Look up “Ponzi Scheme”
The long and short of it is that in a ponzi setup like MLM, only those at the apex make any money. Those at the base of the pyramid do all the work and make ( a little) money by recruiting more ’salesmen’, thus widening the base and possibly moving up a level.
You won’t get far.
A couple of other Ponzi “MLM” companies are AmWay and FRP.

MLMs are based on recruiting others. They lie about the chances of succeeding. They charge their recruits to join.

The percentage of people who “join” the MLM, and pay the initial fee, that “Succeed” to the level they promise, is about 0.004%, a failure rate of 99.996%.

The Percentage of people who “join”, that make back their initial investment, is less than 0.4%.

The truth is, that most people who get you to join, believe it will work. They were lied to also. They “fudge” the truth a little, because it is okay, everyone in business does it.

No, everyone else does not do it.

They are not pyramid schemes or ponzi schemes. They are legal, but the success rates of MLMs is far lower. The only reason that MLMs are legal, is because the government thought that nobody would be stupid enough to fall for an MLM, where you have to pay a company to work for them.

Congrats on being one of the 0.4% who makes more than their expenses.

I see what your saying. It does take money to make money, just as it takes effort to create the business to make an income. In todays society people see everything as a scam. I sell candles in a mlm. I make money. Sure I recruit and make a residual income. Thats smart. Think about it, Target, walmart,kmart and any store you go into or even work for is a mlm. Your doing something to make someone else richer. Todays world is all about money. MLM’s are said to be a get rich scam. They make you money wheather you recruit or sell on your own. And theres no such thing as get rich quick, just faster!

There are many reasons people have a “hate” for MLM, none of them valid as far as I’m concerned.
I think there is a “Pack” or “Herd” mentality out there and when someone goes against conventional opinion, they’re considered suckers and losers. People have a real fear about that, afraid they’re being ****** into something.

“it’s a scam if it takes money to make money” is probably the most uneducated statement I have ever heard. It’s the opinion of people who are broke and always will be broke….strictly because of their attitude. And that’s ok for them, I have no problem with people who are content to trade their time for money but they seem to have a very strong opinion about what I do, that baffles me. I guess they don’t like being left behind so they lash out.

If a company is solid, there is absolutely no way you can be burned by them. The fact is, most people (as stated in the stats above) just weren’t willing to do the work. They somehow got the idea that they could buy into the business and the work would be done for them. If you treat your MLM business like a million dollar business, you will succeed. If you find you can’t do it, then you move on to something that you can.

I have found that every MLM entrepreneur I have ever met is positive and sincerely wants to help others succeed. They also understand residual income as well as leverage.

I have long since quit trying to convince anyone of anything. They either “see” it or they don’t.
Don’t let the naysayers slow you down in any way…just keep focused on your goals and go after them!

All the very best!

I gave up long ago trying out figure out why people treat MLM as if it were the bubonic plague.

The following link provides great info on MLM and how to counter those negative responses:

I too am an MLM rookie - about 5 months old - but I got lucky and teamed up with a great company - and product.

It’s all about what you put into it.

How about combining the concept of network marketing / travel & forex?

there’s nothing wrong or bad in any business inherently. The harm comes when you don’t understand the design of the business model.

The harm comes when you get too greedy too fast, expecting rapid profits, overspend thinking it’ll keep coming, and forget reality.

If you can control your finances and maintain habits, check reality on an hourly basis, you’d be ok.

MLM is not for most people, but if it works for you, good. Just keep in mind if you can sell 3 people to sell 3 people to sell 3 people (having a total of 39 people under you in 3 levels), why not sell 39 people all yourself and keep 100% of the top level referral commissions? Wouldn’t you build a BIGGER pyramid if your top is big first?

1) Network marketers get mentally distracted with recruiting instead of providing the benefits of the products involved.

2) Network marketers don’t have the easy task of having a split personality:

a. the compassionate marketer who solves customers’ needs.

b. the leader who can spot business builders.

3) The nature of MLM itself is also at fault: by inviting all sorts of people into the company, not everyone becomes strongly aligned with its corporate values and statements.