One thing that many IBOs likely suffer from is having invested too much into the business to quit. They may have spent months or even years working the system hard and they start to realize that the system isn't working or that the business is just not producing the results that were advertised. You see obvious problems in the business, but you reach a very tough fork in the road.
To quit would mean failure, as presented by many uplines. To quit is to be broke for life. To give up hope. Quitters are failures and are labeled as losers by the amway IBOs. What hopes do you have of retirement and walking the beaches once you quit? Are your dreams of success shattered? This is a very difficult decision that must be dealt with by IBOs, or maybe even those considering the business.
I encourage IBOs and/or prospects to completely take the emotion out of this decision. Do not think about dreams, walking the beaches and early retirement. Do not think about what you upline may or may not have promised you. Stop and think only about your Amway business and the results that it has produced or not produced. Has your business been increasing towards your goal of financial independence or are you seeing losses month after month? Do the math. Are you on target to reach your financial goals or are you headed towards bankruptcy? Don't think only about what happens if you quit. Think about what happens if you continue. Are there prospects of making a profit or is that next major function around the corner and likely to put you deeper in the hole?
This post is not about encouraging people to quit or to walk from the business. But certainly, business owners should think like business owners and they should make an honest and realistic assessment about their continued participation, especially if their bottom line is red ink. Food luck in whatever you decide.
The economic principle of sunk costs would come in handy here. That is that one should not allow unrecoverable investments affect future decisions, only prospective costs. In other words, let bygones be bygones and move forward. I suppose formal education in economics is somewhat rare in the IBO ranks, and in those who have it, it is effectively stifled.
ReplyDeleteThe "you're almost there" principle, you mention, comes into play, too. It's just a reminder of the dangling carrot that got them to sign up in the first place, except now, you assure them they're even closer to the "dream" of untold riches.
If after a significant time investment, your gut tells you Amway is a losing proposition, folks, your gut is probably right. Go with it. Just remember that money you save by not going further with the business is as good as money earned from the business.
Sometimes quitting is simply a wise business decision and nothing more or less.
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