Amway Global Opportunity Blog - Significant Business Expenses?

From the Quixtar Website (Thisbiznow) (Emphasis is mine)

"There may be significant business expenses, mostly discretionary, that may be greater in relation to income in the first year of operation"

So mostly discretionary. I am guessing that some of these exenses means the cost of a website and the discretionary expenses would be tapes, books, cds and seminars. These discretionary expenses vary from group to group. I have heard of expenses below $100 monthly, and I have heard of IBOs who exceeded monthly expenses in excess of $500 a month.

When you first start your business, your volume is likely to be smaller as you need to build volume by selling products and by possibly sponsoring others into the business. IBOs need to seriously consider whether or not to participate in the optional/discretionary motivational systems. Most IBOs never sponsor another IBO and many IBOs have difficulty in selling products. If you experience this problem right from the start, you are unlikely to experience significant success in this business and you should analyze your business and your efforts to determine if investing more money into a struggling business is the way to increase your volume.

The reason why this is important, is because investing in the motivational/teaching system is investing in non productive, non income producing materials/activities which will also consume your time. Reading books, attending meetings and functions, listening to tapes do not increase sales directly and uses up your valuable resources (time and money) that could have been spent finding more customers.

Unless Amway has changed their rules, it is my understanding that your sponsor is obligated to train and motivate you. Why pay for something that should be provided to you by your sponsor?

Amway Global Opportunity

Another tidbit that is presented by the corporation: 1 in 5 IBOs are able to sponsor someone.

If only 1 in 5 IBOs can sponsor another IBO, you can imagine how difficult it would be to build an organization. Keep in mind that over half of all IBOs quit within a year. You need to sponsor in order to atain the higher pin levels, but since sponsoring is such a daunting task, it is easy to conclude that building and maintaining a group is next to impossible. I remember seeing many crossline who faithfully purchased products and attended all the functions, and never sponsored a single downline. Most of these folks seemed to come and go during my tenure in the business.

Are you a new or struggling IBO? If you cannot sponsor people regularly, it will be virtually impossible for you to succeed in this business, unless you are exceptional at selling products.

Amway Global - By The Numbers

This came from the Quixtar Website:

"The average bonus and cash payments earned by a Q12 Platinum, an IBO who qualifies at the Platinum level all 12 months of the year, were $47,472.*"

A Q12 platinum earns over $47,000. That is a nice income for a "part time" side business. However, I believe that the majority of platinums are not Q12. Q 12 would mean that an IBO maintains group volume of 7500 PV or more, in all twelve months in Quixtar's fiscal year.

While people have achieved this level, it is a daunting task when broken down. If 100 PV is approximately equal to $300, that means your business would have grossed well over two hundred thousand dollars which would only allow you to gross $47,472? In many conventional businesses which includes rent and other operating costs, a business with that kind of volume in a year business would "net" the owner more than what a platinum earns, if run properly.

Also noteworthy. If this Q12 platinum is hardcore and is fully committed to tapes and seminars and other optional meetings and out of state travel (functions/board plans), this platinum may very well end up with less than $20,000 net after operating and other expenses are taken into consideration.

Is this truly the opportunity you are shooting for? My former sponsor went platinum (not Q12) and due to retention issues, has teeter tottered between 7500 and 4000 PV for the last 14 years. He has never broken a silver producer and has probably netted very little for all these years of effort. Are you interested in making a profit, or chasing a pin and some recognition?

Amway Global - Joecool's Visitors

An interesting trend I have noticed recently is the increasing number of hits I am receiving on my two (2) blogs from international sites. Seems like a lot of hits are coming from India, Canada, the UK, and Australia. Many of these sites had multiple hits. Anyway, here is a compiled list of countries who visited Joecool's blogs. It was quite a learning experience as I had never heard of some of these international cities.

Istanbul Turkey
Lipka Poland
Sydney Australia
Beijing China
Bankok Thailand
Sherwood Park Canada
Jhamshedpur, India
Scarborough, Canada
South Wales Australia
Brisbane Australia
Aizwal India
Boissevain Canada
Stockholm Sweden (IBOFightback)
Pune, India
Cape Town South Africa
Auckland New Zealand
Watford UK
Dawson Creek British Columbia
Santa Domingo – Domincan Republic
Brandon Canada
Kingston Australia
Seymour Australia
Montreal Canada
Edmonton Canada
Red Deer Canada
Kuala Lumpur Malaysia
Madras India
Mandurah Western Australia
Charlestown St Kitts & Nevis
Bedford UK
London UK
Kootingal Australia
Smithville Canada
Munich Germany
Bettria Sweden
Bristol UK
Adelaide Australia
Gatineau Canada
Burnaby Canada
Sampaloc Philllipines
Chesterfield UK
Madrid Spain
Bury UK
Regina Canada
Copenhagen Denmark
Paris France
Durban South Africa
Birmingham England

Critics vs. Supporters

There is a big division between critics and supporters in the Amway business. I believe that critics play an important role in providing information to the information seeking public. Some promoters of the opportunity are less than honest about what they present and in fact, discourage prospects from seeking more information. It is true that a "rogue" critic who may just be mad at the world may not provide that factual information, but many critics are simply sharing their experiences so others may see the hazards and problems that plagued their experience, and prospects can look out and possibly avoid these same pitfalls.

There are a few supporters, in particular, one who has made it his personal mission to defend Amway, apparently pro bono. But these supporters, are they truly helping the cause? These Amway defenders set up google alerts so they can be notified each and everytime someone writes something about Amway or Quixtar. When there's new information posted, they drop into the blog or forum to quickly "clear up" what they consider to be misconceptions about Amway. In some instances, these so called defenders such as IBOFightback or Bridgett, drop into a conversation unwanted. They drop into an established online community to set them straight about Amway. Instead of setting anyone straight, they simply tick off a host of online community members who are now 100% sour on Amway. Here's a great example:
http://www.fanhome.com/forums/fanhome-bbq/17972-quixtar-amway.html

It is my opinion that the likes of IBOFightback and Bridgett do more harm to the Amway name than good. Imagine you are sitting at a bar with some buddies and someone brings up Amway into the discussion. Some guy across the room comes running over to your gang and says you are all obviously wrong and misled about Amway. Do you invite the guy over to talk with you or punch him in the nose? I'm not saying they don't have a right to publish their own blogs and stories, but to drop into an established forum and trying to "set them straight" is like an unwanted house guest. Thoughts?

Amway's Facts

These numbers were taken from the Amway/Quixtar website. I believe the numbers speak for themselves.

The Average Monthly Gross Income for “Active” IBOs was $115