Friend doing mlm

[earlydaysblue]

My friend has just announced she's starting up an mlm business. It's one of the big ones, think Younique/forever living/Arbonne. She's really bright, in a professional career and has reasons for doing this.
I replied stating categorically I couldn't support her.
And her replies have been really strange, proper cut and paste jobs from presumably someone else.
She's determined. I'll try my best to stay out of it for now, but was I right to tell her I'm not interested? I feel really guilty as she's an amazing friend.
Just not sure what approach to take!
I'd do literally anything for her, but can't really support this. Just feels cruel to ignore though...

It would be crueller to prop up her idea of a pretendy business by making pity purchases. The less she flogs to friends and family the quicker she will drop it.

I agree with @CodenameVillanelle

She's determined.

You mean she's determined to run the "business"? Then just let her, you've made your view on it clear.

Or she's determined to flog you overpriced shit? In which case you'll have to tell her that you'll pick the friendship up again when she sees sense and stops treating it as a sales lead!

I have a friend who has just started mlm recently. I made the mistake of making a purchase in a show of support and I regret it now. She is forever posting on her own social media and her specific group tagging me, pesters me with offers and our real life interactions always involve her business somehow. Whatever you do don’t buy from her!

Yes, you were very very very smart to draw a boundary around this. You are doing her a big favor. And yourself. It is your right to draw a hard line around what you will and will not do.

I tried to dissuade my friend. She said she had ‘done her homework’ and was going ahead. She was sensible enough not to add me to her social media group. She’s two months in and already trying to recruit people! I just accepted it won’t last long. I hope she’s not left too out of pocket.

Just step back, if she gets full on into it she’ll be lost to the mlm robot life 🙁
A friend years ago started arbonne, forced a bag of mini treats on me and I had to say I had a reaction to stop her trying to flog me stuff. She said ‘but it’s proven you can’t react to arbonne products’

I backed away from her, and her Facebook. She owned up later that she’d got into heavy debt having to buy the mandatory monthly amount of stock (that she couldn’t shift) that was stuck in her cupboards that her and her family were using. Really weird and sad to see people get sucked into it.

You're going to lose your friend - hopefully only for a while.

I lost a friend to Forever Living. Her 'business' fizzled out, as they do, and I don't think she can get past the embarrassment of how deep into it she got, and how bullying and awful she became, just yet.

I just can’t understand how Seemingly rational thinking people can’t see through these bent pyramid schemes?!

I have a similar friend. She has a professional job and a good salary. Yet she is selling Bodyshop at Home and constantly posting aobut supporting small businesses and helping women build their dream.

I have blocked it all out and refuse to talk to her about it. I think you just have to ignore, make it really clear you're not interested and wait for it to pass.

It's like a religion - people are brainwashed into believing it and just can't see reason.

And yes, "cut and paste" responses to "negativity" amongst friends is very typical of MLM schemes -they've got to stay on message.

I've known two couples who've been sucked into them and both ended up bankrupt. It's evil, stay well away.

My friend is doing Juice Plus. She is constantly asking people to 'join her team'.

If shes lost any money she is keeping it to herself. It would appear that she is doing well. She is constantly 'smashing her goals' and earning loads 'from her phone'.

Yep another one with a friend involved in one of these. I'm not sure I would have messaged her to specifically say I categorically wouldn't be supporting her though. It seems a bit mean...

However she is currently driving me mad as every interaction is "hey! How are you? How are the kids? Shall I drop you a catalogue off?!"

I'm just ignoring any message that mentions the bloody stuff. And rejecting all fb interactions of join my group, tagging me in promotions etc etc. I made the mistake of asking if she had a sample of a perfume and she nagged me for 2 weeks to buy it.

If shes lost any money she is keeping it to herself. It would appear that she is doing well. She is constantly 'smashing her goals' and earning loads 'from her phone'

She really won't be making money. If she manages not to lose any then the number of hours she's putting in compared to profit means she'll be on about 10p per hour wages.

Not a very close friend, but someone I knew asked if they should join FL. I explained as well as I could how bloody stupid bad an idea it was (not just me either), but they went for it.

I know for a fact they're not making money from it. They keep moaning about people not supporting 'small businesses' on their social media, and all the plans they had for the money haven't come to fruition. Luckily they don't seem to have bought fully into the lie (getting an expensive lease car and pretending its theirs for example), but I'm sure it must have burned what little money they have.

They knew not to try and sell me anything though, I was very firm about my opinion on all MLM and what a scam they are.

Mlmtruth.org

Take a look. It's madness what people do and believe.

These are expensive products with no marketing other than poor sales reps trying to flog it on Facebook who end up getting a FRACTION of the sales made (if there are sales). Its shown to be a glamorous lifestyle, but the reality is that people get into debt because of this.
Tell your friend to keep her finances in check and to hold her recruiter accountable if she struggles to make sales.

One of my friends has just found her ‘freedom’ and is constantly posting about her new ‘amazing team’ and their ‘amazing lives’ now they have ‘freedom’.

I’m yet to work out how she’s making money from this one, but it looks very typical of MLM.

I've seen people on ebay selling the forever living gel as antibacterial gel.

I’m yet to work out how she’s making money from this one

She's probably not.

I think I'd just ignore the MLM aspect and just make an excuse.

I have a friend who sells DoTerra, but essential oils give me headaches, so she doesn't bother me. She's an adult. I assume she Googled DoTerra before starting it, so she must have seen the negative stuff about it.

It would be crueller to prop up her idea of a pretendy business by making pity purchases. The less she flogs to friends and family the quicker she will drop it.
I agree.

Her uplines will have told her that everyone who isn't on board is some sort of negative drain who is jealous of them. They're told to fake it til you make it, buy stash for offers and push push push to friends.and family.

Any voice of reason is shut down by their MLM family of momtrepreneurs and bossbabes, and they tell their bots to distance themselves from critics because 'you don't need that negativity in your life hun', so you're best keeping a quiet and neutral presence in your friend's life.

You were absolutely right. Let’s just hope she comes to her senses

You did the right thing by telling her. One friend of mine and I nearly fell out over it but have come through that.

Supporting a friends business does seem a bad idea if you don't actually want the products.

Yup yup yup. Ask her to read Elle Beau's blog. And be upfront. I lost a friend to it. We are back on speaking terms but some of the stunts she pulled to access clients of mine were just shocking, even after I had told her that I do not and cannot support MLM's...

Do yourself a favour and snooze her for 30days on fb. She won't be told and it'll just keep it off your newsfeed.

Repeat as required.