Forever MLM - how to help

[PinkyBlueYou]

I have the loveliest friend / former colleague and I am worried about her.
She is a senior nurse, fairly well paid as she's high up the bands.
About a year ago she announced she was setting up her own business in network marketing, which turned out to be Forever Living. She's evangelical about the products and the business.
Tbf she's a menace with it. No one can have a conversation with her without her claiming she can help - colds, coughs, arthritis, gastric issues, eczema, serious joint problems, etc. She'll inundate you with articles about how her products can help. If you mention a relative being unwell, she asks for their number.
She's signed up 2-3 family members and a colleague to be reps where she can.
She seems to be being almost love bombed by the couple who signed her up. Apparently they're the best and most supportive bosses she's ever had, and phone her constantly.
She goes on regular Forever weekends away where she gets bouquets, and at the last one she was "promoted" to supervisor.
My understanding was you had to pay ££££ to get such a promotion. If anyone dares to suggest she be wary she gets very upset and claims they're not real friends. Or that they have no idea what they're talking about or are jealous.
To the point! Following the "promotion" she's resigned her nursing position which is a truly lovely role that she worked hard to get. She said she can help more people by focusing on her business and she can earn a lot more for doing a lot less.
As fact, I know she needs her income (circa £40k p/a). She's not financially stable and generally lives one month to the next.
I've stopped being a nay-sayer as she's getting stroppy, and I'm starting to wonder is she really onto a good thing here or being taken for a ride and spending more than she's making? I'm genuinely worried.
I know she's an adult etc but she's quite trusting.

You can’t help her. She’s in a particularly dimwitted cult. Step away, and be a listening ear (but not an open purse) when she realises where she is.

These MLMs are an absolute scam, and it’s well documented on the internet. She will likely lose a lot more than she makes. She’s digging in deep because of how much she’s already sunk into the damn thing. They make money from their sellers not from their buyers.

I would spam her with some carefully selected articles from online and see if that makes any difference but essentially she’s an adult and there’s little you can do but warn her.

She’s being taken for a ride. No one makes money from MLM, apart from their owners.

A distant friend does Temple Spa, I’m gutted they’re now an MLM as I like their products, don’t know why they went down that route as they were high end and stocked in Harrods. What put me off was that her DM passed away a few months ago and she thanked friends for supporting her and making her feel better….and then added how much her products from TS had helped too 🙄. There is literally nothing they won’t exploit for sales.

Advice from people in the know is generally that you are not going to persuade her and she will be encouraged to cut you off as a "hater". The best thing to do is to encourage her to keep accounts - expenditure on personal products and travel etc as well as income! - and hope she will eventually work out how much she is losing.

Thank you all, this is what I feared.
I have looked into it a bit as I know what MLMs are but I hoped that perhaps somehow she was doing well as she's so adamant. However I think she is being encouraged to invest to really kick start it.
Such a huge step to give up her lovely nursing role that she was so thrilled to get (and enjoys) and her public sector pension.

Unfortunately she will be encouraged to fake it until she makes it as they have to sell a lifestyle. Even the top UK forever reps aren't doing as well as they make out - as can easily be found out by checking their accounts on Companies House.

@terrywynne that makes sense, thanks

Ah well. I have suggested caution and asked if she's certain she can earn enough to replace her nursing salary, and pension.
It turned a tad unpleasant. She asked why can't I just be pleased for her, as she's found her perfect job, with an exceptional product that she believes in and as a bonus she'll be earning more than she's ever earned for doing a lot less.
She said I'll look back on this and wish I'd been more supportive.
I hope there's a glimmer of hope that she's a successful one, but I'm so disappointed in her that she's also, as I see it, leading others down this hole who will lose money.

Late to this thread @PinkyBlueYou ! terrywynne is right on the money, Forever Living is dying, much too slowly IMO but they are doing badly and they have that in common with other MLMs for a number of reasons. Your friend’s chances of not losing money are vanishly small. The recruiters lie all the time and most of them are making very little money these days, often propping up their so called businesses with huge directors loans from HMRC. If they can no longer make it work there isn’t much chance for your friend, especially if she thinks the products are how money is made. She might have a bit of beginner’s luck with some “supportive” purchases from family but that’s not sustainable. More and more people are wise to MLM, she’s started at a very bad time. All your instincts are right about it.

Not only do the FLP people lie about the income that is possible, they also lie about the products. They love a nurse who can use their NHS status to give credibility to the wallpaper paste they sell to each other. I think all you can do is stand back and wait for her to realise. Hopefully she will keep a good record of monies in and out, the better her recording of this the sooner she will realise.

You might find these articles interesting though I realise it’s not you that needs convincing. I wonder which lying scammer her upline is … probably someone many of us bot watchers follow. https://www.talentedladiesclub.com/articles/review-is-this-the-end-for-mlm-forever-living-uk/

Thanks @YouOKHun
I've just read that article and another that's referenced at the bottom. It's grim isn't it?!!
I know who my friend's recruiter is, I can DM the name if you're interested? I don't want to post it here as it's outing for her.
She won't hear a word against it. What disappoints me is that she's recruiting others, but is also bigging up her success. I struggle to believe she is lying especially as she's given up her "real" job. She's not stupid but is trusting and I think she does believe what she says or she wouldn't have given her job up!
She is disowning friends who speak against it so I'm being careful.

@PinkyBlueMe oh dear she sounds fully pulled into the cult. It’s never about stupidity but about vulnerability and they’ve obviously found her’s. Even if she is recruiting now she will have a terrible time retaining people and for every person she recruits there will be many more who distance themselves.

It’s horrible to see a friend heading for a fall but probably stepping back and being “unsupportive” is actually the greatest show of support you can give. She’s probably getting the same negative reaction from lots of people and her upline is telling her that she’s special and anyone who criticises or isn’t enthusiastic is just jealous. It’s awful. Do DM if you’re happy to. I really hope she comes to her senses quickly, but you probably do have to wait for her to realise for herself by which time she is likely to have done damage to her finances, her social network and probably her own mental health :(

@YouOKHun I think that's exactly it. Her recruiter "got her" at a time that her "real" job was in a different location but her boss was being really difficult and unpleasant. Recruiter was unbelievably supportive, and friend says she had never had such a wonderful boss!
She has since transferred to her dream role with a lovely boss and team but has now resigned to do Forever. She says she can earn a lot more but I'd have thought she'd at least need evidence!
She does claim she has always used the products but I'm not certain about that as she never mentioned it before! Maybe on a small scale. Now she uses it for literally everything!
I'll dm the name, thanks for the insight.
I think I am going to question it a bit more but gently. She has irritated me with a hard sell but she knows I'm not buying and has given up!

Ah can't work out how to message

If she's a former nurse she needs to ask herself: if this FL stuff is so good and is a cure-all for so many conditions, how come the NHS doesn't treat people with it?

The time for making any money was decades ago. She will be lucky if she even breaks even.

But all you can do is wait. You've said your concerns and they will just make her dig in deeper.

I heard somewhere that all cults offer a simple solution to a difficult problem. In this instance earning fabulous money eventually for little input.

Well yes, she's actually had the arrogance to try to team up with a Doctor who she hoped would help sell her wares. She said they could really help each other Obviously that didn't get anywhere.
And yes, she believes she's about to be rich for doing very little once she's laid the groundwork.

@YouOKHun worked it out and dm sent!!

I know someone who did younique for a while. She was constantly bragging about how much money she was earning, showing off her purple card, showing off the hotels she stayed at etc etc

Until, one day, she suddenly stopped mentioning them at all. Just acted like she had never been invested with them.

She hasn’t outright said it broke her, but it was obvious it did

Oh yes, sounds familiar. Lots of hotels and weekends away on FLP for awards and promotions.
I have realised she is beyond help for now I think.