Multi-level marketing is everywhere. Maybe an old high school classmate has messaged you about a business deal that you would be a fool to pass up. Maybe you have bought Avon makeup from a door-to-door saleswoman. Maybe you are like me and remember scrubbing the floor with a toothbrush in careful preparation for your mother’s Scentsy party where she’d display all her new wax melts to friends and family. We’ve all been there. Multi-level marketing schemes (MLMs) have oversaturated their market so much that these experiences have become universal, especially for women. That is because the very business model was made to target women.
Multi-level marketing schemes are characterized by their network of independent sellers. Consultants, or independent sellers, earn standard sales commissions by pushing products. However, the defining marker of an MLM is recruitment. Every recruitment adds a bonus to a consultant’s sales and another body to the downline, all the consultants underneath them. Everyone under your downline owes you a cut of their commissions. Your downline’s downline owes you too, effectively building the tiers of a pyramid scheme. Mathematically, only the top 1% of the pyramid can make any profit.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission explains, “If one participant must find six other participants, who, in turn, must find six new recruits each. [Then] In only 11 layers of the ‘downline’ you would need more participants than the entire population of the United States to maintain the scheme.” At thirteen, the pyramid would encapsulate the entire population. Company collapse and market oversaturation are imminent and inevitable. MLMs like LulaRoe, Arbonne, Avon and others choose to wrap their malicious tactics in pink bows to entice and distract from the fatal flaws of this model.
As I mentioned, this model was specifically made with women in mind. Traveling to the Mormon legging giant LulaRoe’s about page you find: “We support work-life balance. Thousands of millennial moms, couples and parents around the U.S. sell LulaRoe’s comfortable and affordable collection as Independent Fashion Retailers. The company allows families to work from home while raising children, providing the freedom to set their own pace and schedule.” It is the perfect scheme to entice specifically stay-at-home mothers, masquerading under the guise of female empowerment. Stay at home. Raise your children and nurture your family while working on your own terms. It’s almost too good to be true.
Aside from the ill-natured marketing, consider the products being peddled for less than minimum wage (if you find yourself at the bottom of the pyramid). Products offered by these brands range from skincare from Arbonne and Monat, lipsticks and foundations from Younique, Avon and Mary Kay, Herbalife weight loss shakes, and perhaps the slimiest of all: the many cure-all essential oil variants, promised to cure every ailment from arthritis to ADHD. Essential oil peddlers like Arbonne and doTerra capitalize on a mother’s willingness to do anything for the sake of her children.
The targeted MLM recruitment model gives rise to a strange phenomenon: the boss babe. Perhaps you have encountered one in the wild. Maybe you even know one. She will appear on your feed with a cold stock speech about a job opportunity that will change your life. This message is characterized by an overuse of female-centric rhetoric, including but not limited to affectionate yet condescending pet names like “babe” and “hun.” A string of heart emojis follows each line to rally enthusiasm for the cause. Her cheery demeanor can quickly turn sour when facing opposition or rejection from her undeniable offer. This overwhelming rise of the boss babe has led to rifts, specifically between women, within families, friends and acquaintances. To her, you are nothing more than a cash cow for recruitment.
It is easy to become an armchair detective, diving into the MLM rabbit hole. It is also easy to forget that these are real women involved in these schemes. Real women who invest thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours of their time with the goal in mind of a better life for themselves and their families.
These women are an untapped market, unfortunately, preyed on by malicious organizations destined for collapse. It could happen to anyone just looking for a new opportunity. So, next time you encounter a boss babe, demonstrate kindness. She was told an enticing lie by an institution looking to capitalize on her passion for female empowerment.