The Business Works If You Work It?

 The Amway business works if you work it! That's what many Amway enthusiasts will claim. I do not believe that is true and I will further explain in this post. Many IBOs who claim that the business works are usually new and are unable to show any evidence that the business works, except perhaps to show a photocopied check from an upline diamond or the like. To date, no Amway IBO who posts on this blog as shown evidence that Amway works. And there is no evidence that hard work results in Amway success.  All we have are cute anecdotal stories that don't hold up to scrutiny and real questions.

Let me make a disclaimer that some people might be able to make significant money from Amway, but most of those folks are usually tenured diamonds who are almost in an exclusive club. There is only a short list of new diamonds that I know of in the US, and I have heard that even these new diamonds may have had legs in other countries. It would seem that Amway is not growing much in the US and Canada. Also of note, Amway does not release figures that are separate between Amway North America and the rest of their overseas operations, so information is limited.

Ok, so Amway enthusiasts claim that the business works if you work it. Business in its simplest form is selling a product or service for a profit. Yet many IBOs spend so much of their time doing other things that produce no business income or potential income, as advised by their upline "mentors" who sell them training materials that take up much of their valuable time. Listening to audios/cds, attending functions, reading books, and other training activities not only costs the IBO money, but takes up valuable time in non-income producing activities. Nobody makes sales reading books or attending seminars. Inviting people to see "the plan" may be a way to help generate volume but with Amway's reputation, even this is a hit and (mostly) miss activity. 

Many IBOs spend almost all of their time doing these activities (the work) when they could be better off not getting the training and focusing on selling the Amway products and services. Even that comes with a handicap as Amway products as a whole, costs a lot more than purchasing similar or the same products as a big retailer such as Costco or Walmart. It is why most IBOs eventually get discouraged and quit far before the promoted 2–5-year plan. 

Few people will even bother to see the plan once you mention "Amway" and for those who are open minded and motivated to register end up having to deal with a hard to sell opportunity along with high priced common commodities such as soap, vitamins and energy drinks. It's pretty easy to see that the business does not work, even for most of those who actually work it. There are simply too many issues with the business that handicaps those brave enough to try. It seems even the fiercest defenders of Amway are unable to provide a shred of evidence that they have actually made a profit from this opportunity.

Behind The Scenes?

 One of the things that the Amway Diamonds and some other leaders do to attract new Amway IBOs and potential recruits is to put on a dog and pony show. They want prospects to think that you can consume Amway products and get others to follow your lead, and, in a few years, you will be set for life financially, speaking on stages and securing the future for generations to come. They might use props such as pictures of mansions. slideshows of cars, jets, yachts. It looks impressive but based on what I know now, who knows whether the diamonds actually own this stuff or if they are simply showing you a slideshow of "lifestyles of the rich and famous". The reality is very likely that many diamonds are actually living in debt or bonus check to bonus check. It is a fact that more than half of NBA basketball pros end up broke less than 5 years after they retire, and they earn tons more cash than diamonds. Why would a diamond be different than the average Joe, especially when they appear to live beyond their means?

In the few cases where diamond income was exposed, we can see that they were not making the kind of money they would have you believe.  A Triple diamond (documented) was making about half a million a year from Amway. A nice income for sure, but not what people would think, and not enough to save that diamond from chapter 7 bankruptcy. Another WWDB diamond apparently lost a home to foreclosure. Another diamond, unnamed but documented in the book "Amway Motivational Organizations, Behind the Smoke and Mirrors", talks about a diamond who had a gross income of over 3 million dollars, and a net of about $320,000. This diamond was in debt, had back taxes owed to the government, and was working hard to portray the diamond lifestyle while living in serious debt.  The diamond income cannot sustain the lifestyle of the uber wealthy, no matter what your upline tells you.  

Some of these leaders also use religion or Christianity as a means to justify their involvement in the business. For those who know, the Bible is clear that the love of money can lead to destruction. When you have functions, such as Dream Night, what does that say? I would also like to note that in cases where these diamond's financials were exposed, there were no significant contributions to charity. I wonder if these charlatans talk a good game but do not contribute time or money to worthy causes? Where are the ten thousand dollar checks they talk about donating to charity? These leaders often refer to themselves as mentors, but any help they provide to downline results in some kind of compensation for them. This is not a mentor, but more like a paid consultant who is not getting effective results.  

Behind the nice suits and the glitz of the functions, I believe that IBOs and prospects would see a world they truly would not want to be a part of. A world where deceit is needed in order to succeed. Where you take advantage of the very people who trust in you. Where you pretend to be wealthy and free, but in reality, a slave to the mighty dollar. Where you traded a 9-5 job for a job that works the graveyard shift. If you look objectively behind the scenes, you might see what I see.

Ignore Those Facts?

 One of the crazy things that our WWDB upline taught the group was that the facts don't matter when you have a dream. There is evidence that this is still taught today and in particular, I have heard that from Amway IBOs who claim to associate with WWDB. IBOs are taught to ignore facts because the facts make their Amway businesses look like a joke. Spend $300 a month on products to gain a $10 rebate when you could have bought the same or similar products at Walmart for a fraction of the cost. Then many IBOs spend another $200 or more on tools and functions so they can be taught to ignore facts and that all of this is somehow a great deal.

Any real business owner would never ignore facts. A real business owner makes decisions based on facts. IBOs are being duped into making business decisions on emotions and hype. The Amway opportunity already is already saturated with handicaps and challenges, particularly in the US and Canada, where the reputations and previous antics of fellow IBOs has so stained Amway's name that it appears to be negatively affecting sales and preventing any meaningful growth. Despite what Amway apologists claim, Amway is very likely shrinking in the US, and will continue to do so unless improvements and corrections are made, in my opinion. It's also possible that it is too late to right the ship at this point.

It is also why many IBOs talk about how Amway saves marriages, or Amway made them nicer people. Uplines will teach this because it takes a business owner's focus away from their bottom line, the profit or loss. Or IBOs are taught that a loss just means they are investing in their business, despite being told upfront that there is little, or no investment needed and that a profit can be turned quickly in Amway. These uplines have gone on for years with no accountability placed upon them by either Amway or their downlines. Any "incidents" are simply ignored, or history revised by uplines.

There is one blog on the internet, where a WWDB IBO is writing about buying homes in cash, and Amway IBOs having a 2% divorce rate compared to more than 50% in the rest of the world, yet you have Amway defenders claiming this isn't being taught, when clearly it is. Cover it up all you want; the evidence is right there but these folks aren't interested in the facts.

Why are Amway IBOs ignoring facts? A better question is why Amway IBOs would listen to a "mentor" who teaches them to ignore facts?

LOL!

 If only I got paid for each time some IBO came here shooting off their mouths, I’d be uber wealthy!  How many times have I heard that I’ll be sorry and in a few months some newbie will be retired at the age of 29 making 10k per month or more?   How many times have I heard that so and so will be diamond and will be back to rub it in my face.   Well, I’m still standing and waiting.  Truth be told, I've never even experienced anyone even returning to the forum to say they went 1000 PV, let alone diamond.   I recall one IBO calling me names because he was going to retire as a double eagle ruby.  Well, he quit Amway completely less than a full year later.

I recall a newbie Amway IBO offering me a wager that his diamond makes more money while taking a crap in the morning than I make all year.  When I showed the math, that IBO disappeared never to be heard from again.  What is the math?   Well, if a diamond makes (for example) $2 million dollars a year, and comparing it to a dreaded j-o-b working 160 hours a month, then a diamond's pay would be about $1041 an hour when comparing to a job.  So if the diamond spends a full hour taking a crap. he would earn about $1041.  What many folks don’t get is that many diamonds don’t make that much money and even if they have a nice income, they likely make much of it from selling function tickets and standing orders and not necessarily from Amway.   But the bigger point is that the IBOs take what upline says at face value without vetting statements for themselves.     

Also, a diamond lifestyle if you will, is a life of excess that likely has many diamonds living check to check and possibly living in debt themselves.  Do the math yourself.  Try and look how much it costs to fly first class for a family of four.  Are speaking fees so lucrative that diamond families fly first class all the time?  The math says no.  A family of four flying first class domestically might cost in the range of $20,000.  Do you really believe that diamonds fly all over the world on a regular basis first class?  I highly doubt it.

I’ve also heard reports of big pins living in below average neighborhoods and there were some diamonds who had homes foreclosed and one triple diamond who filed chapter 7 bankruptcy some years ago.  As information is easier to get, I’ve also heard about Amway functions getting smaller and groups shrinking.  That means the diamond lifestyle is even harder to maintain than ever.  I wish I could say I feel sorry for the diamonds but all I can say is LOL.   😃

The Struggle Is Real?

 There's been much debate recently over the issue of IBOs selling products. Now of course in the IBO world, there are going to be some IBOs who are exceptional at selling products and possibly in foreign countries where Amway has not spoiled their reputation as it apparently has in North America, it might be possible to sell some products. But the experience of a typical IBO probably cannot be one where products flow to customers regularly. Now I do not wish to debate the merits of whether or not downline are considered customers as that is an endless and pointless debate because the bottom line would be that uplines are making their income on the backs of their downline, thus confirming the appearance of a product pyramid. Aside from downline, it would appear that the remaining customers are mostly sympathetic family and friends who buy a few token products.

But why do rank and file IBOs struggle to sell Amway products? Surely Amway has some decent and some good products. But in North America, Amway's goods are generic in nature but sell at premium prices. So, unless you are convinced that their quality is that great for the price, the average Joe is simply going to buy a similar product at Walmart or a Costco. Also, when you must justify and explain to potential customers that you actually provide a better value due to concentration and/or cost per use, it not only becomes labor intensive, but confusing for the average consumer. Add in the past reputation of the Amway name being associated with a scam or a pyramid and you have an extremely tough sell.

Partner stores are often used by IBOs to bring name credibility, but I wonder how many of these products are actually sold to customers?  I suspect that very few products are sold because the price is not that competitive and because many consumers, like myself prefer to touch and feel certain products before making a decision to buy. Even with a money back guarantee, customers don't want to be bothered with returning something via the mail. Also, the term partner store seems odd because Amway IBOs sell partner store goods, but "partner" stores don't sell Amway products. The relationship is not a two-way street, in other words.

Also, while Amway recently started to market their opportunity and goods with national advertising, I believe the advertising is more of a retention issue. IBOs can say "see, we're on TV, we must be credible". I believe it may be too late in North America. In the past. IBOs would say they had greater bonuses because Amway saved money on advertising. Thus, IBOs engaged in the most inefficient manner of moving products. They did it person to person and in the past, door to door. The reason why super bowl commercials are so expensive is because they can reach tens or hundreds of millions of people worldwide. But basically, Amway IBOs to sell the products and the opportunity, must do it one person at a time, and they must also overcome the many negative opinions that North Americans have about Amway. Amway sales have been tanking since 2013. Amway revenues have gone from 11.8 billion at its peak in 2013 and dropped each year with 8.6 billion in 2017 being the most recent numbers.

But it is for these reasons that IBOs probably cannot move many products except to some family and friends. In what REAL business can you make a sustainable living, much less fabulous wealth by selling some goods to family and friends? I can't think of any, and you are seriously mislead if you think you can do this with Amway products and earn untold wealth and riches.

Where Is The Success And The $$$$$????

 When I was a young Amway IBO, I saw the plan and thought it was realistic and very possible to go direct and to find six (6) downlines who could do the same thing. I didn't know the realistic chances of doing this, but the presentation made sense, at least on paper so I went with it. I basically built my group on excitement, and it seemed like the system could work. Sadly, as I climbed the ranks, my bottom line did not change. I did not "net" $200 at the 1000 PV level, and I did not "net" $1000 a month at 4000 PV as my upline taught. I had the parameters they taught, but the reality was my leaders taught everyone to pump what little profits we earned into buying more tools.  Buying more tools was also the solution to a failing business and it was also the answer for a growing Amway business.  (See what's going on here?) 

My Amway/WWDB leaders also taught people to get out of debt, which seemed to be good advice on the surface, but at the same time, any disposable income left over was to be channeled into tools, and for those who did not escape debt, they were told it was okay to go deeper in debt, but only if it was to "invest" in their businesses by purchasing more tools. Thus, it certainly appears that upline's advice was purely self-serving and had nothing to do with an IBO's individual success.  Upline's advice was aimed at their own success, although it was with ill-gotten gains now that I look back at it.

I was in WWDB, and they (upline) said that WWDB was breaking the most new diamonds and that WWDB diamonds were the most profitable. So here it is more than 20 years later, where are all these new diamonds? Aside from foreign diamonds, there are (I believe) less than 4 new diamonds from WWDB in the US from the time I left the business. Now I may be wrong, but even it was a few more than 4 new diamonds, that is a miserable success rate given the amount of cash spent by downline on tools and the claims made my upline about the tools. Where is the fruit on the tree that WWDB leaders used to speak of? Conversely, I've seen WWDB divorces, home foreclosures and a chapter 7 bankruptcy from a fairly prominent diamond.  Add this in, how would these people know who was the most profitable in Amway when their answer was "none of your business", if you asked them how much money they made.

Where is the integrity and financial acumen these leaders boasted about? Where is the success and long-term financial security available to everyone that was touted? I believe more diamonds and emeralds fell out of qualification than new pins emerged. The business was promoted as one that would stand the test of time. Sadly, I believe WWDB, and the Amway opportunity as promoted by WWDB has been a miserable failure. There is little success to speak of, just the same old tired diamonds showing off a lifestyle that some of them apparently can no longer afford. Where is the success?

It is years later and we are still waiting.......

Climbing A Pyramid?

 Let me start out by saying that Amway, at least to the letter of the law, appears to be a perfectly legal company. Therefore, I am not saying or implying that Amway is illegal. But I believe that the way Amway businesses are run, are like pyramids. In most groups, you will have the lowest level IBOs efforts and tool purchases being responsible for the upline bonuses and tools income. Many many IBOs are fooled into thinking that the ability to surpass your upline or that you don't get paid to recruit downline makes this a good deal. Think about it for a bit. Aren't most Amway gatherings about motivation and recruiting?

Unless you have a very very rare group where actual product sales to non-IBOs is sufficient to cover the costs of running your business, functions and all, then it is true that the lower level IBO's jobs are the primary source of income for the uplines. How many groups are like that where selling is nearly exclusively to retail customers and not downline? None that I have ever seen or know of. In fact, how often do IBOs even sell enough products to cover their expenses for even one month out of the year? The groups that teach "buy from yourself" end up doing the most financial damage to their groups because the downline's expenses are then covered exclusively from the downlines jobs, bank accounts, or drive the downline into debt. 

I've seen and discussed group structures in forums many times and I can only conclude that tool sales easily wipe out what little profits/bonuses some of the downlines might receive. Only when an IBO is able to sponsor enough downline to absorb the losses for them will they finally break even or make a little profit. I would guess that the 4000 PV level or platinum is where a dedicated CORE IBO would break even and possibly start to make a small profit.  On the other hand, a hard-CORE dedicated IBO can still lose money at 4000 or at platinum.    But we also know that most platinum groups have 100 or more IBOs in order to generate 7500 PV. Thus, we can also conclude that less than 1% of IBOs make a net profit. The only way IBOs can earn a net profit at a lower level is to avoid purchasing tools and to avoid paying for functions. Those who get involved in a system such as WWDB or N21 almost guarantee that they will have a net loss. 

Sure, my job may have a pyramid structure with the CEO making the most money. But the difference is that in a company, even the lowest paid employee still receives a paycheck and has money at the end of the month. The same claim cannot be made by IBOs. For these reasons, I believe Amway to be a product pyramid. IBOs and information seekers are free to participate, but I challenge them to sit down and really analyze their ability to make a net profit. In most cases, the analysis won't be favorable. If you are in the US in particular, you may have great difficulty in even being able to discuss "Amway" without getting strange looks your way from others. Good luck in whatever you decide