Is Multi-Level Marketing a Pyramid Scheme or a Legitimate Business Model?

MLM is an acronym for Multi-Level Marketing, sometimes called Network Marketing or Consumer Direct Marketing, or Seller Assisted Marketing. It is essentially any business where payouts occur at two or more levels. MLM is not a pyramid scheme and is nothing more than a company who has distributors, independent business owners, franchise owners, independent agents and so on.

It is a legitimate business model, but some people have chosen to create cons and rip-offs using this model thus giving it the bad reputation it carries in some business circles and online today. It is a very attractive business model to most because it sells hope and the dream of residual income for life. It is the best option for many for owning their own business and attaining real economic independence.

The main premise or idea behind MLM is that hard work at the outset yields residual income for life. It is a perfectly legitimate business model which is basically a channel of distribution for goods and services that also can have a franchise opportunity attached. Multi-Level Marketing is still essentially a person-to-person system of marketing and is a way to get undue credibility by exploiting people’s personal friendships and relationships by networking.

It is also defined by its rewarding people to recruit others in multiple levels and the idea is that people not only try to sell their product, but try to recruit others to sell the product as well. On the other hand pyramid schemes contain no products or services, or they include bogus products in order to justify the continuation of the opportunity.

Another criticism of MLM is the exploitation of our relatives and friends urging them to join our opportunity which often stresses relationships unnecessarily and is considered by many to be a questionable marketing tactic. One MLM practice still in use today by some Financial Planning and Insurance companies consists of writing a list of 100 family and friends and trying to solicit them to attend your can’t miss network marketing business opportunity meeting.

One of the biggest problems facing Network Marketing is that they seem to attract and even prey upon people who are down and out and desperate, and who can least afford to lose their money by purchasing memberships in these dubious programs. These people are usually drawn to a story built around a legitimate company which elicits an understanding of the unique benefits offered by the company’s products.

This creates the enthusiasm to share the story with others and therefore draw them into the opportunity. As a result, there is common belief that MLM is a feasible business investment or career choice for nearly everyone and that the odds of financial success in the endeavor are comparable or better than other employment or business enterprises. The marketing thrust is accordingly directed to prospective distributors, rather than pushing people to purchase the product.

The major thrust is selling the opportunity because of the impracticality of door-to-door selling. This is why MLM is a business that just keeps reselling the opportunity to sign up more distributors. The theory behind it is that the larger the network of distributors, the more product the business will be able to sell. Whether you agree or disagree with Multi-Level Marketing, it has been around in one form or another for a long time and it will be around in one form or another for a long time to come.

Bob Withers is a professional sales and marketing person with over twenty years in the field. He has also turned his sights on Affiliate Marketing to apply his trade. Bob changed career paths four years ago when both he and his wife began working with Autistic adults in the US, which along with his Home Business and Affiliate Marketing, is his focus right now. If you want to get in touch with Bob or learn more about Affiliate Marketing and Home Business opportunities please visit:
Free Home Business and Affiliate Marketing Advice

This is my new Blog and having been away from it for a couple of years it’s great to be back because I really enjoy it. Just to tell you something about myself, my wife and I are currently working with Autistic adults in the state of Maine and we love it. Although we’re from Canada, originally from Newfoundland, this is our second stint working in Maine and the two men we are working with this time around are great. We’ve become very attached to these young men and we consider ourselves to be a family. Actually our job title is that of Therapeutic Foster Parents and of course we take it very seriously. One of the main reasons we take it so seriously is that we are advocates for these young men because at times they can’t speak for themselves.

The sad part about our job here in Maine is that we have to leave the country after 18 months. The reason for this being the company who hired us and sponsored us into the US could only get us into the country by way of a Training Visa with the main condition being we have to leave after 18 months. We were here under the same circumstances in 2007 and had to leave the guys we were caring for at that time at the end of 2008.

This of course was very difficult for the three men we were working with and living with at the time and it was also very difficult for us because we became very attached and as I mentioned earlier we became a family. One of the main benefits of coming back is that we get to see the guys we worked with on our first visit and we also get to do what we enjoy which is caring for and helping these young men.

Because of our love for what we do and for the people we work with I will be dedicating a Page on this website to Autism and to the people who live with it on a daily basis. I’m hoping this will help educate people who aren’t familiar with what is fast becoming a global concern and help to raise funds for research.

The other objective of this website is to offer Home Business advice and present opportunities to people who are interested in making a legitimate living by working from home.

I’m hoping to have a great deal of relevant content added soon and I hope people will make it a point to visit often. Thank you for visiting and for taking the time to read this information.

The following two videos should give you some idea of the majestic beauty of Newfoundland:

I’ve added a video below, one of which is actually an advertisement by a local brewery located in St. John’s, Newfoundland which is where I’m from. But it contains some great shots of the area and I like to think portrays what we, as Newfoundlanders, are all about: People who care about people, who work hard and play hard but aren’t afraid to laugh at ourselves. In the following videos you will see many examples of this outlook on life as portrayed by local entertainers performing at what we call “Kitchen Parties”.

These are events where neighbours come together to have a few drinks and entertain one another through song and dance. Please take the time to have a look.