get a life without getting a job
Or get a life without getting another job.
People have this concept that being self employed requires one to be officially dedicated to a single pursuit. If you are a full time parent, a part time writer, and occasionally an artist, designer, seamstress, knitter, and dog walker people start spouting off about how you lack focus.
Oh look, I found something shiny.
But I digress, it’s endlessly frustrating when I have my own things going on and I have to fend off aggressively helpful and self interested people that want to pull me into Multi Level Marketing schemes claiming that each one is going to be better than the last. I’ve developed a system for saying “No.” with a minimal amount of guilt.
My system revolves around asking three questions and saying “No.” when a lie comes out. It’s extremely effective. Someone always manages to tell a lie so it’s also insanely easy.
Question number 1: Am I going to make money from selling product or recruiting people?
Hint: Anyone that pretends you’re going to make any money selling product alone is lying through their rotten liar mouths or doesn’t know any better.
Question number 2: How much effort do I need to put forth?
Hint: Anyone that says you can use their sales system a few hours a week and make back your money within a month is lying or doesn’t know any better.
Question number 3: Will this be my own business?
Hint: Never. You will never control the prices or the shipping rates, the company may choose to terminate their relationship with you at any time are arbitrarily change your commissions or other terms at their discretion. Anyone that tells you otherwise is lying or has bought into the sales pitch so completely that they no longer understand the truth.
This isn’t to say all MLMs are evil. I’m a big fan of Tupperware, although I’ve never sold it, some of my friends like to hold parties and seem happy with their pin money. And Tupperware Bingo is admittedly very fun.
MLMs have a HUGE dropout rate for distributors for a reason. The sales pitch sounds nice: Work a few hours a week, sell to family and friends, buy products that you already use (from yourself) and you’ll do just fine.
The few hours a week is bullsh*t. If you aren’t fond of your family or friends go ahead and use the high pressure sales techniques that MLMs promote. Everytime I cook a delicious batch of dutched devil chocolate muffins with extra dark chocolate chunks tell me how I can buy over priced ‘healthy’ chocolate from you at a steep mark up. I take that sort of thing pretty well, I’m sure your family will too. Oh, let’s not even start on how much time you’re going to spend on that household checklist that you’ll fill out so that you can have a standing order of crap delivered to your door, crap which you are ‘buying from yourself’ (at a HUGE markup.)
As a general rule the more aggressive an MLM scheme is, the more it will upon first glance appear completely legit. Take your time and do all the research before giving a single dollar over for the privilege of selling someone’s idea of steady work.