I've noticed that "military, police/fire/prison" families and some church communities like to "support our own" and buy from "locally owned businesses". I think MLMs allow people to buy what they think is a locally owned business that they believe will return dividends to their own community.
Sadly the dividends that MLMs return are mostly negative (debt, friction of social bonds, etc).
> I think MLMs allow people to buy what they think is a locally owned business that they believe will return dividends to their own community.
This would be the sane selling point for people who aren't susceptible to cult following. I was tricked into going to one of these meetings and at first I thought this is what it was. I was envisioning a sort of Amazon meets Costco scheme where you can get greater discounts with the more bulk that you buy. That's not keeping money in the community, but at least it's saving money in a community buying pool.
The first speaker at the meeting even got into a small business presentation which had nothing to do with MLM. I thought he did great. Then came the preacher, and everything fell into place. This is some sort of scam.
I would have been fine with the thing if it would have been a group buying thing where you save money AND stuff gets delivered to your door. I never did get far enough to see if there would have been any savings though.
They also have shift work husbands and are more likely to have a female spouse at home when kids are young. Pension systems make it very difficult to get out of the job after a few years.
If you go to a police or fire station and ask, easily 30% of the wives are nurses, as it’s a job with super flexible schedules. MLM gets pitched as a way to make some extra dollars.
Sadly the dividends that MLMs return are mostly negative (debt, friction of social bonds, etc).