" MLM. Oh! You mean one of those Pyramid schemes?"
Read More:
A pyramid scheme...
How many times have we all heard that? It’s still a curse on the industry and something that has to be rectified through education and solid business ethics.
My first encounter with MLM was indeed a real pyramid scheme. Eighteen – still at my first job and the boss (fancy suit, nice car) offers me a chance to make some fast money in a “business venture”. Wow! Little ol' me! I was so excited. We drove to his house and met with about twenty other people. I was never introduced to any of them.( Red flag maybe?) A table was cleared, a fresh deck of cards was opened and the Ace of Diamonds placed on the table.("THE ACE" ...our goal)...below that the two and three of diamonds…then the four, five and six…all the way through the diamonds and the last two cards were the two and three of hearts; fifteen cards in all., forming on the table...a nice pyamid. The plan was simple – each business owner ( card owner) paid 200 dollars to the “ACE”,( my boss of course), then the Pyramid split and the two and the three of Diamonds both became Aces ( whoo hoo - they've made it to the top!!) and were presented a fresh deck of cards compliments of the first Ace. Since the goal was to acquire Ace status and become rich, they just simply had to find other like minded business entrepreneurs to 'buy in' and fill out the other spots in the two new “business ventures”. The original Ace bought in to one of the other pyramids to show his loyalty to the company.
Hold the phone!! – even though I was only eighteen – something didn’t seem right and that two hundred dollars, my friend, stayed in my pocket…but the pressure to “buy in” was heavy, plus I had to wait for a ride home...from the Ace himself!! I took the bus.
Incidentally my boss’s name was Mr. Khan. Maybe it should have been spelled Con! I should’ve clued in right away!!
What an introduction to MLM – Wonder why some people have a tainted view?
Money up front – no value in product or service for investment. Be sure your business venture is legitimate and profitable. To make sure everything is legal and ethical in your business, visit www.tenmlmsuccesstips.com to get your free information and set yourself on the right path to success.
I’ll be back tomorrow with another “business venture”... I mean mis-adventure…see you then.
Doug Bowers
Views: 623 | 
Comments: 6 
About the Author: Doug Bowers
Member Since: 05/11/2009
I'm a Distributor For:: Qivana
Other Company: Mentoring For Free
Industry: Business Opportunities
Primary Web Site: http://dougbowers.myqivana.com/
Pyramid Schemes
Too bad the legitimate MLM businesses have to deal with the victims of such schemes. Only through education and support, previous victims will have great success and reassured confidence in their MLM business.
David Fournier
That sounded like quite a party Doug!
Sounded like a real card shark alright! Your intuition served you well Doug!
Did you ever get bad food ?
O.K. what's new in this live ? Learning to walk starts with falling down..... got your first date and got married ?
The right company will provide you with RESIDUAL income for many years and MLM is the way to go if YOU want to help people which are OFFLINE struggling and do not want to sit all day in front of a computer....... MLM is for FUN, FOOD and FRIENDSHIP.......ONLY 3 people to $ 50,000 ....Questions ? Contact me
So Terrible
I am always hearing people say this same thing, and it annoys me, its so hard to make this people realize that not all of these MLM companies are the same. I hope that this changes soon.
Oh it's a pyramid scheme!
I used to dread this comment, but now I actually look forward to it. I've gained a lot more confidence in responding to this comment. I know the company I work with is totally legit and I try to hear the person out before going on defense mode.
Too True
Yes, I think we've all been involved in a pyramid scheme or two. Some of them are disguised better than others. The one I was involved with was profiled on a dateline special investigation and a lot of the "tops" in the business removed their association with that business and ended up in other businesses. The appeal with a lot of those MLM companies is that they lure you to rallies where you're "told" what you can have if you just believe. If the organization is legit then this could be true unless there's another hidden business that runs beside it. So, my comment to you, who are reading my message, is to make sure you do your homework. Investigate the company carefully and find out what the ROI is, the support system, how you will receive payment, and what kind of a cap is there for building your business.
Will you continue earning money eight levels deep or do you stop earning after the fourth level? Will you be expected to purchase any additional books or cd's? If so, how many? If there's a major pause after you ask this last question then run for the hills as fast as you can!
Any legit business will cost some money to build. However, if the bulk of your money is spent on books and tapes to "pump you up" then something is wrong, dead wrong.