Diamond Adulation?

 One of the weird things I observed about Amway IBOS is how they worship the diamond as if he is some kind of divine being.  When you look at it logically, what has the diamond done to deserve such adulation?   The diamond qualified for the pin one time and possibly one time only.  Heck, Joecool was a 4000 pin.   Does that mean new IBOS should take counsel from me since I achieved a fairly high level?  Even if I’m not currently qualified?   At least that's the logic that most IBOs are presented with although the newbies likely don't know about this.

Amway doesn’t say which diamonds are still qualified so nobody really knows.  And that is why you see former copies of bonus checks as evidence of success.  A current copy of a check would be better but still would not indicate what kinds of expenses that diamond had.  A copied check doesn't paint an accurate picture of what their business was like.

A good example would be my WWDB upline diamond who probably qualified diamond in the 1980’s.  Back then there was no internet and the business was very different than it is today.  That diamond also filed for chapter 7 bankruptcy in 2009 or so but is still revered as having superior financial acumen.  But based on what track record?

For some reason the audiences just assume that the diamond is successful and wealthy without really knowing the financial status of these leaders.   For all we know these diamonds are paying mortgages and in debt like the rest of the US population.  Why would it be any different when these diamonds show off a lifestyle of excess and even encourage IBOS to get into debt to purchase tools and function tickets.  If you ask upline to verify their financial claims you’ll be told it’s none of your business.

If your diamond’s financials are none of your business then you should not consider displays of wealth as any kind of evidence of success.  More likely that diamond lives check to check like much of the rest of the population.  What other conclusion is logical?

Uber Diamond Wealth?

  One thing that Amway diamonds like to do is to show off the diamond lifestyle.  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.

At least that’s the story they want you to buy when you are at meetings or at functions.  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 hate to break this news to IBOs and prospects but I highly doubt that any diamond lives like that 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 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. 

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 more than 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 if 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 impress you if you saw the truth. 

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

Helping People By Prospecting Them Into Amway?

 When I was an Amway IBO, I remember at many recruitment or teaching types of meetings, the speaker would talk about how Amway IBOs are helping people by getting them in the business or at least by showing them the plan. Looking back, I fail to see how inviting someone into a business where they are virtually assured of losing money (in the systems) is helping them. This is also how some IBOs think that they are suddenly "better" people because they think they are helping people by being an IBO.  When you think about it carefully, what help is actually being provided?

On average, Amway products cost more than retailer so a prospect is not helped by purchasing Amway products because they are paying a premium price. For IBOs purchasing Amway products, they are taking away from their local economy by purchasing Amway goods, although I guess you could argue that the IBO is helping Amway to succeed.   Also, you pay a premium price for Amway products but to me, Amway products seem generic in nature and I don't really see anything special about them at all.

IBOs who are actively building a business usually have many meetings to attend, and hard core IBOs are taught not to miss any meetings. Therefore an IBO has less time to spend with his or her family and friends. The IBO has less time to spend at church, and less time to help with any community projects. The IBO will probably miss someone's wedding or birthday celebration because of the hectic schedule of an IBO. It's a part of being dedicated to the Amway business and the system of teaching.  There might be some trade off if IBOs were actually making additional income that made their lives better but the vast majority of dedicated IBOs lose money.  How does that help anyone?

While all of this activity is happening, IBOs also have less money because the voicemail, standing order, functions and books and other expenses eat away at an IBO's resources. Thus IBOs have less to contribute to charity or even for their entertainment and enjoyment.  How is less disposable income helpful to anyone?

So an honest question. How do IBOs help people by building an Amway business? How are they better people by showing someone the plan or sponsoring them into a business that nearly assures they will lose money?

Im my informed opinion, the nicer and better person is what upline teaches as a side note to distract an IBO from the FACT that they are losing money because of the defacto 100 PV and tools requirements. They also make it seem as if IBOs are "helping" people by showing them the business plan. When you think about it, perhaps just the opposite is happening. This is another tactic, IMO, that uplines use to justify an IBO's lack of progress, much like how they tell downline that they are successful just by getting themselves to a function. If you are an IBO or a prospect, please read this article carefully.

Motivation?

 It seems to me that the Amway business became a never ending series of meetings and rah rah speeches designed to motivate the rank and file IBOS.  I suppose that so much motivation is needed because the vast majority of IBOS are losing money chasing the Amway dream.  But a nice story told by the diamond can get a low ranked IBO to hang in there and attend a few more functions and listen to more audios.  Of course those actions benefit upline more than the IBO.   If IBOS were to just walk away, diamond income would be affected,

But what motivates business people?  How about net profits and having more money at the end of the month than when you started.  I know that would have excited my to be cash positive in Amway.  But because nearly all IBOS are losing money, upline must devise ways to trick people in signing up and then staying on board.  Let me illustrate this:

When being recruited, I was told about how Amway was low overhead and that profits could be made quickly in addition to saving money by using Amway products.  Then after you get in, you’re told that business owners commonly lose money fir a number of years until the business it built.  It becomes an eloquent game of bait and switch for the upline and downline.   Sell them on quick profits and savings and then tell them about being a real business owner with real expenses.  It works because the upline are taught to trust and believe in upline.

The claim is that upline has your best interest at heart.  But I guess one more lie told by upline escapes many rank and file IBOS once they put their hope and trust in the upline.  And it works because people want to believe that 2-5 years of hard work will lead to retirement and financial freedom.  Sadly it usually ends in business losses and additional debt.  All the motivation anyone really needs is more money at the end of the month.  

A Typical Experience?

 One thing that I tried to uncover as a new IBO in Amway was what a typical day in the life of an IBO entails.  Nobody could really answer me with a straight answer.  I got all kinds of roundabout answers and I was told that I needed to listen to standing orders and attend all meetings are functions.  That was how I was going to learn how to grow my business an become successful.  I used to think what the heck, why can't someone answer such a simple question?

Maybe nobody could answer it because the typical answer is that most IBOs do nothing and quit?   Or maybe most IBOs never attend a meeting, never sell a single product and never sponsor a single down line?

I recall being taught to prospect for downline.  How to use the curiosity approach and how to go about getting people interested in seeing the plan.   It sure seemed as if the emphasis of the Amway teaching was recruiting downline.   Isn't Amway a retail based business where selling products should be the key?   We weren't told not to sell products but it certainly wasn't a focus of the teaching.   Interesting that selling products were an afterthought.  Instead we were taught to self consume products, to a point where we qualified for a PV bonus based only on self consumption.  

For many people, the typical experience is to attend an endless string of meetings, staying up late to attend teaching sessions and "night owls" and learning which products we can use that were considered "high PV" such as nutrilite vitamins like double x and other products that were considered "core products".  The odd thing was that Amway almost seemed like a way of life rather than a actual business.  I used to wonder why there were no standing orders of people who made their success by selling a mountain of Amway products.  

In a way, the typical Amway experience, in my opinion, is that Amway is very much like a part time job where you pay Amway for the right to sell their products at your time and expense.  There's very few actual business principles that are taught and again, the main focus is to get more people into the Amway business, regardless of their (or yours) prospects of actually making a profit.

Success Is Right Around The Corner?

 One thing taught my upline that actually hooked me for a while and what I suspect hooks many current IBOs is the notion that you should not quit because success is "right around the corner".  It makes it sound as if you could quit just before you could become successful.  But when you think about it logically, the Amway business is not like a slot machine where the next pull of the handle could literally make you rich.   Amway is a business and unless your business is constantly growing and sponsoring new people, then more than likely, success is not right around the corner and might never be around the corner.  

I believe this is just an upline ploy to keep IBOs and prospects who are on the fence about continued participation from quitting.   Right?  You make them feel as if there's a chance that you could quit shortly before you hear that one thing or experience that one function that will propel you to a diamond level business.   Doesn't it make you wonder what in the world is one thing that could so inspire you to suddenly sponsor people if you haven't been able to for a long time?

In my informed opinion, Amway takes a certain skill set which includes lying or telling half truths (lying) and misrepresenting how lucrative Amway is and how easy it is to run an Amway business and succeed.  The upline is typically sharp enough to say it is simple but not easy.  Simple meaning it's like spelling "cat" with a kid's building blocks as opposed to easy like stealing candy from a baby.   And apparently, this type of teaching is quite effective as I recall so many of my crossline IBOs who were dedicated to Amway and the systems for years despite attending all meetings and functions without any real success or actually sponsoring a downline.   Instead, upline creates superficial degrees of success such as saying that the most important person to get to the function is yourself.  

Upline is also clever enough to lift up and edify people who may have skipped their brother's wedding to attend an Amway function, or someone who rescheduled their kid's birthday party in order to attend a meeting.  I recall having missed out on many social events and activities in the name of building Amway but it really didn't help.  And ironically, Amway was promoted as a part time business but somehow, upline twisted that into Amway is #1 no matter what's going on in your life.   One saying was that you never miss a meeting or function unless it's to attend a funeral (your own funeral).

It's amazing how upline utilizes clever psychology to keep IBOs and prospects emotionally attached to Amway.  But if you view it objectively, you can actually see the forest from the trees.  

Who's The Man?

 If you're objective, you're likely to understand this post and if you've had too much Amway "kool aid", you might not get it.  If you're a prospect or on the fence about Amway, think long and hard about this post.   Your upline diamonds and other higher ups like to brag about their income and their allegedly lavish lifestyles but if ever asked to verify their claims you'll hear about how it's none of your business or you'll be shown a photo copy of a check or some other anecdotal. but not verifiable evidence of wealth.  Why do you suppose that it?  

Have you ever heard of the term owning a nice hat but no cattle?   It sort of means that you can look flashy but you don't have the goods.  The diamonds will show you flashy slideshows of vacations. most likely the ones that Amway pays for but not necessarily a bunch of other non Amway sponsored trips.  Or you might see pictures of jet skis, fancy cars, mansions and other kinds of bling.  If I posted picture of a mansion and a Porsche and other trappings like that and said I paid for them in cash, the Amway defenders would be calling me a liar (or worse).   But at the same time the diamonds do exactly that and not a single downline questions them or asks for verification of claims.  

But here's food for thought and it makes a ton of sense to me and probably to other reasonable people.  Joecool is comfortably retired, and I retired at the age of 55.  Prior to covid, I was traveling around the world having a great time.   But I don't brag about this to others and I don't try to profit from my claims of being young and retired and basically financially free.   I mention this here because I honestly believe that many diamonds cannot actually afford the "diamond lifestyle".   Let me explain;

Some years ago, Amway published the average income of a (non Q12) diamond) and it was about $150,000.   Since then, there have been no significant differences to the Amway compensation plan, yet I was hearing that diamonds make an average of 600k these days.  So I looked it up and that figure is for Q12 diamonds.  A Q12 diamond is one who qualifies as a diamond for all 12 months in the Amway fiscal year (unless it was changed recently), and a Q12 diamond is a rare exception and not the norm.  Therefore, I can only conclude that the rest of the diamonds likely earn around $150,000 a year, which I believe is still shown in "the plan".   Sure, there's some tool and function money which augments the income but can you live a life of absolute first class and luxury on $200k to $300k gross income?     I highly doubt it unless you you have other sources of income or resources to tap into.

Why do diamonds want you to think they are "the man"?  Because telling you that diamond allows you to live a middle class lifestyle (with a few luxuries) without a job isn't really sexy or likely to attract recruits.   Like it or not, that's what I believe is the truth.