they can pay cash for their homes when they go diamond. Another apparent lie told by WWDB leaders, especially those who had their own homes foreclosed.

Let's be perfectly real here. If you join Amway and participate in the system consisting of voicemail, books, standing orders and functions, you are far more likely to get into debt or increase your debt rather than making money and getting out of debt. The math bears it out if you are willing to look at it objectively.

Are Lies Needed To Promote Amway?

 The first time I was prospected for Amway, I was in college. I actually didn't know much about Amway, but I had somehow formed a negative opinion of it because of things I had heard about other people's experiences.  Needless to say, when I was invited to a beer bust and it turned instead to an Amway meeting, my impression of Amway got even worse. I eventually did join because a close friend of mine had achieved platinum and he had assured me that it could be done and that he would make sure that I would also achieve it. I did achieve a level just below platinum (4000 PV), but I quit for several reasons. First of all, I didn't make a net profit as the tools ate up my profits. Secondly, the more I progressed in the business, the more and more my upline wanted control of my life. For example, we were told that we should check upline before getting married, buying a car, or even having children, etc. I thought that was very strange and I eventually left the business.

But in the US at least, I believe Amway's name to be so battered that an IBO cannot sponsor downline and build a business without lies and deception. There are hordes of stories confirming testimony that lies, and deceit are common in prospecting potential IBOs. This was extremely rampant when Amway changed their name to Quixtar. IBOs would deny the connection or IBOs would say they are with network 21or WWDB and claim something ridiculous such as Amway simply being their supplier. The promotion of perfect water also brought on silly antics about a $50 case of water being capable of performing miracles. If the opportunity could stand on its own merits, then IBOs would not have to resort to such desperate measures.

Even the Amway presentation if often filled with deception and lies. I remember seeing the presentation and they said shopping through Amway, an IBO would save 30%over local retailers. When I actually saw the catalogs, I wondered where the savings was. The 6-4-2 plan or similar variations are made to sound easy and the presenter talked about lifelong residual willable income, which I also find to be deceptive if not an outright lie.

But can Amway be successfully promoted without lies and deception? It is my opinion that an IBO has no chance of building a business by being completely upfront and honest about Amway and about being an IBO. Even with lies and deceit, many IBOs still cannot get people to see the plan or to buy products. An Amway rep has stated that very little Amway products are sold to non-IBOs. So if you cannot sell products and you cannot get people to see the plan, you cannot build a business and if you are purchasing tools, you are simply digging yourself a financial hole that will only grow larger as time passes. The cost of 100 PV is already more than what most families and/or singles spend in a month on household products. This means that most people simply cannot sustain themselves in the business and it explains why most IBOs drop out in the first year.

It is why lies and/or deception are very likely needed for an IBO to have a chance at promoting and building an Amway business.

Millionaire Mentality?

 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 portrays something, but it's not the millionaire mentality.