You’re probably wondering what is MLM? It basically stands for multi-level marketing or rather a more legal form of a pyramid scheme. The past few days I went into a rabbit hole on YouTube and was intrigued as I came across multiple videos of people saying they were approached in a friendly manner and the conversation leading to, ‘Do you want to be your own boss?’
MLM distributors' approach to recruiting others may seem harmless, but they target young, unemployed, or individuals that seem naive. All you have to do is pay an entry fee or buy a month's worth of inventory that you need to sell to make a profit with the hopes to breakeven. I have been approached multiple times since the pandemic began and the lengths they go to try and convince you to join their little cult. What I noticed is when these strangers approach you, all they mention is ‘FINANCIAL FREEDOM’ or ‘RESIDUAL INCOME’, but nothing about the actual product.
How do MLM’s work?
The way pyramid schemes thrive is dependant on recruiting. When these individuals approach you in your DMs or send you a friend request it can be hard to spot their true intentions as they look like the everyday average person and could be trustworthy to listen to.
MLM distributors try to make you join their organization by trying to befriend you as well as claiming everyone around you doesn’t have the work ethic to be successful. MLM’s thrive off giving motivational speeches as well as events they host in multiple cities. This form of capitalism has left many young as well as old naive individuals broke and unhappy.
Young adults like myself are very easy to manipulate as the hustle mindset of our generation is what drives people to think they could be doing better than they are. But why do you have to purchase THEIR products to become your own BOSS?
When you get recruited into a pyramid scheme or MLM, the person who recruits you becomes your mentor or what they say ‘Upline’. You only become an upline when the person you recruited recruits more people and part of their profits come to you. Joining an MLM can ruin your relationships and friendships as people lose respect for you, merely cause of how naive you are to the idea that you can be your own boss off someone else’s product that you are trying to sell to your community.
Why aren’t MLM’s illegal?
These are some MLM’s that have had legal issues as well as lawsuits over the years and if you happen to be an advocate for the companies below, you are in a pyramid scheme and will basically go broke even if you believe in are in a position where you are earning enough money the pyramid is bound to collapse at some point.
The way pyramid schemes have evolved over the years has allowed them to develop their methods in a way that allows them to legally operate and not be classed as a pyramid scheme even though they are.
Statistics show that 78% of people that join are women as it is due to several factors i.e. women are more vulnerable and naive. Motivational quotes and speeches are the momenta that drive these companies as they speak to the everyday average person and it gives them hope that they will soon be earning a six-figure income at the end of six months- and if they don’t they aren't working hard enough.
One of the latest MLM cults would be for a product called Kangen Water. For starters what’s wrong with the bottled water I buy, I thought Voss was the boujeest water you could drink. Unfortunately not according to these MLM distributors. The way MLM female distributors often approach you is by:
Hi, I came across your profile and you’re so pretty. I just love your vibe. Also have you heard of Kangen water?
They are so superficial that they try to sell you a product by boosting your ego. I am aware I have followers that are part of pyramid schemes and I only came to the realization after my extensive research into the modern business cult ideology.
