A lot of people who hear the words “multilevel marketing” run screaming in fear of being scammed, or at least, being part of a scam. This could be due to the negative publicity that mlm marketing has been receiving to date. The notoriety of this business model (which is legitimate, by the way) springs mostly from the few rotten apples (read: pyramid scheme) that have made it into the multilevel marketing barrel.

So what is the difference between mlm marketing and pyramiding scams? The former is a lawful business, while the latter is just simply a scam that is unethical. Multilevel marketing is a type of business model that cuts out the middleman to decrease the overhead costs. This means that the end consumer won’t be paying the bills for the store’s rent, labor, electricity, and others. Pyramiding schemes are illegal ways of getting people’s honest money with an empty promise of larger rewards, and in reality, this is just a transfer of money to the “upline” (this will be explained later).

Too Good To Be True

If it’s too good to be true, then it’s more than likely that it is a pyramid scam. Just like a wolf in sheep’s clothing, pyramiding schemes mask themselves as legitimate mlm marketing businesses. Pyramiding schemes uses the same techniques and also the same processes in building a network.

The common denominator that these two systems have is that both will sell a product and come up with a marketing plan for it. There are two sides for this: it’s either you will be sponsored by the “upline”, or you will sponsor a “downline.” You would know that you are in a legal mlm marketing business when your “downline” commissions are just the icing on the cake, since most of your profits would really come from your own sales efforts.

Off to the market.

Multilevel marketing is a great business if you are the type who wants to work at home in your pajamas. It’s also pretty easy to get into, even if you only have $29 as capital. It’s very flexible, and you don’t need to have a college degree to go for it, just a bit of computer knowledge.

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