MLM is a scam. You can't make more than pocket pennies in MLM without a bigger cash outlay or deceiving other people about your own success.

Wow, justpink: You are bitter! I really wanted to accuse you of commiserating at the victim level (which is, actually, what much of this board is all about--I had you confused with pinkcaddy), but then I read some of your past posts and realized that you are trying to help others and inspire them to find what works for them. One thing that women don't like is to admit that they were manipulated into doing something that they really knew, especially at the time of the event, was not good. We like to think that we're smarter than that, and would rather have a root canal than say "I failed at that." (Which, of course, doesn't make you a failure.)

Not all MLMs are alike. Going through your experience with MK, and knowing others that have been down that same road with a different MLM doesn't mean you know how they all work. Please don't generalize, because it's not fair to the ones that are truly working their businesses properly and soundly, and according to the Golden Rule. Not all directors/leaders lie to their downline, which includes "misleading them just a hair." I know you didn't mean me specifically, but after doing job fairs and networking, watching how other women run their businesses, and anonymously attending meetings, I can honestly say that there are good mentors out there who are genuinely interested in helping other men & women start and successfuly run a home-based business. (This is not to say that, though, I haven't observed manipulation and deceit first hand. I have, and it's ugly, and I've reported it--whether it's with Cookie Lee or Mary Kay or Pampered Chef.)

I run my business like a CEO, which means I don't go out and just hire anyone to join my team. I've stopped recruiting hostesses, friends, and family to be "personal shoppers." Instead, I listen. I ask questions. I tell potential recruits that even though Cookie Lee is fun, it is a job, which requires attention and work. If that scares them, I invite them to come with me to a jewelry show. If they like what they see, then I invite them to join my team. I do this because it's how my upline taught me to do it (and how hers did, and so on), not because I want to spend hours on the phone with the masses of recruits that I scared or manipulated into selling jewelry in order to get them to spend a minimum of whatever for the month. I've only recruited 5 people this year, but it was the right 5. Not all MLM directors/leaders use that process, but I do, and many (many) other women and men do it too.

People lie. People are manipulative and conniving. And, others are impressionable and passive, which makes it easy to be taken advantage of. It sucks when that happens, especially when you've invested lots of money into it. I almost failed, but it was because of something I brought on myself, which was buying jewelry without shows on the books or customers to sell to. Yeah, bad decision, but I worked it out. I'm not the only success story for Cookie Lee, or any other MLM for that matter. Success in MLMs exists, as long as you're smart about it.

I hope this would be a good representation of what it CAN be like with an MLM.

Good luck with your new job, and your etsy venture!

Kathleen B. Lancaster
Independent Cookie Lee Jewelry Consultant

What a surprise: "you're all just bitter complainers"  Um, NO. MLM is a scam, and they are all the same.
Part of the MLM brainwashing involves convincing people (over time) that *they* are hard-working individuals, and that anyone who complains about being ripped off is just perpetuating a "victim mentality", and this goes along with the whole "welfare people are all losers who want a free ride" - these kinds of beliefs all go hand-in-hand in MLM, and are used to subtly convince the MLMer that they are superior because they are "making a difference in the world", while anyone outside the MLM system (either working a low-wage job or struggling financially in some other way) are all losers who just don't "get it".


All MLMs operate the same way. If you read the book "Merchant of Deception" about Amway, you would see slight differences in the way that Amway reps present their business, compared to Mary kay. Yet, in the end, the system is essentially the same and HAS THE EXACT SAME RESULTS ON THE PARTICIPANTS. All party plan/MLM/pyramid rackets work the same. The reps truly believe in the system, and truly believe that their uplines are making the money they claim - but they have been deceived.



I believe you - the point is that these well-intentioned people are perpetuating a lie for the most part, and are UNAWARE of it. Unfortunately, the FTC says that each person is responsible for misprepresenting the incomes of their uplines (and other aspects of their businesses), even if they truly believed it was the truth.


This is another classic MLM/brainwashing tactic. (thank you for posting this)

The tactic is to make the person feel that *they* are in the wrong for questioning the business model, even if the corruption is blatant and undeniable. It starts out "nobody is perfect", or "we all make mistakes" , or the one here "there are bad apples everywhere".  Then, of course, the whole "you bring the failure on yourself" line, which together works to make the person you are attempting to control feel that *they* are the in the wrong. Once the person feels properly chastised, it easier to make them do what you want (in this case, you want them to ignore the flaws of the business model, or ignore the fact that they aren't making any money even though they are working 60 hours a week trying to make it work.)

MLM is a scam, not only because it is a barely-concealed pyramid system, but because they use cult-like mind control techniques to alter people's impressions and belief systems. That's why so many of the die-hard MLMers that come here seem so unbelievably callous and uncaring: they believe we are all losers who don't want to work, because they have been told this over and over through their "training". They CANNOT accept that the system is flawed, so they must believe that we are either 1. jealous, 2. a pathetic bitter loser, or 3. lazy.

CookieDiva, I'm not sure you'll have any takers here.  There are good and bad people everywhere.  I certainly did believe I was "enriching women's lives" for much of my MK career...you can call it "invite" or "recruit", it's pretty much the same thing.

You may sense we are "commiserating at the victim level" (good line to lose some karma BTW), but many of us are hashing out the guilt we feel for the people we victimized by selling a dream that will never be a reality for so many. (oh, I guess you could call that "sharing the opportunity" or "providing information", it's all the same.)

I have a goal, too, BTW.  My goal is to become the best student that I possibly can to reach as many deserving children as I possibly can to enable them to become lifelong learners and makers of music.  I guess the difference in that goal and the goals of MLM's is that the reward is intrinsic, not materialistic.  There are many worthy "victims" on this board that deserve respect.

And that is my 

Wow, did I sound bitter? Hmm....
cookielady, you asked me not to generalize, and that just made me chuckle. Because, Yes, I did generalize, but I did that on purpose. My point is that exactly! i generalized because what I said is "generally" true--generally speaking.  If someone is doing things the right way, great- you can feel good about yourself and sleep at night. That's nice. But, the problem is, ifyou would have actually read my post and thought about it, is that even whenyouthink you're doing things the right way, you are still misleading people- because MLM isn't a good way to earn a living. It is a scam, no matter how you look at it, so in my eyes, recruiting anyone isn't a good thing. I don't care- the way MLM is set up creates all of these problems.
not that you care---thanks to all of you who came to my back up on this one! I'm not playing a victim here- we're not whining, we're dealing with our issues and trying to inform others. You are on this site for some reason, trying to prove to us that your MLM is different---well, it's not. YOu'll have to stop trying to convince us, because we too are passionate about what we are doing on here-

You know, I frequently let this sort of thing just slide right by me, but I'am currently reading the aforementioned "Merchants of Deception" and cannot in good conscience sit back and ignore it.

CookieDiva, you probably believe what you say.  Fine, but if you truly care even a little bit about the people you are "inviting" into the "business", educate yourself.  You are perpetuating a lie.  A harmful, destructive lie.

Is this is how you feel, I wonder what the heck are you still doing here ??? Perhaps you got more leaks somewhere else that you are in need of some customers 

I just found Cookie Lee- and don't think it's overpriced at all.

I wish you the best of luck at BOTH businesses- think of the broader network you will have now! Good job and keep dreaming.