Saturday, March 29, 2014

Multi-level Marketing--Some Thoughts

Nerium, Shakeology, DoTerra, MaryKay, Thirty-One, Scentsy, Pampered Chef...these are a few of the multi-level marketing businesses friends of mine are involved with.  Personally, I have never been that interested in joining any of these businesses.  Sure, there are people who do really well, but I suspect that for every person that makes the "multi-six-figure income" the top sellers talk about, there are twenty or more people who never really make much on it and have a ton of product in their closets.  That's not to say that any of these products are bad.  In fact, I am a big fan of Nerium and DoTerra products (more on that later) in particular.  But I've always thought of these businesses as targeting the lower-earners and the stay-at-home moms trying to supplement their family income that are really, really hoping that they will be able to ride the MLM gravy train.  (And I really do hope that my friends that are selling stuff do just that, because they are wonderful people and I wish them every success.)

Recently, a friend of mine who is an aesthetician asked me to try Nerium.  It's an anti-aging cream.  I was really skeptical, for one, because I have very sensitive skin; for two, because really, how many anti-aging things have I tried and not been able to keep up with and not had results with?  And the MLM aspect was part of it, too.  Like, I have a kajillion Scentsy things in my linen closet that I bought from a friend and never use or give away as gifts like I thought I would.

But, the friend is a licensed aesthetician, and another friend of mine who is also a licensed aesthetician was the person who got her into Nerium.  So I finally said, "Sure, come on over and let's try this."  Sheila took "before" pictures with her phone, and I used the product for a week.  I wasn't sure that I was seeing results, but she retook the pictures in the exact same light, no filters or photoshopping, and there was a noticeable difference.  I signed up as a "preferred customer", and have been using the product for three weeks.  Here's the results so far:

Pretty amazing, right?  My pores are smaller and my skin tone is more even, plus my skin just looks finer, not as coarse as usual. So, I'm sold on the stuff.  And I have to admit that I'm considering becoming a brand partner, because so many of my friends are interested in trying Nerium.  They currently just have the day cream and night cream, but they will be coming out with an acne treatment that someone in the biz I talked to said is going to be "bigger than Proactiv".

Now some people just haaaaate Nerium.  My aesthetician, Theresa, went bananas when I told her I was going to try it, sent me a link to an anti-Nerium site, and all that.  She tried it a couple of years ago and didn't like it.  So, I'm not going to tell her right away what I've been doing when I go see her for my personal grooming needs on Tuesday.  I'll see if she says anything, and then I'll probably tell her.  She'll tell me I'm putting poison on my face or something like that, but whatevs.

Frankly, R and I don't need the extra income, but it could be something that could make us breathe easier when we take six months off and live in Norway.  Maybe it's a business that my daughter-in-law-to-be could do, being the go-getter that she is.  Maybe other family and friends can do it, and it will help them out financially.  You never know, but I will keep using Nerium and expect that I will continue to have good results.

Okay, and about DoTerra--I was skeptical about the whole essential oil thing, but in desperation I contacted my friend, Amberly, when I was having PMS/early perimenopausal symptoms.  I bought some Solace blend from her, and I find that it really works to ease my mood swings, bloating and stress levels.  It kinda also helps cramps, but it's not a cure for them.  Maybe it's just the scent that works as a reminder to just relax and breathe through it, but it does work for me.

I have another item of shameless commerce, not a MLM thing, but I will do another post for that.

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