To ask for MLM success stories?

[TheLoudGobbyOne]

This is not a TAAT so please don’t report this for that. But its inspired by the ongoing MLM thread where a friend of the OP who is/was a teacher has/is giving it up to work for an MLM scheme.

And I was just wondering: does anyone know anyone who has had success from this? There are countless horror stories and warnings to make it obvious MLMs are more scams than successes but surely they are benefitting some people out there otherwise they would not exist?

I am not asking this because I am questioning joining one or remotely tempted or intrigued by it before anyone asks! Just purely wondered if there is anyone who knows someone who has been successful in these and how much work they put into it

Nope

The only people who are successful are those who spend 24hrs a day, and are quite clever/manipulative and go into it knowing how to exploit people in their down line. I’ve seen a nurse go into it on the side, it really doesn’t make you money, or the £20 a week you’ve made took you 29 hours to earn, better off stacking shelves for 20 hours.

I know of someone who has given up her day job & now just does JuicePlus. She claims to be making more than she ever did as a Medical Secretary.

She never talks figures and, of course, I’ve never seen her bank statements. She does appear to have been doing it as a sole means of income for around 12 months though.

If you’ve read up on it, why’re you asking for ‘success stories’?

The problems with the ‘business model’ are clear and information about it is readily available.

You'd have to speak to the founders, the top level investors.

I know they swear it isn't pyramid selling and legally it isn't. But we all know it is the same thing with minor changes to make it legal.

Did it for two months made pin money for two months by month three no orders so I quit technically ahead 🙃

@Dozer

If you’ve read up on it, why’re you asking for ‘success stories’?

The problems with the ‘business model’ are clear and information about it is readily available.

You’ve just answered your own question. I know the pitfalls and downfalls and problems about them - there are stories about them being scams posted all the time online, including on here. Rarely have I seen success story anecdotes - hence, the thread.

A work colleague reckons she made enough for a house deposit out of the Aloe Vera products - Forever was it? I don't think she's lying and she's since given it up but it's worth saying she was annoying as hell while she was doing it.

Why do you want to know?

@CoffeeRunner

I know of someone who has given up her day job & now just does JuicePlus. She claims to be making more than she ever did as a Medical Secretary.

She never talks figures and, of course, I’ve never seen her bank statements. She does appear to have been doing it as a sole means of income for around 12 months though.

Or alternatively her upline is stringing her along promising her that each month it will get better or after another year you'll be on X (which probably isnt true) like me. Hope she isn't living off hard earned savings, she won't ever get them back.

I think it’s too late now anyway, everyone knows the scam. The only way anyone made serious money was by getting in early and being in one of the top tiers - ie through exploiting everyone below them - there’s only so many face creams you can sell to your friends and family.

I know someone who has done really well with a MLM. I won't name it but it sells skincare, make up and wellness products. She and her husband both are very high up in the business, both have company cars (yes, I know they are paid for monthly through a car allowance but company cars was the only way I could think to describe them!), a massive house in an expensive small town near London, loads of holidays, designer bags etc. I know a lot of MLM is 'fake it til you make it' but there is no way on earth they would be able to get that level of lifestyle and spending on credit! She has mentioned to a mutual friend that she and her husband earn at least 10k per month from it.

She is a very extroverted person, which I think helps, as I believe in the early days she just persuaded anyone and everyone that she knew to sign up to the company and then got them to recruit everyone they knew, and so on!

It depends on your definition of success

I know a couple of Avon Ladies , who do it on the basis of only selling (not recruiting a network) and are perfectly happy with the £250ish they make each catalogue, as that's the amount they expected to make and they are making it.

I'd say the real success with MLM is stopping before it takes over your life. I did one for just under a year. I never wanted to recruit or make it a full time thing. Just to have a bit of extra money. Ended up not liking the products anymore so stopped.

Of course there are people who are successful in it. However, it's never your mate Jane who got brainwashed into thinking it's an easy way off UC and to give her kids everything they wanted. It's the people who created it, the ones high up on the non-pyramid, the ones who got involved early before saturating the market. The ones at the bottom aren't selling the product, they are the product.

There was nothing wrong with these schemes initially, and were beneficial for a bit of an extra income.
Then the whole thing took off, everyone becomes involved and it's all so fake.

I sold a fake/ smell like perfume in the 80's, no internet and trying to enrol your mates as the product spoke by itself and demand was high.
I was 18 made enough to allow me to pursue a bit of fun before work.

There is absolutely no reason to give up a day job, the money is/ can be good but it's not for long, certainly not sustainable.

I think if you have a wide enough social network, of people who will sign up to be your 'down line' and so you can move from selling product directly to clients to selling to your down-line VERY quickly, AND that downline is sustainable as in THEY have a huge network of totally unrelated contacts who will keep buying...

Then yeah, maybe.

Most people don't have that, and most people will find that they share their social contacts with most of the same people, so if all of your down line are trying to sell to the same people, the market is flooded, their sales drop, so your sales drop... and it all falls down.

Its very high risk, with very little chance of achieving anything other than being someone elses cash cow and most of the people claiming success are, frankly, lying, and faking it in some way.

I'm an Area Manager for a MLM.

I'm honestly sick to death of rude people telling me I'm being scammed or that I don't make any money or that I must work 24 hours a day etc.

It's pretty awful tbh;I don't criticise other people for their work roles.No doubt they'll be people on here who'll attempt to lay into me.

I left a part time job through Illness;my self confidence took a real battering.I'm better than I was but still have relapses;I'm unfortunately currently going through another.Going back to work isn't an option as I cannot take a day off work if I'm having a bad day.

I'm an woman in her 30's with a customer service background;I knew exactly what I was signing up for with a MLM.I've been successful enough that I work 2-3 hours a day and make as much as I did in my part time job.It's all about time management.

I schedule my Facebook posts on my private group have a power hour where I send/reply to messages and comments/place a once a week order on a certain day and then schedule time to sort that order when it arrives and arrange delivery.I also schedule in zoom meetings/training.

I'm happy;I get on well with colleagues,I've made new friends and have had some great experiences.

@popsydoodle4444

I'm an Area Manager for a MLM.

I'm honestly sick to death of rude people telling me I'm being scammed or that I don't make any money or that I must work 24 hours a day etc.

It's pretty awful tbh;I don't criticise other people for their work roles.No doubt they'll be people on here who'll attempt to lay into me.

I left a part time job through Illness;my self confidence took a real battering.I'm better than I was but still have relapses;I'm unfortunately currently going through another.Going back to work isn't an option as I cannot take a day off work if I'm having a bad day.

I'm an woman in her 30's with a customer service background;I knew exactly what I was signing up for with a MLM.I've been successful enough that I work 2-3 hours a day and make as much as I did in my part time job.It's all about time management.

I schedule my Facebook posts on my private group have a power hour where I send/reply to messages and comments/place a once a week order on a certain day and then schedule time to sort that order when it arrives and arrange delivery.I also schedule in zoom meetings/training.

I'm happy;I get on well with colleagues,I've made new friends and have had some great experiences.

Are you an upline?

Someone on my Facebook is very successful with Arbonne. I've never seen her actively pushing the products or recruiting on Facebook, but she has 'downlines' who are regional VPs and have the white Mercedes, so she must be doing okay. I think she used to be a semi professional athlete though, and has also acted as coach for a national team, so I am guessing that she has a large number of contacts.

There’s a girl on my Facebook who’s 22 and sells FM. She posts pictures of her account showing £5/6k a month going in from FM and drives a brand new Mercedes that they pay the monthly bill for.

@SunShinesStill

The only people who are successful are those who spend 24hrs a day, and are quite clever/manipulative and go into it knowing how to exploit people in their down line. I’ve seen a nurse go into it on the side, it really doesn’t make you money, or the £20 a week you’ve made took you 29 hours to earn, better off stacking shelves for 20 hours.

This.

I used to sell Forever Living. I was being bullied at work all the time and it seemed like a lifeline. I was manipulated into joining and in turn I was taught to manipulate others. I felt such pressure from my upline I didn't know how to get out. They taught us to pick out people's weaknesses and insecurities to get them to join or buy products. I was pressured into having a huge launch party at my house which cost me a fortune and no one even bought anything. I end up spending about £1000 on products myself over the space of 3 months cause I was scared of disappointing my upline. I started to only see people for what I could get out of them. I'm so ashamed and embarrassed looking back. It was honestly like a cult, I was even told what I could and couldn't post on my own social media page because I was now "a brand". This was five years ago now but as far as I'm aware even my immediate upline gave up eventually. I visited my recruiter's house once and she had boxes and boxes of products so I think she was in a pretty similiar position to me. She was good at recruiting people but not many of them stuck at it long-term.

The FL products are actually very nice but are way too expensive so that everyone get get their cut. I read an article somewhere about a woman that ended up spending her entire inheritance on FL products because she was too scared to admit defeat. Everyone thought she was so successful but she was hugely in debt.

I always wondered this too, as other than the founders and other people very high up, I can't see how anyone else actually manages to make this work. Unless they are aware of what they must do and just constantly manipulate people.

I did Ann Summers 15 years ago. I did it alongside my full time job for 6 months and did get enough in that time to pay for my wedding. I did at least 4 parties a week, and was a relief person just in case other reps were ill.

Once the parties started to dry up, I didn't put any more money into it, but carried on trying for another 3 months. Then I quit.

It's not so much a success story, but I was successful in getting out at the right time.

There must be some I suppose! The problem is here that young Mums ,people disinterested in their jobs/been furloughed whatever are easy bait! I have never used them or got involved at all .Cant see why Body Shop is being used though ,surely can order online or high st shops(when open again of course).Seems a bit like a Mugs game to me .