So ... You have a "New" Business "Opportunity?"

For the past 5-6 years, ever since I began my career as a professional speaker, I became a target for people in the Multi-Level Marketing (MLM) industry. Now before I go further, I'm not going to bash this industry, but I am going to share why I won't get down with it.

First of all, whereas this industry appears to be the newest or next big thing, I first became involved with the industry back when I was 18 years old. The company was named A.L. Williams (now known as Primerica). I was somewhat the prodigy. After attending a few meetings I was able to do the intro meetings myself. I went through the training and even took & passed the necessary licensing classes. The only problem ... No one was trying to make life decisions like which kind of insurance or mutual funds to buy from an 18 year old. So I walked away from the business, but I stayed in touch with my colleagues.

A while later, the office I was affiliated with began to decline. I don't know if it was because people just decided to leave the business, go off to other businesses or if - as my father said would happen - after everyone in the area signing up everyone they know and getting them to do the same, the area gets saturated and dies out. It could have been a combination of all of the above. Of the crew I worked with, two are dead, two are on the streets, one has had numerous run-ins with the law (I even saw his mugshot in the processing room in MY department), and one is doing well with her life in her (non-MLM) career. Some of them made some money early on, but none of them "caked out" as was promised in the beginning.

What amazes me is how true the saying is that, "The more things change, the more they stay the same." Whenever someone comes to me and says they have a "business opportunity," I So ... You have a "new" business "opportunity?" I KNOW they're coming at me with an MLM business. Whenever someone tells me that another person can or has to better explain this "opportunity," I KNOW they're coming at me with an MLM business. The only thing that has changed is the fact that there are legitimate products that these businesses are offering, but at the end of the day, you don't make money from "direct sales." You make your money from how large and long a "downline" you can create. A downline is the people you bring in; the people they bring in, and the people brought in by the people you brought in and so on. When you come in you're a part of someone's downline, which is known as your "upline." Your upline basically shows who is making money off of you and the people in your downline.

When you joined the business, you gave someone else bonus points. You might be personally responsible for someone driving off in a shiny new luxury car as these are shown to be the symbol of success in these businesses. There was a time when I could say that I never knew anyone that reached that level, but earlier this year someone I know jumped into the business and in two years was awarded a BMW for his work. Quite a few close friends have entered the industry, so I have opted to tone down how opposed I am to this business. However, I can't get past the fact that this not about selling product. This is basically shifting money and getting paid by increasing membership in the program. The more people you bring in and the more people you get those people to bring in (and so on), the more money you make.

I simply cannot get down with getting paid for signing people up and teaching them how to get paid for signing people up ... "Oh by the way, there are some products we have over here, but the REAL money is over here in building a strong downline. Let me show you how to make this kind of money."

Tell you what ... If once you gets past all of the smoke & mirrors about how great this "opportunity" is, the one thing you either aren't telling me directly or telling me in some fancy sparkly way is that after I get YOU paid by signing up, you show me how to get paid by signing other people up and getting them to sign other people up ... I'll pass.