You’re Not Being Fair! You Didn’t Work Hard Enough!!!
A friendly note from someone who thinks we have no idea what we’re talking about and we didn’t work hard enough in multi-level marketing!!!
Hello Pink Truth:
I stumbled on your site by accident. I read on just to see if you had uncovered some things about MLM businesses that might be new and different and, of course, accurate. To my disappointment, I found many generalized short statements not supported by sufficient detail to help any objective person to learn anything about the businesses.
The IRS does make a distinction between a pyramid and a multilevel marketing business. Your web sit confuses and jumbles the two.
People who are successful in all kinds of businesses have habits and leadership capabilities that account for their success. They work very hard! They could produce excellent results in a sole proprietorship, partnership or a corporation. You will always find some people trying to cheat every system possible. They victimize others because they are not willing to pay the price of success. If you ask the real questions you could perform a valuable service. For example, “What amount of activities did you do in the business?” “What amount was recommended to be successful?”
“What kind of due diligence did you do before entering the business?”
To condemn a whole class of businesses without thoroughly studying it seems a little irresponsible to me!
Have at him, ladies! Have any of you “thoroughly investigated” MLMs? Did you work hard (enough) while you were in Mary Kay? Are you just a loser in general who couldn’t make it in any business setting???
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Comments (15)
Marie
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Ever notice how these “Bots” always have to clarify that they “just happened to stumble” on this site? What a crock! They came looking, because their common sense (which has been shouted down by the pink chorus) is screaming for them to find the truth — that they’re being played by their recruiter. I feel sorry for her. She’s brainwashed.
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ttp
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“just happened to stumble on this site”
Right…..Prefacing the usual b.s. with that equates in my mind to LIAR.
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Tee
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ya… I only “stumbled upon” this site when I was searching how to send back my inventory. Never heard of pinktruth before then. Now I can’t stop reading it! Love it
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Marie
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Oh! It’s a “him”? Must be shilling for some other MLM.
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enorth
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Sounds like it might be one of Jim’s “friends.”
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onelessSD
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I agree with enorth… it definitely sounds like one of Jim Cundiff’s friends. He’s completely mislead in how this MK thing works. Jim is a master at deceiving women to believe this is the total answer to all their worries/sorrows. If his unit is so fantastic at selling this product – then they would all be flaunting their schedule C’s…. as would Jim- but sadly that’s not the case.
Jim- time to pony up your schedule C to back up all these ‘unbelievable claims’ you’re making. That will tell the true story.
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raisinberry
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The whole industry is cloaked in “abundant thinking, believe and achieve, positive mental attitude, speak it into existence, name it claim it, beliefs and sayings, that do not allow for true discussion of real results. To do so is to curse the “drawing” power of the universe and pull in more negativity to yourself! If a Unit Director were to say, ” I am concerned that most of you are not holding appointments or able to get consistent results, and that by not paying back your initial inventory purchases, you are doubting the business and your own ability. Please do not order any more product until you sell at least $1,000 worth and build confidence.”
Can we all say, “When PIGS FLY?”
There is NO WAY, the honest conditions of the Unit and the REAL obstacles will ever be addressed-other than to be reduced to sayings and platitudes. Fake it till you make it!
Real sales people sell product. When the warm market dries up, the Upline encourages RECRUITING. Why? Because the endless chain of sucked-in warm bodies replace the outgoing chain of dried up ones.
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pinkiu
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If you truly went into the boards to read, it would be soon apparent the caliber of women who are contributors. We have members who are new to the scam and freshly out IBCs to a FNSD. We have people who’ve been in for 20+ years to those who just signed their agreement. We have family members who are concerned at the cultish manipulation that these groups use to separate them from “Negative Nellies” and those who don’t support their dream if they dare question the amount of debt and product piling up in their homes.
How many SDs, ESSDs, and FNSDs does it take before you believe that this system is a pyramid? I ask if you A pyramid is shaped narrow at the top and wide at the bottom. This corresponds with the person who decides to recruit. The recruiter is the top of the pyramid and all of the different levels of recruits are the widening bottom. You can call it direct marketing, or multi-level marketing, but the shape is the same. Second, if you have to recruit to make more money than you can by selling the product, the company is out to scam you. The best way that you can prove to us that this company is a legitimate way to make more money than one can working at a normal 9-5 job with benefits is to show us your schedule C. That’s the proof. Show us a detailed spreadsheet of hours work divided by the money made at the end of the year. I’ll even give you three years to show a bit of profit since many small businesses don’t make any money the first couple of years. But then…that’s the rub. All of these companies promise money right now. We know the truth. You don’t make profit at the end of the year.
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drea916
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Well, I did due diligance…I looked at how much money I had to shell out up front, and then considered how many people weren’t interested in buying the products. Most people don’t want to buy MK. It’s over priced and an ok product. I also couldn’t believe in it- and I really wanted to!
A woman would be better off either a. investing in a normal career/JOB (because this isn’t the 60′s, we all know lots of women lawers/doctors/accountants) Or 2. make a side gig for herself as a massage therapist, contract paralegal or something else that is flexible.
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Lazy Gardens
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“What kind of due diligence did you do before entering the business?”
The problem with this is that it assumes that the information in this “due diligence” will be available AND true.
Will Mary Kay tell me how many active IBCs there are in my zip code (something that their database could spit out in a second) so I can estimate my market size. NO! They even fought the FTC about having to reveal it, and so far they have won.
Will an SD tell me the truth about her debt, her actual sales and her actual income? NO!
There can be no due diligence when the information is being deliberately concealed and misrepresented.
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A Reader
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Seems to me that potential IBCs haven’t done their due diligence unless they consult sites like this one. When we tune out all negative input, we’re practically asking to be deceived.
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Pink Haze
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Notice how the person references “people” and “they”? Tells me they are parroting what they’ve heard, not what they have personally experienced. He/she(?) has heard that successful people can blah blah blah but no first hand accounting.
I find that curious for someone who’s found this site lacking in specifics and enough detail for them to truly believe anyone here knows what they are talking about. Where are you details? How much are you making by working hard and doing “what it takes”?
That’s just ridiculous. People here have talked about specific amounts of money invested, detailed how much they paid for supplies, advertising, give-aways, events, prizes – not to mention check amounts, credit card balances and more.
Lastly, if you read the stories here of ruined marriages, lost friends and broken families – and still think the people here are negative or losers or somehow lacking in the desire to do what it takes to be successful, then there is no talking to you. The human cost is simply heartbreaking and if you can’t see that then you are part of the problem.
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stinkinpinkthinkin
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I get it that the above written letter was submitted by someone who is probably “in” MK… at the very least they’re in some sort of MLM
I wonder just how much reading this person did after they “stumbled” on to this site. Apparently not much because they claim there is nothing here but short statements that do not have sufficient detail to help anyone make an objective decision. Uh, really?
Wow, I gues I must be really missing something when I can see and read literally thousands of articles and posts that very clearly and eloquently give superb detail about how MLM’s are nothing more than money pits. If the person read nothing more than the front/home page articles and didn’t even bother to register and read the boards, he’d find plenty of detailed information and statistics!
I call b.s. on his claims of such.
Of course, we all know that the drivel is nothing more than the same, old tired collection of statements these kind trot out when they’re own failures are staring them in the face. Got your big boy boxers in a bunch?
At least have the creativity to come up with something new. Geesh!
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Susan
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As Bob Dylan wrote, “if there’s an original thought out there, I could use it right now.” The author of this post doesn’t have an original bone in his body. Yawn…
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MLM Radar
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“The IRS does make a distinction between a pyramid and a multilevel marketing business. Your web sit confuses and jumbles the two.”
Oh really? Well, let’s just see what the IRS really says about the two. Here it is:
http://www.irs.gov/Businesses/Small-Businesses-&-Self-Employed/Retail-Industry-ATG-Chapter-3:-Examination-Techniques-for-Specific-Industries-(Direct-Sellers)
Quote from IRS website: “Multi-level marketing differs from an activity called a “pyramid scheme.” Pyramid schemes are illegal scams in which large numbers of people at the bottom of the pyramid pay money to a few people at the top. The success of a pyramid scheme relies upon a never-ending supply of new participants.”
Comment by me: What was it Mary Kay herself said about ‘filling the bathtub with the drain open’? Something about needing a never-ending supply of new consultants?
Quote from IRS website: “Pyramid schemes seek to make money quickly. Multi-level marketing companies seek to make money with their representatives as the business grows by selling their consumer products. Multi-level marketing companies have a start-up fee that is small with a starting sales kit being sold at or below the company cost. Multi-level marketing depends upon sales to the consumer and establishing a market.”
Comment by me: When was the last time Mary Kay tracked sales to the consumer? Oh that’s right… Mary Kay never tracked sales to the consumer. Mary Kay just tracks sales to recruits.
One last thought: On the website I linked above the IRS names two types of Direct Sales companies and a scam. These are Single-level Marketing, Multi-level Marketing, and Pyramid Schemes. SLMs never recruit, so that’s not MK. MK always said her company is not Multi-level Marketing. That only leaves Pyramid Scheme. WTG, MK!
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