Multilevel Marketing

These rackets seem to be around every corner, whether it be a random email, a message, or an old friend from high school announcing that they just took on what they think will be the opportunity of a lifetime. They're misleading, predatory, and use people up whenever they can. I wont lie, I've fallen victim to these types of jobs before, but I'm glad to say that at the very least I learned my lesson. Unfortunately knowing what to look out for is pretty much the only thing I got from the experience aside from stress and wasted time. I was lucky enough to get my first MLM experience out of the way when I was in high school. I wont name the company, mainly because I'm particularly embarrassed by the fact that it's a much more notorious one. My experience started when a friend of mine referenced me for the job, and like the naïve teenager I was, I jumped on the opportunity. Looking back it was painfully obvious what I was getting myself into. All the signs were there; the pay was only by commission, I would get a bonus if I referenced my friends, my title was "independent contractor" and I was expected to find all my own clients. Because of that "job" I pestered my family and friends who only agreed to sit through my presentation because they wanted to help me out, and I wasted an entire summer. I was also introduced to a trait that I've been told many MLM schemes share, and that's the cult like atmosphere of the office. Everyone is extremely upbeat and overly passionate about what is a pretty uninspiring product and company, but I later came to realize that this is one of the cornerstones of the operations. The main target of these companies is young professionals looking to get their first job, and them setting the impression that they "aren't like other offices", that they're all happy and absolutely in love with their company makes them appealing to their naïve demographic. After working for actual companies, I learned that they don't operate like that. In businesses that aren't MLM schemes, it's not that everyone isn't passionate about their company, it's just that they've got a more realistic relationship with it. They understand that every office comes with its ups and downs, they understand that they're not always going to love their work, but they've come to the understanding that the company is worth their time to stick with and that's why they show up to the office every day. With MLM workers, you'd think they get some kind of high from working where they do, and it's just not natural once you know when you see it. I think there are a few reasons these rackets seem to pop up everywhere. First of all, for those who are actually running it, I think they actually stand to make a decent buck. I don't think they're meant to last forever, which is why they come and go constantly. Secondly, it's because especially nowadays, there's no shortage of fresh college and high school grads that are desperate to find any kind of work that looks good. It's all a numbers game with these companies. I'm fairly certain they know how the game works. They hire people all the time, keep them for a while, and once their employees realize what they've gotten themselves into and quit, they simply move on to the next batch. The whole business model is honestly quite cruel, but as far as I know, while ethically sketchy, it's not illegal. I feel like in American society, having a stint with MLM is just a professional right of passage for a lot of people. Some are smart and are warned of them before they get snatched up, but many others just have to learn the hard way. Either way, everyone comes to understand how they work at some point. Do I regret working for that particular company? Absolutely, but because of it I learned how to not waste any of my time in the future. I've been to quite a few interviews since where I've seen a lot of the same red flags and because of my experience I've had the sense to walk out the moment I've assessed what's really going on. When it comes to operations of this nature, remember the catchphrase used by the Better Business Bureau: "If something seems too good to be true, it usually is".