Tag: pyramid

3 Reasons to Stop Calling Network Marketing a “Pyramid Scheme”

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www.fitnessbeautytravel

“Don’t hate what you don’t understand” – John Lennon

I see posts online with people calling the Network Marketing industry a pyramid scheme all the time, and I hear it in person occasionally as well. I have to say, when this happens it takes a lot of effort to keep myself from educating the people that said it. For this reason, I have set out to hopefully educate some people about Network Marketing a little bit so that we can do away with this line of thinking. To start out, I want to provide you all with the TRUE definition of a pyramid scheme for a basic understanding in case any of you are unsure:

Pyramid Scheme: a form of investment (illegal in the US and elsewhere) in which each paying participant recruits two further participants, with returns being given to early participants using money contributed by later ones.

If you are one of the people that typically refers to Network Marketing companies as a pyramid scheme, I wanted to share these three reasons with you to hopefully help you understand why you should really stop.

UntitledNumber 1: It is untrue. As defined above, a pyramid scheme revolves solely around recruitment. So as an example I wanted to show you what a pyramid scheme ad looks like. I didn’t really browse that hard, I just went to a random advertising group on Facebook and scrolled for about 5 minutes. I found this gem to the left, and this is just the first I came across of what I am sure would be many to be found on the wall of that group. This isn’t an obvious pitch for a pyramid scheme, because obviously, they would get in trouble. However, I have a little insider knowledge with this $25 per referral ad because someone tried to recruit me for this kind of crap in the past. And that is exactly what it is – total bullcrap. THAT, ladies and gentlemen, is a pyramid scheme. Their sole purpose is to go out and recruit people for the “company”. All they have to do to join is pay a small fee of $25+ dollars to join, and then they can start recruiting more people and earning money immediately. It is a constant return of cash from ONLY recruiting.

Do you see the difference between THIS and between legitimate Network Marketing companies? I hope you do, because it is pretty freakin’ huge… THERE ARE PRODUCTS AND/OR SERVICES FOR SALE… If it is a company that has legitimate products for purchase, it does NOT qualify as a pyramid scheme, despite the fact that it does involve team building. In fact, when you think about a typical corporate environment, there are often bonuses for referrals. When you work at the company for so long, you are granted the opportunity to make recommendations for people that you think would be a good addition to the company. If they are hired, make it through the probationary period, and succeed in their role, you receive compensation for the recommendation. So when you think of it that way, the corporate environment has team building too! The problem here is that this industry is a relatively new concept to people, so it is difficult to grasp I guess. Think of it this way: Each person involved in Network Marketing is essentially the CEO of their own company. In order for a company to grow and become successful, they typically must have other employees and grow in size. It is the same with Network Marketing. To become truly successful, you need to build a team, and you need to nurture that team consistently to help them grow teams of their own as well. When you think of it this way, Network Marketing actually is more of an inverse pyramid. Why? Because in order for one person to be successful, they have to aid their team to be successful. You can’t just recruit a bunch of people, then sit back and rake in cash. You need to train your team, help your team to grow, and push your team to achieve new heights in their business. Nobody can simply sit back and get complacent, which appears to be a common assumption.

Number 2: It is offensive. Seriously though! If you ask anyone in the Network Marketing business what they think about people that refer to their JOB as being a pyramid scheme, chances are they will say that it drives them a little bonkers. It is just so frustrating to be so passionate about a company that you love, and to have so many people on so many different fronts constantly trying to dis what you do. We work HARD at what we do (or at least those of us trying to make this a real career) and it can be offensive and rude to have people look us in the face and call the Network Marketing industry a scam or a pyramid scheme. If you care about your friends and family involved in this industry, please do not use those terms when speaking to them about their business. Even when speaking to strangers, it is best if you just keep those words out of your vocabulary when discussing this topic. These days Network Marketing is becoming super popular for being part-time endeavors, so you seriously could be meeting tons of strangers every day that have businesses outside of their “real” jobs without your knowledge. If you want to avoid an awkward and uncomfortable conversation, just keep those little negative thoughts to yourself!

Number 3: It makes YOU look bad. I am aware that this one may offend a few people, because I am sure that there are a lot of you out there that are guilty of doing this on a fairly regular basis. However, I gotta be real… It seriously makes you look kinda silly and ignorant to those of us that actually know the true definition of a pyramid scheme. We live in a time where SO many people around the world are bringing in full-time earnings by working at home with their direct sales business. There are millionaires in many of these companies, and more and more are made all of the time. If you put the time and effort into this industry, and you are willing to learn and to grow as a person, you can be successful in this industry as well. To say that something is a scam, when it is clearly doing so much good for so many family and individuals around the world, is just ridiculous.

If you have been guilty of this, I want to encourage you to please just stop. Start thinking of Network Marketing for what it really is – a successful business opportunity not for the faint of heart.

xoxo

Jess

The truth about Network Marketing success

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One of the biggest objections that I get from people that I approach about my Network Marketing opportunities is that it is a pyramid scheme, and/or it is not a real job. Well, I am here to dispel these misconceptions and tell you exactly why that line of thinking is just plain wrong.

I think the biggest issue with these network marketing professions is that people tend to think that if you just join, you’ll be able to start making a LOT of money fast without actually putting in a lot of work. If you think of it as a get rich quick scheme, chances are, you are NOT going to find success in this industry. These businesses DO work, and they can provide you with unlimited earning potential. However, it is not a magic money tree that is going to continue giving you money for little to no effort – at least not in the beginning. Just like any other job, you actually have to WORK at network marketing in order to be successful. This means that YOU and you alone are responsible for your own success or failure with your business. The tools and training are all at your fingertips, and if you join under the right upline and with the right team, you will have the support that you need to be successful. However, the rest is completely up to you when it comes to putting in the time and the effort that it takes to sell your products, and build your team if you hope to move up through the ranks to be successful.

I don’t want to sugar coat this part because I think you need to be prepared for the fact that it is not always going to be sunshine and rainbows, and there are going to be a lot of people that are going to ignore your invitation to learn about the opportunity or straight out reject it. It can be scary at first, because nobody likes rejection, but you just have to realize that it doesn’t matter! If you believe in your products whole-heartedly like I do, then you just move on to the next person until you find someone that can understand and appreciate what you have to offer. It is really a numbers game, so the more people you get the opportunity in front of, the higher the likelihood that you’ll be successful. Anyone can make some extra income with network marketing, but if you really want to be successful, you need to step out of your comfort zone and get over your fear of approaching people about your business opportunity and/or products. Our team actually does challenges to motivate everyone to step out of their comfort zone and do something new and different to take their business to the next level, and that is a huge help. Small little steps compounded over time can make a BIG difference.

Again, you need to think of this as a real job, because it is a real job and a real business. Too many people out there are looking for something free to join in the hopes of making some easy money, but in most cases, that just isn’t going to happen. It is super unfortunate, but way too many people join a company thinking they’ll get rich, and then they quit before they ever get to experience the results of their small steps compounded over time. You should commit to at least one full year with a company before you throw in the towel, because a breakthrough could be right around the corner. Furthermore, with a real business, you have also got to be willing to invest something! If you’re going to join a company and promote their products, you kind of have to know what it is that you are promoting! For example, with Younique there are no monthly fees and you don’t pay a “startup fee”, but you do purchase a presenter’s kit that is full of our most popular products at almost a 50% discount. This allows all of our new presenters to try out our products so that they can market them to others appropriately and really gain a passion for the products and the company. Most other direct sales companies out there will have the same kind of system with their products, and it really is a valuable investment.

Thinking of a network marketing opportunity as a real job also means that you need to designate some time each day to working your business. Honestly, that can be as simple as taking 15-20 minutes out of your day here and there to make a few posts on social media, respond to a couple emails or messages, or make a simple blog post. A lot of us waste hours of our time on social media without even noticing! Why not use that to our advantage and use some of that time to take steps that can further our success with a given company?

“You work just hard enough to keep them from firing you and they pay you just enough to keep you from quitting. You are in a prison.” –Rise of the Entrepreneur

The fact of the matter is that our system is flawed because so many people are going to school in the hopes of finding a good job, but then end up struggling to find a job after graduation and being saddled with debt for years to come. People work sometimes 2 and 3 jobs just to make enough money to get by, and instead of going away for vacations, most people are stuck at home on their vacation days because they don’t have the money to do anything else. That is why network marketing is an amazing solution to these issues. It is something that you can do from home on your own time, and it is without all of the risk that usually comes from starting a business. Most companies have relatively low startup costs, and you aren’t responsible for coming up with the product to sell because that is already established for you. You aren’t responsible for producing the product, shipping the product, fixing issues, etc. All of these things are taken care of by the company, and you are just the third party tool that spreads the word about what you have to offer and brings in the new clientele and you get paid to do it. I find it so ironic that people are willing to spend 50+ years of their life working for someone else and struggling with money, yet they aren’t willing to spend 3-5 years working a business with unlimited earning potential and making enough money to not only get by, but to thrive! With network marketing, we get to be the CEO of our own business. How awesome is that?

Probably the biggest issue that I wanted to address was the common misconception that network marketing opportunities are really pyramid schemes. This one drives me craaazzzyy. It is one thing for people to genuinely ask about this, but it is a whole different story for a person to try TELL YOU that your company is a pyramid scheme. I am sorry, but in my opinion that is just childish and ignorant. Please do your research and learn the definition of a pyramid scheme before you insult someone like that, because though there are pyramid schemes out there, the vast majority of network marketing opportunities are legitimate. Honestly if you think about it, Corporate America is actually a pyramid scheme because you have the top people getting richer and richer while everyone else stays relatively at the same income level. Now, with network marketing, it is actually more of an INVERSE pyramid. Instead of the top earners doing well while the rest of us stay at the same low income, the top earners GET to where they are by helping those below them to do better. Our success is really the product of our team success, so in order to do better ourselves; we first have to help teach our team to be successful as well. This means that everyone on the team that is putting in the work will be moving upwards with their business!

“Think of your dream as a balloon on a string. Are you going to reach out and grab it, or are you going to let it slip through your fingers?” –Rise of the Entrepreneur

Are you willing to work and to learn? Could you benefit from an opportunity that would allow you spend more time at home? Do you need or want an extra source of income? If so, I would love to chat with you about the opportunities that I offer. I highly value both of my companies for different reasons, but fitness and beauty have become huge passions of mine. If you’re a woman that loves makeup, ask me about Younique. If you want an opportunity that would allow you to work on your health and fitness, ask me about Beachbody.

Network marketing IS a better way, you just have to be willing to take a chance and try it.