PSA: Don't Fall Victim to MLM's
Okay, if you have a Facebook account, then you've definitely been "invited" (in most cases, added) to some unknown Facebook group by some distant friend or relative that you don't really keep in touch with — she is trying to do some side hustle as a "small business entrepreneur" on social media.
Back in the day, we had our Avon cosmetic ladies and Tupperware parties, we even had men who were into the gigs as door-to-door salesman for stuff like vacuums and whatnot... now, there are companies pushing network marketing platforms with everything from overpriced candles, oils, books, cleaning supplies — to just about anything!
Most of these are pyramid schemes, even the "legit" ones are a form of it, in my opinion. See, you can't really earn a liveable income unless you sell these products continuously in bulk to customers on a daily basis; and most of them require you to stock inventory, or have "recruitments" to make any actual money.
There are many ways to earn money or start a personal business nowadays. Look at eBay and Etsy, or the other numerous ways and sites that you can sell your unwanted clutter of junk or whatever crafty crap you made — so why would you need to make money for someone else, trying to sell their product for very minimal profit?
Some aren't a scam or predatory like some of these other companies are — you don't need to stock any inventory, there's no require large startup purchase kit or fee, and there's no shady recurring charges to your customers for "subscription orders" of products. However, you won't be able to make any real money unless you're selling to customers every day in bulks; so be realistic about your aspirations and expectations.
If you're thinking about joining some "boss babe" company... most people will not make enough money to stay in business. It's "network marketing", which means you need to network, and that usually translates to selling stuff to friends and family that you added on to your Facebook group/page. Let's be honest, those “Facebook parties” get annoying real fast.
For 99.9% of people, that means you'll purchase supplies from the company for yourself, then basically try to resell them. The other option is you can recruit people into the company to become "sellers" on your team.
Personally, I'm not a fan of MLM companies. I feel like there's a bit of a “bait and switch” that happens, where people join to MAKE money, but they end up SPENDING money to meet various goal requirements, or to just try and break even. Have you ever heard of a “garage store”? It's basically MLM sellers who are forced to buy their own products to support their business. Pretty soon, they end up with a garage full of products they can't sell!
Whether or not you join an MLM is up to you. My advice is to look only at the first 2—3 tier levels of potential earnings, as most people (99%) never go beyond these tiers, regardless of what product you're pushing. Typical of all MLM, to qualify for each level, there's a system of qualifying "achievements" you must reach and maintain. In my opinion, these qualifications are meant to work AGAINST you, not for you.
This is the sad part, and the main reason I don't recommend MLM opportunities... the vast majority of people barely earn any money at all. Often what happens is people just selling as much as possible to friends and family.
The next aspect of making money is from building a team of sellers. This means recruiting other people into the company, and getting them to make sales. As with any MLM or direct sales company, the people making the big money in the industry are the ones with big teams. The reason for this is that there is more potential for income from your team. In fact, it would be almost impossible to earn a full-time wage (or even a part-time one) from sales alone. You would need an extremely large audience and people who frequently purchase many sets at a time.
This idea always sounds amazing on paper, but you need to think about it in reality. To grow a large team, you would need to recruit at least a few people, ideally a dozen or more. At least some of them would need to be successful and recruit others into their downline as well. Everyone needs to keep recruiting and making sales in the long-term. See what I mean when I say all these companies are pyramid schemes one way or another, even the "legit" ones.
Most people who join an MLM drop out in the first few months. The people you recruit often come from the same social circle too. This often creates a situation where everyone is competing against one another, and you're usually relying on the same social network to try to make a sale.
