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.