Amway Is Not A Pyramid, It's An Iceberg?

I was in discussion on another forum and a comment was made about Amway being an iceberg, because you see the shiny clean ice on the top but you do not see the majority of the iceberg. Or in other words, the diamonds show you the fancy suits, jewellery, care, mansions, jets and what you don't see is the financial structure that takes place in their businesses at times. My former upline would tell audiences that they could skip meals to buy more standing orders because you might hear the one thing that could make your business explode. Sadly, I didn’t really listen and to date I have not the experience of viewing my business as "exploding".

Sure, on standing orders, you won't hear too much of the unethical and "wrong" teaching, because some of this is monitored by Amway, but it's the night owls and smaller group meetings where the real teaching is disseminated. This is where I was told to practically sell my soul to achieve in Amway. This is where the teaching comes in where you should be purchasing at least a small amount of tools in order to succeed. This is where you are told to never miss a function unless it's for your own funeral. A newbie or casual observer won't see these things but if you ever commit to becoming a business builder, this is likely to become your world. This is how the leaders get their core teachings to downline, by sending the information downline via the platinum’s.

You don't see the backstage at functions and meetings. Current rubies and platinum’s have made commentary about the diamonds literally laughing about how easy the business once you are at their level. You don't see the where the cash collected at the meetings and functions go because it’s not your place to. There have been some past comments about literally, suitcases of cash leaving the premises. If your diamond upline has a mansion and a fleet of nice cars, it's likely that tools money played a significant part in your diamond obtaining it.

It's a simple conclusion. The tools have a higher mark-up and have fewer beneficiaries to split up the bonus. A $7.00 Amway product might cost $3.00 or so to make and the rest will be bonus money split up by the layers of IBOs. Whereas a $7.00 cd might take 50 cents to produce and only platinum’s and higher receive any compensation from this source of income. But rank and file IBOs rarely ever see a true and transparent picture of this side of the business. It is not really in their interest anyway. They’re not the one host the meetings. It seems to be shrouded in secrecy, just like the underside of an iceberg but I challenge IBOs to be real businessmen and women and ask upline the tough questions about how the money is made and how they can get involved. Do not accept rhetoric and anecdotal stories. In real business, schedule C business tax returns are the normal way for verification of business income. If you are going to "invest" your hard earned money into the system to the benefit of you and your upline, you should request this information. 

Would any of you purchase a conventional business from someone without proof that it is profitable? Why would an Amway business be any different? Seek a true picture of what you are getting into.

What Is Amway Success?

Success is subjective. Someone making ten dollars might be considered successful, for others, nothing less than a barrel of cash will suffice. One other important point is that there are undoubtedly some very successful people in Amway. I am sure that some Amway diamonds are quite well off and enjoy some of the finer things in life. The reality is that these successes are very common and many of these successes apparently are totally sustainable as many people are now finding out.

But the bigger issue in the Amway opportunity is where the success comes from. Sure, many people want to "go diamond" and live in luxury while barrels of cash roll in. But what is known to many is that all who enjoy the lifestyle and trappings do so with the help of their downlines. The downlines move the volume and the downline passes on the system, both of which are profitable for the upline. Because Amway products are commonly sold to people who are not IBOs, then anyone can conclude that upline success comes from the group volume of the downlines. Most downlines are better off too, each receiving a check in excess of $1000’s each month.

This in itself is a great issue and the system regularly churns out new successes frequently. The downlines are quite rightly led to believe that the system is the key to their success. Over thirty per cent of IBOs reach platinum and out of those who do, most go on to achieve and attain the diamond level. The business has millions of people who have tried and succeeded to achieve what was promoted. A great deal of effort is always a factor and when that many people try and succeed, it's evident that the system is working well.

To summarize, it is possible for someone to achieve a level of success in Amway and it is not so difficult and so rare. IBOs probably have a better chance of succeeding in Amway than winning the lottery or being struck by lightning. Some people are very successful and it is always with the help of their downlines. The “catch” is that uplines will always teach their faithful downline IBOs that attending a function or buying a standing order is success. They do this to guarantee that the IBO is earning a profit. So many IBOs know they're going to be successful and they are not fooling themselves by using the help of their upline.

Success is undeniable, and fortunately for the vast majority of IBOs, it is also attainable, at least in the Amway opportunity.

Stealing An IBO's Dream?

Some debates over Amway recently churned up some accusations once again about critics being "dream stealers". I thought I would address this but first I wanted to print the definition of a dream from dictionary.com:

dream  
[dreem] Show IPA noun, verb, dreamed or dreamt, dream⋅ing, adjective 
Use dreams in a Sentence
–noun 
1. a succession of images, thoughts, or emotions passing through the mind during sleep.
2. the sleeping state in which this occurs. 
3. an object seen in a dream. 
4. an involuntary vision occurring to a person when awake. 
5. a vision voluntarily indulged in while awake; daydream; reverie. 
6. an aspiration; goal; aim: A trip to Europe is his dream. 
7. a wild or vain fancy. 
8. something of an unreal beauty, charm, or excellence. 

–verb (used without object) 9. to have a dream. 
10. to indulge in daydreams or reveries: He dreamed about vacation plans when he should have been working. 
11. to think or conceive of something in a very remote way (usually fol. by of): I wouldn't dream of asking them. 

–verb (used with object) 12. to see or imagine in sleep or in a vision. 
13. to imagine as if in a dream; fancy; suppose. 
14. to pass or spend (time) in dreaming (often fol. by away): to dream away the afternoon.

–adjective 15. most desirable; ideal: a dream vacation. 

—Verb phrase
16. dream up, to form in the imagination; devise: They dreamed up the most impossible plan. 

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Based on these definitions, I can see it is always possible for anyone to steal a dream. This dream stealing verbage is more than just upline propaganda. It is designed to get IBOs to develop their critical thinking skills and to commit themselves to their businesses even if that means buying more standing orders and function tickets. Afterall the profits go into the pockets of everyone involved including your beloved upline leaders. It is the upline's concern likely because the upline is selling and delivering the dreams! Selling realistic dreams of retiring and walking the beaches of the world. Dreams that will soon come true for the vast majority of IBOs. 

I believe #6 is the most appropriate definition for an IBO. A long term goal. But if an IBO's long term goal is retirement and riches, they should always analyze their involvement in the Amway business and determine if that is the appropriate vehicle to achieve their goals. For the vast majority of people it is the appropriate vehicle and facts confirm this. It's a matter of whether or not an IBO was taught how to dream by his/her upline.

You Must Believe In Amway!

I often hear stories and testimonies about how some people (usually newbies) have this incredible belief in Amway, their sponsors and their LOS, such as WWDB or Network 21. Being that many, possibly most IBOs are sponsored by a friend or family member, means that there is an inherent trust in the sponsor or upline. If that were not true, then we would likely see many less compliments about Amway and/or the uplines and lines of sponsorship. 

An important facet of being an IBO is to have a dream. Don't let "naysayers" steal your dream, is what many IBOs are told. But what is that dream? Is it a dream (a long term attainable goal) or a wish such as winning the powerball lottery? Many prospects and IBOs want to succeed. They are willing to work hard, and are very dedicated, I would say that these folks usually will end up winning, both through strength of effort and a great MLM/Amway system that greatly rewards more than just a few. The famed 6-4-2, 6-4-3 or some other variation of the plan illustrates that more than 10 in 100 or so can go "platinum". And that nobody’s quitting. Factor in attrition and "do nothings" and it might be 25 in 200 who can reach platinum. Even if the whole world signed up for Amway, that fact would increase.

Do you really believe in Amway and your line of sponsorship such as WWDB or Network 21? If you truly believe in Amway and your mentors, I challenge you to do one of these things. If you can't or won't, then I question your level of commitment. I question your belief. I'm not here to steal your dream. I am just challenging you. 

Take your 6-4-2 or 9-4-2 or 6-4-3 plan to a loan officer at a bank and show them the plan. (Hey, it will help you be CORE) Ask the loan officer for their opinion of the plan and see if you can get a business loan based on the Amway plan. If not that, try seeking the advice of a millionaire outside the system (Someone who has a net worth of a million bucks) and see if they think the 6-4-2 or other Amway (version) plans can work and whether they think Amway is a good idea. Heck, try asking your church Pastor. My church Pastor said Amway was fantastic and gave great hopes and promises enough to be considered a viable business option.

How strong is your belief in Amway? Strong enough to take my challenge? Or will you ignore this and never really know the answer for yourself?

Build Your Amway Business Right, and Build It Once?

I believe that Amway IBOs have approximately a 5% attrition rate for the first year alone. If you look at a 5 year window, I believe the attrition rate is something like 15%. So what we're saying is that out of 100 IBOs, only 85 will be around in 5 years, or out of 1000 IBOs, 850 will remain after 5 years. This is extremely significant because if you are a business builder, you will need to replace a somewhat significant amount of your IBOs every single year. For this reason, I am very convinced that there are IBOs who "built the business right and built it once", who still do Amway related work and still collect significant residual incomes. I would guess that significant income could be defined as being enough to live a lifestyle in the top tax bracket (for the US) without having to report to a J-O-B. 

Now I understand that some IBOs find it interesting when I bring up subjects like this. It is because they have told originally by some upline diamond or big pin who has sold them on a dream of financial prosperity for life if they will only work hard for 2-5 years. I once thought it might be wrong, but realized that there are more and more diamonds that I know of who built the business right and have walked away to enjoy the beaches of the world while truckloads of money rolls in. Sometimes it makes me wonder why I see Crowns still working, and diamonds sometimes retiring or slowing down. I have asked the question many times and it has never been answered. Can anyone name a few people who built their business right and built it once and who is not currently enjoying these lifelong residuals? Also, as that is a benefit, why don’t more people listen to the Amway story?

You have a constant and endless flow of motivation being sold to IBOs. This motivation comes in the form of cds, books, meetings, functions and other things like voicemail messages. It's great to see that IBOs continue to pay for motivation and "teaching" about the Amway business even when there are cheaper and more efficient means of communication. For example, why would you need an expensive voicemail when a facebook group account can disseminate messages to your group in seconds at no cost? It is because some uplines have possibly not yet realises the alternatives. Because of the internet, I believe people are starting to figure things out and integrate the business systems too. I hope Joecool's blog contributes to this.

The motivation all IBOs truly need is to see a net profit at the end of the month. When IBOs begin to earn an extra $200 a month, or $50 a month, or $600 a month as advertised, there would appear to be no need for motivational speeches. The IBOs would simply look at the growth in their finances and they would keep going. The poor retention rate is easy to explain. Some IBOs are losing money because of lack of paying attention the business system and they can end up losing their motivation to continue. If you are an IBO or a prospect, stop and think for a minute. If you are making an extra $200 a month with minimal effort, would you need functions and other materials to motivate you? Or would you have intrinsic motivation from the profit? All the motivation you will ever need is a net profit. But don’t forget the motivational talks too.

Amway IBO Tidbits Or Sad facts?

So many people find out along the way that they will eventually get wealthy by becoming an Amway IBO. Many recruiters will tell stories about how they were once broke, but signed up, endured challenges and now they are diamonds enjoying untold wealth and luxuries. People get caught up in "dreams" and are often encouraged to pay close attention to the facts. People running businesses should pay close attention to the facts because it tells you much about your business and your likelihood of success. But what are some facts about the Amway business that many people don't know about? I have outlined a few important ones for those who harbor dreams of going diamond.

1. The average diamond, according to Amway, earns approxiamtely $150,000 a year. Some but not all of this may be supplemented with money from the sale of business aids, but after taxes and business expenses such as travel to and from the many functions that a diamond attends would leave a diamond living an relatively upper middle class lifestyle, one with moderate mansions and sports cars as portrayed in many functions or meetings. Yes, a Q12 diamond will have more earnings, but a Q12 diamond is the exception, and not the rule. 

2. Most if not all IBOs ALWAYS sponsor at least one single downline. Pretty easy to develop six (6) downline platinum’s from that point onwards. 

3. A lot Amway products are purchased by IBOs and then sold to customers. Name any business that sustains itself by having it's own workers or salesforce purchase most of the goods. MLM is sometimes mistakenly described as the only business where this occurs. Understandably, it explains why 99%+ of "systems like” Amway make nothing or lose money. 

4. For most IBOs, the cost of functions, standing orders and other support materials are supported by the income generated by their business. It’s the reason why most business building IBOs make money and it also represents a significant profit for some of the diamonds who sell some of the materials.

5. Not working hard is not necessarily the reason for someone's failure. But conversely, working hard does not equate success in Amway. I would guess that out of those who work hard, it is still at least 30% of those hard working IBOs who are smart and attain a significant profit. Doing nothing won't get you anywhere, but in this business, working hard and smart often gets you everywhere. It is my informed opinion that the cost of the support materials is the direct reason why so many IBOs don’t think smart, even out of those who work very hard.

I could go on and on, but these are a handful of facts that IBOs and information seekers should be aware of. I welcome differing thoughts and opinions.

I Didn't Work Hard Enough?

One of the things some IBOs are taught is to blame themselves for is not working the business hard enough or not doing things right, even if they do exactly as upline advised. Actually, nothing could be further from the truth. It's just that some uplines want to be absolved from any responsibility so they teach downline that failure in Amway is their own (The downline's) fault. Some uplines are also quick to take credit for any success, of course. 

But the reason is why hard work doesn't always equal success is because an Amway IBO needs to smart too. Any commissioned sales person is only as good as his last sale. In commissioned sales, one can sometimes work hard for no reward and at times, little effort may reap large rewards. But in Amway, with a smart attitude, Amway IBOs are given a helping hand that simply cannot be beaten. Getting new people to recruitment meetings is relatively easy, not even factoring in the abililty to sponsor others. When factoring in these tidbits, it's easy to see why uplines teach buy from yourself and selling to others is very important. It supports the facts that selling is really easy with our very competitive prices. 

The work involved is very simple. Sell products and get other IBOs in your downline to be able to leverage overall group volume. Many IBOs work hard and attend all of the functions and do all of the steps as outlined by upline and very few fail to reap rewards. In fact most go on to better things when they realize that the system actually works. It is incredible that on top of making money, that successful IBOs can’t understand why others blame themselves for their demise. Where is their upline when those IBOs bust their butts working hard and get no rewards? In some rare cases, to make it worse, some uplines profit from selling training and motivation to their downlines. Why aren't they held accountable? 

I've read comments by some Amway defenders like nyself wanting to sue Amway critics for a potential loss of business. But most critics, are misguided and are simply stating their ill informed experiences and opinions. Many of which are wrong and their experiences never really happened. So I will ask, what about the millions of current IBOs who may have made billions of dollars because of following the claims which led them to believe that they would get rich following upline advice? Maybe former IBOs should unite and file claims against unethical upline leaders who led them astray? 

In any case, hard work without being smart doesn't equate success in Amway and I dare anyone to try to prove me wrong.

Amway Diamonds Pay Cash For Everything?

When I was an IBO, I was always taught that diamonds pay cash for everything. That one day, after following the foolproof WWDB system, that I too, would be strolling on the beaches of the world, with cash rolling into my bank account with no worries in the world. We were told that diamonds pay cash for all purchases, even homes and other large ticket items. As evidence, the diamonds would show slideshows of mansions and sports cars, golf club memberships and other lavish items. All paid for in cash we were told. I have reason to believe that WWDB still teaches this and it seems it is all true.

First of all, in looking back, the group gradually got to know what was paid for and what was not. We could see that a diamond made so much money that everything the diamonds spoke of was true. However, there may have been some events, some very recent that suggested something other than what was told by these diamonds. There were two (2) diamonds whose home foreclosures became public knowledge and a prominent triple diamond who was involved in bankruptcy proceedings. Now your home cannot be foreclosed if it's paid for in cash right? Technically, nobody would care whether a diamond's home was mortgaged or paid for, but when some diamonds parade in front of a crowd bragging about wealth, and then telling the audience that they too will achieve the same success by following the system and upline advice, well that's a bit misleading in my opinion. Some people in the audience are practically crying because they want what the diamonds are flaunting, except that possibly, some of these diamonds don't even have what they are selling. 

An average diamond might make about $150,000 (according to Amway) and let's just say another $150,000 from business related functions. When you factor in taxes and business expenses such as travel to and from functions, what's left over certainly is more than enough to allow you to purchase million dollar mansions. Some higher up pins make even more, but still, purchasing mansions and other luxuries for some in cash is a stretch. It would be my guess that some diamonds indeed have a mortgage on their homes and may even have car payments. That's not a crime but it is unethical to lie about your income in order to recruit new downlines. 

For IBOs and other newbies, if your uplines are bragging about paying for homes and other things in cash, ask them to show proof of these claims. I can show you pictures of multi-million dollar mansions and sports cars, it doesn't mean that I paid for them in cash. But then again, admitting to having a mortgage or having monthly car payments aren’t quite as attractive or exciting as paying for these things in cash.

What Amway Prospects Should Know

One thing that I am aware of as an IBO is that some uplines can profit from our tools purchases. I was in WWDB at the time and I was told very clearly that nobody made money from the tools and in fact, I was also told that WWDB was a non-profit organization. Both of these statements are true and as told by WWDB leaders they have all been verified. We were told that upline cared about us and our success, thus they spent their own money to fly to functions to teach us how to succeed. 

Eventually, the internet and other media made it impossible to cover up the lies from other rogue uplines who finally admitted that they profited from tools. However, it looks like they downplayed the magnitude of the tools profits. I believe some uplines may have made most of their income from tools, especially leaders who may have fallen out of qualification. Now that the uplines admit they make some profits from tools, there is still a great deal of secrecy in the tools business. What makes the whole thing harming is that the uplines allegedly are not supposed to entice Amway prospects into joining by using the tools money as a draw, but at the same time, they are told that tools are vital to their success. 

I wonder how many prospects or IBOs would be fired up about buying tools if they knew that their uplines might not currently be qualified at the level they claim to be, and knowing that the uplines will make a ton of money whether or not you make a cent as an IBO? Also, some uplines are shameless in pushing the tools on downline. Sure they might cut the newest guy a break and loan them some cds, but once that IBO decides to start building downline, they are likely to be told that a real business owner buys their own tools, or that a business owner needs to be a leader and purchase extra tools for their downline.

How would you feel if your upline is touting themselves as a financial genius but in the background, their homes are foreclosed or they have financial difficulties? What if your upline touts their morals and you find out they are divorced or getting a divorce? What if your upline said Amway cures cancer? Your upline certainly won't say they are perfect, but conversely, they should be held to the highest standards if they are using their status to be able to sell tools and make large profits. 

Many prospects and IBOs don't know this, but I hope they take it to heart.

Why Amway Diamonds Are Wealthy?

Of all the things that many IBOs understand is where the upline profits actually come from. They know they will obtain passive residual incomes and most understand how it works or where the money comes from. What most people see if they ask their upline, is a copy of that upline's check, or they may see upline driving a nice car or something like that. They do this so that they may be encouraged in a very competitive world and to re-enforce how the business works. It is simply called “The Amway Opportunity”. Most IBOs are financially much better off by learning from their upline how to receive a check for more than $5000 each month and helping others to get involved in the Amway opportunity.

Uplines earn all of their income from the movement of products. Amway returns about 32% of their gross in the form of bonuses. Most (active business building) IBOs earn bonuses starting at 3% and can in fact sometimes retain the remaining 29% of the bonus. This is totally a great deal when you think about it. Also, all IBOs save on Amway products. They simply replace what they normally buy. Because of this there are tons of IBOs continuing to move 100 PV or more. If an IBO quits, they normally continue to buy repeatedly from Amway, and continue to use a few products here and there. The opportunity and the way it is promoted simply creates a great desire for Amway products. If the products were not so great, why then would Amway still exist after 50 years of business? IBOs normally sell more than 50% of their goods to non-IBOs, making IBOs a lot of income while they create a lot of consumers of Amway products?


Some organizations have a tools business. IBOs don't normally receive an income from these and it’s not normally considered to part of the Amway business profits. Uplines who do retail these tools generally keep all of the tool profits. While this may seem acceptable on the surface, keep in mind that the tools can be bought at almost any book store and making them a part of your retail business does not really work. There is no unbiased evidence that I know of that suggests that the tools create a natural progression of IBOs. I cannot name more than a few new diamonds in the US since I joined the business in 1997 or 1998 that built their business selling tools. And even if there were some new diamonds that did, I believe their business took longer to grow in Amway for those reasons. One might wonder why a diamond would sell tools in the first place when there is a really great residual passive income involved. 


So where does upline profits come from? Simple, it comes directly out of the sales of products. All IBOs sell products and all profits come from sales to customers. Some Amway sales are simply made from upline to downline. This is normal in-house business trading. Some IBOs easily sell $500 to $600 a month on products and get back a 3% or 6% bonus on top when they reach the target PV. Factor in an extra $150 to $250 monthly by not buying or spending on tools. Suddenly that no risk opportunity doesn't sound so bad! Try working it for several years and IBOs can easily earn up to tens of thousands of dollars. 


That’s where upline profits come from folks. Do the math. Most IBOs are financially much better off by learning from their upline how to receive a check for more than $5000 each month and helping others to get involved in the Amway opportunity.

All Is All?

One of the things Amway distributors will tell you is how tools are optional in the Amway business. Amway says this and many Amway AMO leaders do too. One of the things I remember hearing was how an IBO "needed" to attend "all" functions. So many IBOs asked the upline questions such as what if my brothers is getting married and the wedding is on the sAme day as a function? Or what if my kid has a soccer game or an event that was scheduled on the same day as a function? The answer from that upline was simple. "All means all". He was wrong!

An upline may teach you that God is #1, spouse is #2, kids #3, job #4 and Amway is a distant #5. That's what they say and that should be really what they mean. Onetime there was a conflict and I heard the upline say "all means all". Meaning that one needed to attend all functions! Most Amway distributors are quick to jump in and claim this doesn't happen or that they have never heard it, yet it did happen to me and I sometimes worry that this is still happening in some other AMO groups. Sure some upline might be better than others, and in the end, most uplines want their downlines to succeed and if possible attend all functions, but not at the expense of the IBO’s profitability. 

I recall an IBO who had worked hard and was very profitable. He was given the same answer about "all means all". That particular upline only wanted him to believe that hard work equals success. In Amway, hard work does guarantee success. And I believe it is because an Amway IBO is basically a commissioned salesperson and in that kind of business, hard work should never go unrewarded. It is not just a matter of working hard, you also need to work smart to claim the rewards at all times. It is because Amway's products are so easy to sell and along with Amway IBOs ethical behaviour makes it easier to find people who are interested in Amway. Thus even finding someone to see the Amway sales plan is no great challenge. 

What does your upline say about attending meetings and functions? Do they advise you to pick and choose the ones you can afford or do they tell you that you should attend "all". Do they look at your business profitability before advising you to do they ask you to trust their guidance and leadership? Do they advise you to buy other tools in the same manner? That is advising you to be on voicemail or standing order without knowing about your business parameters? Do they really want your success? Keep in mind that your upline should always want you to make much more money than them you’re your Amway business. What say you now?

What Is A Business Owner Mentality?

One of the catch phrases that IBOs use quite often is that you need a "business mentality". Those of us who have an "employee mentality" are simply not understanding a basic principle in Amway. It may seem ironic that a vast majority of Amway IBOs have a job. A job that they KEEP while they build their Amway business. A job that helps to pay for their voicemail, cds, functions and books, in addition to the income from the sale of the Amway products. Basically, most IBOs would be out of business almost immediately without their job income to support the building of their Amway business. 

A business mentality, as taught by AMO leaders, has many levels. It is one that does expect quick profits, endorsing your upline's claim that the Amway business has low risk and low overhead. A business mentality is also one where you should understand how to reinvest any or all profits back into buying support materials. A business owner does expect to make a profit within 5 years from start up. Many of these ideas are taught by ethical uplines and fortunately, many IBOs accept the teaching and learn to run with it. They invite new prospects by talking about the low risk and the ability to profit right away and the teaching later changes to reinvesting money into their business and expecting larger profits in later years. A new way of thinking for some. 

Now it is true that a business owner might have to think and view things differently than an employee. For example, an employee might do a great job from 9-5 but after 5:00 pm, that employee may be headed home to care for his or her family, or to participate in some exercise or recreation. The business owner might be inclined to stay after hours to finish a job because he or she may have invested much, and will want to make sure that the business succeeds. Nothing wrong with that but, Amway is promoted as part time, do as much or as little as you want, on your own time, when you have time. 

All uplines will want their downline IBOs to adopt a more business owner mentality, because they want downline to succeed and because it instills a dedication to the concept of product purchases. It also helps an IBO's focus on profits in the first few years. Thus IBOs learn how to be successful (with profit) if they are listening to a standing order, attending the functions and showing the plan. It is a technique used to train IBOs how to be profitable. Even though IBOs are actually making money, there is always a need to continue to motivate them with an endless supply of new ideas and functions. But because it is also possible for some IBOs to lose money or make little than expected, the average IBO must be taught that with a "business owner" mentality it is more common to make money for a number of years and that it is wiser to continue to reinvest their profits in order to succeed. 

In posting this, I say to IBOs, just enjoy make a profit by selling goods. That is all the motivation you need. Keep track of your bottom line and look at the return on your investment of time and money. That is the action of a real business owner and the real "business owner mentality". Which are you?

Amway Or A J-O-B?

I recall many meetings and functions where the diamonds talked about how your job was possibly making you "just over broke" or "jackass of the boss". They explained that jobs and working a job were possibly hindering growth for the masses. In reality, IBOs feed their families, pay their bills and aim to make the diamonds level with the help of their jobs. I remember seeing videos of people shooting their alarm clocks or a limousine pulling up to someone's place of employment and whisking off someone who recently went diamond or reaching some other pin level. All great fun!

I suppose that for someone young, who may be in their 20's or 30's, the prospect of working another 30 years seems like a daunting task, thus a "shortcut" such as working 2-5 years sounds like a good alternative. It makes sense and you will actually build the business and find the name reputation and products easy to sell. At some point, your investment into standing orders and functions starts to pay off. You start to realise there is no mistake in trying to find a shortcut to financial freedom. You start to realise that financial freedom exists in the Amway world. You do wonder sometimes why are the diamonds still working? Why don't any of them "walk away" and collect residual income for life while walking on the beaches of the world? The short answer is they love what they are doing!

Luckily, you did not quit your job. It’s not the wisest thing to do at the beginning. While your current job may not equip you with financial freedom, you are likely able to pay your bills and put food on your dinner table while you build your business. That is what most people say about the extra income they receive from Amway. I used to wonder how much money these diamonds actually make. While they may earn a nice income (when they are actually qualified), a diamond lifestyle can enhance their lifestyle enough to encourage the people they recruit into Amway. I believe many diamonds are living month to month, never worrying about their finances because the lifestyle that they build is completely sustainable. There a various kinds of incomes that Amway reports and $147,000 is a fairly average diamond income. A recent triple diamond revealed that while they earn a nice income, they may are more than able to sustain an excessive lifestyle.

Check it out for yourself. Rather than getting excited about seeing a Mercedes Benz, ask your diamond how much they earn from Amway. Ask them how many diamonds are taking advantage of residual income for life and why they don’t retire and walk away from the Amway business? While working a job and saving money may sound attractive, it is still a much better idea to include an Amway business to enhance your income. Financial security and long term sustainability takes hard work and discipline. Many who promote Amway invite prospects into considering how Amway is a route to getting rich. It’s there for the taking. The facts are there, you just need to recognize them.

What's Great About Amway?

Over the years I have been debating about Amway with people who cannot see what is so great about the Amway opportunity. Are some of these people that stupid or dense? This is a business where hundreds people make a profit and all of the IBOs think it is a great opportunity? I'm not talking about people who sign up and "do nothing". Many IBOs who sign up and put in a great deal of time and effort make a lot of money. It is a system that simply works (especially in the US) and they very rarely make a business decision to quit to do something else. 

Of course there are some people who make more money in Amway than others. If it was true that nobody made money, then the opportunity would cease to exist. But it is incredibly true. Basically it’s the combination of the downline and upline mutual benefit system that accounts for the success. Amway's growth in sales to non-IBOs confirms this. All uplines make some of their income from their downline's PV volume, and this system is then duplicated through the downlines business. Do the lottery and you might be a winner. Even ponzi schemes and other questionable opportune-ties have some winners. The Amway system is the only one that works and works well and it’s legal! Amway is perfectly legal, the way the opportunity is set up, everyone profits. Unlike other business opportunities that do so at the expense of their trusted followers. 

There are a lot of groups that I know of where all the IBO’s win and earn a profit. I would guess that there might be a hundreds of groups who only focus on retail sales, and these groups are very profitable. I am in such a group. This is because most IBOs follow building techniques laid out by the WWDB, BWW, LTD or N21, and these groups are all active in recruiting of new IBOs. They may concentrate on selling goods, and encourage you with a range of  training, motivational speeches, feel good stories and the theme of never quitting. Are you a quitter? 

Some uplines are quite frank with their downlines and are keen to point out that their Amway business is all about making money, but not at the expense of destroying your marriage, or making you a greedy person, or some other diversion to make you forget that you are in a business that helps people to make money and be profitable month after month after month. Some groups may have a tendency to mix in a little religion and politics into their functions and meetings. There are a lot of passionate people out there.

As far as I can see, the typical business building IBO signs up, gets some of the products and attends a few functions, and finds that the products are easy to sell because they are priced competitively with other retailers, and that a damaged reputation is nearly impossible to overcome. These IBOs realize they are going somewhere, and they walk the walk and in doing so learn some of life’s great lessons. There are many uplines who worked hard in the past are continuing to do so today, often just doing it for your benefit (i.e. talking about making profits from sales). 

Many IBOs, prospects, information seekers and critics read this blog. My question is very simple. Why don’t you get involved with the Amway opportunity? For most, it is just a great use of time and effort. While some may exist, I don't know of a single person who "did the work once" and then decided to sit back collecting barrels of Amway money while sipping on Mai Tais on the beaches of Jamaica. I see Crown Ambassadors working as hard today as they did many years ago. Diamonds building new homes instead of foreclosures. Prominent Diamonds totally evading the possibility of bankruptcy proceedings, and a hoard of WWDB Diamonds buying new mansions that they paid for in cash. (It is quite possible that their lifestyles could be yours one day). 

There are many benefits in this business for the typical IBO? One day they will become Diamonds. A lot faster than depending on becoming a lottery winner. Displaying a lottery winner doesn't make it prudent to spend your money on lottery tickets. Having a Diamond's lifestyle does make Amway sound like a better opportunity. Amway is a business and not a game of chance. The results of being a lottery winner are eerily similar but there although there are a few lottery winners there are very few non winners in our business. 

What is so great about the Amway opportunity? Come and see?

Don't Quit And You Will Succeed In Amway?

"Never Quit" is one of the things I often hear as an IBO. To quit will seem like the kiss of death to an IBO. I believe that the never quit mantra can be useful if the saying was meant to read as never quit trying, or never quit trying to better yourself. In the Amway business, when uplines talk about never quit, what they mean is never quit doing 100 PV and never bettering yourself. It is a wise business that should be applied in every walk of life. 

I find it great that so many IBOs think of the diamonds on stage as being mentors to them. It may be a fact that these diamonds don't know most of their downline IBOs. They may not know their personal circumstances or how they are progressing in building their business, but still a blanket "never quit" statement is still a helpful boost. It does seem that the never quit saying is a self-serving thought, but then in a business where both the upline diamond and the downlines benefit financially it is important to encourage an IBO staying on board with the Amway and the self-growth programs. 

When you stop and think for a moment, that your upline benefits financially from almost every aspect of the business. You realise that when you move 100 PV and you get 3% while somewhere upline, a percentage of your business volume bonus gets shared by your sponsor and further uplines. What he is teaching you is how you can share in this too. It’s a wonderful business model. Your voicemail account is profit for your upline. Your website profits you and your upline. In fact, it seems that although IBOs pay through their teeth for all information they receive it benefits everyone regardless of their level in Amway. 

When your upline has vital information that can make your business grow, they will never want to withhold that information from downline? Your uplines will always truly want your success? They don’t only want you for your money? There is a reason why the "never quit" battle cry is made. Most upline diamonds take the time to get to know as many IBOs as possible on a personal level? Do they know your individual circumstances? If they do then you will find that they truly care about your success! It is why they stand on a stage and shout "never quit"? 

Fortunately for you most diamonds also take their own advice. Some diamonds have quit in recent years, but that’s life! Be assured this opportunity is a fantastic opportunity and only seeks to bring you to a better place? Never quit!

Amway And The Tools System. Conflict Of Interest?

Over my Amway and blogging experience, I have come to a conclusion which I will stand by. And this, in my informed opinion, is a potential problem with the Amway opportunity. The Amway owner, Rich De Vos acknowledged this issue back in 1983 in his "directly speaking" tape and unfortunately I’m not really sure anything was ever done and therefore, the problem might exist today. 

The Amway opportunity is one part of the issue, with the tools systems being the other prong. Over the years, in certain groups it would appear that the Amway opportunity and the tools systems have formed a symbiotic relationship. Those certain group leaders would make it appear as if Amway needs the system and the system needs Amway. What I mean is that Amway provides the opportunity, and then the leaders use the opportunity to sell their stylised system. In the meantime, the system leaders continue to teach the 100 PV goal and product loyalty, and most if not all of the new IBO’s do the new recruiting. Amway benefits as the system teaches movement of PV whether by sales or self-consumption, and new IBO recruitment, but the system leaders believe they benefit by having a new base to sell their cd's, books, seminars, voicemail, and website fees. 

A conflict of interest occurs when those uplines tell their new IBOs that they "need" to attend a certain function, or that they "need" standing order to succeed. That upline is smart enough not to say the system is "required", but certainly, they will put a de facto requirement by saying things such as nobody has ever succeeded without the system, but you can try to be the first, or they may say the system is optional, but so is success. Of someone may say so and so diamond (insert) name is a multi-millionaire and he advocates the system, but you can go against his advice if you think you know better. 

The real problem is that these upline leaders will tell you that you basically cannot succeed without these tools, but at the same time, the more tools you buy, the more profit these uplines make. Some of them will even try to justify this by saying a college professor may sell his own books to his students. But this is not the same thing. A college professor may spend years researching to write that one book. He will be teaching his expertise that is written in the book. If you attend properly organised seminars and do listen to a cd, you generally do not have an expert guiding you with very clear documentation on how they succeeded. You have very specific experiences coming from various speakers who may or may not have any common background with IBOs.

The bad guys are the rogue upline leaders who seek to not only profit from their downline IBO volume but also from tools that they advise downline to purchase regardless of downline success or progress in the business. 

As an example of some good practices used by a concerned upline, consider this. If that upline truly has "valuable" information that would help you succeed, they will get that information to you in whatever means they can. Either by email, Facebook, Twitter, text message, MP3, YouTube or whatever. They would never withhold trade secrets when they really want your success? It should occur to most IBOs that your uplines do really want your success?

Maybe sometimes you may need to pay for a piece of advice or support you receive. These are normally recommended as optional extras to help you but the choice is entirely yours! No pressure! Most good uplines are perfectly happy with people coming and going as long as they understand that some tool purchases may be required from time to time. They do not encourage IBO’s (all levels and up) to create and share in a tools profits system. 

There is a definite conflict of interest with profiting “rogue” uplines advising you to buy tools. Please contact Amway directly if you have a challenge in this area?

The Residual Income Fairy Tale?

One of the things that some IBOs can mistakenly believe is that they will build their Amway business and then they will have the ability to "walk away" from the business while the income continues to flow in. Don’t be fooled! If there was such an incredible benefit such as lifelong residual income that could be achieved by “walking away” from Amway, I'm fairly certain that Amway would advertise this as a benefit of being an IBO. But Amway does not. Loser’s might quit but it is very likely that your LOS will want to help you understand the benefits while telling you that your best chance to achieve and increase your success is by staying within the system. 

One thing that is noticed quite often is that there seems to be nobody who is actually retired and living off their income after building a big Amway business. Sometimes it seems that even the crown ambassadors still have busy lifestyles running from function to function and participating in other business related activities. While many of these leaders may claim they love their downlines, it is my belief that these leaders keep working their Amway businesses for one reason only. They love it! That is they choose to keep working in order to keep growing their organizations.The increased income flowing in is an extra bonus! If people are retired the Amway residual income is what allows them to put their feet up! 

The diamond lifestyle that is often portrayed is a great goal or dream to achieve, and the fact of the matter is that a "diamond lifestyle" can be sustained on diamond income. The average diamond, according to certain sources, earns about $150,000 a year. To many of us that may seem like a great amount of income. Most diamonds don’t sit still. They continue to grow even bigger businesses and it is often this growing income that sustains the kind of lifestyle portrayed by them. It’s hard to imagine but you can fly your family around the country first class to do all kinds of functions and still end up with a lot leftover to own fancy homes and cars. 

If I deposited $1000 in the bank and never touch the money, the bank would pay me a certain amount of interest each year, guaranteed. That is residual income. In Amway, you can basically earn income in two ways. You can sell products for a profit and the other way to generate more income is to build a downline group. Do it right and those downlines will help you to leverage your volume. Do it to diamond level and you will have a lot more residual income than if you just paid $1000 into the bank. Your downlines are learning from your example and many will have the same results that you had in moving products. That being said, when you achieve some level such as emerald or diamond, your business will immediately begin to show signs of strength and stability. It is why there are hoards of successful distributors. If platinums are not sustainable, then neither is any other level, including emerald or diamond but the real story shows the opposite of that!

There are many many instances of diamonds reaching and succeeding. Some may “retire”! People do come and go in this business every day. I believe you can bank on residual income in this business and who ever really retires when you can have so much fun at the top levels? 

What Is A Likely Amway Experience?

One thing Amway promoters like to do is to paint a best case scenario when promoting the Amway Business. I can't blame a promoter for wanting to show the best case scenario, but in my informed opinion, it's a matter of whether there is balance or a degree of exaggeration in displaying that best case scenario. For example, when other "financial" gurus air their infomercials, they have a disclaimer to explain that success testimonials are a "unique" experience. Some Amway promoters forget that and can give the impression to make it seem as if financial success in Amway is the norm and not the exception. What is the more common or likely experience for a new IBO? 

I am not going to discuss the IBOs who sign up and do nothing, even if this may be common. (That's because there may also be reasons for this, such as failure to fully understand the business plan or miss-communication with the recruiters). 

I believe that for many, they will see the plan, usually the 6-4-2 plan which is to show how you can become a platinum. The speaker may tell you how you need to build six of these groups and if successful you will grow to be a diamond and potentially make hundreds of thousands of dollars and walk the beaches of the world. 

The reality for many is many do sign up full of excitement, and are right in thinking that certainly, some of their friends and family will agree that this is viable. So the new IBO will buy or consume 100 PV and will sell a number of items. It is possible however, this same IBO will talk to family and friends and many of their friends and family will show sour faces as they already had, or knew someone who had a questionable or bad experience with an Amway IBO. I myself got met some badly informed IBO’s at a meeting at one time. They may listen to you tell them about the standing orders and they may even attend the meetings with the intent of succeeding as per the plan. 

But after a few months, it can seem that not many people are interested in registering and not many want to buy the products and it becomes increasingly harder to make contacts and to get new people to see the plan. If you are not careful the expenses start to add up. But hold on, you are smart. You have products such as laundry detergent or LOC that need a good home Concentrate on helping your family to replace the original products they purchased from you and you find you have again reached your 100 PV goal. This in turn helps you to reach that all important 3% bonus bracket. By now, you have a developing business replacing some of the household products and goods that you never really used prior to Amway. You notice that your checking account is growing as the product volume increases and the other expenses such as voicemail and functions are starting to be taken care of. 

Some people do quit. In some cases the former IBO feels embarrassed or discouraged about how they even got involved in all this. That will happen. It’s life. Not everyone likes the same thing. They disappear and some of their former "lifelong" IBO friends may even miss them. They won't bother to complain about their experience, but might one day feel the need to talk if someone discusses Amway again. 

In the final analysis, most people have a great experience and achieve financial profit. That likely came at the hands of good people at AMO’s such as Network21, WWDB or BWW. It’s always possible that some will have a bad experience but don’t blame Amway. There are many great stories of people who quit their job eventually and are walking the beaches of the world.

Amway and Joecool!

Hi! I'm Steve Nakamura! I live in Hawaii and I am an Amway IBO! I am known by my friends as Joecool and it is probably because I am a cool guy! I decided to write a blog outlining my journey through the Amway business and to let you all know how good it feels to be a part of this great company. Occasionally I might comment on new ideas and trends in the business as I see it but in the most part I am hoping I might encourage those of you thinking of joining this great business to get involved!

As this is an introduction from me today I will keep it short and just say Aloha for now!

Oh! Why the title of my blog? Well I believe that Amway is both a great Dream and a great Scheme!

Stay Cool!

Joe