I want to talk about something that has laid heavy on my mind the last few weeks. Comments that I read about MLMs. I have read many things about doTERRA since I was introduced to the products. The biggest complaint is that it is an MLM company. That is true, but it is not a “negative” factor. It is a positive factor if you look at why they are an MLM company.
First, you as a consumer have 4 options, NONE of which are schemes nor are they mandatory. A) You can buy retail. That is an option. The cost is 25% more. B) You can save money with a membership like Sams or CostCo, it renews every year but with that renewal you get a free oil of the SAME value. C) Share the info with your friends because you love the product (just like you do when you find a product you love at the store) and let me work the business. D) Run a doTERRA business for yourself and be as involved you want. No scheme, just 4 simple options that are your choice.
Second, from the business side, doTERRA could have easily put their product into stores or run their own website and sold their products by paying advertising like other stores do. They wanted to give normal people like me a chance to run a business that I love. I could not start an Essential Oil business on my own (people do, I could not with all my responsibilities). They educate, support, and compensate me for the work that I do. They pay people like me instead of paying advertising. We do the advertising for them with products that sell themselves. I share information with you on a product that really changed my life. I am not forcing it on anyone, and I hope that no one buys from me just to help me out. I want you to use the products so your life can change too, because my goal is to help others.
Finally, if you are still not convinced that MLMs are a positive thing, do you think that it isn’t right how the “pyramid” is designed? Making money from my sales to benefit those above me? Well, do you have a job? Do you get paid by a boss? They earn money from the hard work that you do and pay you a portion of that money. They can’t pay you all of it or there would be no way to make the business work. They put in the time before you and many times they are earning money for another person above them too. Do you set goals, weekly, monthly, yearly? An MLM just gives me the flexibility to run a successful business from my home around my schedule, family, and other jobs. It gives you, the consumer, the opportunity to support someone YOU know and not just a website or big box store. And trust me when I say I have done the research, because I have attached my name (which may mean little to you but a LOT to me) to doTERRA. I also have looked at the prices of the “much less expensive options” and really it is not that much different on most products. That small difference that keeps money in your community is worth it. And for me, it is more about the classes we do, the conversations that we have and the support I can give you as a member of my team. Not just a customer, but a teammate working together to lift one another up. Another level of our community. doTERRA is all about helping others. If you want to know more about that just ask me. I love to tell you about the positive things they are doing (which I can back up with links so you can read it for yourself) and they started from the very beginning by giving me and people like me, the opportunity to grow with their business.
No, not all MLMs work the same way. No, not all people have the same view that I do, but these are just words for thought. Just another way to look at what an MLM can do. And maybe, just maybe, remove that initial negative connotation that comes with hearing about an MLM.
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