Starting an MLM

Now, this is where the money is. When you want to make a lot of money with multi-level marketing, you must be the creator of one. Don't join one. Think about it - everybody who joins will have money that trickles up to you. Your downline will grow like a pyramid until it is saturated, then it will collapse. Okay, great. So, then you'll move on to the next city. There are infinite cities in the United States alone to do this in. If you join one, you'll have this top-heavy organization pressing down over your head, taking most of the money you make. If you start one, you'll be the top-heavy organization pressing down, taking everyone's money. Make sure that you are at the top, and go city by city, starting more and more downlines.

Joining a MLM

When you feel you're ready to join an MLM, you must take precautions. You don't want to just go and start in an MLM without doing some research first. You'll want to check that the company is certified with the BBB and has everything legal straightened away first. Then, check "ripoff report" on the internet and other scam websites. Be careful, though, that part of multi-level marketing involves telling people how good the company is, so many members will post on these websites as well. Take everything you read with a grain of salt. The bad stuff is probably more accurate than the good stuff, unfortunately. You'll want to make sure that the company you are looking at preaches the product or service, and they do not preach the opportunity. That is critical. Do not forget this rule.

MLM vs Direct Sales

Since many people have a bad stigma in their minds associated with MLMs, they often avoid them. Con-artists and entrepreneurs both have taken this into account when creating new "opportunities." Many new opportunities you will see are "not" multi-level marketing, but instead, they are "direct sales." What this means is that you will sell directly to the people and receive commission rather than having your money trickle upwards. These "direct sales" companies, however, have found ways to turn it into multi-level marketing, though. For instance, your first two sales may go to the person above you, and from then on you receive full commission with not trickling. However, these two people, you'll get their first two people, and their first, etc; thus, a pyramiding, multi-level marketing company.

MLM vs Pyramid

Many people confuse multi-level marketing companies with pyramid schemes. There is, however, an important difference. While technically, a multi-level marketing company has a product and a pyramid scheme does not, that is not our definition of their difference. A multi-level marketing company must have a product, but, in our opinion, a pyramid scheme can have a product, too. Many "legitimate" companies are, in our mind, pyramid schemes. The difference, in our mind, is that multi-level marketing companies preach their products while pyramid schemes preach the opportunity to make a lot of money with their company. If the company preaches the opportunity, they are a scheme, and you should avoid them.

Pyramid Schemes

Pyramid schemes......Ponzi schemes....we've all heard of them. What exactly are they? A pyramid scheme is something whose payment structure, or compensation plan, resembles a pyramid; every time you recruit somebody, you get a portion of what he or she sells, so the money trickles upwards like a pyramid. Pyramid schemes have a long history, and they are illegal. They are called schemes because they do not involve any products, and the only money that exchanges hands is those who are giving up their money to people above them in exchange for nothing; no products are sold. Therefore, they are not legitimate companies, because they provide no service for the consumer of any kind.