Nothing can ruin a friendship faster than having a friend think that your friendship means that they can get you a great deal on life insurance, cosmetics, home security or on high-end cutlery.
Large and profitable local companies like Nu Skin, Xango, and Tahitian Noni not only offer you a great deal on these products, but they are also giving you a great opportunity to join their team and to make the big bucks for yourself! Or so you think.
Some call it direct selling, others call it multi-level marketing, while many call it a pyramid scheme.
Multi-level marketing is legal in all fifty states, but still, these businesses do seem to run like a pyramid scheme, which is illegal, and even though they technically may not be one since participants do not have to pay for the right to participate, they still run with the idea of guys on the top making the big bucks while the grunts on the bottom do all of the hard work, like badgering their family to buy or join. Far more often than not, their efforts never turn into compensation.
The whole idea comes across as people trying to make lots of money by putting in the least amount of effort possible. Why bother going to college and earning a degree when you can sell for these companies and retire by the age of forty?
In reality, the only thing you’ll be selling out is yourself.
Granted, for some people, this kind of job works well. There are certainly the few who make lots of money selling these products, but realistically a gigantic percentage likely get involved, and then burn out a few months later with nothing to prove for it after having manipulated, irritated and alienated their friends and relatives along the way.
The best legal way to make money still seems to be by working hard and putting in an honest day’s work.
The bottom line is, friends shouldn’t sell friends anything through these multi-level marketing companies. The next time one of your friends or relatives talks to you about a super-great deal, you should reevaluate your relationship.
