MLM First Aid

 "My _________ has got sucked into an MLM, what can I do?"  The latest research on personality types presented at the last MLM Conference suggests these two traits make people vulnerable to joining an MLM:

1. Being in any way bad with practical use of numbers. Any failure with personal finance is a huge warning sign.
2. Being the kind of person who is overconfident in their own level of knowledge or wisdom. Most of us are like this in our late teens and early 20's and grow out of it, however it's an easy trap for naturally smart or wise people to fall into.

Anyone who has joined an MLM has failed to do adequate business planning: no one who has thought it through is going to start a chain restaurant like a McD's, if they think that other McD's are setting up in their area at that same time. Help your friend in MLM keep track of:

1. How much money they think they make each month.
2. How much they spend buying any product or service they get from the MLM.
3. How much they spend on any training materials or events that were recommended by the MLM.
4. How much they spend on any related expenses to participating in the MLM, including gas, coffee, etc.

Here are some other ideas...

Get a copy of Boss Babe The Game and play it with your fiends and family:

Ball Falls Ostrich Egg Consultants is a humorous anti-MLM group on facebook which pretends to be an MLM, in order to demonstrate the problems with real MLMs. Some members of this group use it to shield themselves from offers to join MLMs, but it also may be a way to reach out to people already in MLM.

Talk with your loved ones about scams. Why don't you give your bank account number to Nigerian Princes who contact you by e-mail? What is the difference between a Ponzi Scheme and a Pyramid Scheme? If you were going to do a scam, how would you try to get away with it?