The Six Things You Need to Know about MLMs

Before I begin, I want to beg you to read this the entire way through.

So, I recently listened to The Dream podcast and am completely on a kick of researching Multi-Level Marketing. It seems as though everyone has an opinion on “MLMs” and is not afraid to say it. Scrolling through my Facebook feed today, I was inundated with several people running promotions on various products from weight loss coffee to essential oils.

Here I’ll discuss some things you as a consumer need to know. Also, if you’re considering joining an MLM, please read this carefully and proceed with caution. Some are great, and some are awful.

Don’t be against MLM products on principle

Ok, I get it. Your cousin who you haven’t talked to in years sent you a “HEY GIRL!” message on Facebook and you can see right through it that she wants YOU, yes YOU, to join her MLM. Annoying? Yeah. But, that does not necessarily mean that what she’s selling is crap. You might not be in to MLMs as a consultant and that’s fine, but many amazing products (which I’ll share at the end of this post) are from MLMs.

Do consultants get commission? Yes. But guess what? So do car salesmen, realtors, beauty counter ladies, consultants at high-end boutiques, furniture gallery salesmen, and the list goes on. If your friend is selling stuff and you’d buy something like what she’s selling anyway, SUPPORT her!

Alas, now for some downsides…

Yes, many MLMs are shady AF.

The Dream podcast (which I highly recommend!) started with defining what a Ponzi Scheme is. Basically, how they work is that people who join at the bottom essentially pay the people up top. As the bottom tier gets bigger, so do the wallets of the people on the upper tiers. Even though these are illegal now, those on the The Dream podcast argued, that MLMs are now using the same model. So, they went undercover and joined an MLM to confirm their findings. And guess what? They’re kind of right.

In many MLMs, you have to pay a huge amount of money to even start. Not only do you pay hundreds of dollars to enroll, but you also have to pay thousands of dollars on inventory. The promise of huge payouts in the end (which .04% of people even get close to) causes people to sometimes go in to extreme debt. And guess who profits? Their up-line. Yeah. Shady AF. Which brings me to my next point…

Never, ever go in to debt to join an MLM

Apparently it’s really common for people who are recruiting other people to join their MLM to say things like, “Oh, it’s OK that you can’t afford it. Just put it on your credit card and I’ll show you how to earn it back really quickly.”

Uh. No. Never ever.

If you can genuine afford the startup cost, love the products with an MLM, and would buy the products you have to buy anyway, I’d say go for it! Just have realistic expectations.

That being said, in case you didn’t already smell this, I am a consultant for Arbonne International. I have used the products for years and, when I decided to fork over the $49 to sign up as a consultant, I barely had to buy any products because I already had them. It was simply a no-brainer. You’ve seen me write about Arbonne products on here and I figured it made sense to create an account rather than giving someone else commission. Simple as that.

MLMs are (typically) NOT “get rich quick” schemes

Are there exceptional stories of people who started peddling X Product in January and were raking in $20k+ a month by June? Sure. Is that normal? No. Is that likely your trajectory? Sorry, but probably not. That being said, people CAN make a lot of money doing MLMs but you do need to work hard at it.

No, being a part of an MLM is not the same as “having your own business”

Sorry, but this is a pet peeve of mine. Many MLMs require that their consultants maintain a certain minimum in order to maintain their consultant status. If you have to maintain a certain minimum, guess what? You’re working for someone else. How you maintain that minimum and when you maintain that minimum is up to you, sure, but you have to maintain that minimum. There are strings attached. You don’t own a business.

Pssst: another appeal of Arbonne is that we don’t have minimums.

Always research the commission structure.

All MLMs have some kind of ladder/pyramid structure. Does this sound a little off-putting? Maybe, but hear me out. Car sales managers, for example, make commission off their car salesmen too, so the fact that there’s a ladder is not unique to MLMs. When the system is essentially set up, however, to where someone can go on auto-pilot and just collect paychecks after they’ve sponsored a certain amount of people, that is a major red flag.

I’ve researched some MLMs, and that is unfortunately the case there. Wait for it… In Arbonne, you only profit from two generations of your downline for the first few levels. As you gain access to commission further down on your downline, the percentage drastically decreases. In other words, there is no one on autopilot in Arbonne.

Here are my favorite MLM products

Before you ask, aside from my Arbonne links, no, I am not getting paid to share any of these links. These are really, truly items that are currently in my house and that I use and love.

Shaklee Vitamins: If you’ve been to lunch with me, it’s likely you’ve seen me pull a packet of vitamins out of my purse and take them all. I was diagnosed with Lupus when I was 14, and my mom got me these vitamins in an effort to assuage the symptoms. And guess what? It worked. 18 years later, I still take them every day and am still symptom free.

Pampered Chef spatula: Is this perhaps a really stupid thing to link? Maybe.. I love this thing. I bought it at a craft show where there was a PC consultant with a booth and I was giddy with excitement to get it home and use to make fresh-baked cookies

Re9 Skincare Set: No joke, this is the best out there. My mom has been using these products for 30 years now and still looks radiant. So many people who have been vehemently opposed to MLMs have found themselves using these… They’re really, really amazing, are 100% vegan have high-quality ingredients that are rare in the US. Fun fact. Arbonne uses the EU standards for cosmetics and skincare because the US allows a TON of gross fillers and toxins in their skincare. NO thanks.

Noonday earrings. Words cannot express how many compliments I get on these. They’re super light so they don’t weigh down your earlobes. The coolest part about Noonday is that they partner with women in developing countries and give them jobs to create these gorgeous pieces. Click around my friend, Natalie’s Noonday website and you won’t be sorry. These are only one example of literally HUNDREDs of gorgeous pieces.

Mary Kay Lash Intensity Mascara: Sorry, Arbonne girls! Even though Arbonne has great mascara too, Mary Kay definitely has my all-time favorite. I even dedicated an entire post to it a while ago. While it may be narcissistic, I do happen to adore when people ask if my eyelashes are fake, and it happens all the time with this mascara.

Arbonne Fizz Sticks: You didn’t think I’d only talk about one Arbonne product, did you? These babies are a game-changer. I was trying to cut back on coffee for health reasons that I’ll spare you the details on, and these are great for a little energy surge. And they’re also great for curtailing a sweet tooth craving.

So, there ya have it, friends. Are some MLMs bad? Yes. Are some shady? Yes. Are they all? No!

I hope I was able to clear up some myths about MLMs. Have a great Thursday, everyone!

Ready to give one a try? Check out my website and email me BrittanyLHigdon@gmail.com. I promise I won’t encourage you to buy anything you can’t afford and won’t genuinely love!