She's On The Money - MLM Secrets Revealed: Why 99% of Recruits Never Make Money

Episode Date: November 1, 2024

Ever been hit with a ‘Hey, hun! Wanna be your own boss?’ message? Well this week, I'm pulling back the curtain on MLMs (Multi Level Marketing) and exposing how they exploit ambition, financial insecurity, and social media influence. From luxury cars that aren't really free to the endless cycle of recruiting, MLMs thrive on confusion and flashy promises—but leave most people at a financial loss. Ever since I started spilling the MLM tea on Instagram, my DMs have exploded. Clearly, this is a conversation you don’t want to miss! Acknowledgement of Country By Natarsha Bamblett aka Queen Acknowledgements. The advice shared on She's On The Money is general in nature and does not consider your individual circumstances. She's On The Money exists purely for educational purposes and should not be relied upon to make an investment or financial decision. If you do choose to buy a financial product, read the PDS, TMD and obtain appropriate financial advice tailored towards your needs.  Victoria Devine and She's On The Money are authorised representatives of Money Sherpa PTY LTD ABN - 321649 27708,  AFSL - 451289.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hello, my name is Natasha Nabanunga-Bamblett. I'm a proud Yorta Yorta, Kernai, Wolperi and Awadjeri woman. And before we get started on She's on the Money podcast, I would like to acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land of which this podcast is recorded on Awadjeri country, acknowledging the elders, the ancestors and the next generation coming through. As this podcast is about connecting, empowering, knowledge sharing and the storytelling of you to make a difference for today and lasting impact for tomorrow. Let's get into it. She's on the money. She's on the money.

hello and welcome back to she's on the money the podcast that helps you own your own financial future while dodging dodgy get-rich-quick schemes. My friends, I am your host, Victoria Devine, and today we are diving into a world that is currently taking over social feeds faster than you can say, hey, hun, want to join my team? That is right. We are talking today about MLMs, those magical businesses that promise abundances of financial freedom, endless hashtag boss babe energy and somehow a six pack in 30 days all from a mysterious powder that you pour into your morning smoothie. Now if you've seen my Instagram stories lately you'll know that I have those pesky postpartum hairs and on Instagram I asked for some hair care advice and this is kind of what kicked

off a rant from me about multi-level marketing but I guess a little bit of a deeper conversation because not as many people knew about MLMs as I would want them to. But then also accidentally, I put myself in the firing line of all of the multi-level marketing girlies, which is not where I wanted to be. So before we go any further, I want to be really clear about something. If you are currently in a multi-level marketing company, this is not an attack on you. This is not a personal conversation. This is a conversation because the bigger organization needs to be held accountable and more people deserve to know how this works. So now I've got that off my chest, let's dive in. Let's start with the basics here. What is an MLM? So an MLM, it stands for

multi-level marketing, and you might have also heard it be called direct marketing or network marketing. It's essentially a business model that involves selling products, usually wellness or beauty or lifestyle items directly to consumers. But here's where it gets slightly sketchy. In multi-level marketing companies, the real money doesn't actually come from you individually selling products. It comes from recruiting more people to join the business under you. So picture a pyramid note really. At the top, you have the highest earners, the people who got in early and then built a team underneath them, aka they kind of recruited a small army and they're now living their hashtag best lux life. But down at the very bottom, you have thousands, if not more

than thousands of people who are hustling really hard. They're buying products. They're hosting online parties. They are desperately trying to recruit other people to do the same thing. And the sales pitch here is that you're not just selling a product. You're actually selling the dream. You are selling the lifestyle. You're selling financial freedom. You're selling the idea of flexible working hours, being your own boss, being able to work from home with your babies. But in reality, most people in multi-level marketing companies do not make money. In fact, studies show that over 99% of people who are involved in multi-level marketing companies lose money. You absolutely heard that correctly. If you've ever wondered why your best friend has

suddenly started trying to get you to buy $50 protein shakes, it's because they're trying to climb up that pyramid. Now, I do keep referring to the structure of this business as a pyramid because the structure of these businesses looks a lot like one, right? So let's talk about the difference here between a pyramid scheme and a multi-level marketing company, because while they do seem incredibly similar, and honestly, they are actually quite similar, there's actually a sneaky little loophole that MLMs use to stay legal, especially here in Australia. So first, let's break down what a pyramid scheme is. I love talking about this stuff. So these are actually illegal in Australia and rightly so. So a pyramid scheme is a business model where participants,

they make money solely through recruiting other people. There's no product, there's no service, it's just recruiting. You are literally selling a dream to other people. Everyone is focused on getting more people to join because that's the only way that more money is made. So what I'm going to do is get you to imagine that you're on top of the pyramid and then you're recruiting people who are beneath you. So one person recruits two, and then those two people recruit others, and it literally becomes a pyramid shape, right? They pay to join, and then you get a cut of that payment for them joining. And then those people recruit other people, and what happens is that money, the person that recruited them gets a cut of that, but then because you're the ultimate at

the top of this pyramid, you get a cut of that as well. And those people recruit more people, and then the money, it keeps trickling up to you. But here's the catch. It's completely unsustainable. Eventually, you're going to run out of people to recruit and the whole thing collapses. We've seen it time and time again. The people at the bottom, those are the people that are left with absolutely nothing. And that is why pyramid schemes are illegal under the Competition and Consumer Act of 2010 here in Australia. So the law says that any business model where income is based solely on recruitment without the selling of an actual product or service is straight up fraud. But here is where things get a little bit murky. MLMs are like

pyramid schemes, but with a little bit of a makeover. They operate in, I guess, the same way, but with one key difference, and that is that they sell a product and that is how they get away with it. But with multi-level marketing companies, the pressure to recruit is always there. Don't let people let you think otherwise. No person who owns a multi-level marketing company thought, oh great, let's go into hair care because I have this fantastic product that I'd love to distribute. They actually started with the business structure first and then added a product later because their priority was creating a structure that made them incredibly rich, not through the product. You might start out thinking if you join one of these that you're just going to sell like a few skincare

kits to your friends but then very quickly you're going to be pushed to build a team to recruit others and chase the very elusive financial freedom that they keep dangling in front of you because genuinely they prey on the vulnerable the people who might want to be able to work from home who have become stay-at-home mums and are creeping really close to the end of their maternity leave and don't want to go back to work, they're the ones that fall into these traps most readily because they are so desperate to find a solution that enables them to have the lifestyle that they want. Multi-level marketing companies are insanely predatory, particularly towards women. And I've done some research. According to Direct Selling Australia, 75% of multi-level marketing participants

are women. And this is because obviously multi-level marketing companies are strategically targeting single women, stay-at-home mums, single mums, women seeking financial independence, the disabled community. These companies play on mum guilt, on selling the dream, on being able to work from home and being your own boss while still caring so much for your family. The recruitment pitch promises you financial freedom, flexibility, better work-life balance. But in reality, Most women end up trapped in a cycle of financial loss and relentless recruitment. And this isn't just me saying that. Over the last few weeks, I have had hundreds of DMs from people telling me that I was in

a multi-level marketing company and to be able to be paid out my commissions, I had to buy my own products. To get more money, I had to recruit people and lie to them about the structure. One person even told me that they made fake accounts to purchase product under because they wanted to make their quotas. What makes them predatory from my perspective is how grossly they exploit women's vulnerabilities. They present their multi-level marketing situation, I suppose, as a solution to balancing your family life and being able to earn an income.

But instead, you're faced with an enormous amount of pressure to recruit others and to buy unsellable products. So over 99% of people involved in multi-level marketing companies lose money, making these schemes incredibly harmful to those that they claim to empower. They literally say that they empower women, but how is empowering women making them lose money? Women are drawn in by this appeal of autonomy, but most end up financially worse off, which makes me so angry. And it's often at the cost of their personal relationships and financial stability. If you know someone who has been in a multi-level marketing company, you have all seen those messages that make you want to

unfollow them or block them. According to a study cited on the American Federal Trade Commission website, gambling at a roulette table offers better odds than joining an MLM company. The research shows that while 2.9% of gamblers at a roulette table in Las Vegas make a profit, only 0.4% of multi-level marketing participants earn more than they spend. This means that statistically, you are more likely to win at a game of chance than you are to succeed in a multi-level marketing company, which preys on your ambition while hiding the near guaranteed financial loss. Multi-level marketing companies are dressed up as business opportunities, but the reality is they're going to exploit your financial desperation while stacking the odds

against you. I literally can't think of anything worse that you could do to someone who is trying to start a business and provide financial freedom. Multi-level marketing companies rely heavily on essentially confusing compensation and bonus structures to keep people consistently chasing rewards that are nearly impossible to achieve. You're going to see them throw around terms like downlines and rank bonuses and leadership levels to create this illusion that financial success, it's just a few recruits away or a sale away and don't worry, maybe next month is your month and don't worry, you've only recruited five people, but if you get to seven, but here's the catch, the structure is intentionally complex. They do this on purpose, which makes it harder for people

to understand how much they're truly earning or more accurately, how little they're actually making. And in reality, most people never get close to the shiny rewards. The multi-level business model, it's structured in a way that primarily benefits those who are at the top of the pyramid. Those who have already built large downlines and rely on constant recruitment of new participants, which in this day and age is really toxic because what we're seeing on social media, and I know a lot of you have seen on social media, is influencers who are now joining multi-level marketing companies because they have engaged communities and arguably hundreds of thousands of followers, which automatically puts them at the top of the pyramid. I'm a girl's girl

at my heart. I will never name and shame, but we all know and have seen how it works. Somebody has been on reality TV. They then get a very large Instagram following and then they decide to join a multi-level marketing business. They then start promoting how their life has absolutely changed because they're now selling this product and they've got so much financial freedom and, you know, they have these really great teams and they have so much beautiful community. But the reality is they were able to create that for themselves because they had such a significant following. And everyone was like, oh my gosh, if Victoria's doing that, I want to do that. Victoria is somebody that I trust. I think that's what makes me the most scared about

these things is because I know that, you know, just as somebody who has influence, I know I have an Instagram following. And if I had decided to go down a route like this, I know that it wouldn't be too much of a sidestep to say to people, come along, like you could actually have your own business. It's so easy. It's terrifying. But for most people, the only way to progress in this and actually create any level of income is to recruit other people, not by selling the products that they sell. Like literally, if you broke it down into how much they are making, these people who are at the top of their game, the Instagram influencers selling the dream, sharing their beautiful hair, sharing all of this, I can absolutely guarantee that if I broke down their

paycheck from their multi-level marketing company, 99% of their income would come from the income that the people below them are generating, not from the product that they are selling. So even if you're working tirelessly, you might still find yourself falling short because success in a multi-level marketing company is far more about recruitment than it ever was about product sales. It actually blows my mind that this is legal in Australia. What's even more troubling is that multi-level marketing companies, they don't care about your skills or experience. Anyone can join. And I mean, that's great. Like I think anyone should have a shot at creating their own business, creating their own career, paving their own path,

right? As long as you're willing to buy the starter kit and invest in their products you're in. There's absolutely no vetting process, no regard for whether you're suited to succeed in this business. They just want to bring in as many people as possible. And this is because the real money, I don't know how many times I can say this, but the real money is made when you recruit others and then they buy your starter kits and the products, keeping the pyramid scheme alive and flowing and well. The system is quite literally designed to continuously grow the base of the pyramid, benefiting those at the top. While the majority of the people at the bottom are struggling, they are losing money, and we know what a pyramid looks like, most of the people

are at the bottom. It's no secret that multi-level marketing companies have gotten a major upgrade in the digital age. Gone are the days of your mom's Tupperware parties and those door-to-door Avon sales. Today, multi-level marketing companies are thriving on social media, which to me is more toxic because you had to consent to a Tupperware party. You had to accept the Avon magazine at your front door. Gone are those days. You're scrolling on Instagram. You're scrolling on Facebook. You're all over TikTok. You didn't even know that the product that your favorite influencer was promoting was a multi-level marketing recruitment strategy. And trust me, that's no accident. These platforms are literally perfect for multi-level marketing girlies to prey

on people's insecurities, building a really false sense of security and targeting those looking for a way to make money from home. Do you know how hard it is to show up online as a business owner? Like side note completely, but as somebody who owns multiple businesses, one of the hardest things that I do in my day, and this is going to sound very lame, is create content. It's not because the content is hard. It's because my confidence plays a lot into it. It's because I feel like I want to show up as my true authentic self. I want to be able to promote my business. I want to be able to get in front of a camera. Most people are not comfortable to pop a camera in front of them and have a chat about their hair, have a chat about their business to promote

themselves. You guys know I am obsessed with business. I have a podcast called The Business Bible. I have a business book coming out. And the reason I have this is because I want to empower people, particularly women, to create their own incomes, to take control of their own financial destiny. But when these companies prey on people's insecurities and build a false sense of security, these women are putting in so much time, energy, and effort to creating the social media content that it breaks my heart because they have so much potential that could be spent on a real business, that could be putting themselves in the best possible position. Ask any genuine small business owner what their biggest struggles are, and I can almost guarantee that social media will come up.

But these girls are going above and beyond to create beautiful social media content for a business that is taking advantage of them, their friends, their family. And they don't know that they're doing it. I think that's the saddest part. They have been lulled into this false sense of security that this is a good idea for them, that this is the solution to their financial problems. This is the solution to being able to spend more time with their babies. This is the solution to being able to have a flexible work-life balance while their partner works regionally. It breaks my heart because these women, they genuinely have drunk their own Kool-Aid. They believe in everything that they are telling you and that

is what breaks my heart. Now, I want to talk about particularly Monet very quickly because I feel like I've been focusing on that one the most because I feel like that's what came up for me when I asked about my hair issues. I had an influx of people being like, Monet, it's fantastic. You're going to love it. I can send you a link. I think one thing that breaks my heart the most is these women are online and they're promoting it. They are so proud of the business that they work for. Note that I said the business that they work for, because from my perspective, they are literally sales reps. They'll tell you that they're entrepreneurs. They'll tell you that it's their own business. It is not. They are working as a sales representative for a bigger

company. That company is called, in this situation, Monet. And that company is taking advantage of them. This company has told them, if you reach certain targets, if you recruit a certain amount of people, if you make a certain amount of product sales, you are going to get this. You're going to earn a Range Rover. We'll gift you a Range Rover. And mate, that sounds sick. That sounds so cool to me. I've looked into it. If you are going to qualify for the Monet Motor Club program, what you need to do is maintain a paid as rank of marketing mentor or hire for six months consecutively. Okay, no worries, I'll do that. And then once you qualify for the program, they ask you to read the terms and conditions to make sure you're happy to take on this commitment. All of these Monet girls

are going to tell you that they got their free car, right? Keep that in mind. Then you're going to follow your invitation to the program. What you're going to do in your personal name is then purchase or lease has to be white, a white Range Rover, Land Rover, or Jaguar. After that purchase, but keeping in mind the girls online, they're going to tell you that they got gifted or they earned this Range Rover. It's theirs, right? It was a present. It was a gift from the company. The company that I quote is so generous. After you have personally purchased or leased a car, you're going to send in the required paperwork to the Monet head office and they will officially notify you that you are in the Monet Motor Club program, right? What you need to do is make sure

that you are listed on the contract as a signer or co-signer. Monet is never a part of this. That car loan is in your personal name. And then after you've completed all that enrollment, Monet, they're going to send you a one-time bonus of $4,200. As part of your monthly commission earnings going forward, they're going to include what's called a Motor Club bonus based on your paid as rank. If you lose your rank, that car loan is on your shoulders. No one else is going to pay it because it's actually in your name. You didn't earn a car. You didn't win a car. You didn't get a free car gifted to you. You took out a loan. And as part of your remuneration, this company has said, if you continue to recruit people, we will continue to pay you to do that because you're

making them a lot of money and they're sharing a small part of that. But if you miss out one month, we're going to actually kick you out of the program completely. Isn't that insane to think that these girls are getting online and telling everybody that they have been gifted a car, but the reality of it is they have a car loan that Monet's paying for, but only if they continue to recruit people under them. Don't even get me started on the trips. If you think that I'm done here, I'm absolutely not. I am going to do a number of other podcasts on this, maybe deep diving into particular companies because I feel like they are all predatory, but they are also all built different. Like at the end of the day, from my perspective, companies like Thermomix

and Tupperware are not nearly as bad as companies like Monet because there are different catches. So for example, Thermomix, while a multi-level marketing company does not require you to recruit people to maintain a status. Monet does. I'll go on about that another day. So to dive into the car situation a little bit more, I said that you have to maintain a market mentoring rank, right? So there are a lot of ranks. It goes from market partner all the way up to senior executive director, which makes not a lot of sense to me because what are you directing? You don't require an ABN to join this business because it's not actually your business. You're a sales representative. but as a marketing mentor you could earn according to Monet's website up to $345,000

that's the highest annual gross earnings of one of their market mentors the lowest annual gross earnings of a market mentor was $4,923 with the average annual gross earnings of $49,000 right so what does that mean per month on average a marketing mentor makes four thousand and ninety nine dollars per month right and if we do some quick maths because we know that you have to get the car loan in your own name and you have to get a white land rover range rover or jaguar of less than five years of age right a range rover evoke on average is going to cost you a hundred thousand dollars. That's like mini SUV version of a Range Rover. If you're going to get the big Range Rover, that's about 180. I mean, they go up to $300,000, but we're going to go with $180,000

for a Range Rover Sport. Of course, in white, because it has to match the brand aesthetics. On average, your monthly repayments for a Range Rover Evoque are going to be $1,200. For a Range Rover Sport, you're probably looking at $2,000. That's half your average monthly earnings. And if hypothetically one month you don't make the sales targets or your recruitment targets and drop back down to the rank below, which is associate market mentor, the average monthly gross earnings drop to $1,682. You can't even pay for your Range Rover that month with the income that you are earning as an associate market mentor. I think the most important thing here as well. This is all publicly accessible information available on the Monet website. The most common

rank is market partner. That's the entry level. 91.15% of people in Monet fall into this and on average, they make per month $9. 91% of people in Monet on average make $9 per month. obviously the highest level, the senior executive director. That is the big dog at the top of the pyramid. Wait for this. On average, their monthly gross earnings are $79,206. And these are the ones that are going to sell you the dream, right? Their senior executive directors. They are earning up to, because the highest annual gross earnings of a senior executive director is $1.6 million. dollars. That's a lot of money. That is a lot, a lot of money. But that is 0.1% of the company. That's actually unhinged. That is the top of the pyramid. Not everyone can be top of the pyramid.

In fact, if you wanted to join this and you think that you are going to be able to outrank the person that has recruited you, I would say good luck. Because if people are consistently outranking the person that recruited them, the sustainability of the business model doesn't work. It doesn't work. It falls down. The entire business model is built to have most people being at that base level because that's where the big dogs make the most money. They need people below them. So back on track, I feel like all of this is really interesting, but I feel like the pandemic really supercharged this, right? With more people who were working from home or losing their jobs, sadly, multi-level marketing companies saw a massive spike in recruitment. So there was a

report done from the DSA and it showed that there was a 40% increase in multi-level marketing participation in 2020 as people really scrambled for flexible income streams or even just income streams in general. Social media became completely flooded with posts promising work from home solutions and extra income during a time of uncertainty. But for the vast majority, that extra income never actually came. Again, reminding you, 91% of people in Monet earn on average $9 a month. That is a gross annual earning of $114. And to join the company, it's a minimum of $300 on a pack to join. 91% of people who join Monet are at a financial loss because they did so. Multi-level marketing companies prey on people's financial insecurities, kind of dangling them as

a carrot of success in front of them, but offering literally nothing but a treadmill of recruitment and personal expenses. They're going to tell you that you're running your own business and that you're an entrepreneur and that you are in control of your own life. But the reality is you don't own a business. You are a glorified sales representative. If that business goes down, your business, in quotation marks, is done. Multi-level marketing companies love to sell you on this idea of being a boss babe or being an entrepreneur, but in reality, you don't have any control over the product, the pricing, or even your customer base. Multi-level marketing companies mask this reality by offering titles like independent consultant, market builder, marketing mentor, associate

executive director, managing market mentor, and senior executive director. Be for real. At the end of the day, you are a commissioned salesperson without the security, without the salary without the benefits that come from a traditional sales job, I am getting quite worked up. So we're going to take a very quick break. And when we come back, I'm going to show you how you can tell if an opportunity is a real one or if it's a multi-level marketing company in disguise. So don't go anywhere. All right, my friends, we are back and I am still quite mad about this. So the question arises, how do we know if an opportunity is a multi-level marketing company? We don't want to get swept up in that. So what they're going to do is most likely refer to them

as network marketing or direct selling instead of multi-level marketing. The first thing I want you to be aware of is this, is it too good to be true test? If someone is offering you financial freedom, flexible hours, and a six-figure income for minimal effort, my friend, that is a red flag. Please remember that if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Real businesses don't offer quick money for doing almost nothing. Honestly, if it did, I'd already be all over that. Let's be honest, as a business owner, of course I would like to do less for more. If Jeff Bezos didn't get rich overnight, I'm sorry, but the chances are that you will is not there. What I want you to do as well is if you're thinking about this, I need you to look at the

income disclosure statements. Multi-level marketing companies are legally required to provide income disclosure statements. These are like, I guess, the company's report card telling you how much participants actually make. If you ever feel tempted, look at their income stats. A tiny fraction make any profit and the rest are left paying for those business starter kits. Back to the income statement that I was very easily able to download straight from the Monet website. I would like to remind you that 91% of people who have joined Monet as a market partner made $9 this month. That does not cover the cost of their business starter kit. The next thing I want you to be aware of is the cult vibes. We all know them. You've seen them

on social media. It's fully cult vibes. Multi-level marketing companies love to sell a sense of belonging. They're going to call you boss babe. They're going to call you the team, which makes no sense to me because how are you joining a team if you're owning your own business? Make it make sense. They want to make you feel like part of a team and they're going to shower you with the hashtag girl boss love. But behind all of the Facebook groups and Instagram stories and WhatsApp chats, there is relentless pressure to recruit. It's not real support. It's them wanting to make money for themselves because if they're nice to you because they recruited you, you're going to recruit other people which ultimately benefits them. If a community feels more like a recruitment

drive, my friend, it is time to run. The next thing I want you to do, quick Google search, before we get involved in any business, what I want you to do is type in the company name and the word scam or the company name and the word lawsuit. You'd be surprised how many multi-level marketing companies have been involved in lawsuits or regulatory issues. A little detective work is going to be able to save you from signing up to something that's already sinking. The next thing I want you to do is ask questions about the product if the business seems to care more about you recruiting others than selling an actual product. It's a massive red flag. A legitimate business should be built on product sales, not on growing a team of people

who recruit more people. Have you seen all the boss babes online? How many times are they posting about their actual shampoo as opposed to, hey, join my team. Hey, have you ever wanted a community around you. Hey, are you a stay-at-home mom and don't have the support you deserve? All of those recruitment posts clearly outweigh the product posts and it is so toxic. It is not funny. If the product is feeling like an afterthought, I can almost guarantee it's not a solid opportunity. The next thing I want you to do is consider upfront costs. I mean, we all know it costs money to start a business and these companies are going to tell you that. All businesses cost money to start, but multi-level marketing companies often require you

to buy a starter kit or a bunch of products upfront before you are even able to consider joining the business. Real businesses don't ask you to fork out hundreds, if not thousands of dollars before you've even started earning money. If you're told you need to invest in yourself to succeed, there's a translation. We want your money. We want it fast. It's not going to benefit you. The next thing I want you to consider is before diving in, I want you to talk to someone who isn't part of that multi-level marketing company. Often, once you're inside, it's really hard to get unbiased information because everyone is trying to recruit you or push you to sell more. Look for a neutral perspective who can help you see through all of this hype. And if your mentor

tells you not to talk to outsiders, yeah, my friends, that is a red flag. I literally reposted a post from a Monet conference where there were men on stage, which made me laugh because it's a women empowering conference but there were mediocre middle-aged white men sitting on stage and the question that they are answering because it is on the giant screen behind them is what actions can I take to overcome my husband or my partner's skepticism about my new business my friend if your partner is skeptical about your business there's a few things that we need to address here one we want supportive partners only if your partner is super skeptical of something that you are starting, to me, that could be a red flag. Absolutely. But if it is a legitimate

business and they are skeptical, that's where you need to educate them and share that with them. But if they are skeptical because they are like, Victoria, you are investing money that you are going to lose. Victoria, this is a scam. Those are things that we should be listening to. My husband has been nothing but supportive of me in my business journey because it's understandable and it makes sense. On the flip side, if your partner is calling something out as a red flag and you're not listening to them, why are you not listening to them? The next thing I want you to have a look at is the product shelf life. Here is a smart one. I want you to consider how often you or anyone would actually buy this product. Are people going to keep paying for really expensive

protein shakes or essential oils every single month? If the answer is no, you're probably going to end up with boxes of unsold inventory gathering dust in your garage. The next thing that I want to talk about is let's just really understand your financial reality. Multi-level marketing companies prey on people who need extra cash and then promise them the world. Before diving in, I want you to look at your financial situation. Can you actually afford to take this risk? What blows my mind the most, and this pisses me off so much, is there are multi-level marketing girlies out there promoting this lifestyle when I know that they are married to a male with an incredibly high income, so they don't actually need to earn an income. So they're promoting all of these things,

growing their girl boss world, when the reality is they are not reliant on that income, but they will convince you that you need to be. Multi-level marketing participants lose more money than they gain. So what I would be doing is not betting my grocery money on a promise that is more about recruitment than results. I need you to also remember that you, my friend, are not the product. Multi-level marketings sell you a lifestyle. They're going to sell you the dream, the freedom, the flexibility, being your own boss. But what they're really selling is you, or rather they're using you to recruit other people. Because at the end of the day, the person who benefits the most is the person at the top of the pyramid. If the focus shifts from the product to you being the

success story for others to follow, it's time to walk away. You're worth more than being somebody else's recruitment tool. If you're in a multi-level marketing company and you're feeling like it's time to step away, the process can seem daunting and overwhelming, but it is entirely possible to leave and reclaim your financial and emotional well-being. From my perspective, it's crucial that you're going to be able to see that wanting to leave isn't a sign of failure. It's actually a sign of insight and reflection that you deserve, multi-level marketing companies are structured to benefit those only at the top. And most participants, through literally no fault of their own, end up losing more money than they make. It's like getting a credit card. Nobody

gets a credit card with the intention of going into thousands of dollars of crippling debt. The same with multi-level marketing companies. Nobody joins thinking, oh, I'm just going to remain at that market partner level and earn $9 a month. Literally, people are earning $9 a month and slaving away over social media. They're making videos every day. They are ruining their relationships with their friends and families. What, for $9 a month? Nobody joined because they thought that they'd only make $9 a month. They joined because they saw the senior executive director talking about how there are millionaires in this company. That's not going to be the reality of most people and you need to accept this reality that maybe you're losing more than

just money. You need to accept that reality because it can be super liberating and is honestly the first step to moving forward. I would start by taking stock of your financial situation. Can you calculate exactly how much you've invested into this multi-level marketing company, including the starter kit, the products and ongoing fees, so that you can actually understand where you're understanding the other thing i would do and this is really hard because multi-level marketing companies they really prey on your need for community and connection i want you to disconnect from multi-level marketing related social media groups that might be pressuring you to stay involved or giving yourself emotional space to reflect without influence from your upline it

can be really helpful to let your upline or a recruiter know that you're stepping away but honestly they're just going to pressure you so do not feel pressured to justify the decision that you are making. Keep the conversation clear and really firm. You do not owe anyone an explanation beyond stating that it is no longer a good fit for you. If legal contracts or obligations feel really complicated, you can seek advice from a legal professional. Finally, I want you to reconnect with your friends and your family outside of multi-level marketing and consider maybe some more sustainable opportunities, whether it's freelancing or taking some courses or even starting a traditional business. There are countless pathways to financial independence

that do not involve the MLM girl boss grind. I feel like there's honestly so much to unpack when it comes to these really predatory business models. And this episode was about kind of introducing you, talking about the concept. And I know that you feel the same because the messages that I have received have been in the hundreds this week. It's clear that we have all been affected, or we know someone who's been pulled into the web of false promises and lies and the misleading recruitment tactics. So we are going to dive a lot deeper into how these schemes operate and how you can protect yourself and your loved ones from falling into the trap. In an upcoming episode, I am so excited. I have a woman called Emily Lynn Paulson,

who is the author of Hey Hun, The Sales Sisterhood and Supremacy and The Other Lies behind multi-level marketing join us. Here's the thing which I think is actually so cool and why I reached out to have her on the show. Emily made more than a million dollars through her involvement in a multi-level marketing company and she still believes that the model is deeply harmful. If that doesn't tell you that they're bad I don't know what does. I think it's going to be super juicy so I recommend that you hit subscribe and don't miss a thing but I'm off to scroll TikTok and probably fall down a rabbit hole of watching multi-level marketing content and I just can't look away. There is so much content I want to share because I feel like this space needs to

change. Pyramid schemes here in Australia are illegal and from all of the research I'm doing I genuinely believe that multi-level marketing companies should be too. So keep an eye on this space, keep an eye on the pod and keep an eye on my Instagram stories because they're arguably more unhinged than the podcasts I pull together which involve a lot of nuance. So see you friends, have a great weekend. the advice shared on she's on the money is general in nature and does not consider your individual circumstances she's on the money exists purely for educational purposes and should not be relied upon to make an investment or financial decision if you do choose to buy a

financial product read the pds tmd and obtain appropriate financial advice tailored towards your needs. Victoria Devine and She's On The Money are authorised representatives of Money Sherpa PTY LTD ABN 321 649 27708 AFSL 451 289.