MLM stands for “Multi-Level Marketing,” or “money-losing mess,” depending whom you ask. I’m Amy E. Feldman.
A new Amazon documentary called LuLaRich details the meteoric rise and swift fall of LuLaRoe, the multi-level marketing company known for its soft leggings. Multi-level marketing companies don’t have stores; instead consultants sell products from their own homes, social media sites, or parties where they convince their friends both to buy the product and join as sales consultants and then get a cut of their sales.
Those jobs can create opportunity for people who want flexibility. They also pose a risk to those who are required to purchase the companies’ products to have inventory to sell. They’re legal, although it can become an illegal Ponzi scheme if salespeople make their money not by selling products but by recruiting others to invest. If your friend asks you to join one, search the FTC’s website for red flags in multilevel marketing, and google the reviews of the company before you decide if you can “make lotsa money” in MLM.
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