I am posting more of this article from The Truth About Amway than I normally would because I think that this is important.  MLM companies don’t know what to do with the Internet (in this case it’s not just Amway thinking like it is still the 90′s):

In the 21st century, not being able to have a blog or website actively talking about your business is just plain weird.

The Social Media guidelines unfortunately have further violations of the don’t be weird rule. On a page called The Rules of Conduct Applied to Social Media the guide explains a few things that are violations of the Amway Rules of Conduct. For example -

no posting any pictures of Amway products
no posting any Amway logos

From the perspective of a prospect investigating the products or business this is weird – particularly given non-IBO bloggers and journalists are free to do this, indeed are encouraged to do so! Some more -

no showing of the plan without physical presence
no sponsoring without physical presence

Yup, all those LOAs offering the ability to show the plan over the internet (a perfectly sensible thing to do!) are violating the rules. That’s weird. It’s clear Amway’s rules still need some work and in particular some proper definitions. In some sections they clearly imply that the entire internet is considered a broadcast medium technology, in other places such a definition would be inherently contradictory – it would for example ban me using email or my VOIP telephone to call a friend and invite them to a business meeting! Talk about weird. One gets the impression that a few too many lawyers have been involved in the rule-marking process.

When rules are unclear or contradictory, it invites people to break them. Once one is broken, it’s easier to break others – something nobody should want. The new Social Media guidelines are a good step in the right direction, but the underlying problem of Amway’s outdated rules still need to be addressed. What’s most disappointing about it is that North America is probably the most advanced Amway affiliate in this area.

It’s nearly 2010, Amway. The Internet isn’t new anymore. There’s smply no excuses for there not to be clear, modern, consistent guidelines. Amway – don’t be weird.

Chrissie Cudd:

Many years ago, during a very bad week as a REALTOR®, I became involved with Amway. Three customers had tanked on me in one week, and I’d been working with all of them for months. Amway was presented to me as an alternative to real estate, and I bit.

While Amway did not end up making me the money I had imagined, it did teach me a lot about how to look at my business and my life. At that time, Amway recommended a path to success that included three things: ‘books, tapes, and functions’.

Here’s what they meant:

Books: Amway recommended reading one book each month. That book was written by someone like a Napoleon Hill, Dale Carnegie or an Og Mandino. They were books that had something to offer that would make you a better person.

This is a funny video that I saw some time ago, but just ran across it again. If you don’t want to watch the video, the guy buys like items from Meijer and Quixtar (Amway). The comparison comes out to Meijer = $26 and change and Amway = over $80.

Here’s what Notre Dame law professor G. Robert Blakey has to say about Amway: “It is my opinion that the Amway business is run in a manner that is parallel to that of major organized crime groups, in particular the Mafia. The structure and function of major organized crime groups, generally consisting of associated enterprises engaging in patterns of legal and illegal activity, was the prototype forming the basis for federal and state racketeering legislation that I have been involved in drafting. The same structure and function, with associated enterprises engaging in patterns of legal and illegal activity, is found in the Amway business.”

Read the whole report by Professor Blakey…

Blakey makes some good points. Here’s more:

The Amway business has a “family” structure parallel to that found in organized crime. With respect to both organizations, the family orientation is twofold. First, every participant;in the business is considered a member of a “family,” led by a particular individual at the top of a chain of command. Second, the business stresses involvement by participant’s family members, such that wives and children are drawn into the business to perpetuate their family influence over time. Family dynasties result that may be passed from generation to generation.

One of the primary family lines relates to the Amway Corporation itself. Amway Corporation is a privately held company founded in 1959 by Jay Van Andel and Rich DeVos. The Amway Corporation primarily provides the various products and services that serve as a backdrop for the pyramid-type recruitment and motivational schemes undertaken in the Amway business. The control of the Amway Corporation and its related entities appears to be shifting to the sons of the founders – Richard DeVos, Jr. and Steve, Van Andel. Amway Corporation also has a Policy Board that consists of Richard DeVos, Sr., Steve Van Andel, Richard DeVos, Jr., Jay Van Andel, Cheri DeVos Vander Weide, Dave Van Andel, Doug DeVos, Nan Van Andel, Dan DeVos and Barb Van Andel Gaby.

In addition to the DeVos and Van Andel family, who control the Amway Corporation, according to a 1996 Amway Corporate Culture document there are at least eight “lines of sponsorship” that control groups of Amway distributors. Every family is involved in the Amway business, in terms of using the Amway Sales and Marketing Plan. However, each family also is involved in Business Support Materials (BSM), or “tools,” which include books, tapes, and rallies. The leaders of the families sit on the Amway Distributor Advisory Board, where they work with Amway Corporation to develop the direction of the business. (AM0023684).

The Yager family has the largest organization in North America. Dexter Yager runs his organization, but has an “inner circle” of about 20 key Diamonds that work with him in a leadership role. Yager also has a tool business called “Internet” which provides BSM to thousands of Diamonds and Direct Distributors. The Corporate Culture Document states that “loyalty to Dex is paramount to have a voice in the organization,” a statement which is also reflected in various lawsuits that have been brought involving Yager and his company as defendants.

Another large family is the Britt family (aka Britt East Coast), with Bill Britt as the “unchallenged leader.” This family is comprised of over 149,000 distributorships, and is located primarily in the East. Bill Britt sets policy along with some “front-line” Diamond leaders, and decisions are ratified by a management team that includes 20 additional Diamonds.

Other families include: the Childers family (run by a leadership team of six Diamonds); the Stewart family; the Gooch family; the Bryan family (aka Down East); the Wilson family (aka WOW – Wilson Out West) – with Don Wilson also being one of Dexter Yager’s “inner circle;” the Puryear family (aka World Wide Drearnbuilders); the Hays family (aka IC or International Connection); the Matz family (aka IDA or International Diamond Association); the Dornan family (aka Network 2 1); the Strehli family (aka Creative Life Styles); and the INA (International Networking Association) family, run by a group of seven families.

The Amway business stresses that once you are involved, you are a member of the Amway family, and your upline and downline are part of your family. (TS0000058). You are to “edify” or honor your upline, and “counsel” with them regularly. The “upline” assume virtual “parental” control, and distributors are urged to “counsel” on all aspects of their life, including topics such as which car to buy or how to handle marital problems. Distributors are told how to dress – for example, “Wilson women” (those in the Don Wilson family) at functions do not show ankles, thighs or cleavage. Amway becomes a way of life for its participants, much like those involved with the Mafia.

From PRWeb:

Grand Rapids, Mich (PRWEB) June 4, 2009 — Amway Global Independent Business Owners (IBOs) have once again earned the company first place in online Health & Beauty (H&B) sales. According to Internet Retailer’s annual Top 500 Guide to the web, Amway Global is ranked first in the Health & Beauty category for the sixth consecutive year, and 28th in overall web sales.

Amway Global is the North American affiliate of Amway Corp., a worldwide leader in direct selling, with more than three million IBOs in more than 80 countries and territories. Amway Global’s Top 500 Guide ranking is based on estimates made by Internet Retailer, since Amway Corp. does not report sales by individual market. Enterprise-wide sales for Amway Corp. were $8.2 billion in 2008.

According to Internet Retailer estimates, Amway Global’s online sales surpassed $904 million in 2008. The online H&B category grew 14% to more than $2.9 billion, with Amway Global’s sales estimated to represent more than 31% of that category.

“The leader for online health and beauty sales for six straight years is not a label most people would normally associate with Amway Global, but it’s one we’re extremely proud of,” says Steve Lieberman, Amway Global’s Managing Director. “The ranking would not be possible without the hard-working Independent Business Owners who drive our sales. It’s also a great testament to the quality and appeal of our key health and beauty brands, NUTRILITE supplements and ARTISTRY skin care and cosmetics.”

Read more…

It should be no secret that I think that Amway Global is one of the most difficult to built and least rewarding companies in the Network Marketing industry…but after reading all of the information and facts about the company and you still feel that it is the best place for you, allow me to make a suggestion.

Learn how to effectively market YOU on the Internet.

Bottom line, if you learn to market yourself online, you will never have a problem sponsoring new people into your business (no matter what company you are with).

If you want to learn Mike Dillard’s Formula that helped me become the #1 recruiter and team builder in a company with over 60,000 distributors…all within 5 months of joining, Mike is giving away his formula for free in this 36 minute video:

Download MLM Traffic Formula 2 Free

Amway seems to be adopting blogging in unique ways. Kudos to the team at Amway Global.

Check out the Amway Interns Blog:

Making copies. Filing. Phone calls. Coffee making. Thankfully, that is not what an internship at Amway is like! Each intern at Amway is given his or her own tasks and goals.  Our mission here is to give you the inside information on Amway from our perspective as interns. We will share some of our experiences as we move forward, wide-eyed and amazed, tackling each learning experience provided to us at one of the largest direct selling companies in the world.

We come from a variety of places, from IT to R&D, from PR to HR.  (Did we mention that we love acronyms at Amway? And that as interns, we have to learn them all.) We hope you enjoy our stories!

The effect of positive thinking « Islam: A Religion of Many Viewpoints

Greetings, everyone. As I finish another day of work, I am often confronted with negative thoughts about my life and life in general. Then, as a former Quixtar Independent Business Owner (and, God willing, as soon as I can find a Muslim sponsor, will be one once again,) I think back to all the positive books that I read during the Quixtar experience, and then I think to myself: Wouldn’t all our lives be better if we learned to think positively instead of negatively about life?