If You’re Tempted to Join a Multi-Level Marketing Company, Try One of These Online Business Ideas Instead

Are you a human on the internet? If so, and especially if youāre a female human on the internet, youāve probably been contacted by someone – perhaps someone you went to high school with – about a āreally great business opportunity!ā Or worse, āto catch up.ā You take one glance at their profile and see that theyāre a āboss babeā or āindependent consultantā for one of many multi-level marketing direct sales companies. BeachBody. Advocare. LuLaRoe. Lipsense. Younique. J Elizabeth. Doterra. The list goes on.
Maybe they want to sell you some leggings that look like someone took LSD and vomited across your butt. Maybe they want to sell you essential oils they claim will cure anything from dandruff to male-patterned baldness. And maybe – well, likely – they want you to start selling these products as part of their ādownline.ā Whatever it is, they want you to join whatās known as a multi-level marketing (MLM) company, or network marketing company, or direct sales, or legal pyramid scheme – whichever terms they choose to describe the business model, the problems are the same and you should avoid them at all costs.
Trust me, I totally get the allure of these companies. They tell you that for a low entry fee you can start a business, make money on your own schedule, be your own boss, stay home with your kids, and enjoy the financial freedom you deserve, all while selling products you love and encouraging others to join you on your journey. Who doesnāt want that? We all want more money, and a lot of us would prefer if we could acquire said money while sitting on the couch watching daytime talk shows. When someone on your Facebook friends list comes at you with an opportunity to do exactly this, especially when youāre feeling vulnerable or financially unstable, it almost feels irresponsible to say no.
But you should.
Whether youāre actually trying to sell the products this MLM is shilling or not, itās important to remember that you, the distributor, are their customer. If you are required to buy a minimum of $200 worth of products each month whether you sold last monthās supply or not, the company doesnāt care because they already made the sale. Your upline already made their 10% commission. If you have a downline, youāre getting your commission every time your recruits buy their monthly requirement of products. The difference between this and traditional sales is that the majority of sales are happening within the company as opposed to unaffiliated customers outside the company. Thatās when it starts to hover on the line of what constitutes a pyramid scheme. A pyramid that will eventually collapse.
So when Madison from 11th grade English asks if youād like to join her company and start selling oils, itās not because she wants to help you become an entrepreneur. Itās because she wants you to sign that contract and drop another 10% monthly commission into her lap.
Is it possible to make good money with an MLM? Sure, but itās mainly for one reason: because you have a personal brand and influence thatās bigger than the product itself. Go on Instagram and check out the hashtag #thehousethatwrapsbuilt. Itās filled with McMansions that ItWorks! Distributors claim they built or bought thanks to selling weight loss saran wrap online. Many have thousands of followers, so when they share photos of their handsome husband and sons Brayden and Cayden and Aiden in front of a Live Laugh Love mantlepiece with a caption about how grateful they are to be debt-free and have this incredible life, theyāre selling the dream of āif you join me, you can have this too.ā Theyāre selling the benefits of joining the company rather than buying the product itself, because itās easier to make 10% commission off your downlineās required monthly autoship than it is to convince new and return customers they need more glorified cling wrap every month. Itās easy to sell hope to women who are struggling to make ends meet, who canāt do a traditional job, or who want to do something fun and lucrative with their time. Itās especially easy when youāre doing it from an 8-bedroom home.
If you want to read more about why MLMs are bad, hereās an article about how they prey on women and immigrants. Hereās an FTC summary about how most distributors/consultants lose money. Hereās an article about Trumpās familyās involvement in an MLM and the pending lawsuit against them. And hereās a subreddit filled with people who are sick and tired of others trying to rope them into their latest pyramid scheme.
(This post contains affiliate links, because a girl’s gotta eat.)
What to do Instead of multi-level marketing
If youāve been tempted to join one of these companies, one of the first things you need to know is that with the internet, you donāt need a network marketing companyās template to start your own home-based business. You donāt need them to tell you what to buy every month or how much to spend or how much to price your products. They want it to look like an easy and affordable pathway to entrepreneurship, but you donāt need them. All you need is an internet connection and a desire to create something yourself.
If youāre trying to make money online/at home, this list has some of the best ways for newbies to get started, regardless of your skills. You can do all of these at your own pace and tailor them to suit your business, income, and lifestyle goals. No upline/downline necessary, and you can start them with far less money than a LuLaRoe starter pack.
Affiliate Marketing / Blogging
Affiliate marketing is similar to multi-level marketing and the easiest to get started, so thatās why itās the first one on this list.
With affiliate marketing, you sign up as an affiliate for a company, they give you a unique URL to share on your blog, social media pages, wherever – and when someone makes a purchase, you get a commission. Itās remarkably similar to what MLMers are doing, but you donāt have to refer people to a downline and you donāt have an upline pressuring you to meet a sales goal. You donāt have to buy the product or spend a minimum on inventory each month. You donāt even work for the company. You just sign up, get your links, and share them wherever you want.
If that sounds simple, it is! Youād be surprised how many companies have affiliate programs. Some require you to have a blog in order to join, but the majority will accept anyone and everyone whoās willing to share links to their products. Itās advertising that only costs money if it converts into sales. What company wouldnāt want that?
Example: Jennifer is a health and fitness enthusiast who posts her workouts, healthy meals, and gym outfits on Instagram. Perfect target for a hun selling fitness shakes or supplements. Instead of joining Beachbody or ItWorks!, Jennifer decides to look into affiliate marketing as a way to monetize her hobby. She loves showing off her Fabletics leggings and so does her audience, so she signs up for the Fabletics affiliate program. She also loves her FitBit, so she joins their affiliate program as well. Jennifer doesnāt have a blog or website, so she creates a free LinkTree account and posts her affiliate links with titles like āshop my favorite leggingsā and āget 10% off your FitBitā (many affiliate programs are more than happy to give you a discount code to share, you just have to ask!). She adds this link to her Instagram bio. Whenever she posts a picture wearing her Fabletics leggings, she adds something to the caption like āgrab a pair for yourself through my affiliate link in my bioā.
Itās definitely possible to make money with affiliate marketing without a website, but youāll seriously increase your earnings potential with a website, blog, or vlog where you can post content and include your links naturally. It works well for Jennifer because sheās in one specific niche (health and fitness) so she could easily start a blog with posts like āMy Favorite Running Outfits for Every Seasonā and āHow My FitBit Helped Me Lose 45 Poundsā.
You can sign up for as many affiliate programs as you want. To see if a brand or product you love has an affiliate program, just google the brand name + affiliate and see if anything comes up. Also be sure to check out my post on affiliate marketing for beginners, which gets into more detail and includes the best affiliate websites on the web.
Start a Print-On-Demand Store
If you want to sell physical products, you can learn how to make your own and start a brand with a method called print-on-demand (POD). With POD you create designs to print on products like t-shirts, mugs, bags, leggings, and posters, which you list for sale in your Etsy, Shopify, Amazon, or another e-commerce store. The printing and shipping are outsourced and you only pay for the base price once you make a sale. You can start a POD business without investing in any money in inventory or ever going to the post office.
I always say that POD is the perfect starter business for anyone who wants to work for themselves but thinks they lack the skills to do it. This is because itās low-cost and low-risk, but youāll learn a ton of skills that are essential to online business. Create your own designs, come up with a brand, create the weird t-shirts youāve always wanted to sell, learn about marketing and SEO, etc.
Unlike one popular MLM t-shirt company I see all over Instagram, there is no monthly fee and no referral or commission structure when you do it yourself (seriously, look at this horrifically convoluted comp plan. Itās awful!). My print-on-demand stores are actually my largest source of income right now. Go here to read all my posts on POD, how to get started, my recommended production partners, and more.
Start a Dropshipping Store
Dropshipping is when a third-party stores and ships your products instead of you, the seller. Thatās how the shipping is done for POD, but if you donāt want to make designs and sell the printed products, you can also start a dropshipping store by selling already-made products. Lots of people do this by listing AliExpress products on a Shopify storefront, then when somebody makes a purchase, they order the product from AE and have it shipped to the customer. Shopify has an app called Oberlo that connects your store with products that can be dropshipped, making it super easy to add them to your storefront. You can even have a store that sells both POD products you made and products from Oberlo that are relevant to your niche. Itās your business, do what you want!
If you start a dropshipping store with AliExpress type of products, you canāt sell them on Etsy because they are not handmade, so youāll want to go with Shopify, which has a free 14-day trial so you can see if it’s right for you.
Related posts:
How to start a leggings boutique without joining LuLaRoe
How to start an essential oils business
Sell Digital Products
Digital products are even easier to get started than print-on-demand. I started selling printable wall art on Etsy in 2017, then once some designs started to take off, I added those designs to some POD products and my shop really started to grow. Digital products are my favorite thing to sell because I donāt have to spend any money or do anything when somebody buys one – itās automatically delivered to the customer and all the profits go to me.
Contrary to popular belief, you donāt need to be a prolific artist or designer to create digital products, and there are dozens of different kinds you can create. These posts will help you get started if youāre interested in learning more:
20 Types of Digital Products You Can Sell for Passive Income
How to Make and Sell Digital Products
My Step-by-Step Workflow for Making, Organizing, and Selling Printables on Etsy
Sell Freelance / Consulting Services
You can start a business by selling your skills as a freelance contractor/gig worker as well. This is how I first got started working online/for myself (you can read all about my freelance journey, how to get started, and what I wish I knew 10 years ago in this post). There are so many skills people are looking to pay someone for, and Iām pretty confident you have some that would be of use to other people/companies. Here’s a list of 27 websites where you can find full-time, part-time, and contract-based remote work.
I hope this helps steer you away from MLMs and into a successful side hustle or business. If you have questions or an online business tip you’d like to share, you can leave it in the comments.Ā
Wow this information was really valuable, it gave me lots of knowledge especially on how I could ditch the mlm dream that I was sold and become an affiliate and even have my own Pod store, which is sometimes I very much want to do. Thanks for providing so much value with asking for anything in return…its almost in heard of.
Thank you for reading! I just want to help as many people out of MLMs as possible, there are so many better options out there.
I love your sense of humor, I was laughing out loud while reading this article. Especially the part about LSD barf on leggings. Add Color Street to that list of MLMs, it’s the one I fell for an failed at because I’m just not the type of person to constantly annoy my friends and distant acquaintances on Facebook. I found your blog while searching for info on having my own printables business on etsy and I’m enjoying your teaching and looking forward to learning more! Thank you for sharing your expertise š
Thanks for reading! So glad you’re exploring business options outside of the MLM, it’s soooo much better and more rewarding š Let me know if you have any questions or if I can help you out along the way!
Mandy, You have got to be one of the most honest and helpful people on the internet. There is so much BS out there, and you somehow share stuff that always sticks with me. It’s not just great writing (which you do too) but some solid advice, stuff I wish other people shared. Really builds trust with your reading too. I don’t even consume weed but I love how you’ve set up the jane dope website, and I started a vegan nutrition blog and it bombed because I’m on a non-stop loop of writer’s block/depression/lazyness/fear of judgement on my writing. (honestly don’t know what it is anymore). I wish you took a writing course that addressed all this, I’d sign up in a heartbeat š Anyway, I just wanted to say THANK YOU. a genuine expression of my gratitude that your corner of the internet remains authentic, honest and I’m glad it exists.
Ally! You are so kind, I genuinely appreciate your support and feedback š I have been thinking about a “writing tips” post for people in your position for a while, but apparently writing about writing is not my forte. My main piece of advice is that the only way to get better at and more comfortable with writing is to just keep doing it. Use something like 750words.com to word vomit on the page and see what you come up with, it’s how a lot of my blog posts start out. You have to let yourself write something shitty first, which can be one of the hardest parts. Good luck and reach out anytime with questions!
Thank you so much for replying! I think the issue isn’t writing itself, but maybe the fact that my writing doesn’t get me paid anything. It makes me doubt my writing. How perhaps a post on helping those who have written lots but struggle to earn anything from their blog due to zero traffic + no clients hiring on freelancing websites.