Thursday, February 28, 2019

Amway Crabs In A Pot?

A funny story told by my Amway uplines, and apparently still told today is the story of the crabs in a pot. That crabs will prevent other crabs who want to escape the pot by pulling them back in or pulling them down. The story goes that people in the working world also do this, by stepping on others to get ahead. I've never actually seen for myself if crabs actually pull each other down if one of them tries to escape a pot, but I suppose it might be true. I do know of some people who will do anything to get ahead and they can be ruthless. Some of the most ruthless are Amway diamonds, who might tell you to spend your last dollar on a cd/audio or to attend a function because your business could benefit. Or to have you family skip a meal because that Amway training material is so vital.

But the people who are willing to sacrifice others to get ahead do not appear to the the majority, but the exception. Many people are willing to work a career job and maybe over time, they move up the corporate ladder. Many people do this without having to "pull people down" in order to succeed. I believe this crab in the pot is just another ploy by uplines to get IBOs to think that their friends and family, by warning them of the potential perils of Amway, are just crabs pulling you back into the pot. It simply isn't true. Think about it, why are there so many negative stories and experiences floating around out there about Amway and the tool systems? Why is there a lack of new success continuously emerging fro Amway? Why do diamonds quit or walk away from the business under unfriendly terms? Where are all the people who retired and walk the beaches of the world? Why do crown ambassadors keep working, seemingly until they pass away?

Maybe the success you think there is in Amway simply doesn't exist. Let me repeat. Maybe the success you were led to believe exists in Amway, just isn't there. Amway's been around more than 50 years. Why can't anyone name a dozen or so people who built their Amway business once, and built it right, then walked away, collecting significant residual income since? I wonder why Amway doesn't advertise this as a benefit of being an IBO?

Speaking of crabs in a pot. Ever wonder why all these virtuous diamonds break away from their beloved mentors to form their own groups? Ever wonder why there are countless issues of diamonds suing diamonds over tool income? If the money coming in is uncountable, why can't these diamonds come to a peaceful agreement? Why use lawyers which many diamonds talk about as evil because lawsuits are often about getting something for nothing.

Maybe it is the diamonds themselves who are crabs in the pot, all pulling each other down whenever one of them is on the verge of success?

Wednesday, February 27, 2019

The Reality Of Amway?

One of the things that keeps some Amway IBOs going is the "harsh reality". What I mean by that is for some IBOs, once you have been in Amway for a while, it can be hard to quit. You were possibly recruited with dreams of lifelong residual income and walking on all of the exotic beaches of the world. Retiring young and spending that time with your wife and family, and Amway friends. To quit means an IBO would have to face the reality that these dreams will not come true, at least not with the Amway business. The fact is that the Amway opportunity probably would not have delivered those dreams anyway. Even a diamond more than likely cannot afford those dreams. In fact I would estimate that most diamonds, if they flaunt some excessive lifestyle, are near broke or in heavy debt as a diamond income cannot sustain a jet set lifestyle, save for a founders double diamond or something similar. I believe the prominent WWDB triple diamond bankruptcy shed a lot of light into the finances of an upper level pin and it wasn't as impressive as I would have thought.

The triple diamond who filed for chapter 7 bankruptcy made about half a million dollars annually from Amway. That's a great income and more than most people earn, but seriously, a half million dollars income is not going to allow you ti buy mansions paid for in cash, or a fleet of sports cars. After paying taxes and business expenses, I'm not even sure someone with that kind of income even lives a worry free life of leisure. And we're talking about a triple diamond, not your average run of the mill regular diamonds who I would safely assume, earns much less than a triple diamond.

But what really is the harsh reality? It's working hard only to drift between 100 and 500 PV. It's finally sponsoring a new IBO only to have a downline quit. It's talking to people about Amway and getting laughed at or getting rejected. It's your upline or sponsor pushing you to do more. Possibly your upline is one who questions your manhood if you aren't working hard enough. It's your upline or sponsor reminding you that a winner doesn't miss functions, especially the major ones. It's staying up late for team meetings or night owls when you need a good night's rest to do your job the next day. It's driving the miles to show a plan, only to have your prospect not show up. It's having to be deceptive about what you are doing. It's skipping functions with family and friends so you can be core to the business.

As IBOs, do you see any of this? I saw some of this during my involvement. While I have not been an IBO in some years now, I still see many testimonies and comments by more current and even some active IBOs to indicate that a lot of this still goes on. While Amway defenders will deny it, I see no reason why any of this would have changed over the years since Amway has made no significant changes to stop abusive uplines. If Amway did make any changes, they are not immediately apparent and the continuous string of comments and testimonies do not confirm that any clean up has been done.

For active IBOs or prospects, these are the harsh realities that may be attached with the Amway opportunity. Much of it is because of motivational groups such as WWDB, but if you are seeing these traits in your group, ask the tough questions. If you happen to decide that the Amway opportunity is not for you, take heart! There are other ways to achieve your financial goals and dreams and there are more efficient ways out there. Sometimes, quitting something that isn't working is a wise business decisions and sometimes you can lose more by not quitting. Good luck in whatever you decide.

Tuesday, February 26, 2019

Amway And Taxes?

I always get a kick when IBOs talk about how they get bigger tax refunds because of their Amway business. To me, a bigger tax refund is most likely the result of suffering losses in Amway. If you did not have a job and taxes withheld from your paycheck, and your only revenue was from Amway, you could only break even at best with no tax return, unless Amway corporation was withholding taxes for you. Most IBOs have jobs and their bigger tax refund is very likely because they reduced their tax liability by losing money in their Amway business.

It might be a good idea for IBOs to consult with a tax professional because they are likely assuming that anything associated with their Amway business is a legitimate tax deduction. In the past, many IBOs who were audited by the IRS had tax deductions disallowed because the deductions claimed by the IBOs were not seen as legitimate deductions by the IRS. Look at functions for example. They can be seen as a social event rather than a business convention. Did your business grow as a result of that function? Did your sales increase? For many IBOs, the answer is "no" and that could mean that your deduction is not a legitimate one. When you hear a standing order about some guy who was down and out but never quit and later went diamond. A nice and touching story, but did your sales increase as a result of that cd? If not, it may not be a legitimate deduction. The IRS is not in the business of handing out deductions because the expense was related to your Amway business. More than likely, you need to show that your expenses somehow helped to increase your business. As I said, it is probably wise for IBOs to seek tax advice from a tax professional rather than blindly following your upline's advice.

But IBOs, please do not try to fool everyone into thinking that you have a profitable Amway business if you are reconciling your taxes at the end of the year and then getting a larger tax refund as a result of your Amway business profits. You are more than likely gaining a bigger tax refund because your lost money running your Amway business and the business losses reduces your tax liability from the income you earned from your job. If you were making some money in Amway, after subtracting expenses, you would have to pay more taxes, at least in the US. The more you make, the more Uncle Sam takes. All too often I have seen IBOs brag about their profits from their Amway business and in the same breath, they talk about getting a bigger tax refund. It doesn't add up.

Monday, February 25, 2019

Financial Freedom?

Financial Freedom! That was one of the major battle cries when I was recruited for the Amway business. You gain control of time and money by creating residual or passive income. That is true financial freedom. You wake up at noon, no job, and just do whatever you please, whenever you please. I remember the speaker saying that broke/unemployed people also had freedom, but it was different because they were broke and could not afford to go golfing or do other activities that required money on a regular basis.

I am assuming that this is still the case for many IBOs. Of course, upline leaders may toss in a disclaimer that you don't get rich quick as an IBO, but the pitch apparently still contains the financial freedom and residual income theme, based on my experiences with IBOs. IBOs still think they will be rich. Also, 2-5 years sounds like "get rich quick" to me.

But hey, financial freedom would be a great thing, don't get me wrong. Who wouldn't want to be 35 years old with enough cash to never have to work again? I mean I could spend some time imagining how fun that would be. It would also be fun to imagine what you would do with all the cash if you hit the power ball lottery as well. But for the starry eyed IBOs, I simply have a few questions for you to ponder. A few realistic questions that you should be asking yourself. The answers to these questions will tell you a lot.

1. Who in your group or upline truly has achieved financial freedom? Have you seen their financials or simply a display of wealth such as mansions and fancy cars? Mansions and fancy cars could just be a massive pile of debt. Not too long ago, there apparently were diamonds who had their homes foreclosed, and a triple diamond who was in bankruptcy proceedings. Find out if anyone in your group/upline has actually achieved the success that they are using to recruit you. Also, if they are financially free, why do they work at function after function? Traveling and speaking might not be a traditional job, but it is still work, nonetheless.

2. Even if you find someone who is retired and golfing everyday because of Amway residual income, ask yourself what the likelihood is that you will be able to achieve the same results. If diamonds are still working, what chance do you have of success if you are new or experienced in Amway, and have few or no downline. More than likely, your chance of winning the lottery will be greater than your chance of achieving a significant residual income from your Amway business. Also, I don't know of any Amway retirees who built their business once and walked away with any significant residual income from Amway. Do you?

Friday, February 22, 2019

The System?

Based on my experience in Amway, my blogging experience, and observation of other people who give financial advice such as real estate gurus who teach you to buy property with no money down, or others such as Robert Kiyosaki for that matter, commonly show testimonials of successful people. In the end, this is as effective as showing all the people who won the lottery. Focus attention on the people who won but ignore the millions of people who failed trying to accomplish the same thing. Obviously they do not show you the vast majority of people who try their systems and fail.

It is my informed opinion that whether it is Amway, WWDB, BWW, N21, real estate or the cash flow business, the vast majority of people who try these systems do not make any kind of significant income. Sure, some do, and those are shown as the possibilities. But if you watch infomercials for these "systems", you will see in small print on the bottom of the screen, "unique experience", your results may vary. I believe that a similar message is used at the end of Amway diamond recordings and audios as well. The diamonds basically present only the best case scenario to prospects while ignoring the most likely results.

These systems in general do not work for various reasons. Many people simply do not have the acumen to work the system. Or the system has too many variables for the system to work, or the system calls for things beyond your control. For example, success in Amway generally requires you to sponsor others, something that is beyond the control of most people. Add in the lazy and people who are hoping for a quick score and it is understandable that most will fail. But these systems are often set up where the majority simply cannot all succeed. Nowhere is that more true than the Amway business where the pyramidal compensation plan nearly guarantees failure for the vast majority of lower level IBOs. The 6-4-2 plan shows 79 IBOs with 1 platinum. Thus, even with everyone in the groups earning a bonus, (practically impossible), you have 1 in 79 achieving platinum, which is the level where you allegedly begin to break even or make a small profit, depending on your level of commitment to the "system".

So what can someone do? Well, it may no be as sexy or attractive but a part time job and investing and saving might be something to think about. Even a part time business where you focus on selling products for a profit might work. It just seems prudent to avoid these "systems" as the primary beneficiary of these "systems" are the ones who directly profit from them - the upline diamonds.

Wednesday, February 20, 2019

The "Business" Mentality?

One of the things many Amway IBOs "think" they possess, but in reality they are far from it, is "Business Mentality". It is not necessarily the fault of the IBOs. Many are sponsored into Amway by trusted friends and lacking business experience, they will "submit" to upline as they are advised and will try to learn about the Amway business. The problem is that many upline leaders teach self serving business practices such as hard core dedication to their tools system, from which they often handsomely profit. And these leader profit from your sysem purchases no matter how much money you make or lose. Let's examine some of the questionable practices.

"Buy from yourself". If you have a business owner mentality, you only buy from yourself if it's beneficial to your business. Many IBOs talk about ridiculous things like a McDonald's owner would never eat at Burger King. That's baloney. Just because I own a McDonald's doesn't mean I am eating Big Macs the rest of my life. You cannot spend yourself to prosperity. If I sold pens for $1.00 and my cost was .50, and my competitor had a special on the same pens at 3 for $1.00, I'm buying them from my competition. Also, buying from yourself makes you a customer, not a business owner. This is a big misconception made my IBOs.

"Ignore facts if you have a dream". This is probably the biggest heap of baloney taught by some upline. I have seen this spouted in particular by IBOs downline from WWDB and BWW leaders. A business owner studies the facts, not ignores them. Any REAL business owner wants to know how much he is bringing in and how much is going out. That's how you detect the heartbeat of your business. A site visitor, on this site, recently posted a profit/loss statement from her real business. Naturally, IBOs were at a loss to discuss it because it was foreign material to them.

"Submit to upline" Another load of hogwash. Why should someone submit to upline simply because they "sponsored me" or whatever? A real business owner would think independently and make business decisions based on facts and numbers, not on the advice of someone upline who hasn't taken the time to assess each IBO on a personal level to be able to give advice on an IBO's "Independent Business", or worse, advice on their personal lives". What credentials does your sponsor have to be able to give you business or life advice? What if I'm 50 years old and got sponsored by my son? He's suddenly in a position to give advice to you father?

"Dedication to the system". Silly advice as well. What dedication does the system have for an IBO? If an IBO succeeds (which is very rare), the system takes credit, but for the more than 99% of people who never make a significant income, it is their own fault if they don't make it. Amway apologists will defend this by saying that many may not have signed up wanting a significant income. While that may be partially true, tell me where people show "plans" designed for the guy who wants an extra $100 a month? The plans shown are always (AFAIK) to go platinum or diamond.

IBOs and information seekers, does any of this sound familiar? Is this a part of your experience? If so, I encourage you to ask questions here and get more information before proceeding with any more "business" activity.

Tuesday, February 19, 2019

How "Rich" Is Your Diamond?

One of the things so many Amway IBOs and others do is assume that their upline diamond is rich beyond belief. At meetings, the speaker would be introduced as being in the top one tenth of one percent income bracket. While it may or may not be true, nobody ever questioned it, they just assumed it was true because people saw pictures of mansions and copies of 5 year old bonus checks. Even I never went and studied how the diamond bonuses worked. Most people just assumed that the money would be huge at the diamond level. But looking back, I can recall some things that make me believe that the diamonds were cutting corners and needed their platinums working free at meetings and functions in order to maximize profits.

The diamonds in our group often did not stay in hotels when visiting for meetings, but in the home of another diamond or some lucky downline platinum. The diamonds rarely rented a car. Instead, a downline platinum or higher would be lucky enough to be the unpaid and uncompensated chauffeur for the weekend. The platinums basically were the doormen and ushers at the functions and in many cases, probably didn't even get to hear the speakers since they were busy working. Their reward for their troubles was "spending time" with their uplines.

The downline are like unpaid volunteers. For example, ever see diamonds actually renting a moving van and hiring movers? I believe most of them had downline groupies who did the work for free, just for the honor of being near their upline. Just my opinion, but if these folks had mountains of cash, why wouldn't you hire movers so your downline didn't have to use up a valuable Saturday or Sunday to do that work? That's like owning a chain of stores but having all of their stores closed. No products sold, no new recruits prospected. If Ray Kroc moved his residence, would all the nearby McDonald's owners close their stores to help him move?

Another things IBOs and prospects should note is that pictures of mansions, sports cars and jet skis doesn't mean someone is wealthy. Someone could have all those things on credit or rented after all. And many people who truly are wealthy, do not show off their wealth. It is possible that many diamonds live mundane middle class lives on their income but need to portray wealth to lure in new IBOs. While your upline diamonds may act and look rich, how would you really know? I can take a homeless guy, clean him up an put him in a suit and a sports car and he would probably look like a diamond.

If your uplines are implying that they are so wealthy ask them to verify some of the claims. I'm not talking about their personal income, but in business, verifying business income is very common. If you are being invited into the business and a business system such as WWDB, BWW or N21, you have every right to check your upline's credentials. Avoidance of the truth, or an answer such as "none of your business" should be a red flag. It is your business if you are being asked to join, invest your time and money, and follow upline advice.