Better Than Amway?

  One of the silly things I get asked occasionally by IBOs is what’s better than Amway since I opine that Amway is a lousy way to make an extra buck.   Actually, if people actually made money with Amway, I’d probably have nothing to say.  But it is a fact that the vast majority of people make nothing or lose money in Amway.  Typically, losses are because of the tools and functions.   This is why diamonds teach hard core dedication to the system and the teachings of "CORE".  This actually doesn't help the IBO, but it provides financial security for the diamonds in the form of income as a hard core group of IBOs buying standing orders and attending functions provides a steady income for the diamonds.  In some or possibly many cases, a more steady income than Amway income.  

So, what’s better?  Well, staying home and doing nothing is better because you won’t be wasting your time and money chasing an opportunity where you are very likely to lose money. Staying at home to watch “The Simpsons” is better because you’ll be entertained.  But seriously if you want to make extra money? What can be done?  

Get part time work.  You can. Use sone of the extra money plus invest some of that extra income.  This is the route I took when I was young, and it’s paid off big now.  Investing for the long term in bid companies like Apple or Microsoft gives an average return in the range of 20% or more in some cases.  Thus, your money can possibly double every 3-5 years, provided there isn't a recession or bear market.  Start an actual business with a specialty such as installing flooring or security doors.  These can be very part time with good results although sone skill is required.   However, those skills can be learned with some effort.

You can also buy and sell things such as flipping used cars.  Buy a car cheap, fix it up cosmetically and sell it for a profit.  Or find a niche market where you can sell insurance or burial plots part time.  These are real ways you can actually make some extra money.  In the end you need to decide for yourself on what to do but I can tell you that almost anything you choose will be more lucrative than pursuing Amway.    

Good luck in whatever you do, if you choose to pursue anything.  

You Must Believe!

 In the past, and I believe still today, some leaders in motivational groups talk about faith and belief. Speak it into existence. Some of this is the mantra among IBOs who believe they are going diamond. Never mind that statistically, your chance of winning the lottery might be better than going diamond in Amway. In fact, I am certain that there have been more power ball lottery winners than new Amway diamonds in the US and Canada in recent years. But an honest question for IBOs, prospects, and Amway supporters. Do you truly believe that this business works and that you will succeed?

If you truly believe, would you feel confident walking into a bank and meeting a loan officer. Tell the loan officer that all you do is sponsor 6 who sponsor 4 who sponsor 2 and you will be a new platinum (silver). Then all you need is 6 of these groups and the money will roll in forever while you sit on a beach in the Bahamas while money rolls in by the barrel full. And then ask the loan officer for a business loan. If you think this suggestion is crazy, maybe you don't truly believe in the business. Surely a loan officer would have some financial acumen and would be able to determine the viability of the business prior to approving a loan.

Would you feel comfortable talking to your doctor about joining Amway because a diamond makes much more income with less effort? How about a business professor at your local university? Surely someone with an established expertise in business would see the value of an Amway business and join your efforts? Or would the professor laugh you out of his office? Do you truly believe in what you do? If so, do you use the curiosity approach or are you straight up with prospects and invite them to an Amway meeting? If it's the latter and not the former, maybe your belief isn't that strong?

How hard do you work at building your business? If you truly believe that going diamond is the answer to all of life's challenges and problems, why aren't you building it and working on it as if your very life depended on it? Maybe your belief isn't what you think it is? Are you adding people to your downline every week or month? If not, maybe your belief isn't what you think it is?

If you have some doubts about what you are doing, then it is probably because you see IBOs coming and going. Maybe you see monthly losses in your business. Maybe you see people quitting the business regularly. Maybe you see the same old leaders on stage giving the same rah rah speeches. Maybe you see the logic and the common sense in most of the articles posted on this blog. My blog isn't here to make anyone quit Amway. My blog is to provide information to information seekers and to assist people in making informed decisions if they seek information prior to joining Amway and a motivational group such as WWDB or BWW.

Do you truly believe in what you're doing? Joecool truly believes in what he blogs about.

What Do IBOs Know About Business?

 One of the reasons why I believe that people get duped into joining Amway and then quitting or maybe doing nothing is because of the way the business is presented and the way it is actually done. There are many redundant issues that occur and uplines who show the plan will downplay the problems while highlighting the unlikely best case scenario as if this is the norm. These problems then surface when an IBO actually tries to build the business and uplines smooth it over by saying things like someone should never quit or get detail-itis or some other bogus thing to get the focus off the problem.

A big problem is that many prospects join Amway because it is promoted as a way to make quick money. I know many people think they can sell some stuff and make a few quick bucks. That's what I thought at one time also. Many prospects are also told that an Amway business has zero or little overhead, unlike a conventional business. However, many IBOs find that starting an Amway business carries a defacto 100 PV minimum requirement. They might be told that you just change your shopping habits, but many individuals and families cannot possibly consume 100 PV unless they are duped into consuming Amway vitamins which they may never have taken before. An artificial demand is what is created when this happens.  In other words, many people would never take supplements if not for joining the Amway business.

IBOs who may be somewhat serious about business will also be encouraged to get on standing order and to attend all functions. While upline will claim these are optional, they are defacto requirements for those who are interested in building a business with downline. The standing orders and functions can cost a significant about of money depending on an IBO's level of commitment. I would estimate that a somewhat "serious" IBO would probably expend between $150 to $300 a month or more on these "tools". Amounts vary and can be more or less depending on factors such as whether you are single or a couple, and your level of commitment.

So now a new IBO, who is wanting to make a few extra dollars, might be spending between $450 to $600 a month for products and tools, if they are building a business and trying to sponsor downline. Their reward for this will be about $10 a month in the form of a rebate (bonus) from Amway. That is the typical and likely result for the vast majority of new IBOs. Sure, new IBOs have the zeal and excitement to recruit new downline, but that is an overwhelming challenge in North America when Amway's prices are generally not competitive with big retailers and the Amway name carries a stigma in North America. It is not uncommon for someone to be ridiculed just for mentioning Amway in a conversation, at least in my experience and observations.

The bigger problem is that many IBOs know little or nothing about business, thus they trust their upline, whose advice is often to buy more tools, make family sacrifices to attend more functions and to do whatever it takes to obtain more tools. All the while, some uplines are laughing all the way to the bank with tool profits. Whether an IBO succeeds or not is irrelevant to many uplines, as long as tool purchasing IBOs are replaced.  

As the US currently has a depressed economy, some tools kingpins are feeling the effects. We have seen home foreclosures, bankruptcy and some bigshot diamonds selling off their homes. Maybe just maybe they weren't as wealthy as they portrayed? Maybe they are reaping what they were sowing? Maybe this is the fruit on their tree? Maybe these uplines didn't know much about business afterall? :-)

Super Wealthy Diamonds?

 One thing that Amway diamonds like to do is to show off the diamond lifestyle and imply, but not verify their "super wealth".  But what is the diamond lifestyle?  Basically, it’s a show of excessive wealth.  Allegedly they fly first class everywhere and stay in five star hotels.  They wear designer clothes and supposedly buy expensive cars and homes all in cash. They come and go as they please and they only work out of love for their down line.  At least that's the narrative they want you and other prospects to believe.

There are poor saps in the audience who want that so badly that they have tears in their eyes because they want it so badly.  It certainly inspires you to try harder and to get your business booming with growth and excitement.  So, you get the inspiration, but the reality is that the diamond dream will not materialize.  I believe that many diamonds simply live average middle class to upper middle class lives for the most part.  I will go on to elaborate further.

I hate to break this news to IBOs and prospects, but I highly doubt that any diamond lives an uber wealthy diamond lifestyle unless they are up to their ears in debt.  But then again showing you a middle class lifestyle wouldn’t quite be as exciting.  How do I know or suspect this? Simple, just do the math.   Look at the Amway income disclosures.  A Q12 diamond, which is quite rare (the exception, not the rule) makes around $600k annually gross income.  After taxes and expenses, you aren't buying mansions and sports cars in cash while flying the around the world first class.   A family of four playing first class round trip even to functions would easily exceed $12,000 or more.  How many functions do diamonds attend each year?   That's some serious business expenses.

Amway used to report that an average diamond earns about $150k annually but now Amway doesn't disclose the income of an average diamond.    Although Amway no longer reports this, their compensation plan hasn't changed to a point where the average non Q12 diamond would earn significantly more than in the past.  Thus, the average diamond likely earns around $150k annually along with income from tools and functions.  Even if they earn another $100k from tools and functions, that's an income of about $250k.  

Now that’s a nice income for sure, provided the diamond is currently qualified although Amway doesn’t say who is and who is no longer qualified. Assuming they are qualified, their taxes, medical insurance and other expenses and business expenses likely claims about half of that income. 

Let’s say a diamond clears $10k per month after all if the expenses I mentioned and believe me I’m being very generous here.  Well, you can’t buy a home in cash on that income, so you likely have a mortgage.  If a diamond pays $4000 a month for a mortgage, they have $6000 remaining.  You aren’t buying a sports car in cash.  

If the kids go to a private school, more income is gone.  How much is left for first class travel and five star hotels did fabulous vacations.  I’d say a diamond lives a middle class lifestyle.  I believe some of the higher up pins such as crowns might live better but the rest of the diamonds lifestyle probably would not impress you if you saw the truth. 

So where is the Uber diamond wealth?  I don’t know, you tell me. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

 Happy Thanksgiving to all!    Enjoy your families and friends, good food and fellowship.  Joecool will be taking a break until after the Thanksgiving holiday.  

Until later, I have this article for readers to ponder on:

Amway Is Get Rich Slow?

One of the things upline used to say was that Amway is not "get rich quick". I suppose they say this because most people would more likely think scam if they promoted it that way. (I believe Amway is a scam) Ironic, but when you stop and think about it, 2-5 years, build it right and you have willable, residual income for like while walking the beaches of the world? That's not get rich quick? Or is it more of a disclaimer so that the opportunity doesn't sound "too good to be true"? One thing is for sure, even if uplines tell you that it's not get rich quick, it's obvious that IBOs think they will eventually get rich, even if it's not quick. Amway leaders have said "Amway is get rich slow".

What most IBOs don't figure out quickly enough, is that they are unlikely to even make a profit, let alone getting rich from Amway. How many of these retired Amway people exist? Where are all of these retired Amway IBOs who built a business in 2-5 years and then walked away from their business and will be collecting a significant residual income for many years to come afterwards? I don't know of a single person who has done this and none of the Amway defenders and zealots I have encountered over the years has been able to supply this information either.

I can acknowledge that Amway is a business opportunity and will definitely take some work to be able to achieve something. But thinking realistically, what business could you actually be able to walk away in 5 years and not work again? More than likely that business doesn't exist, whether it's Amway or not. Say you opened a conventional business. There wouldn't be many scenarios where you could walk away after a number of years. The business would still require work and maintenance. But for some reason, people are mislead to believe that you can do this in Amway where there is a high attrition rate and where your business can only expand by person to person, which is quite inefficient.

Sadly, many of the people who are attracted to the Amway opportunity are often young people looking to get more out of life. They are often ambitious but may lack a means to gain wealth, thus the appeal of the Amway opportunity is there. Unfortunately, these nice young people are more likely to end up channeling their hard earned dollars into standing orders and functions which will almost guarantee that they end up with a net loss. The bottom line is that not only is Amway not get rich quick. The more likely scenario is that your involvement with Amway will very likely be not getting rich at all. A net loss is the most likely result. The real life results and Amway's own disclosures suggest that I am spot on.

Dream Night Coming Soon?

 If you're an Amway, or in particular, a WWDB Amway IBO, you are likely going to be offered a chance to attend a function called dream night in the next month or two.

As an IBO, I was a member of Worldwide Dream Builders, or WWDB. We often told prospects, when recruiting, that we were with WWDB and did not mention Amway unless the prospect asked. If the prospect didn't ask, then we didn't tell. Apparently, part of the appeal of WWDB was to appear successful, even if you were not. It is probably why in some functions; we were taught to "fake it till you make it". Basically, the premise was to appear successful until you actually became successful. Sadly, there were very few who were "successful". For most serious business builders, business losses were incurred because of their involvement with business support materials, which is promoted heavily by Amway and WWDB Leaders.

WWDB also schedules a major function called "Dream Night". This function might also be called a Winter Conference. This was a one evening function with a sit-down dinner at a cost or about $65 to $75 per person. A major portion of the function was a slide show of the diamond lifestyle. We saw mansions, yachts, jet skis, sports cars and fabulous trips, jewelry and all kinds of extravagant luxuries not intended for the mortal man. But all of this was yours if only you would follow the foolproof WWDB system. I thought it was real when I was an IBO, but I now wonder if these luxuries were really owned by the diamonds. I suspect they may not have been. The money these diamonds supposedly earned was unlimited, or so we thought. I know that a diamond lifestyle isn't as rosy as they want you to think.

Diamonds apparently must keep working. Even if some of them might collect Amway income for a while, if they "walked away" from the business, attrition would kill their businesses pretty quickly and I believe their lucrative tools and functions income would stop the moment they stopped working the business. Imagine building a big sandcastle. It may look nice for a while but once you stop protecting it, the waves will eat it away and eventually return the sand to the ocean. Just like an unmaintained Amway business. For that reason, I don't know of anyone who built their business to diamond and walked away to retire in untold wealth and luxury.

Anyway, getting back to the subject, I ask this question. How many dreams have been built as a result of someone's involvement with Worldwide Dream builders? A WWDB Diamond apparently had his home foreclosed some years ago.  A prominent Triple Diamond apparently suffered the same fate plus some involvement with bankruptcy.  A Double Diamond is not with his wife or WWDB anymore, along with others.  I don't see many reports of any new WWDB diamonds and in fact, I believe there are fewer diamonds in WWDB now than when I was an IBO. Where are the diamonds? Where are the dreams? Whose dreams have been built? Conversely, I have seen people's finances wrecked with WWDB being a major contributor to that problem.   By the way, the home foreclosures and bankruptcy and other incidents were public information so they can be verified if necessary.

If you are being prospected or seeking information on WWDB or other LOS groups, ask them where the success is. Do not accept pictures of checks or pictures of sports cars as proof. Ask for bonafide financial records like real business owners do. If you need more information, my contact information is on my profile. Good luck!

The Con Game?

 Great Thread posted at scam.com:

http://www.scam.com/showthread.php?t=142975

It is stunning to realize the enormity of this con. Multi-million and billion dollar companies, stock exchange listed companies, companies that put on the facade of being a good corporate neighbor and innocent "business" (cough) next door.

Network marketing is a flawed and unsustainable business model that effectively is fed and supported by those on the bottom. Those on the bottom work a job to fund their product purchases. Those spoils of war then are divided up by the upline and sponsor company. Those on the bottom, who use funds from their jobs (rather than product sales) to sustain the "business", are an ever expanding rotating door of new recruits.

Although the products may be of high quality and slickly packaged, and give the impression that you are a marketeer of these sundry goods...the reality is much different. You are required to buy monthly quotas for personal use and recruit your ass off to gain entry into the promised land. The product you are really selling is a dubious "business opportunity"...your real market is "opportunity seekers".

A real business markets and sell goods and services. They are sustained by real retail sales. They order only what they know they can sell. From what I see all these mlms push recruiting as the ticket to the good life. Products and retailing mean nothing.

Another major difference is a real business owner holds title to his business...something he can sell. In mlm, you own nothing but your small product inventory.

The nature of this false and flawed business model will always have in its wake a vast turnover at the bottom of the pyramid structure. Its the nature of the beast and can be no other way, all math aside. The many "losers and the quitters" and dreamers who hang in there waiting for their ship to come in are those who support the top and sponsor company. There will always be a relentless drive to recruit at the bottom as it has nothing to do with true product retailing to support the business but finding and recruiting opportunity seekers. The emphisis is always on finding new recruits rather than selling product. And indeed, many of these mlm businesses put restrictions on the associates ability to retail the product...which subtly strengthens its true goal of recruiting as the primary revenue stream...not product sales.

These "businesses" (cough again) are predatory and prey on the many by appealing to dreams of luxury and a life of ease, especially those with troubles in their life. The start money is low to get into the "business", which is unlike a real business that takes more sizable seed money, some knowledge and guidance and a real business plan.

Those few that actually make sizable incomes from these schemes must live with the knowledge that their life is supported by the broken dreams, efforts and losses of those on the bottom. They conveniently set aside any feelings of culpability after stepping on the bodies of their fellow man so they can proclaim that they worked hard and made it.

There simply is no parallel between a network marketing model as a "business" and how a "normal?" business really works. I understand this because I own a real business that retails real product.

Network marketing is simply the greatest con game of all time. They should all be shut down.