One of the ways that Amway diamonds would put down jobs was to toss in the phrase that a job was simply trading hours for dollars. As if it were demeaning to have a job where you got paid for your time. I believe it's all relative. Being that many IBOs are young and maybe working in more entry level types of jobs, then yeah, your hour's wage might not be that great. If you earn say $10 an hour, then you might be struggling financially and it may take time before your skills and knowledge increase to a point where your experience is worth more money. What if you had a job paying $1000 an hour and earned $160,000 a month? Is that a lousy deal trading hours for dollars? I don't think so!
Conversely, having a business can be good or bad also. If you have an Amway business earnning less than $100 a month and you spend $200-$300 on functions, standing orders and other training and motivational materials, then you are losing money. You would be better off working for free. That is still a better alternative than working a business where you are losing money. I think most people agree that a platinum group typically has a 100 or more IBOs. Thus a platinum is in the top 1% of all IBOs. I have heard that the platinum level is where you start to break even or make a little profit, depending on your level of tool consumption. If platinums are barely making a profit, then the other 99+% of IBOs are losing money. How much is that worth per hour?
I think uplines cleverly trick IBOs into thinking that a job is bad. Trading hours for dollars, afterall, sounds like some kind of indentured servant of sorts. But in the end, what matters is your bottom line. If you are an IBO with little or no downline, and/or not much in terms of sales to non IBOs/customers, then you are losing money each and every month if you are attending functions and buying standing orders. Your 10-12 hours a week of Amway work is costing you money! But if you spend 10-12 hours a week, even at minimum wage, then you might be making about 300 to 350 a month gross income. After taxes, you make about 250 to 300. At least trading hours for dollars gets you a guaranteed net gain at the end of the month. You have money that can pay for your bills and expenses instead of the Amway business, which is simply false hope for most.
Uplines trick you into a "business mentality" where you think that working for a net loss is just a part of business. IBOs should realize that a business promoted as low risk and no overhead should be one where you can profir right away. Instead, IBOs are taught to delay gratification, or to reinvest any profit back into their business in the form of tools and functions, which results in a net loss. If that's the case I would choose trading hours for dollars.
Remember, trading hours for dollars is not a bad deal if you are making enough dollars per hour. And even those who make less, are better off that those who "run a business" but end up with a net loss. It's all relative and hopefully, this message will help new or prospective IBOs who are being enticed to join the Amway business opportunity. Good luck to those with jobs and those with businesses. You can be successful either way. Remember that!
I gave up on my dreams a long time ago and became a loser, unfortunately. I had dreams of becoming a computer engineer and launching my own computer business one day and becoming rich, but I joined Amway instead and lost. World Wide Dream Builders kept doing just that, building dreams that just kept being dreams for several years as I bled money.
ReplyDeleteThis is really one of the most harmful things that poison IBOs' minds. A new IBO might say what's the harm in trying out Amway for a few months, or a spouse/relative/friend might say that about their IBO loved one. But the problem is that this poisonous thinking of making people hate their job, hate any and every job period, will soon have them jobless AND out of Amway, like 99%+ of those who join. Just one of the ways Amway destroys lives.
ReplyDelete"Trading hours for dollars" is what normal persons call "work" or "endeavor." It is a simple and universal fact of economic life. If your hours bring you $75,000 per year plus benefits, that's a pretty good trade.
ReplyDeleteOne of the most vicious traits of the Amway mentality is this deliberate and dishonest mischaracterization of perfectly good parts of human life, and dismissing them with some half-assed slogan that can be shouted at IBOs. Here are a few:
Your J.O.B. means "Just Over Broke." (Translation: all jobs are degrading).
Concern for one's dignity is "STATUS - Still To Arrogant To Understand Success." (Translation: Make yourself an obnoxious pest to everyone if you have to).
"Tools are optional, but so is success." (Translation: You won't get anywhere without paying off your up-line every month).
"Your dream wasn't big enough." (Translation: You're obviously a stupid loser who didn't deserve to make a profit in Amway).
All of the above slogans and catch-phrases are demeaning and insulting to human beings who work for an honest living. They are nasty and snide, and designed solely to keep IBOs afraid. Amway (like all MLM schemes) tries very hard to capture people by throwing stupid and catchy slogans at them, and encouraging people to use them constantly in conversation.
During my kitchen table conversation a few years ago with the Amway'bigshot' brought in to impress me, the guy ranted and raved about jobs not giving enough raises to keep up with inflation or some such thing. I replied that as a government union employee I qualify for a contract raise and a performance raise each calendar year and explained the numbers to him. He did admit if it was true then it would be a pretty good deal. However, he was firm that he didn't believe me and that I was wrong. I told him that as a public servant, my union's contract was available for public viewing and grabbed my phone to show him the website. He lamely rebuffed me and said that he still didn't believe me and quickly got the heck out of there never to be heard from again.
ReplyDeleteThebombisthebomb: He didn't believe you even though you showed hard evidence, and he expects IBOs to believe his Amway income without having to show his tax returns?? What a scam! Theamisthescam!!
ReplyDeleteAmway and other MLMs are the only "business" where you need a job to stay in business. I've run a real business for 8 years, during which people tried to rope in in. On two occasions very distant work contacts from before I went on my own.
ReplyDeletePerhaps they did not know or have forgotten I got all of my income from a business, it was laughable hearing them describe their version of business wisdom, and the irony of offering to become my coach, so I could flush "that job", something which they are yet to do.
I have never had the urge to bash people who did not own businesses, or to badmouth my ex boss. I never stress the word "independent" before I say business owner. In fact I don't say "business owner" 10 times in two minutes. It rather talk about my actual business (provided it is interesting to the hearer and relevant).
The secret of business success is not to not ever quit. It is knowing when to quit, when not to keep on flogging a dead horse. To do that, it is crucial to watch the books, income and expenses, with an eagle eye. Amway upline says "don't let the lack of results distract you". Real business says "don't ever get distracted from looking at the results".
Amway upline would have you believe that the secret to success in business is hard work, and then more hard work. Amway upline says you need to work your back end off for a little while, and you will be rewarded. Real business owners know, of course dedication is good, but don't work hard for the sake of it, you'll burn out and loose focus. Don't spend too much time on non income generating activities.
Contrary to what many IBOs come to believe after a year. It's not normal for a business to not make money for the first months and months, let alone years. Not for a one person work from home business with no machinery, no perishable unsold stock, no wages to pay. Such a business should make money from the get go! Not even talking about one advertised as tried and proven. Your upline says "don't stress if there's no money. Work harder. Don't give up. Come and we'll motivate you". IBOs confuse that for encouragement. Real business says "forget emotion, look at the numbers!".
The Amway opportunity is what I call the extreme job mentality. Many people who work for a salary in a decent job progress to a level where they take accountability for an area in business, especially if they've had a little education. They know why things have to be done, and are given scope for decisions. In Amway it is "do what I say, ask questions later". In a normal job employees can do what they want after hours. Your Amway upline is your boss, it seems, 24/7.
The biggest difference, ironically is, in a good job, you can actually learn something about business and hone your prospects of starting one. Make no mistake, coming from a real business owner, the Amway opportunity is a job, and it is not a very good one at that!
Part of what's going on is this: most persons who join Amway are already pathetic losers in dead-end jobs. They all claim to have formerly been gas station attendants, soda jerks, telemarketeers, or hired help in small stores. So for them the slogan "Take that job and flush it!" makes a certain sense, emotionally. Their jobs suck.
ReplyDeleteBut such a slogan could hardly appeal to a doctor, a lawyer, an investment broker, a unionized civil servant, or anyone with a really hefty salary in the six figures plus benefits. If someone is getting a salary of $150,000 per year, why the hell would he want to "flush that stinking job"? To get a lousy salesman-on-commission slot with Amway, and be part of an expensive buyer's club for mediocre products?
The fact is this -- when it comes to recruitment, Amway (along with all of its little AMO subsystems) aims very low. It seeks out the losers, the underemployed, the young kid just out of college, the small-town schmuck going nowhere. In fact, all MLMs do the same thing: do you actually think you're going to get an intelligent and energetic person to sign up in an absurdity like LuLaRoe, or Monavie?