Just want to know whether that extracted article is talking about Colette. Cause only Colette was offered for the trip. Her husband might sitting at home the whole day doing nothing but just motivating his wife. If what his husband was doing earn him 35,000 per year then I wish I could be that husband too.

Another question, I wish to know did Miss Coenen ever tried to do any of these MLM? For me the cost of doing this business might be $ 20 (a cup of coffee, foot by cute prospects), my time and my transport fuel.(not really cause I was enjoying the same time)

To be frank, MLM will earn you money, but whether sustainable is another question. I used to earned $10k per month for a year or two in a year time. I did my professional degree on accounting and I have never got paid for more than 2k per month.

I wonder how much a forensic accountant earns per month….. Might be more than 10k because they will receive a cheque after they successfully detected fraud? Is it a fraud for professionals to receive fee when they are doing jobs that they cant guarantee the outcome themselves? Such as I might not get to detect the fraud but you still have to pay me?

“USANA’s Million Dollar Club is made up of distributors who have earned at least $1 million in commissions through their USANA business.”

And if the words themselves don’t convince you, you could do the math on how much the downline would have to order in a year, and see that it’s not $1 million in commissions for the year.

However, that is not the case.

Whether or not $35,000 income per year is something to get excited about is in the eye of the beholder. Let’s not pretend that this couple spent a “few hours a week” on Usana as a side venture. Let’s tell the real story. They eat, sleep, and breathe Usana. $35,000 is not an impressive income for that. (Notice again, that I reject your usage of $70,000 a year income because it was really $35,000 per worker.)

Common sense and a working knowledge of MLMs is all you need to in order to know that the $35,000 income will not be a “residual income” nor will it last forever without a significant investment of time and effort by these people.

Fortunately for me, I don’t use the FTC as the authority on what’s a legitimate business and what is not. The Direct Selling Association is a lobbying organization funded by the many MLMs, and its sole purpose for existing is to induce politicians and government organizations to not do anything to curb the activities of MLMs. So unfortunately, the FTC can’t really be relied upon to determine what is or is not a legitimate business, as they’re notorious for turning a blind eye to the abuses of MLMs.

Your comparison of MLM to regular corporations fails. In corporations, the participants receive paychecks. In MLMs, the lower levels are all paying to play. They’re putting money into these scams, and 99% of them will never turn a profit (i.e. recover their investment). So MLMs and legitimate businesses aren’t the same thing at all.

You’re right. MLM is not “get rick quick.” It’s “get rich never.” It’s “guaranteed losses for 99%.”

Here is my reply:

How can you state so plainly that your intent is not to sell books? The very intent of the blog is to dissuade people from entering an MLM through articles as well as your books. Your advertisements are clearly posted on this very page.

1. A million dollar earner IS a substantial income over a 14 year period. Please show me an American who would not like to have an additional million dollars BEYOND their normal income from part time effort.

2. 70,000 annualized is neither misleading nor a mischarachterization. On the contrary, 70,000 is a conservative estimate of the earnings when you consider that 70,000 does not account for the early years where the income was less. Furthermore, you simply divide the income in half because you determined that both Collete and Allen invested and continue investing 40 hours each in the business. Again, as in the first post, what evidence do you have that supports this specious claim? You have provided no data as to the hours they specifically invested.

3. You lump the Evans’ into a nebulous group of MLM people who understate the time and effort for the small earnings. The logic you follow lacks the evidence specific to the Evans’. Therefore, it (your logic) fails the litmus test.

4. You indicate the income will not continue into the future without continued investment of 40 hours per week. Here is my question to you; What evidence do you have that supports this claim as it relates to the Evans’ previous earnings in relation to time invested? Also what evidence do you have specific to the Evans’ that indicates lack of future potentiality?

Finally, this certainly is a blame game. This is misdirected anger at various MLM’s that are deemed legitimate businesses as defined by the FTC. Frankly speaking, the credibility of the FTC opinion trumps your accomplishments.

The fact of the matter is that few people attain substantial levels in ANY large corporation or any endeavor, period. How many CEO’s are there per company? How many Presidents are there per company? How many businesses fail in the first five years? Of the remaining businesses that survive the initial five years, how many last another five years? How many athletes in the world make the Olympics? How many of the Olympians actually win a medal? How many athletes win gold?

Just because the MLM model is difficult and requires time, energy, and money does not negate it as a viable alternative for an entrepreneur. MLM is not a get rich quick plan. But then again, what is?

In the interest of time, this will be my last comment on your blog. Thank you for the post. I wish you unbound success and happiness and prosperity.

Sincerely,

Shane

Now I agree with you that a $35,000 a year salary would be quite a lot for some people. But here’s why it’s a problem in the case of Usana (and MLM in general):

1. Terms like “million dollar earners” are used instead to make it seem like these people are living the high life.
2. Saying $70,000 a year income mischaracterizes things. This is two people working full time. So it’s a $35,000 job.
3. People in MLMs are notorious for understating the amount of time and effort put in for the small earnings. I’m willing to bet your “friends” put in more than 40 hours a week on a consistent basis.
4. The lie of residual income – This couple will not continue to earn $35,000 each for the rest of their lives unless they keep working at or above the level they are now.

This article and all others here are not part of any “blame game,” as you suggest. They are simply part of an effort to educate the public that they will be wasting time, effort, and money by getting involved in MLM. MLM is not a real business, and it’s been proven time and again with the data produced by the MLMs themselves that over 99% who get involved lose money. These are not profit-making ventures except for the owners of the MLMs and a tiny handful of people at the top of the pyramid.