Starting a Small Business

Also know as network-marketing, multi-level marketing has been around for a number of years, often creating controversy and negative publicity. But it has survived and appears to be getting bigger.

Some of the bigger brands in MLM include Kleeneeze and Avon. In my opinion, there is a kernal of a good idea in the MLM model. It is actually a fairly efficient means of getting products from a central warehouse to the consumer.

The product Agents will tend to be quite knowledgeable about the products. However, on the negative side, the products also tend to end up being quite expensive. This is due to the fact that there are often five or more further agents in the Upline of any one agent, and each gets a commission on everything that is sold to the consumer. This is what makes it Multi-level.

 

The average MLM agent will tend to be enthusiastic (to the point of Mania) about their product range or the alleged benefits of the health product that they agent for. This is a side-effect of many of the MLM companies being originally from the USA.

They also bring with them the Messianic tone and Neo-Con attitudes. This suits some people in the UK perfectly well, though I have to admit that I can barely keep a straight face when someone starts on about how the latest miracle leap in cleaning fluid will transform your life.

The core activity of MLM is either selling the product (often via delivery of catalogues door-to-door) or you invest your time in building up a team of other people who become your down-line agents.

This only suits people if they are have a very confident and sociable personality, and realistically you'd also need to adopt the same single-minded brain-washed attitude towards the company that your upline agent has also gained.

 

I don't know if MLM in the UK can get itself free from the dominance of the American sales culture. I wish it could, because there's something quite beautiful about the structure of MLM (if it is run completely properly and legally).

It is also an environmentally friendly way of distributing and marketing of products, which I like enormously. And there's also a human element to it. The customer actually has a relationship with the agent that the corporate chain-stores don't provide. I often wonder if some people buy these products for a bit of social interaction.

Some people evidently make a reasonable amount of dough from MLM.....however, the vast majority make very modest sums or none at all.