One of the things that many IBOs mistakenly believe is that they will build their Amway business and then they will have the ability to "walk away" from the business while the income continues to flow in. I believe if there was such an incredible benefit such as lifelong residual income that could be achieved from Amway, I'm fairly certain that Amway would advertise this as a benefit of being an IBO. But Amway does not. It is very likely that your LOS such as WWDB or one of the others will promote this benefit while telling you that your bext chance to achieve it is by subscribing to their "system".
One thing that goes unnnoticed all too often is that there seems to be nobody who is actually retired and living off the efforts of having built a big Amway business once upon a time. Seems that even the crown ambassadors still have busy lifestyles running from function to function and participating in other business related activities. While many of these leaders may claim they love their downlines or some other bunk, it is my belief that these leaders keep working their Amway businesses for one reason only. That is they need to keep working in order to keep the income flowing in.
The diamond lifestyle that is often portrayed may seem like a great goal or dream to achieve, but the fact of the matter is that a "diamond lifestyle" cannot be sustained on diamond income. The average diamond, according to Amway, earns about $150,000 a year. While that may seem like a great amount of income, it's not nearly enough to sustain the kind of lifestyle portrayed by diamonds. Even if that income is supplemented by income from the sale of tools, you can't fly your family around the country first class to do all kinds of functions and still end up with much leftover to own fancy homes and cars.
If I deposited $1000 in the bank and never touch the money, the bank would pay me a certain amount of interest each year, guaranteed. That is residual income. In Amway, you can basically earn income in two ways. You can sell products for a profit, but there are problems with this. First off, Amway products in general are more expensive than local retailers. It is why you hear so many justifications about quality and concentration, because you are hard pressed to argue cost. Secondly, you are severely restricted from advertising, thus selling can be difficult. The other way to generate more income is to build a downline in hopes that the downline will help you to leverage your volume. But then your downline will have the same problem that you had in moving products. That being said, even if you achieve some level such as emerald or diamond, your business will immediately begin to fall apart once you stop working because attrition will take its toll. It is why there are hoards of "former" platinums. If platinums are not sustainable, then neither is any other level.
There are many many instances of diamonds quitting, resigning, or falling out of qualification. People come and go in this business every day. Do you really think you can bank on retirement and residual income under these circumstances? If you believe that, I have some swamp land in Florida to sell you.
The framework of the Amway pyramid was created a long time ago. While it is theoretically possible to create a new successful offshoot of that pyramid it is not likely because the Johnny-come-lately distributor is burdened by paying higher "wholesale" prices than those who got in years ago and built up an extensive downline. After all, both are competing in the same limited Amway market but pay different prices. NOT a level playing field.
ReplyDeleteKind of like the tiny offshoot that starts growing from the base of a large overgrown tree. That's the newly minted hopeful Amway IBO. Rather insignificant.
Yes, "anyone" can succeed but that anyone will need to use deceit to recruit and retain a large group of down line and they will have to overcome overwhelming odds to do it.
DeleteIf anyone notices, there are very few new diamonds emerging in the US. My old LOS, WWDB, has fewer diamonds now than when I was an IBO back in 1997.
I remember years ago on variety shows on TV there would be acts like a guy who would spin a bunch of plates on flexible poles while the Sabre Dance music played in the background. He would frantically run from plate to plate to keep them spinning because eventually they all would slow down and fall off otherwise.
ReplyDeleteAnd that is the life of the Diamond. They CAN'T retire because 99% of people who sign onto Amway do NOT make money, so eventually all of them will fall out of the scam and the Diamond will lose that part of his "residual income". Thus it is imperative of him to stay working forever, to keep running from plate to plate, trying to keep it spinning with the propaganda brainwashing bullshit and for the ones who fall off the pole and break on the ground he has to find a new plate (sucker) to replace it.
I don't see how it is even possible for a Diamond to retire and walk the beaches of the world, because without constant brainwashing "grooming" of his downline, they would ALL eventually quit since they won't be making any money.
Your comment is spot on. I believe there is no residual income. If there were, certainly there would be some diamonds who would have chosen to do just that.
DeleteAnd you're right, diamonds can't retire because without the constant brainwashing and maintenance on their groups, people would quit and the group would fall apart quickly.
The problem is that propaganda for Amway recruitment is essentially out of sync with the reality of Amway income.
ReplyDeletePersons are drawn to Amway because it is presented to them as if it were like the purchase of stocks or bonds -- that is, something that will provide a steady income over the years without any further effort on your part. And that's what we all want, right? A steady flow of unearned income.
But even back in the 1970s, despite the bullshit spouted by overzealous recruiters, there were pronouncements by Amway higher-ups that this was a misunderstanding. I recall them (Van Andel and De Vos) saying something to this effect: "It is wrong to suggest that persons who reach a certain level in Amway will no longer be actively involved in the business."
That was an attempt to be brutally honest. Unfortunately, as the various schemes like WWDB and TEAM took off, the temptation to just let them run wild with extravagant claims was too much for the bigshots in Ada, Michigan. Nobody gave those warnings anymore. And the "Tools" rip-off was just too lucrative for everyone (except low-level IBOs).
Yes, I have made that claim before. That if residual income were a reality, Amway would be promoting that as a benefit of being an IBO. But they do not.
DeleteWhy? Do you see any company promote such things as all? We don't promote this, company always want their best partner stay with them as it apply to all company. You don't want your best man quite. So amway won't promote it.
ReplyDeleteHowever, if you study the business plan careful and full understand it , you know when you can walk away. I know when I would able to take a pause with amway(although quiting make no sense) and turn my focus on Other things on my life.
Very well, Amway doesn't want its best people to walk away. But that's NOT what IBOs tell prospective recruits! These prospective recruits are told that if they reach a certain level in Amway, they can walk away and have a huge residual income.
DeleteWhy do you think anyone joins? Just for the pleasure of selling soaps and cleansers for the rest of their lives? People join because they believe they will become independently wealthy and be able to retire. If there's some other motivating reason to join Amway, tell us about it!
The plain fact is that a diamond CAN'T walk away from Amway and expect his income to remain the same. He has to work endlessly to maintain his down-line. If he doesn't do this, his income will soon shrink to zero.
Yeah, at meetings, they show off sports cars and mansions because they want people to enjoy selling soaps, cleaners and vitamins for the rest of their lives. LOL
DeleteIt is a plain fact that a diamond CAN walk away and still be collecting good income. My claim is back up with facts and your claim don't. All I have to do it to show one single diamond that already made it to prove my point and we have many. You are welcome to come and check out.
ReplyDeleteQuiran, all due respect but you saying it itsn't a fact. It's a anecdotal story that isn't supported with facts and goes against the facts we do know about. Such as a 50% attrition rates which would suggest that your business would fall apart pretty quickly if you "walked away".
DeleteQ, how long will the diamond have to work before they CAN "walk away"?
DeleteNot even 5 years I think.
Diamonds can't walk away, that's why diamonds keep working until they die.
Delete